Capitt Online

Flying with fokker tomorrow... *sigh

2011-12-04T01:47:00.004+08:00

It's already 1.47am and I still couldn't sleep. I am a little worried about tomorrow's journey from SZB to KBR. I didn't know firefly fleets are mostly fokker.... hehe. Blame me and my ignorance. So, i'm worrried about flying in a fokker? Yes..and no. I've flown in a Fokker before, and even a Twin Otter when I was on an assignment in Sarawak. It was during an Indoor Acceptance Test at Purnama Limbang, where I think I had one of the most adventurous journey in my life. I was still single back then (I think it was in 2001..my second year in TMTouch), and I had to go there all by myself, without a technician. Come to think of it... that was quite absurd since most of the time we had any assignments, my colleagues and I would always be accompanied by our technicians cum friends eventhough if it was only a site survey in Klang Valley. Hmmm...

Okay, back to my story, there's no direct flight from KL to Limbang, so, I have to take a flight to Labuan, then, as planned with HIO and ABK (my ex-bosses), I had to do a brief site survey to identify new in-building sites for our coverage expansion plan. I think I manage to survey 2-3 indoor sites before I hopped onto a ferry to Limbang. If I'm not mistaken, I only spent one night in Limbang, then, I had to take a twin otter flight to Miri. At that time... the so-called Limbang Airport looked like a rundown 'kedai kopi', and it has a huge weighing scale where all the passengers including the baggage must be weighed. Being in a twin otter is quite an interesting experience. I remembered the fan, the 'crowdedness' feeling in it (memang sempit), and the livestock carried by the locals on it. Haha..it was like boarding a bus ... but the bus was flying.

Limbang Old Airport (Before they have a new one in 2004)

Upon arriving in Miri, I met my contractors from west coast who were supposed to survey some sites with me. They were not interested to survey Miri with me because they've already done it prior to my arrival. Me, being a rookie at that time, went out alone to search for 'possible sites', but to no avail. Fikir2 balik... innocent gila masa tuh.. kerja tak hingat dunia..kahkahkah. Suhaimi and Farique managed to laugh at me back then.. and at the same time pitying me. Apekah?

I think I stayed there for one night @ Rehga Royal... then, we went straight to Kuching on a fokker. Having an very much interesting experience on a twin otter before boarding a fokker is a blessing. I have no complaint.

But, tomorrow.... I'm the only adult with 3 kids. Uwaa... hopefully nothing went wrong. Ya Allah..please help me and safeguard our journey. Amin.

Tidolah mata... I need to rest, or else, things will be worse.

Kek Karamel

2011-11-24T01:02:00.002+08:00

Tested recipe. I like it chilled. But, I think I will only repeat this upon request or in any special occasions because Wawan and Ecah didn't like it. MDH (My Dear Husband) didn't get to taste this yet because he's in Sweden.. but, I have a strong feeling that he won't like it.

Okay..refer the recipe here at Kak Ita's Masam Manis Blog.

Macaron ... first try

2011-11-24T00:17:00.005+08:00

Macaron ye... not Macaroon ...because the latter has dessicated coconut in it.
For step-by-step guide, please refer here. I was truly inspired by K.Ita here. But, I've never left any comments in her blog. Malu..hehe.

For me, this one is a little bit too sweet, but I don't know why I keep on shovelling those sweet monsters into my mouth. I guess that was the effect of almond powder in it.

A little bit senget .. :D. Macam tuannya jugak. The above are filled with cheese frosting (lebihan topping Red Velvet Cake).

Sitting in the oven

These are the macarons after they were taken out of the oven. As you can see, some of them didn't have beautiful 'feet'. I guess I should have made the batter a little less thicker by stirring them more and make sure the temperature of the oven is set at its designated temp, which is 140 degrees Celcius.. (I set it much lower at that time because I was afraid that I might burn them!).

After a long hiatus

2011-11-23T23:31:00.004+08:00

I neglected this blog because I forgot about it. Seriously! Blame FB and Mark Zuckerberg. I only remembered my blog when I was fascinated by masammanis blog about one month ago. In that blog, K.Ita has put a tremendous effort in ... shall I say 'documenting'... all her tested and tried recipes. She even had the talent to shoot mouth-watering dishes that she has prepared as if the photos were meant for magazines. Owh...how I wish I have the talent (and the DSLR too ..heheh).

And now I'm interested to keep my blog updated because I want to document my passion in stitching and baking. Let's pray that I WILL REMEMBER TO UPDATE!

So, since this is my first post after being in a long hiatus.. I will update about our new addition to the family...... my dearest Azeezah Nurnadya! By now, she's already 14mo and I thank Allah for this long awaited rezeki. Alhamdulillah.

Nadya @ 1 day old@Annur Bangi

I was a little upset with myself whenever I look at her. Especially when she was having cough and breathing difficulties. I believe that she's more prone towards illness because she's not a bf baby, and I blame myself for not being able to breastfeed her.. unlike Wawan n Ecah. Long story cut short.. I was unable to bf her because she didn't want to latch even at the age of 4 mo. I was pumping thoughout the 4 months period post delivery ... and finding opportunities to make sure she latch, but to no avail. Unlike her sister Ecah... who at least started to latch at the age of two months. I guess, that is called 'takdok rezeki'. Sorry sayang... :(

Nadya@ 6mo

Surah Al-Ikhlas whenever you face problems/difficulties

2010-08-03T22:56:00.002+08:00

Tanyalah Ustaz Episod 210/2010

Surah Al-Ikhlas
Katakanlah (wahai Muhammad): "(Tuhanku) ialah Allah Yang Maha Esa;
"Allah Yang menjadi tumpuan sekalian makhluk untuk memohon sebarang hajat;
"Ia tiada beranak, dan Ia pula tidak diperanakkan;
"Dan tidak ada sesiapapun yang serupa denganNya"

Tips dari Ustaz Hanafi Abdul Malek, baca surah Al-Ikhlas dan hayati maknanya. Selepas membaca ayat kedua, hayati maksudnya ("Allah Yang menjadi tumpuan sekalian makhluk untuk memohon sebarang hajat ) - di kala ini, lintaskan didalam hati hajat kita . Contohnya : Ya Allah, lembutkanlah hati suamiku kepadaku sebagaiman Engkau lembutkan besi kepada Daud Alaihissalam. Seterusnya sambunglah bacaan Al-Ikhlas sehingga habis. Diulang sebanyak 3 kali.

Learning through example

2009-09-09T05:34:00.005+08:00

As a new teacher, I'm in dire need of examples on how to conduct/carry out my lesson. I have to find ways to make things sounds less complicated for my students. Physics are complicated if u add in too much details... so, I constantly worry about making it sound simple and comprehensible. And, I think now, my prayers have been answered.

At first, my objective in using youtube, teachertube.. is to find any demonstration/simulation/experiment videos (ABM kinda thing la). I never thought back then that I should utilised the search engine for a teaching guide as well. Hmm.. I've wasted 8 months for the right videos. Rugi betul. Takpelah... I'll make do with the old sayings.. better late than never, eh? Btw, this teacher guy here is so cool! ;)

Photoshop part 1 - Select Tool

2009-05-13T22:50:00.008+08:00

Upon request... now I'm going to present to you... Photoshop Tutorial!! hahaha.. poyo je rasanya, macam pandai sangat. ;). Tak pandai pun. Tapi, basic tu bolehla. And, I would encourage my friends to learn photoshop sebab banyak sangat benefitnya kalau pandai. Contoh benefit-benefit photoshop kepada saya sepanjang mengenali photoshop.

- Menang Drypers competition twice hasil kerja kerastangan mengedit gambar. Tapi, bukanla menang Nazaria .. menang sket je. Hehe. (The above is one of the lucky entry. Yang satu lagi..dah tatau dok mana. And, mind you ... plastik drypers dibelakang Aisyah in the third pic itu sebenarnya tidak berada disitu. Ia telah diphotoshop untuk berada disitu demi memenangi hati juri..haha).

- Memudahkan kerja (there's once when I was still working with C****m, I want to reduce the height of the monopole - tiang nak letak antenna RF untuk coverage HP - . Instead of asking the draughtman to redo the technical drawing, I photoshopped it. Hehe.. and, no one notice it.). Habis tu, semua benda nak urgent kan? Kalau redo .. lambat lah.

- Tolong mengedit gambar.. byk sgt contoh ni...

Apapun.. let's get ready. Hari ni, jom kita kenali one of the basics in Photoshop, cara membuat selection.

First and foremost, we have to understand the work space in photoshop. Saya menggunakan CS2, so, kalau version lain.. mungkin beza sikit lah. Tapi, basicnya semua sama.

WORKSPACE

Gambar diatas menunjukkan basic layout workspace photoshop. Yang penting, kena ada TOOL, LAYER and HISTORY. Yang lain tu pun penting, tapi, untuk buat benda basic.. tiga ni pun dah cukup. Kalau tiga window ni tak appear dekat workspace anda, sila klik pada Window di menu bar, dan klik mana-mana pilihan yang takde tu.

SELECTION

Selection ada perkara paling asas dalam Photoshop. Untuk membuat selection, anda hendaklah memilih tool selection seperti gambar dibawah. Terdapat 4 jenis selection, tapi, kebiasaannya, pakailah rectangular marquee ataupun oval marquee. Anda juga boleh menggunakan Lasso Tool dan Magic Wand tool . Tetapi, kita mula dulu dengan marquee tool.

1. MARQUEE TOOL

Apabila anda sudah mengenali tool selection, jom kita belajar buat selection. Mula-mula, pastikan anda pergi ke File - New - (Tukar saiz ikut kesesuaian. Boleh jadi width = 400 pixel, height = 400 pixel). Tekan OK dan ada akan dapat 'canvas' sebesar 400x400 pixel.

Now, kalau perhatikan pada Layer Window, cuma ada satu layer sahaja, iaitu background. Anda boleh bekerja diatas background, tapi, kalau ada banyak benda yang nak dibuat, baik buat atas layer lain dulu, supaya senang nak adjust mana2 yang patut. So, create new layer seperti guide dibawah.

Layer bernama background yang diLOCKED ini sebenarnya boleh di alter cuma tidak boleh didelete. Tetapi, saya suka reserve background sebab kalau tersalah 'cut', colour, etc, tak payah susah2 undo. Duplicate je layer yang ada tu lagi sekali. Dan, kalau taknak dia kelihatan di kanvas, anda boleh klik pada lambang 'mata' di sebelah layer tu. Kalau mata tu takde, maksudnya, layer tu invisible.

Jadi, menggunakan rectangular tool, anda boleh drag sebesar mana rectangular yang anda ingini. Garis putus-putus menunjukkan selection anda.

So, buatlah selection seperti diatas menggunakan rectangular marquee tool tadi.

Menambah selection seperti diatas. Anda boleh menambah selection dengan menekan butang 'shift' pada keyboard sambil membuat selection rectangular yang baru. (Perhatikan lambang ++ akan keluar semasa anda menekan shift).

Anda juga boleh mencuba menggunakan elliptical marquee. Sekiranya ingin mencuba menggunakan single row atau single column marquee, cuba lihat video disini.

2. LASSO TOOL

Lasso tool berguna untuk membuat selection sekiranya yang hendak di'select' itu berlekuk-lekuk dan tidak mempunyai background berwarna sekata. Ada 3 jenis lasso iaitu, Lasso Tool, Polygonal Lasso tool dan Magnetic Lasso Tool. Bezanya, Lasso Tool -> Freehand, Polygonal -> setiap klik diwakili oleh satu garisan, menghasilkan sisi yang banyak untuk selection anda (polygon). Magnetic -> Ia melekat seperti magnet tanpa anda perlu klik. Tetapi, ianya sedikit complicated. Jadi, untuk permulaan ini, kita cuba dulu Polygonal Lasso.

Apabila anda sudah mengelilingi objek yang hendak diselect, selection anda akan diwakili oleh garisan putus-putus seperti diatas. Jadi, kalau anda hendak memiliki kanvas yang hanya mempunyai objek tersebut, cara paling mudah ialah dengan menekan CTRL + C (atau Edit -> Copy), seterusnya CTRL + N (atau File -> New), dan akhir sekali CTRL +V (atau Edit -> Paste).

Tadaa!!! Inilah hasilnya. ;). Tidak puas hati dengan sisi yang tidak smooth? (Diatas adalah hasil kerja bermalas-malasan, maka, begitulah jadinya.) Seeloknya, banyakkan sisi yang pendek-pendek (itu bermaksud, anda perlu teliti memilih sisi mana untuk di klik, dan sisinya lebih kecil), ataupun, cuba guna Lasso Tool biasa (freehand). Ataupun, antara cara lain untuk smoothkan tepi adalah dengan menggunakan blur tool atau feather.

Letih dah. Itu jela for the time being. Kalau sempat, insyaAllah saya tambah lagi.

*Disclaimer : Ini cuma beginner's guide daripada seorang individu yang tidak mendapat pendidikan formal menggunakan photoshop. Lain la kalu jadik student FCM (Faculty of Creative Media ). Jadi, maafkanlah segala kelemahan saya. Kalau ada ada cadangan/info tambahan, sila utarakan.

Each Day Is A Gift

2009-05-03T22:13:00.001+08:00

By Author Unknown
The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. "I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. "Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room .... just wait." "That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged, it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away, just for this time in my life."

She went on to explain, "Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing." And with a smile, she said: "Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

Free your heart from hatred.
Free your mind from worries.
Live simply.
Give more.
Expect less.

/I need to work on #2. I'm becoming more and more like mother. Worrying too much. Hehe.. sorry mom.. and Happy Mother's Day in advance/

La la la

2009-05-03T19:55:00.010+08:00

"there's a hero .. if you look inside your heart. You don't have to be afraid of what you are ..."
That's Hero by Mariah Carey, my bestest company when I was hiking Gunung Ledang back in 1999. or..is it 1998 ? Ntahlaa. Lupa dah. No, am not going to talk about the hiking stuffs. Too old for that LOL! I'm talking about how songs influenced me, and finally, being a teacher for me to improve my English. Thanks to Serie, Eena, and Ameen who influenced me to listen to loads of English songs back then. Ahh.. I really miss you guys!

Actually, before 1996, I didn't listen to english songs at home, or in school (radios are banned, walkman is okay, but I'm not rich). The only english song that I knew when I was in school is Tonight by NKOTB. And that was because we need to practise dancing for an event in Aspuri (hahaha...lalalalalala...tonite!!). So, when I was made to listen to english radio station during my tertiary level, I always end up with serious headache. The only song that I can 'layan' at that time was Celine Dion's. I can't get a word the deejay was saying (was starting to panic that I might get hearing problem..haha). But, later ... a few months later ... I fell in love with English songs. And I do learn a lot of vocabs from them.

So, I thought that if I use songs in my English lesson, I would attract students to like the language, hence improve their proficiency in it. But, after doing so, I didn't feel the 'love' for the language from my students. However, since I've made the requirement for them to present on a song for their 'school-based oral evaluation', we'll have to proceed with it. Let's hope that some songs will turn out to be their favourites and they'll get use to listening to the songs and grab some new vocab from them.

Oh, btw, I just want to share this. I hate the idea of having to bring my laptop to class just to play the song, or finding the radio/hi-fi to do so (because I don't have one pon..;)). Hence, I browsed for portable speakers on the intenet. Lucky me (or is it because I'm being the katak dibawah tempurung...very jakun about the portable speaker thingy??), there's quite a number of choices. But, when I arrived at sony outlet in JJ, there's only one type available. And it costs more than 100 ringgit. I hate it when I don't get to choose ... well, at least, when I'm about to spend a lot of money on that thing (same price as a pair of crocs tu.. ). So, I wander to another store, and voila! There're two types of unbranded portable speakers available at one third of the original SE's speaker's price. So, tested it ... and brought one home. ;)

But, another problem arise. Students said that the volume of the song is quite slow. So, through google, I found this software , MP3GAIN (and what's interesting about it is, you can freely download it). Add another 10dB to each songs .. and, we can finally hear the song. But, bear in mind, the noise in the song is amplified as well. So, do re-check after you've add the gain. Maybe you cannot add too much to it's default value.

So, english songs anyone??

Mandi Songsang

2009-04-30T05:52:00.002+08:00

Mandi songsang adalah satu kaedah terapi yang amat hebat dan menghasilkan kesan yang menakjubkan kepada pengamalnya. Apakah itu mandi songsang?
Lazimnya pada masa sekarang ramai orang akan mandi dengan menjiruskan air bermula pada bahagian kepala. Situasi ini sebenarnya akan memberikan impak yang buruk kepada otak seterusnya akan memberikan kesan yang buruk pada kesihatan diri.
Sistem saraf pendarahan otak akan mengecut kerana siraman air tersebut . Ini akan membuatkan sistem otak akan terjejas. Cara mandi biasa akan menyebabkan sistem pertahanan badan akan menjadi lemah. Seluruh sistem hormon dan kimiawi badan adalah diatur dan disettingkan di dalam kepala, maka cara mandi biasa lebih banyak akan memberikan impakm yang buruk kepada sistem pertahanan bandan. Jadi , apa itu mandi songsang? Mandi songsang adalah amalan membasahkan tubuh badan bermula dari kaki dan beransur-ansur membasahi bahagian atas badan kemudian diakhir dengan kepala. (kecuali mandi hadas besar di mulakan dari siraman di kepala.)

KEBAIKAN DAN KELEBIHAN (INSYAALLAH)Menjadikan pengamalnya AWET MUDA DAN FRESH.

Mengembangkan salur darah otak- menjadikan sistem darah di bahagian otak jadi bertambah baik untuk berfungsi.
Menjadikan sistem pertahanan badan akan bertambah baik fungsinya seterusnya menjana sistem hormon badan dengan lebih hebat untuk tahap kesihatan yang maksimum..
Mengurangkan tekanan (Stress ) yang telah dihasilkan oleh otak.
Melancarkan perjalanan darah.Menjadikan pengamal semakin pintar
Meninggikan daya ingatanMengelakkan atau
Mengurangkan sakit kepala
Menjadikan state mood yang tenang dan ceria
Menjadikan jiwa sentiasa bersemangat
Memiliki daya ketahanan mental
Menambahkan semangat berani
Menguatkan gusi dan gigi
Dan banyak lagi yang akan diketahui apabila mula diamalkan

/nota/

Got this from my email last week. This is actually my routine since last year, petua yang diturunkan from my Ayahsu (and its from my late Grandad). Ayahsu bagi tips ni sebab I've been complaining about headache. And, pernah terbaca somewhere that Rozita Che Wan also did the same untuk awet muda. Personally, this works for me. I used to have serious headache especially when I work late at night or not having enough sleep. Tapi, lepas mengamalkan mandi songsang, it rarely happens.

Ira's Wedding @ Kuantan

2009-04-27T22:53:00.003+08:00

Wawan & Nuha. One year difference, but, look at the size.. ;)

Pengantin and the kids

Very nice!

2009-04-16T21:49:00.002+08:00

It has been a while since I last update this blog. There's a lot that I want to share, but, I'm too busy to write. Am not going to write much this time though. I just want share this link to my fellow muslim friends.. http://www.quranflash.com/en/quranflash.html

Ramai guru sakit jiwa

2009-03-22T23:07:00.001+08:00

Profesion perguruan terdedah kepada risiko tinggi untuk mengalami tekanan
mental.

Itu antara topik dalam Kosmo, Ahad 22 March 2009. Na'uzubillah. Baca disini.

Medan - Lake Toba - Berastagi

2009-03-19T22:50:00.002+08:00

SPM Results - A few stories to share

2009-03-17T23:07:00.005+08:00

I overheard a statement from yesterday's news, which said something like this “those who flopped from universities actually have good SPM results”. Well, I did see some of my friends flopped even though they were once considered “cream of the cream” by our sponsor. Reasons?? Culture shock? “Too much play makes Jim a dull boy?” Language (don’t get me started on PPSMI)?? Turns out that they dislike the course they’ve chosen??

They will give you loads of reasons if you really ask from the subject matter. But, what I want to discuss here is choosing the right course that suits you. Once upon a time, I thought I want to be a doctor. And, when I was in form four and form five, I always have better biology marks than physics or chemistry. But later on, I changed my decision. It happened during a school semester break in 1995 when we was sent to a motivational course that combined 3 SBPs – Faris, SESMA and SMACH. One of the sessions that they had in that course is …. To have us in a hospital and follow the doctor making his/her rounds. Dee, Olie and I are quite relieved when we found out that we’re going to follow the doctor in an ENT ward (Ear, Nose and Throat). We thought that they would have only simple cases in that ward. Ye laa… Ear nose and throat .. setakat sakit telinga, sakit hidung, sakit tekak .. apa la sangat kan? But, it turns out that there were also accident patients there. The first patient that the doctor visited was injured in the face because of a road accident. I can still vividly recall the swollen face, with mouth open, sunken eyes, bruises and stains of blood here and there. He looked awful and painful. Dee had already turned her face from looking at him. Even though I was thinking about doing the same, I was stubborn at the same time. I wanted to see what the doctor would do about him. The doctor wore his glove and has pressed his fingers against the patient’s tongue. The tongue was also swollen. And he asked “Sakit tak?” . Urghh … I was retaliating for the man. Of course he is in pain! (Tapi, dalam hati je la .. haha). The man can only signal his ‘yes’ or ‘no’ through gestures because he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t close his mouth. The doctor said that his mouth and throat were infected. I took the courage to ask the doctor why he pressed the patient’s tongue. He justified that, it is a must for the doctor to know which spot is actually in pain. I couldn’t look at the patient any longer. The three of us decided not to become a doctor there and then. And now Dee is a legal exec for DiGi and Olie is an engineer. And me, even though I did score my biology paper, no, I don't have the guts to pursue my studies in medical field because I know I can’t stand looking at swelling skin, bruises, wounds, and etc. I thanked God for opening my eyes before I made the wrong decision (wondering what will happen if I did? stopped halfway? hmm ..). And my bestfriend whose SPM results was not a single unit aggregates (too many health issues back then), managed to become a doctor because she is passionate about medical field since she was in secondary school. And, she worked really hard to make it happen. That is what I call determination and I salute her for that. Because of her passion for this career, I strongly believe that she will be a good doctor. Friends , including me..hehe, turned to her whenever we have health-related problems.

There’s also a story of a friend who wants to be a doctor but was made to study engineering by his parents because of the scholarship. Yes, when it comes to financial matter, anything can happen. I understand the parents’ concern because the scholarship really means a lot, a guaranteed all-paid-for engineering course plus an almost ‘guaranteed job’ as well. But, even though scoring a lot of As in SPM, he couldn’t excel because he is not interested. He didn’t flop though, but he is not excellent.

Another friend pursued her studies in engineering for two years before she decided to quit and enroll to another university in animation course. And, yes, she excel in this new course because she loves it. She managed to get part-time job even before graduating because her animation works are superb. And she graduated with a starting salary twice as much as an engineer’s starting salary. Kudos to my housemate JJ.

And here’s a link to my uni-mate who has become a millionaire http://blog.saifulnang.net/?p=651. So, students.. go figure what are your interests and what are you passionate about. When you do something that you’re interested in, you won’t get bored doing it and insyaAllah, you will certainly excel at it.

A new experience in motherhood

2009-03-01T22:48:00.004+08:00

After being a mother for five years, I had to face this new experience which was indeed stressful physically and mentally. Neither Syazwan nor Aisyah had been admitted to a ward before. But, after being feverish for three days, Syazwan became lethargic. He was so weak because of dehydration (he was vomitting and defecate watery faeces) . I have no choice but to send him to the nearest ER. The doctor found that he need to be dripped with intravenous fluid to replace the loss of water in his body. When the doctor injected him, he didn't let out a cry or even frowned. Maybe he was too weak to respond to the pain. He was admitted to the ward diagnosed with A.G.E (I found later from the internet that it is acute gastroenteritis).

After a few hours lying there, he became furious. He usually sleeps at 1 pm and wake up at 4 pm. But today, he couldn't. He felt uneasy with the drip and the heat ( it was so hot in that ward). I felt so sorry for not being able to do anything. Eventhough he's covered with insurance to be at a private centre, the nearest one is too far for me to drive alone. So, there I was, accompanying a fussy child in an uncomfortable surroundings. Takde rezeki namanya.

The next day, he stopped vomitting. So, the doctor discontinued his intravenous fluids. As a result, he wanted to drink his milk once again, and water intake has increased tremendously. So, being very confident with his progress, I asked to be discharged from the hospital. He is still weak though, but, I thought if he is more comfortable, he will have speedy recovery. That's why I took him home.

Then, after consulting a paed (luckily, there's one here in Banting), he agreed that Syazwan has progressed miraculously and there's no need to be hospitalized (that's only after two bottles of intravenous fluids). But, I still have to ensure that he took plenty of fluids because he still have watery diarrhea. And, I am so thankful to Allah for that. There are children younger than Syazwan who have spent almost two weeks in the ward because of AGE. I'm so thankful that it didn't happen to my Syazwan. Alhamdulillah.

Teacher's Domain

2009-02-23T15:48:00.003+08:00

I just found this website and feels like sharing it with my fellow friends... (sharing is caring, rite?). This website, http://www.teachersdomain.org/ , is very useful and helpful for us teachers. There are a lot of teaching aids/BBM especially in Science and Maths. But, to download the videos or flash files, you need to register first. And, the registration is free. So, folks ...come and join this community. I've just downloaded a video which is very informative and interesting on Physics' Force and Motion topic. And, trust me. I've searched and googled elsewhere, and that kind of video is hardly available even on YouTube. So... go figure!!

Jakarta

2009-02-13T16:04:00.006+08:00

This is a long due post on my Jakarta trip. In overall, Jakarta is a shopping heaven for me. Went to Tanah Abang Blok A twice, and Mangga Dua ITC once. We can only visit one place a day because the kids 'udah capek'. While the mommies were on a shopping spree (me and mak itam), the kids were bored to death. I was lucky that I manage to distract Aisyah with Nintendo DS. But, Syazwan? Hmmm... the only thing that will keep him quiet are 'sweets'! Habis rosak gigi dia dek penangan mentos.
Some of the things that we hunt in Tanah Abang were telekungs, lace (very cheap.. you can even get 40k rupiah per meter ..and that's rm12), embroidered cloth for baju kurung/kebaya and japanese cotton. Blok A of Tanah Abang consists of 13 floors and we only manage to cover only 2 floors in two days, that is B1 and B2. TA really turned me crazy. It is one of the biggest pusat grosir in Jakarta. Grosir means wholesale. So, they'll give you grosir price if you buy in bulk. Most of them put a minimum of three purchase to give you a wholesale price.

If it wasn't because I'm running out of cash, maybe I would stay there longer regardless of how tired I was. Things are very cheap.. one of the reason is because their Rupiah is getting weaker against RM. I was thinking of a business opportunity when I was in Jakarta (seeing how cheap the cloth are), but, since my weight limit for AA flight is only 45kgs, the idea was put on hold.

But, when I re-read about Jakarta, Blok A, is still considered pricey than Blok F. Oh?? Where's Blok F? Behind Blok A. There's also Metro Tanah Abang. Oh my! I couldn't even cover Blok A after being there for two days..so, how am I going to cover Blok F and Metro? And Pasar Tasik in Blok F? Does it mean that I have to go there again? Haha ... I loiiikee!!

Then, on the third day, we went to Mangga Dua ITC. Bought two gowns for Aisyah and paid rm50 for them (so, RM25 each). I believe that it is very cheap, cheaper than the ones that we bought in HCMC. Then, found a textile shop in Mangga Dua that made me crazy because the Japanese Cotton that we found there is half the price of Japanese Cotton that I bought in Tanah Abang. Maybe at that time, we were to tired to bargain in Tanah Abang. So, the keyword is..bargain! When you were called "Bunda...belanja bunda" ... try your best to get the best bargain, by asking around first. But, if you're aiming to buy at a certain shop, please request for their namecard. It is very easy to get lost there. the place is huge and crowded, especially in Tanah Abang.

Mangga Dua ITC

Japanese cotton, Katun Paris and batiks

Now, it's time for kids to have fun. I'm done on my part (shopping le..;))

Oh Bandung!

2009-02-01T02:55:00.014+08:00

This one week of CNY holiday is a true blessing to me. Alhamdulillah. I was in dire need of a holiday .. and here comes CNY holiday, and the best part is.. I was able to spend it with my husband in Indonesia. ;)

I wasn't able to do a lot of homework about Indonesia because I was bogged down with work. And, because of that, we also ends up with a quite expensive hotel package in Bandung because most of the hotels in Bandung are fully booked. It is a long weekend (2 days plus 1 day for CNY), so, many Jakartans also fled to Bandung untuk berlibur .. lantas, macet banget jadinya Bandung.
Walaupun macet (maksudnya traffic jam) , walaupun ramai org here and there, I still love Bandung, especially the food and the ambience. Actually, if you plan it carefully, you can get a very cheap package plus cheap flights (including those of KLM or MAS with 20kg luggage limit and seat numbers were given. I have to book for Express Boarding most of the time because I'm travelling with my kids. So, there are extra bucks spent there).

Eventho Bandung is so famous for its lots and lots of factory Outlets, we are not so keen to venture into the outlets because of the following reasons:- too many people, nothing much of my size (hihi), we've already stock up on our kids' garments, and things seem pretty much the same. Urgh..enough ramblings. I'm gonna share my Bandung-Jakarta experience, so it might be helpful to some people out there.

Itenary
Day 1
- Using the tips from Forum Cari and friends, we ride Argo Gede Eksekutif coach fr. Jakarta to Bandung. It costs us only 45k rupiah (RM30) to and fro. Very cheap and you can avoid the macet. Departs from Stasion Gambir at 9.30 am.

- Arrive at 1.00 pm in Bandung. Check-in Papandayan.

- Mkn di Dapur Sangkuriang, located off Jalan Setia Budi. Spent approx. 50 ringgit for sup ikan gurame, ayam masak asam manis, ikan goreng, and sayur campur, Jus alpokat, air kelapa n air buah campur (That is 3 adults and two kids eating!). Very nice ambience with tasty food at a very cheap price. Puas hati banget! None of us has ever been to Bandung, and our only guidance is .. it is located nearby Jalan Setiabudi. And, luckily, the taxi driver manage to find it for us. So, even if this is your first time here, a supir won't be that necessary for the first half day spent in Bandung.

-Walk (yes! walk... even my kids can walk because it is very near) to the nearby Donatello Shoes house, Natural FO and the infamous Rumah Mode FO (pronounced as MO THE). There're too many people in Rumah Mode, and it was raining, so we're stucked there. When we manage to get out of Mode, there was no Taxi and it seems that it might start raining once again. So, we hopped on Angkutan Kota, which looks like a van with bench-like seats (renovated to carry a lot of people, I guess). It costs only 2000 rupiah per pax (so, times 3 adults = 6000 rupiah or rm2).

- Next, we went Grande FO di Jln Dago. There are arrays of FO in Jalan Dago. We end up having dinner at Grande's cafe. And, the old saying is true. Don't judge a book by it's cover. It seems pretty dull with only 2 people sitting there. But it turns out to be bes banget. We had 1 nasi ayam bkr, 1 nasi goreng special, 1 serving of pisang keju (that is only 1 banana), batagor (BAso TAuhu GOReng), 4 glasses of juices, plus tapau 2 nasik goreng n 1 coke - the total is 86k rupiah or lebih kurang m30. Murah tapi sedap wooo. Jus strawberi yg pekat dan sedap dia baru 7k rupiah , which is only rm2.30. Sedap sgt. Batagor nya sedap, and Pisang Keju is very yummy!! The banana is fried with sugar (I guess), and it had a topping of shredded cheese and chocolate. Served hot and it is so delicious! Menyesal giler tak repeat makan dekat situ. I didn't find the same Pisang Keju in Jakarta. :(

Day 2
-Bergerak ke Tangkuban perahu with our supir, Pak Kiki. 8.15 am from Papandayan and arrived at approx. 9.30am. Agak macet. Rate for supir+avanza+gas+parkir for 8 hours is 450k rupiah. (Avanza is actually reserved for 12 hours, so, if you need extra hours for Pak Supir, just pay some additional charges). Mount Tangkuban Perahu has the volcanic craters..and one of them is Kawah Ratu. You can smell the sulphurous steam released from the crater.

Hammocks, anyone?

- Sightseeing and by 10.30, we left Tangkuban Perahu.
- Arrive at kg. Daun for lunch. Very unique eating experience. Mkn bersila sambil menikmati scenery waterfall. Spent rm100 for 5 pax.
- Went to Pasar Baru (I try not to buy anything here because I knew that I will spend more days to visit Tanah Abang in Jakarta, which is suppose to offer more discounted prices), Heritage FO, Terminal Tas (lotsa bags, but I didn't even go in because of time constraint), Kartika Sari (they're famous for Pisang Bolen and Brownies Kukus. I didn't expect such a huge crowd for a bakery. Bought both Bronies Kukus and Pisang Bolen. Enak!!!) and Grande FO. Bought only 1 box of Brownies Kukus and the kids finished them up in Jakarta. I thought I could find Kartika Sari in jakarta... but to no avail. Sedihnyaa.. Hanya di Bandung ma!

- Lastly, we dined at Sierra Cafe . Very nice scenery, overlooking bandung at night (it is located at a hillside, overlooking a valley). Spent rm100 for 5 pax. Food is not as good as those we have tried before. I had Indonesian food - Nasi Ayam Betutu and it is below expectation for a cafe with a very exclusive look. However, it is still considered very cheap as compared to KL. But, Aisyah whom ordered Chicken Steak (Chicken Chop here) is very satisfied. I guess they're good with western food.

Day 3
- Aisyah is feverish because of yesterday's rain. So, papa volunteered to stay with her in our hotel room. Another reason is he is tired of the whole affair. So, the three of us (Mak Itam, Me and Wawan) went to Cihampelas, a road famous for jeans. I didn't find any jeans for me, but i saw cheap cotton bandung tshirts costs only 15k rupiah each. It is much cheaper than pasar baru, bcoz for XL size, Pasar Baru's price is 25k. So, apalagi.. beli la! Then, Mak Itam bought Brownies Kukus Amanda (this is also a famous brand in Bandung), which is very delicious and cheap. I couldn't concentrate on shopping because Syazwan was hooked to Ultraman's gigantic replica. In Cihampelas here .. or Ciwalk .. there are a lot of Cartoon Replicas.

- Then, by 2.30 pm, we hopped on Argo Gede to Jakarta. The view is marvellous. Let the pictures do the talking. Enough said about Bandung. I'll continue some other time on Jakarta.

Chaotic January

2009-01-20T18:40:00.002+08:00

Life seems pretty chaotic for me these days. 26 periods of a whole new syllabus of everything except for ICTL. And loads of other sidekicks of being a teacher. So, my conclusion is.. no blog, nor embroidery, no bla bla bla .. until I adapt myself to this new challenges of 2009. And .. when will it be? Who knows?

Moving On

2009-01-13T16:47:00.003+08:00

It's about time that I move all my posts tagged as personal into another blog. When I went back to Kelantan.. it seems that my cousins and my sis did read my blog too. So, I'm assuming that they would expect more from me. But, my mistake is, I have this blog's URL published in the school's website. My bad .. haha. So, it would be inappropriate to discuss personal matters on something declared as official, rite?

Luckily... there's an 'IMPORT BLOG" and 'EXPORT BLOG' option in blogger. So, I am able to maintain all my old posts under a new domain. So, for CAPITT ONLINE ... i will maintain this one as my official blog (and does that means formal?? Erkk!!), and the new blog for my personal ramblings.

So.. what will I write in an official blog? Hmmmm...

Bullion rose vs Bead flower

2008-12-07T16:56:00.001+08:00

Once upon a time (well... last few months I guess..) I'm so in love with gardening. Now, I have come to another phase of obsession, or craze ... bullion roses. What are bullion roses? How do I grow them? Haha... it's totally off topic from gardening. It's embroidery. Malay call it 'bunga tahi ulat'. My MIL has learned on how to embroider it a long time ago. It was a trend in yesteryear and now it has made a comeback. So, taking some guide from my MIL and the internet (http://www.needlenthread.com/ and http://cheq-sue.com/blog/2008/11/30/teknik-sulaman-benang/), I have started it... and I have fun doing it. This is another way of refurbishing my old tudungs. So, here goes my first attempt ...

Beading on the other hand.. is progressing slowly. Because, I have a hard time to keep it neat. Hmm... so, the easiest solution is, have it made by Kak Z, whose work is extremely neat and creative. Seriously.. I really adores her work. ;)

Photoshoot & Photoshop

2008-11-28T18:01:00.000+08:00

I'm being 'darat' today.. a.k.a 'jakun', or some people say 'peghak'. I just realised that there is a digital macro function in our digital camera. So, today's activity with aisyah is .. shoot some flowers or bugs around our house, and I photoshop them afterwards for more professional-like pics. Well.... not-so professional yet. But, I'm proud with my works, and so do Aisyah ..

The orchids from the pics above and below are from the same plant, but different phase I suppose. It first blooms as a red flower, then, changed to orange (the above colour) ..and soon, turn out to be yellow.

This ladybird is on a Kangkung leaf. I didn't photoshop this one.

This is Honey Dew's flower.

____________________________________

And the following are Aisyah's work.

And here's the photographer of the day

Itadakimasu

2008-11-19T20:15:00.000+08:00

Wondering what does it mean by 'Itadakimasu'? Hehe.. it means, let's eat in japanese. We went to Jusco yesterday, and hubby insists to buy sushi starter kit. I believe that I might find the necessary s0-called guide to sushi making in the net, so I agreed with his idea on having our own home made sushi. But, the guide that I got is better than what I'm asking for. The starter kit comes together with a "Fun With Sushi" DVD. Haha, we never realised that until we reached home. And trust me, sushi making is simple and fun. So, without wasting time ... here goes my first sushi project.

And, how does it taste, you say? Japanese would say .. ""GOCHISOOSAMA" (and that means yummy!!! haha).

1 Elit - Class of 2008

2008-11-11T16:54:00.000+08:00

Should old acquaintance be forgot,and never brought to mind ?Should
old acquaintance be forgot,and old lang syne ?

For auld lang
syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Enjoy the pics ... ;). I'm wishing you all the best for your future undertaking.

Tinggal memori ...
Ya ampunn.. sapa la jadik cameraman ni?

Kontrol hensem

Year-end Teacher's Meeting

2008-11-09T08:19:00.000+08:00

Our year-end Teacher's Meeting this year was held on Saturday, and this time around, we already got our next year's timetable. I was quite relieved when I found out that my timetable is only 26 periods per week, far lesser than this year's 30 periods per week timetable. Alhamdulillah. Most of the afternoon teachers are grateful for this. 30 periods per week are killing us. Well... killing me..hehe. The difference of 4 periods is translated to 2 hours, or, roughly, one free period per day. And that means a lot. Thank you ....

On another note, I was quite impressed with all the powerpoint presentation by the administrators. It shows that our admins are very good with ICT. Bravo!! (clap3x). SMKTPG Boleh!

And.. the quote of the day is .."Apa yang penting?? KERJASAMA"... Waaa...Wonderpets manage to capture our hearts, regardless of our age. Haha.

Last but not least, I am so impressed with Bangladesh Proverbs highlighted by K. Rahimah, PK Koko , which is as follows :-

"Hanya pokok mangga yang berbuah sahaja yang menerima kayu dan batu"

Isn't that brilliant?

Tips to travellers

2008-11-09T01:28:00.000+08:00

I have been wanting to share this idea for months .. but, most of the time, I forget about it. However, since the school holidays are approaching, I believe that there are a few friends out there who might travel abroad (there's one teacher friend who flew to Paris today..). So, here's a tip on how to make an easy currency converter table like this. (This is actually my MIL's idea). This is especially helpful if you really want to go to the foreign country to shop.

1. Open a blank MS Excel worksheet
2. Type in the title of your table and it's respective column's name (i.e: RM, VND)
3. Type in the value of RM that you want to convert to .. say, RM 1, 3, 5, 10 ..etc in cloumn RM (or column A in the above example)
4. Go to www.oanda.com to get the currency exchange rate. But, bear in mind, sometimes the rates stated in Oanda can be higher than the actual rate. Like last week, my auntie went to Indonesia and she got Rp3,600 for RM1. But, in Oanda, it states RM1 equals to Rp2,800 only. This is because it uses RM to USD first, then, USD to Rp.
5. When you got the rate, let say, for my RM to VND table , RM1 = VND 5152. So, type in both values first in cell 'A4' and 'B4'.
6. Then, in cell 'B5' , type in this formula '=A5*$B$4' . Then, you just have to drag down the formula to the rest of the Rows to get the value for other RM values as well. The '$' sign is to ensure that it always sticks to that particular cell, which is B4, the rate of conversion.

Then, do print it and make sure the size fits your wallet. By doing so, you won't be frowning over the unfamiliar price tags in front of you. It helps me a lot, so, I hope that it will help you too! ;)

English Must Stay

2008-10-28T10:13:00.000+08:00

If you're captivated by the above title, then I would like to suggest you to click HERE. It was an open letter from Datin Freida Datuk Mohd Pilus, the chairman of Cempaka private schools, which was published on The Star yesterday (26/10/08).

Still on PPSMI

2008-10-21T16:40:00.001+08:00

Posting kali ini akan ditulis di dalam bahasa melayu semata-mata kerana kali ini saya akan menulis sebagai seorang anak jati melayu yang sayangkan bangsanya, tidak ingin melihat bangsanya hanyut di arus globalisasi, mahupun tumbang di buminya sendiri.

Terkejut tatkala dihulurkan majalah Pendidik oleh PK1, Tn Hj Jumiran. Banyak mengupas isu PPSMI katanya. Oh… ada pembaca rupanya blog saya yang tak seberapa ini. ;)

Setelah membelek-belek majalah yang sarat dengan pelbagai hujah untuk tidak meneruskan PPSMI, saya tetap tidak berganjak dengan hujah saya agar janganlah PPSMI dimansuhkan. Sebab utama saya adalah, untuk ‘survival melayu’ itu sendiri. Maaf sekiranya posting kali ini berbaur agak perkauman, tapi, saya tidak boleh menidakkan kemelayuan saya. Justeru, saya harus memberi pandangan sekiranya saya rasa sesuatu perkara itu memberi kesan kepada bangsa saya.

PPSMI menyediakan pelajar untuk bersaing dalam arus globalisasi dikatakan sebagai hujah rapuh kerana banyak lagi negara yang tidak mengamalkan PPSMI berjaya berdiri sebagai sebuah negara maju. Betul, banyak negara maju tanpa PPSMI dan contoh yang diberi adalah Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Jerman, Perancis, China, Jepun, Korea, Luxemborg, Itali, Belgium, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Sepanyol dan Rusia. Soalan saya adalah, apakah kelebihan negara-negara maju yang disebutkan itu berbanding Malaysia? Banyak antara mereka sudah mempunyai teknologi yang diiktiraf dunia, dipasarkan keseluruh dunia. Contohnya, Finland (Nokia) , Sweden (Ericsson), Denmark(Lego, Carlsberg), Jerman (Daimler, Volkswagen, Allianze, Siemens,etc) , Perancis (Negara besar yg pernah menjadi penjajah, Alcatel) , China (Hwa Wei, ), Jepun (Sony, Nintendo, Honda, Nissan, etc), Korea (Hyundai, Samsung, Daewoo,etc), Switzerland (Swiss watches,), Portugal, Sepanyol (Negara besar yg pernah menjadi penjajah), dan Rusia (teknologi Aerospace, military equipments, Sukhoi). Jadi, wajarkah Malaysia dibandingkan dengan negara-negara ini yang GDPnya antara yang tertinggi di dunia? Mereka sudah established. Malaysia baru mengecap 51 tahun kemerdekaannya dan masih digolongkan dalam developing country, bukan developed country. Jadi, arus globalisasi yang mengenai negara kita 'lebih bergelora dan mencabar' berbanding dgn negara mereka.

Soalan kedua…..Adakah mereka multi-racial country seperti negara kita? Bangsa melayu berada di dalam ‘comfort zone’ apabila semuanya diajar didalam Bahasa Melayu. Padahalnya, etnik lain seperti orang cina dan India perlua mempelajari sekurang-kurangnya 2 bahasa untuk survive di Malaysia, iaitu bahasa cina & melayu, atau bahasa tamil dan melayu. Itupun, ramai di kalangan bangsa cina dan India di bandar sangat menguasai bahasa inggeris kerana bahasa itu juga turut dijadikan bahasa perantaraan di rumah mereka. And, let me remind you, berapa ramaikah bangsa cina yang menetap di Bandar jika dibandingkan dengan bangsa melayu? Natijah daripada kepenjajahan British yang telah mengamalkan dasar Pecah & Perintah menyebabkan pengasingan kependudukan orang melayu di kampung2 dan orang cina di Bandar-bandar. Jadi, persoalannya, siapakah yang tidak menguasai bahasa inggeris sekarang? Orang kampong bukan? Siapa yang mendominasi populasi di kampong? Orang Melayu, bukan? Jadi, orang melayu seharusnya berterima kasih apabila PPSMI dilaksanakan, kerana sekurang-kurangnya guru-guru, pelajar dan ibubapa mula sedar mengenai kepentingan Bahasa Inggeris sebagai bahasa teknologi. Kalau tidak masakan tadika2 yang menjadikan bahasa inggeris sebagai medium utama menjadi rebutan kepada golongan ibubapa seperti Smart Reader’s Kids, C.E.C, Montessori-based kindergartens, hatta Tadika EEman di Taman Seri Telok Datok sekalipun? Bila tidak dipaksa pembelajaran Sains & Matematik didlm BI, org-org kita menjadi lalai. Selesa dalam comfort zone tersendiri sehingga menafikan yang terdapatnya competition among the races to survive in this developing country of ours. Sebagai anak jati melayu, saya tahu, saya juga harus mempertahankan keunggulan bahasa ibunda saya. Tetapi, bercakap diatas dasar anak jati melayu juga.. saya tidak mahu melihat generasi melayu akan datang dipinggirkan di bumi sendiri kerana tidak fasih berbahasa Inggeris. GLC-GLC seperti TM, Petronas, TNB dll juga memerlukan eksekutif2 yang mampu berbahasa Inggeris, apatah lagi syarikat Multinasional yg beroperasi di dalam negara seperti Shell, ExxonMobil, Ericsson, Alcatel, Nokia, Dell, HSBC, dll? Kerajaan juga senantiasa menguji bahasa inggeris semasa menemuduga pegawai2 kerajaan. Jadi, tidakkah akan terpinggir org-org melayu yang tidak mahir berbahasa inggeris?

Ada cadangan supaya silibus BI dikaji apabila mempelajari BI selama 11 tahunpun, tidak mampu meningkatkan penguasaan BI. Memang betul, kerana, penguasaan bahasa melibatkan penggunaan bahasa tersebut, samada secara oral atau menulis. Pada pendapat saya, apabila sesuatu bahasa diajar dalam matapelajaran tersebut sahaja, ianya tidak holistic. Ia berhenti di dalam kelas itu sahaja. Oleh itu, apabila PPSMI diadakan, sekurang-kurangnya, lebih ‘bahasa inggeris’ di terima oleh pelajar. Sekurang-kurangnya, mereka lebih terbiasa dengan bahasa tersebut. Dek kerana penangan PPSMI jugalah, ramai ibubapa yang mula risau dengan tahap penguasaan BI anak2. Bukankah itu satu perkembangan yang positif?

Pada pendapat saya, adalah terlalu awal untuk melihat keberkesanan PPSMI. Mungkin kerajaan boleh memanjangkan tempoh percubaannya, kerana, tempoh pelaksanaan PPSMI belum pun matang. But then again, this is only my two cents worth. Karangan saya yang panjang ini mungkin tidak memberi kesan langsung kepada keputusan kerajaan. Tapi, tak salah mencuba untuk didengar menerusi blog dizaman ICT ini, bukan? MAKE YOURSELF HEARD. That’s the point.

PPSMI 'membunuh' Bahasa Melayu??

2008-10-17T15:43:00.000+08:00

That is a title of a letter in readers' column (Berita Harian, yesterday's issue). Do you think so? From my humble opinion, PPSMI does not kill Bahasa Melayu, nor B. Cina or B.Tamil. It is inline with globalisation. English is the main language spoken across the globe. We have to be fluent in English to compete with other nation. If we don't expose the students to English in Science n Maths, will they be able to withstand the challenges of globalisation?

Yes, it's true that Japan and Korea don't need English in establishing their countries as the developed countries. But, they are way ahead of us. They built their own technology. We, on the other hand, still depend a lot on foreign countries. Like in Telecommunication industry, the local players like Celcom, Maxis and DiGi need people who can converse in English because all the technologies used are from overseas. The vendors like Ericsson (Sweden), Nokia(Finland), Motorola(US), Lucent(US), Hwa Wei(China), etc, are from foreign countries, so the medium of communication is English. That is an example in engineering industry. In medic, does they teach medical courses in BM? Hmm.. I don't think so. What about IT? I teach ICTL form one and the syllabus is in English because the language used in Microsoft Office and Windows operating system is English. So, need I say more about English being the language of technology?

I have faced the hardship of not being able to speak english fluently, so, I will not let it happen to my kids as well. I still remember my former boss who resist to send his child to a Gred A boarding school because he was afraid that his child won't be able to be good in English. He believes that if his daughter sticks with her normal SMK, she will mix around with other races, hence converse in English better. For him, staying in boarding school with huge population of malay students will weaken his daughter's eagerness to speak in English. And, let me remind you that my former boss graduated from the States. So, maybe (I'm assuming here .. hehe) he faced the difficulties in his tertiary level studies because of English.

Jangan risau. We will remember our roots.Siapa yang akan lupa usul-asal mereka? As for me, I will never forget my roots. I'm always ready to kecek kelate whenever feasible. Saya cuma beriya-iya menulis di dalam bahasa inggeris kerana saya ingin memperbaiki kelemahan bahasa inggeris saya. Bukan menidakkan keindahan dan kepentingan Bahasa Melayu. Di peringkat PMR pun, bukan BM dilupakan terus. Hanya 3 daripada 8 subjek teras diajar dlm BI, iaitu Science, Maths & English. Terkilan rasanya bila ramai yang ingin PPSMI dihentikan. Tidak dinafikan, memang susah mempelajari Sains & Matematik dalam BI. Tetapi, kalau tidak bersusah-susah sekarang, macam mana nak bersenang-senang kemudian? Org jepun pun dah mula mempelajari Bahasa Inggeris. Profesor lama saya, Ryoichi Komiya, sudah berumur lebih 50 tahun, tetapi masih mempelajari Bahasa Inggeris kerana ingin diterima diperingkat global, bukan sekadar di Jepun sahaja. Jadi, adakah kita wajar mengorbankan pelaburan berjuta ringgit (i believe so :- textbooks, laptops, LCDs, coursewares) yang telah dibelanjakan untuk mengendalikan PPSMI kerana menganggap susahnya belajar dlm bahasa inggeris, ataupun kerana menganggap PPSMI membunuh bahasa ibunda, Bahasa Melayu? Think again. Di zaman kolonial inggeris pun, ramai nenek2 dan mak2 kita yang belajar di English Medium Schools, and they survived. Most of them holds various positions in private or government sectors. Masa tu lagi laa.. mana ada cybercafe, astro, loads of books? TV pun hardly seen in their house. Boleh jer survive. Tak hilang melayunya pun. However, this is only my 2 cents worth. So, what say you?

Facebook promo ...

2008-10-16T16:49:00.000+08:00

The old saying says ‘procrastination is the thief of time’. Hmm.. that is true. But, what happens in my own little small world today is .. internet is the thief of time. Really? Yes, really, really. I think that I’ve been spending too much time on the computer. No wonder our electricity bills are always 'high'. One reason is, I need to use Skype to communicate with my dearest hubby. Secondly, I have a blog and fotopage to update. Thirdly, I sometimes need to attend to our school’s Joomla-based portal. Fourthly, I love to read Forum Cari, be it on the Current Issues thread, Gossips, or Home and Gardening thread. Next, I love to shop online. Currently, since hubby is in the states, I should have utilise ebay rite? Then, now.. comes facebook. Ohhh.. this is really a thief of time. I don’t have much time to gather with my friends, especially when I changed job. In my previous job, some of my friends are my uni coursemates, and I even have a friend who has been in the same boat with me since we were in Form One. So, we always manage to share stories about our friends from time to time. But now, I lost track on everyone unless I called my friends, texted them through YM or email them. With facebook, getting connected is so much fun. I never thought that I would be able to communicate with my long-lost highschool friends through facebook. I always feel that I’m too old for myspace and friendster. But facebook .. I love it. You should try it too! :)

Hatiku berbunga ...

2008-10-15T15:26:00.000+08:00

Flowers are blooming everywhere. Wohooo... besnyer. I love looking at those flowers. I have been ignoring them since Raya, but, today ... as I was walking to open the gate, I saw a lot of flowers. Lotsa them, in variety of colours. Yeehaa!!

But.. One of the Japanese Rose plant has been attacked by bug. Bena putih bug. I put it in isolation, far from others, and sprayed it with Ridsect H2O. I'm not sure whether it will survive or not. Let's hope that it will. Sob3x...

Sedutan ... gambar dibawah menunjukkan kakak memaksa adik berposing di pagi raya.

La Tahzan

2008-10-07T20:29:00.000+08:00

It's been almost one week that i felt like my head is going to explode because of a very troubled news. I felt so sad .. and today, i remembered a book given by my mentor, Pn Zaleha Zainul Abidin. A book entitled La Tahzan, an infamous motivation book by Dr Aa'id Abdullah Al Qarnee. You can download the pdf version here.

Don't be sad he said. There are a lot of reasons why you can't be sad. And, this book really is a perfect cure to me right now. There are plenty of reasons why I can't be sad. La Tahzan ... :). Every cloud has a silver lining, rite? So, cheer up!

Salam Aidilfitri

2008-09-28T00:13:00.000+08:00

Me and English

2008-09-21T12:42:00.001+08:00

I always try to find ways to make my students realize how important English is. I am glad that PPMSI is being conducted in our national schools because the students can be exposed to ‘more’ English rather than learning English only in B.Inggeris subject. For me, early exposure is important when we are still young, because at that time, our brains are like sponge. It can easily absorb anything. It’s like, you have to learn muqaddam when you’re still small and learn to solat by the age of 7. Young age is tender age, so, if you want them to absorb more, expose them early.

I learn how important English is the hard way, after getting less favorable result for my degree programme despite being a recipient of TM scholarship. I have my own personal bad experience that give me a hard time learning a 4-year engineering degree programme fully in English. I was born in a small town in Tanah Merah, Kelantan. My old folks are not graduates, but, my father is a government servant and my mom is a teacher. We stayed with my grandma and grandpa, and the whole family speaks in kelantanese dialect. Standard malay language is not spoken, and what more for English! Zilch! I still remember one time when I go to kindergarten and my teacher asked me (also in kelantanese dialect) what did I have for breakfast. My answer is “Make air milo nge roti (makan air milo ngan roti)”. And I still remember my teacher’s smile afterward. She said that, one cannot makan air… you must use minum air instead. Haha .. Ye ker? Seriously, I didn’t know that until my teacher corrected me.

But, I am lucky that I have a smart brother. He has indirectly given me an opportunity to learn English better by teasing me whenever I want to watch ‘cheap’ malay movies. He is into English thriller/action-packed movies, so, he really hated it when I tune the TV to watch cherita chenta. He’s my big brother, so, I gave up and watch his favourite stories instead. As a result, I think my English is quite okay as compared to my other classmates. I remember using the word ‘fantastic’ when I was in standard four, and my English teacher Sir Rozmi was quite surprised to hear that. He did ask me where did I learn the word from, and my answer is … yesterday’s movie on TV. Waaa…. The teacher complimented me in front of my friends. Hihi..suka giler! From that day onwards, I rarely argue with my brother on his selection of movies to be watched.

Then, getting myself into a boarding school has given me some help in improving my English. But, I improve in writing English, not speaking English. I hardly speak in English because I don’t know how to. Plus, I felt inferior since my friends from KB town are way better in English than I am. But thanks to them, they are also the ones who encouraged me to read English novels. I remember Boo-chique, De’ and Mok Nik. They read a lot of English novels and their english are good. I manage to read only one, after my PMR exam, and it took me almost three months to finish it. Itupun.. there are a lot of parts that I have skipped because I don’t understand them. It was Mok Nik's book, on a psycho killer. But at least, reading that novel has widen my vocab. The next English novel that I manage to read is after my SPM exam, a John Grisham’s which belongs to my brother.

Wah..this is gonna be a long story ya? Yes..because I have a long history with English. Then, I got an interview with Telekom after scoring 7 agg. in my SPM. Before entering the interview room, I was very nervous because I CAN”T SPEAK IN ENGLISH. Whoaaa….the interview is in English. Plus, I heard that those interviewers are quite reluctant to interview us, the kelantanese candidates, because our English is bad. And that is so true. They called five candidates into the room, expecting us to compete with each other when attempting their questions. But, it turned out that … almost everyone was in silent mode. Payoh wei nak speaking London nih!
I never thought that I will ever get that scholarship.. tapi, rezeki dah tertulis kan. Alhamdulillah, dapat jugak, but, it was a 2-years diploma programme locally plus 2-years degree programme abroad, not the one which is directly an oversea programme. And lastly, it turns out to be a 4-years degree programme locally (George Soros and Asian economic crisis punya pasal!).

Ok..this is the climax of the story. My degree programme is horrible! Lecturers are from everywhere around the world. So, I need to constantly try to understand everyone’s English and at the same time try to understand all those engineering jargons used in our thick textbooks. Did I score badly because of English? I don’t blame it all on English, but, I think that it did contribute a portion of it. However, that degree programme has helped me a lot with my English. Met a lot of friends who can speak English fluently. Working in an engineering office for 5 years has also improve me, but still, I rarely speak in English. Most of our colleagues are malays, so, why bother speaking in English, rite? Then, getting myself into KPLI and learned Physics in English has truly opened my eyes that I can converse in English. It gives me confidence to speak in English in front of the class. Thank You Miss Tan Mun Wai (our mentor!). Thank You Physics Class of IPTek 2006.

And when I thought that my English is already ‘okay’, I was asked to teach English Form One. Waaa… only then I realize that I still need to improve my English. Grammatically. That is really a blessing in disguise. Even though I didn’t get to teach my option, at least I can prepare myself for better English. All in all.. I am still learning now. Learning to improve my English grammar. So, pardon me if you find ‘broken english’ , manglish (malaysian english) or grammatical errors in my postings. Learning is ….. a lifelong process.

Ok, since I'm talking about English Language here..there’s a story that I always share with my students in my English class. (My dearest hubby told me this, so, I searched for the written version on the net). I rationalized how practice makes perfect with this story. I advise them that they need to practice English more often to make it perfect…

One day during a speaking tour, Albert Einstein’s driver, who often sat at the back of the hall during his lectures, remarked that he could probably give the lecture himself, having heard it so many times. Sure enough, at the next stop on the tour, Einstein and the driver switched places, with Einstein sitting at the back in his driver's uniform.
Having delivered a flawless lecture, the driver was asked a difficult question by a member of the audience. "Well, the answer to that question is quite simple," he casually replied. "I bet my driver, sitting up at the back there, could answer it..."

See? Even a driver can give a lecture like Einstein just because he often heard them. So, can we speak good english if we often heard english?

Gardening on my birthday

2008-09-18T15:31:00.000+08:00

I have a special privilege this year. My birthday falls on Selangor's Public Holiday (including some other states as well). 17 September this year comes together with 17 Ramadan. So, we have a Nuzul Quran holiday, in line with my birthday. Hihi..
Thinking of my birthday, in Ramadan, I thought of my late father. I was born in Syawal, 2 weeks after Raya. But, since I was quite big in my mom's womb (still big now..), my father has to take charge in preparing our house for Raya. He even help mom made some biscuits. I was surprised when I heard that from mom because my father is a very strict man. Manly. Veto. Etc .. (bekas askar lah katakan ..) So, to think of him helping mom in kitchen is quite unbelievable for me. And now he is gone .. I really think that I miss him. Very much. Remembering my birthday would also be remembering him. Alfatihah...

Well, life has to go on rite? On the other note, I am still in gardening mode. So, as for today .. these are my calorie burners.

I have to dig those plants from the 'induk' (what's this word in English by the way? parent is it? ) first. Then, fill in the pots with soil before putting them in. It's very tiring .. plus, it is a very hot day. But, I still think that it's worth it. I have plants .. and at the same time, I'm burning some calories. IMHO, it is an enjoyable exercise, rather than running on a treadmill staring straight at a dull-looking wall, rite?

Gardening ... in Ramadhan?

2008-09-16T15:00:00.000+08:00

I'm unable to update this blog for a little while because I have too many things to catch up with. I have a garden to look after, two kids who constantly need my attention, a 'long-distance' hubby who needs to talk to me online thru Skype whenever he's free, and bla, bla, bla.

There are stories that i want to share in this blog. One, on my beloved cute son, Wawan a.k.a Juan. Oh my! He's very naughty and active now. He did many sorts of things that make my blood 'go upstairs'. Some of them are ...
1. running naked here and there after his bath, trying to avoid me whose trying hard to make him wears his diapers. Gerammmmmmmler sesangat!! He won't come near me until I threatened him that I would leave him naked and continue my chores.
2. exploring/touching everything in front of him. When I was at the back to hang the clothes, he would run here and there, and try to find anything that will fancy him. One of the things that he found interesting these days are the detergent bottles arranged near the washing machine. I caught him trying to open the Clorox's lid. Eiii..bahaya betul!
3. asking for more and more bottles of milk because he's unable to sleep. Last few days, he asked for the fifth bottle before drifting to sleep. And that very last bottle was made by sleepy me at 12.15 a.m. Can you imagine that? I was already asleep, and I need to wake up for sahur some more. Urghhh ... sabar jelaa.

All in all .. I think he was just trying to catch my attention. Last night, I had a headache. I was lying down in front of the TV, and there's a glass of cold carbonated drink on the dining table. He brought the drink to me, and said "Mama, minum la sikit. Baru kuat." .... Ohhhhhhhhhh...terharunyaa...

Ecah on the other hand, gave me a letter. She got an A4 paper and fold it to an envelope-like pattern. It says I Love You. I wanted to scan the letter, but, I don't know where she keep it ( She insist to keep it ). How sweet ... At first, I cannot read what was written on the letter because I read it upside down, and I thought she was just kidding. But then, when she showed me what was actually written on it.. I was soo touched. It is her own handwriting, and she wrote them on her own. She didn't even ask me how to spell them. Dah pandai rupanya anak aku. I Love You too Ecah. MMuaahhhhss... I'm speechless ....

My Gardening Activity on the other hand is still in progress. Here are a few updates on my gardening activities ..

Petunias have bloom .. from this

to this

New concrete slab@RM9 each ... yet to be arranged..

I'm Sad ...

2008-08-14T20:00:00.000+08:00

I'm very sad today for hubby has to go to US despite being feverish. What scares me more was, Achik was admitted to ward because of dengue fever a few day earlier. Tawakkal je lah that nothing worst will happen to hubby. Hopefully dia bukan kena denggi, but demam biasa je sbb penat sangat. He has a four hours flight to Taipei, wait for 1 1/2 hours there before proceeding to a 12 hours flight to LAX. Then, wait for another 1 1/2 hours for his 1 hour flight to San Francisco. Fuuhh... That is sooo exhausting! Siyannya. Aku hanya mampu berdoa..*sigh*

Ecah - Flower Girl Part II

2008-08-14T17:50:00.000+08:00

The first time Ecah became the flower girl for a wedding was last year, during Mak Ngah's wedding. And, at that time, she was accompanied by Harish, a.k.a abang susuan dia. So, when Wan Anjang (Pak Anjang Ai's) was about to prepare for her daughter's wedding, that is Mar's, she asked Ecah to be the flower girl too. Ecah nodded almost instantly, grinning from ear to ear. Woohoo.. bab-bab melawa.. anak aku ni memang suka. So, here she is .. in her pink flower girl dress. Mar's wedding was held on 10 August 2008.

Wawan dengan posing 'hantu'nya

Nanti next year - Wawan n Nuha punya turn plak jadik flower girl n boy

This is Ecah the Flowergirl last year

My new craze - Gardening

2008-08-09T14:05:00.000+08:00

I have no idea when did I start to fall in love with gardening. I've been reading a lot about plants lately, especially in Forum Cari' s Home & Gardening. Bes banget. Feels like planting lots and lotsa veggies & fruits. Oh.. and not forgotten, cute flowers. But, I have one weakness that I wish I could throw away once I'm into gardening. Forgetting things. What happen if I forget to water or fertilize my plants? Hmmm... I could risk my plants if i keep forgetting things. I risk my money as well, for I have invest almost 100 bucks yesterday at a nearby nursery. Tak boleh jadi ni... I have to discipline myself!

So, for a start, plants that I've already planted are :
1. Mango (Mempelam epal)
2. Japanese Roses
3. Betik
4. Limau Nipis
5. Limau kasturi (Mak Usu yang buat ni)
6. Semai cili & tomato

Waa.. banyak jugak yer? Hihi... But, most of my time for the last few days (a few hours before going to school), I do some weeding because I want to plant Bunga Bintang. Bunga Bintang ayah dah banyak sebenarnya, tapi, if possible, aku nak dia merebak byk2 lagi.

And, I have bought two "Pokok halau Nyamuk" a.k.a Pokok Jermin, and pokok garuda. I bought Pokok halau Nyamuk because whenever my kids play outside the house, they end up being bitten my mosquitoes. So, I bought two - 1 to be put in front of the house, and another one in our backyard. So far so good. There's no mosquito bites today.

Recap

2008-07-20T23:30:00.001+08:00

Lama tak update blog. Bila baca balik posting lama2, I have a note for myself. I have to update sbb this blog reminds me of a lot of things happening in the past. I am really good in forgetting things, so, I really have to get this blog going before I really forget about everything.

Jan
- Mom n Auntie got back from Mekah. I have to use 2 days of CRK to go back to kelantan. At the same time kami buat tahlil ke-40 abah. I wish I could do more for Abah. But he is a kind of man who rarely request anything. He only wants people to obey his command.

Mac
- Went back to Kelantan during school hols. Tahlil ke-100 abah. Didn't even vote on 08032008 because hubby casts his vote here in Banting, and tickets sume dh abis untuk aku balik anak-beranak. Kalau Arwah masih ada time ni, sure dia letih sangat sbb dia mmg tak boleh duduk diam masa pilihanraya.

Apr
- Satu keluarga Banting pergi ke Hutan Lipur Kanching. It was Tok Tan's idea.

May
- Kuantan Trip : For Majlis Pertunangan Ira. The whole family except my beloved hubby went there. It was an interesting trip.. siap pegi Muzium Sg Lembing and Cherating of course!

- We went to Vietnam, including Tok Tan, Andong and Wan Tam. Hubby went there for two months, so we join him since we manage to get cheap tickets from AirAsia. By the way, accommodation is free rite? Found out that Ho Chi Minh City is quite a shopping heaven for us. Things like embroidered and beaded bags are cheap. Same goes to telekong, baju kurung, girls’ dresses, and etc.

- Balik kampong to Kelantan – Kak We’s Kenduri. Dah kawin dah sepupuku tu. Couldn’t stay long though, coz Hubby has to settle a few things before going to Mexico. We didn’t even go to Johor (the groom’s side) because of that.

Wawan n Cik Na (Asyik nak Cik Na jer..pesal haa?)

Silat Pengantin... lawan bang, jgn tak lawan

Congrats to Jarer & Erma

Fuiyo..laki sapa yang mithali tu? :)

June
- Hubby went to Mexico. He stayed in Malaysia for only two weeks. Itupun, one week is considered gone since we have to rush back to Kelantan for the wedding. I miss him…*sigh*

Ecah & Wan Chu

2008-07-09T21:45:00.000+08:00

Wan Chu (a.k.a Hubby's Mak Usu) is wearing a caftan that belongs to Wan Tam (a.k.a Mak Itam). Ecah stared at Wan Chu .. as if she has commit a sin. So, I asked her what is wrong with Wan Chu?

Ecah : Wan Chu tu nak jadik Wan Tam ke?
Me : Nape Ecah cakap macam tu?
Ecah : Yelaa... Wan Chu pakai baju Wan Tam
Wan Chu : Alaa... Wan Chu pun nak jadik macam Ecah, tukar-tukar baju. Takkan nak pakai baju yang sama je. Wan Chu nak jadik macam Ecah, sekejap pakai seluar, pastuh pakai gaun. Haa...macam-macam baju Ecah pakai.

Dengan muka tak puas hati dengan reason Wan Chu, Ecah terus menjawab ...
"Ecah tukar-tukar baju tu... tu baju Ecah sendirik!"

p.s: Hahahaha... terkedu Wan Chu dia lepas tu. Aku pun terkedu gak... Betul gak tu..kot ye pun nak tukar-tukar baju, baju sendiri je lah kan?

Juan & 'injured gum'

2008-07-06T09:19:00.001+08:00

Juan ni, as if he knows that I am currently 'active' in updating this blog. There's a story about him everyday. And, as for today.. here he is, with his bleeding gum. He was jumping on the bed and suddenly slipped and knocked his gum to the wooden edge of the bed. And he let out a cry afterwards.. I thought it was not serious, but soon enough with blood covering his teeth, i knew he's injured.

A few minutes later .... he is alive and kicking again..

Juan & Ikan Longkang

2008-07-05T11:11:00.000+08:00

Ok.. to those of you out there who wants to learn how to catch longkang fish..here's my "Longkang Fish 101 for Dummies" a.k.a "Beginners Guide to Longkang Fish". First..wait for Wan Chik by the longkang. Show her where's the fish .." Tuuu..tuu... "

Secondly, pick the fish from the net. But you must be very careful. If not, the fish might jump out or die. Then, if Wan Chik insist that it's enough ... reminds her " satu lagi ...satu lagi Wan Chik"

And, as for your sister.. let her mind her own business.

Next, try to carry the pail by yourself. That is... 'try only' .. If you can't, ask your mom or Wan Chik to carry it for you .. "Bawak la kesana .."

And lastly, take a small bowl to put the fish in. The bowl, as compared to the big pail earlier, is wayy better for you to 'manage' your fish. Tok Tan and Andong won't scold you because the bowl is small, and you can reach for the fish easier. To to catch the fish, and if you do, hold it in your hand as long as you want. And lastly, tell your mom this .."Fish dah matila..dia dah mati"

Juan & Onyang's portable toilet seat

2008-07-04T21:54:00.000+08:00

Kakak mintak beli buku kat Kinokuniya. And it has stickers inside. At first, Juan only asked for one sticker. Yes.. one sticker in one night. Then, the next day, he asked for another one. Tengok-tengok, he has sticked all the stickers on Onyang's portable toilet seat. Dari dua.. dah jadik makin banyak dah. Hai.. tak tahulahh..

Juan a.k.a Wawan

2008-07-04T07:09:00.000+08:00

Wawan is being talkative now, but the only snag is, dia cakap pelat. Lepas tu asyik nak orang dengar cakap dia je pulak tu. Last few days, I didn't have the slightest idea of what he was trying to say. He kept holding his toy jet and was mumbling (plus crying) .. uttering words that I don't understand. Sudahnya... lama la melalak. Dah tu.. cemana? I don't understand dear, if I do, I wouldn't have let you cry.

Then, yesterday , he accidentally let his little finger (jari kelingking) went against me and it came with a 'pop' sound. I was so scared because he cried .. I was afraid that his little finger might has been broken. Tapi, soon enough, he starts to play again as if nothing happens. Hmmm... oklah tu kot? But, when I asked him to spread his fingers (both hands) .. it seems like the gap between the fourth and fifth fingers of the 'injured' side is a little bit wider than the other side. Should I consult nenek urut?

Ecah & Her excuse to skip school

2008-06-28T14:37:00.000+08:00

Ecah dah pandai making excuses. Satu yang buat the whole family gelak besar is when she's trying to skip school. Memang last few days dia ada batuk2. So, there's one time that she went out with Achik, and terbatuk-batuk dalam kereta. So, Achik asked her, macam mana nak pegi school ni, Ecah asyik batuk-batuk. Lepas tu, terjadilah conversation di bwaha ni ...

Ecah : Ecah tak payah pegi school la, batuk.
Achik : Eh, Ecah kena cakap kat Mama la. Wan Chik tak tau.
Ecah : Mcm ni la Wan Chik. Wan Chik panggil Mama Ecah Piza kan?
Haa.. Wan Chik cakap macam ni la. "Piza, Ecah batuk tu.
Esok tak payahla hantar dia pegi sekolah"

Wan Chik dia tergelak besar lepas tu. Aku pun tak tahan nak gelak. Papa dia yang kat Mexico pun gelak besar dengar cite tu. Haiii... pandainye nak ngelat pi skolah.

Al-Fatihah untuk ABAH

2007-12-22T21:40:00.001+08:00

Al Fatihah to Arwah Abah

Allahyarham Hj. Shafie Bin Daud

10 Jul 1943 - 17 Dec 2007

7 Rejab 1362 - 7 Zulhijjah 1428

Abah meninggal dunia di Arafah tanggal 17 Dec 2007. Ma bagitau, masa hari nak ke Arafah tu, Abah beriya sangat. Masa dalam bas ke Arafah, Ma pegang tangan Abah dan tanya abah macam-macam, tapi, abah dah tak bercakap banyak dah. Dia angguk and geleng jer. Turun dari bas, Ma suruh Abah duduk so Ma buleh carikan beg. Lepas dah dapat beg, Abah biar je Ma dan Auntie jalan dulu, baru dia jalan sorang-sorang. Abah terduduk depan khemah 66, dimana khemah yang sepatutnya dia pegi adalah khemah 68. Bila ada jemaah pergi dapatkan dia, dia sebenarnya sudah menghembuskan nafas terakhir. Innalillah...

Abah memang dah tak sihat sangat tahun ni. Aku tahu tu. Masa Ayah bawa dia suh check-up kat Banting, Ayah siap hand-deliver result check-up dia ke Kelantan, sbb Ayah tahu his condition was quite serious. From the result, Abah gi follow-up kat HUSM and doktor yang check dia cakap that he was like a 'time-bomb'. Astaghfirullahal A'zim.

Tapi, Abah.. Abah yang aku kenal jarang cakap dia sakit. Even masa aku tepon dia kat Mekah pun, dia asyik cakap dia sihat, padahal suara dia dah serak. Aku sedih dan terkilan sebab tak dapat tengok Abah untuk kali terakhir, tapi, dalam masa yang sama aku bersyukur sebab Abah dipilih Allah untuk meninggal di Arafah. Dikebumikan dalam kain ihram, dalam niat haji.

Aku tahu aku belum balas jasa Abah. Aku akan cuba tunaikan hasrat dia, nak tengok adik-adik yang lagi 3 orang tuh berjaya dalam pelajaran macam abang-kakak yang kat atas ni. Pesanan Abah pada Syafiq (adik bongsu aku), Abah yang sekolah setakat darjah 6 pun mampu 'tawan' daerah, takkan anak abah tak boleh lebih berjaya dari abah? Maksud Abah 'tawan' tu, dia banyak penglibatan dalam masyarakat. Tak payahla aku cerita. Abah mmg menitikberatkan pelajaran sebab dia tahu dia tak ada harta yang banyak untuk ditinggalkan pada anak-anak kecuali ilmu pelajaran.

Ingatan untuk diri aku, hanya 3 perkara yang akan dibawa ke alam kubur nanti, pertamanya amal-soleh, kedua sedekah jariah dan ketiga ialah doa dari anak yang soleh. "Ya Allah, cucuri rahmat ke atas arwah Abahku, ampunkanlah dosa-dosanya, dan tempatkanlah rohnya dikalangan orang-orang yang beriman. Amiinn.."

Juan on YouTube

2007-12-17T17:53:00.001+08:00

It has been a year since I last update this blog. But, since I have something interesting to share, I remember this blog. Watch this...

Rambut rosak

2006-12-08T23:14:00.000+08:00

Just now, Aisyah watched Mawi sang a song on TV. All of a sudden, she came with this statement “Ecah nak pakai baju seksi-seksi, pastuh, pakai rambut rosak, nak nyanyi dengan Mawi” (Gulp! Baju seksi is one thing, but, rambut rosak ??? What is rambut rosak? She put her hand at her back when she describes ‘rambut rosak’. So, I perceive rambut rosak as rambut panjang. But, where the hell did she get that idea? Luckily, none of us at home had ‘rambut rosak’ .

Syazwan on the other hand, is very excited about standing on his own. I am more than excited to see how he tried for a few times to stand on his own, letting go his hands off me. He repeats it for a few times until he is too tired and sleepy. Regardless of falling almost instantly after he let go his hands off me, he would try over and over again. I'm so proud to see his determination. But, at the same time I feel like he grows up so soon...

Hantu

2006-11-22T17:48:00.000+08:00

Aisyah : Mama… Bukak laa lampu kecik (read: Lampu tidur)
Me : Tak payah laa bukak .. Baby nak tido ni
Aisyah: Alaa.. Bukak laa Mama, Aisyah takut hantu ni.
Me : Ishh. Mana ada hantu
Aisyah : Ada.. Aisyah penah tengok mcm dalam tv tu
Me : Hmmm… Aisyah pandai baca Bismillah tak? Nanti, kalau Aisyah baca Bismillah, hantu dengar nama Allah, hantu takut..
......Aisyah cepat-cepat baca ‘bismillahirrahmanirrahim..amiinn’
Aisyah : Allah babab hantu ke Mama?
Me : Hantu takut dengar nama Allah
Aisyah : Mana Allah nya? Tak nampak pun?
Me : (Dushh...sukar nihh...) Kalau Mama cubit Aisyah, Aisyah sakit tak?
Aisyah : Sakit..
Me : Aisyah nampak tak sakit tu?
Aisyah : Tak nampak pun..
Me: Haa... Ada benda yang kita tak nampak, tapi dia ada. Allah Maha Tinggi, Maha Besar.. tu yang kita tak nampak Dia tu.
Aisyah : oooooooooooooooo

Toilet training

2006-11-22T17:44:00.000+08:00

Sunday 20/11/06

I had three rounds of mopping the house today. My Aisyah are very talkative when it comes to discussing about horse, barney, songs, ‘olet’ and any other things that she fancy. But, when it comes to notifying us that she wanted to pee, nothing comes out of her mouth until she wet the floor and wanted to be washed. So, eventually, I had to clean up her mess, three rounds in less than 1 hour ; (. I am soo exhausted, and eventually, I almost lost my temper. Well, I’ve lost my temper. I’ve gone mad and scold her for a few moments until I realised that I shouldnt have scold her. This is her first day without her diapers and I’ve lost my temper after just three rounds of mopping. Its unfair to her. For God’s sake, she was just learning capitt! Looking at the sad face, I apologize to Aisyah, and both of us cried. The difference is, I cried silently while Aisyah cried her lungs out, to show that she protested on how I have treat her. Me, I cry because I realised my mistake and I swear to Allah that I’m not going to repeat that again. Siyan Aisyah..

A Year Ago

2006-11-22T17:23:00.000+08:00

Almost a year ago, Aisyah is considered as a very ‘small’ girl. She’s two years old, and as compared to other chubby toddlers and her very own plump mom especially, she appears to be very petite. People always frowned as they see us (the parents) holding Aisyah and gave this question “Is this you daughter?”, as if something is wrong in the picture (read: Parents are ‘big’ while daughter is ‘small’). But, for me, I think it is normal since her birthweight is only 2.45 kg. So, what do you expect? As long as she’s healthy and active, I’m more than thankful.But, after she got her kid brother Syazwan, her size increases rapidly and eventually most of her clothes ends up being too tight or too short for her. Bila balik Kelantan, everyone was like “Besarnya Aisyah, dulu kecik jer”. I think, when she got her baby brother, she spends a lot more time to drink her milk from the bottle whereas, before that she was being breastfed and didn’t really want to drink formula. So, I think she ends up drinking a lot of milk, much more than she required and therefore she turns out to be 'big'. Logik ker? Well, I dont know the exact reason how her size increases rapidly, but, to you people out there who are worried about your kids' size, think again. If they are active and healthy, dont worry, she'll grow up soon. If she is petite while you and ur partner are big, maybe she was meant to inherit that smaller frame from other relatives. So, dont worry. Be happy.

His Tudung

2006-11-17T21:59:00.000+08:00

Comeyy tak I ni? Ini kes kena paksa pakai tudung ni. Harap-harap jangan laa terkenan plak, kan syazwan kan? Dah besar nanti kena jadik macho2 tau.. tak leh dah pakai2 tudung ni.

Rindu Papa Tak?

2006-11-15T22:42:00.000+08:00

Sapa kata we can’t get along with each other? Look.. we are the best buddies on earth. And this pic is especially dedicated to our dearly missed Papa who is thousands of kilometres away from us. “Ecah rindu Papa, Mama rindu Papa tak?” “Mestilah rinduuuu.. ;-)”

Her Hair

2006-11-15T22:39:00.000+08:00

Notice any difference about my hair? Concentrate people! I’m not asking you to notice any difference on the accessories at my hair, but the HAIR itself. No difference, kan? Hihihi… mama kena cari petua orang-orang tua ni, so that my hair will be thicker.

His Teeth

2006-11-15T22:37:00.000+08:00

Papa! You’ve missed this. I had four teeth already. Cute tak? I hope that my teeth will be as big as yours. This is sooo fast because when you left for Australia, my first two teeth at the bottom was still hardly visible. And, within one month, another two “bigger” teeth pops out.
Editors note: Sebab tu la Mama asyik kena gigit je sekarang ni, sbb gigi Syazwan dah banyak. Kalau nak gurau jer, dia terus buat-buat nak gigit orang. Sebab dia tau orang menjerit kalau dia gigit. Pastuh dia plak yang gelak lebih-lebih. Nasib baik kakak belum kena gigit. If not, I’m sure kakak akan ‘babab’ dia.

Hello Papa

2006-11-15T22:31:00.000+08:00

“Hello Papa!”
“Nanti Papa belikan olet (chocolate)..pastuh beli mcm Bawang Putih Bawang Merah (baju pari-pari)”
“Beli satu untuk Ecah, satu untuk Mama, satu untuk Baby”
“Okeh.. baiii..”

Pastuh, si Ecah ni, dia masuk bilik and cakap kat Nanny dia.. “Nanny tak payah..Papa beli untuk Ecah je, pastuh ni, Mama, pastuh ni, Baby. Tu je”

Yay! Exam dah abis

2006-11-09T15:00:00.000+08:00

Yesssss... It's over. Eventho i didnt know whether I have did well enough or not, but still, I feel very contented. This is the end of my almost 1 year strive to be a teacher. My sleepless night should be over right now. So, last night, i fall asleep since 9.00 pm and woke up at almost 7. Supposedly, I had enough rest already, but still I feel so sleepy. Mana taknya, three consecutive sleepless nights. And those sleeping hours that I have sacrificed are not utilised for studying, but taking care of my fussy kids. I dont know what is wrong with them last few nights, maybe, when I sneak out of the bed to study, they can feel that I'm not there with them. So, they take turns to cry. Syazwan is even worst. Not only did he cry, but he also joins me to stay up (read: he plays and I have to look after him, not looking at the notes). So, I didnt expect much from the exams. Tak score pun tak apa, as long as I passed.

Exam?? Apa tu?

2006-11-05T01:01:00.000+08:00

Woohoo.. This is my 5th entry today!
Saja nak lepas tension, tak larat sehh nak study. Otak dh berkarat tahap maksimum dah nih. Dah tua-tua pun kena amik exam. Mana laa larat nak study sambil jaga 2 anak. Tula, dah elok2 keje engineer nk dekat 6 tahun dah, sibuk nak jadik cikgu plak. Tapi, demi suamiku dan anak-anakku yang terchenta, ku gagahkan jua.

So far, I think that my decision to quit my job and join KPLI is not regrettable. Tapi, tak tahulah bila start posting nanti. Takut jugak since the senior teachers that I met has been asking me questions like "Nape berenti keje dik? Kalau akak jadi adik, I wont quit my job". Biar betul... Takut betul masa tu. Bukan takut apa, takut menyesal jer. Tapi, nasib baik laa salah sorang guru pembimbing tu adalah cikgu KPLI yang quit her 7-years job. And, her advise to me is, kerja ni..kat mana-mana pun banyak kerja. Pressure kerja, kat mana-mana kerja pun ada pressure nya. So far, dia tak rasa pressure kerja cikgu lebih dari pressure kerja swasta tu. Yang penting, buat keje seikhlasnya untuk dapat rezeki yang berkat. Memanglaa ramai orang perceive that keje cikgu ni senang, sebab half day. Tapi, sebenarnya, banyak keje cikgu yang orang tak nampak. Bukan setakat mengajar jer.. banyak clerical works. Tapi, insyaAllah, bila tengok kejayaan anak-anak murid, rasa satisfied gile. Pastuh, pengalaman does play a very important role. Whereas, as an engineer, I dont see myself climbing the management tree within 5 years. Nak stay as an engineer yang kena turun site for the next 5 years, rasa mcm tak best jer. Lagipun, as a women/mother, I have a lot of constraint which enables my male competitors to be way ahead of me. Tak pegi commission site tengah-tengah malam, susah nak outstation (anak breastfeed), masa mengandung tak boleh panjat rooftop (eventho, I did panjat rooftop masa mengandungkan Syazwan), and etc.

Eh..melalut la pulak. Entah dapat ke tak jadik cikgu tah.. tak abis study pun lagi ni. Karang kalau kantoi exam karang.. naya jer. Jadik surirumah sepenuh masa plak.

Moon

2006-11-05T00:45:00.000+08:00

Masa on the way balik rumah Andung, Aisyah nampak full moon kat atas. Pastu, the conversation below takes place.

Aisyah : Mama, moon ni nak ikut Aisyah jalan-jalan ye?
Me : Ye laa kot? Tapi, macam mana dia jalan?
Aisyah : Dia tak jalan, dia takde kaki pun.
Me : Abis tu, macam mana dia boleh ikut Aisyah?
Aisyah : Dia ada badan jer.. badan dia bulat-bulat macam tu haa (sambil tunjuk kat bulan)
Me : Kalau dia tak jalan, macam mana dia ikut Aisyah? Dia fly mcm bird ke?
Aisyah : Taklah .. badan dia bulat je. Dia nak ikut Aisyah balik umah Andung.

..Tetiba, bulan tu tak kelihatan sbb terlindung dek awan ...

Aisyah : Mama, Moon tu dah balik umah dia
Me : Mana umah dia?
Aisyah : Tu.. (sambil tunjuk kat awan)

Cerita sambil gentel pusat

2006-11-05T00:09:00.000+08:00

Aisyah : Mama.. jangan la marah Aisyah
Me : Nape plak?
Aisyah : Nanti kalau Mama marah Aisyah, nanti kawan Aisyah ramai-ramai maghi rumah, marah Mama.
Me: Alaa, Mama tak heran.. nanti Mama marah la kawan Aisyah balik..
Aisyah: Tak boleh cam tu, tak baik..
Me: Abis tu, kawan Aisyah marah Mama, baik ke?
Aisyah : mmmmmm
Me : Mana boleh, tak baik tau ..
Aisyah : Alaa.. tak baik laa cakap camtu
Me : Huh?

Future Ustaz

2006-11-04T23:49:00.000+08:00

No specific entry actually, but, i just want to share this cute pic of Syazwan. At first, I want to put a title of "Future YB", but, thinking of the recent controversy of a Selangor YB recently, I change my title. He's very cute, ain't he?

Secret Under Table Meeting

2006-11-04T23:22:00.000+08:00

It is not easy to candid these two kids because as soon as they saw me with the camera, they'll start moving towards me. As for Aisyah, right after I shoot her, she will automatically ask me to show her the display of her photo. Perasan lawa anak aku yang sorang ni. Then, she would giggle to see her face in the display. Syazwan pulak, wanted to explore the gadget, that's all. He is so much into gadgets, sampaikan, when he went to see a Paed a few months back, he chose to play with the stethoscope instead of a nice bright-colored soft toy. That explains why my handphone need to be repaired recently, "handphone masuk air". The chinese guy who repaired my handphone asks me wether its true that my handphone masuk air. I have to say yes, but, the 'air' I'm talking about here is no ordinary 'air', but, 'air liur' (saliva) Syazwan bucuk. Sampai boleh berkarat panel dalam hp tu. Ganas betul.

So, because of the above reasons, you can see in the pics above that they start to move towards me after they notice the camera. And that was all that I manage to shoot on their 'secret under table meeting', before they attack me and seize the camera from me. Aiyaa..tolonnn...

2006-10-31T15:07:00.000+08:00

-Syazwan tunjuk gigi-

Semalam masa breastfeed Syazwan, aku terjerit sbb kena gigit ngan budak kecik ni. Tengah gatal gusi kata org tua-tua. Orang muda kata, tengah nak test power gigi dia tu. Mana taknya, lepas tengok aku jerit sbb kena gigit, dia boleh gelak tgk aku. Mulanya ingat tak nak marah dia, tapi, dah selalu sangat aku jadik mangsa gigi dia ni, sampai berdarah-darah pun ada. So, dengan tekadnya, aku marah Syazwan, dengan harapan dia pun akan sedar kesilapan dia seperti yang aku pernah praktikkan dekat kakak dia dulu. So, apalagi, menangis laa si syazwan ni sbb kena marah ngan aku. Tapi, rupanya ada orang tengah perhatikan scene ni. Aisyah tetiba jer enter frame and cakap dengan muka sedihnya "Mama janganla marah baby. Shian baby kena marah, dahlah Papa dia takde". Mak aii..pandainya makcik ni. Siap buat muka nak nangis tu.. terus aku rasa bersalah gila. Tak pasal2 aku kena pujuk dedua orang lepas tu.

-We miss you Papa....mmuaahhhhhhhhhhhssss-

Raya '06

2006-10-30T00:08:00.000+08:00

Abah kata dia nampak muka anak-anak aku lain sikit the moment we arrive kat rumah abah to celebrate raya. "Takde Papa dia ni, lain sikit laa muka diorang ni. Happy tapi, kurang bercahaya.." Hmm.. Ye ker? I never notice that? Maybe gak? Sedih aku dengar statement abah tu, tapi, nak buat cemana. Nak cari rezeki lebih, kena laa outstation jauh-jauh kan, sayang? Dah laa Aisyah jenis yang 'pendam dalam'. Takde complaint verbally, but, deep down, i think she missed her papa a lot. Kengkadang, she would recall things that she did with her papa. Like recently, she mentioned about feeding monkeys at the Zoo with Papa, and that was on January 05. She was only 1 yr and 3 months old at that time. I never thot that she could memorize things at that age.

Syazwan pulak, ok jer. As long as dia kenyang, he will be fine. Cuma, masa balik kelantan ari tu, dia demam. So, everyone "especially mom" was saying that Syazwan demam because he missed his father. Pastuh, repeatedly cakap "kesian ejul raya sorang-sorang". Aku tak tau nape aku rasa mcm aku dipersalahkan when Ma utter those words? Nape hah? Pastuh, mula lah aku rasa mcm tension sbb rasa dipersalahkan. Padahalnya.... tak de pape pun.

What about me? Hmm... What did I feel about this whole thing? I must be crazy if I didn't feel anything. I MISS HIM A LOT!!! Tapi, sibukkan diri untuk buat persiapan raya, sampaikan, sempat beraya 3 rumah je raya pertama tu. Pastuh, terus tertido sebab demam dan pening kepala ..