Saturday, May 31, 2008
My Current Favourite Listening
I've always enjoyed 'Live' performances --- its so alive. Hope you like it as well.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LHnJGXwr-HU
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LHnJGXwr-HU
Friday, May 30, 2008
MANA - my cat, my pet, my friend, my companion...
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..trying to be cute
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..weighing him at the vet's
his favourite spot-the coffee table
giving that smug look..
Shamana - or Mana for short. Thats the name of my cat - more a companion than a pet. Mana came into my life as one of the kittens of a stray cat. He was the only survivor of three others.
At that time I was the only one in the family who totally ignored the presence - or even existence of Mana initially. Bad experience of losing my pet cat in my child -hood days has turned me cold towards having another pet.
When he was about 6 months old, Mana fell ill. There were were hints from the family that I should take him ( the use of the male pronoun intead of 'it' is deliberate) to the vet. For a few days I ignored the hints . These hints later turned to request and much later , to appeals.
Then one particular evening, everything changed. I was in the kitchen when I saw Mana sitting on the floor.
Shamana - or Mana for short. Thats the name of my cat - more a companion than a pet. Mana came into my life as one of the kittens of a stray cat. He was the only survivor of three others.
At that time I was the only one in the family who totally ignored the presence - or even existence of Mana initially. Bad experience of losing my pet cat in my child -hood days has turned me cold towards having another pet.
When he was about 6 months old, Mana fell ill. There were were hints from the family that I should take him ( the use of the male pronoun intead of 'it' is deliberate) to the vet. For a few days I ignored the hints . These hints later turned to request and much later , to appeals.
Then one particular evening, everything changed. I was in the kitchen when I saw Mana sitting on the floor.
He was looking at me and I could have sworn he was pleading for help. I couldn't turn away. Immediately I told my daughters to prepare to take him to the Animal Infirmary (Hospital). He was warded for almost 10 days.
Thus begin my 12 years of love and devotion for a cat, to a cat and amazingly, from the cat as well. My Mana !
Let me just highlight some of his antics.
Those are just of his idiosyncracies. In the next posting on Mana ---it will be the days towards the saddest days of my life --- his going away for good.
..Of The Dark And Dry World on Platinium Hill
I have read so many posts on this plight that I decided to post my reply to me-teratai's feeling on my own blog as well.. Here it is.
"I'm not a victim, oooops, i mean participant, in this blacked-out world and desolate dry land that many of you are unfortunate to be in .
The first time I heard of this was like a million years ago when the first batch of students poured their predicament to me. they told me about:-
a) studying in the common areas like the corridor because they were in the middle of the exam
b) having their bath in the shower of the swimming pool .
c) endure the humiliating experience of having other residents laughing at them
Today , with the second, third and latest batches of students---I still hear the same problems happening.
IS THIS BECOMING A TRADITION OR WHAT ?
I also know that students are advancing the utilities payment from their own pocket.
What IS the problems that it had to come to this?
The first time it happened--well, maybe its forgivable because of adjusting to a new system. But , the second time ? The third time ? ?????????
To be fair , the people in charged have TRIED to come out with a system of students submitting the bills to the office . BUT careful studies should be conducted as to the routine of the meter-readers like when they come round to do their reading. Fixing JUST A DATE in the calendar doesn't help without knowing this info. This attempt to solve should be thoroughly planned.
There again , there shoud be a proper record when bills were submitted to the office, which unit had not submitted and so on. All this data would be useful to create a profile to avoid such problems from happening again, and again, yet again.....
No arrears shoud be allowed to accumulate in the bills so that 1) the Authority would not take immediate action on late or non payment2) there is always a leeway for late-payments3) shohouldn't be any as bills have been 'pre-paid' by students.
Whatever it is, my advice is, as in my postings in other blogs---do not take the law into your hands. maintain your decorum as matured sensible students.Do not be aggressive--negotiate with patience and civility.
If all these failed with the people who are directly in charged of this--then , bring it up to the highest authority in the college or to the power that be....
Good luck---by the looks of it--YOU REALLY NEED IT. "
No prizes for the right answer !!!!
OK ! Look at this video clip--tell me who it reminds you of - and no prizes for the right answer !! No its not helas !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi6i2giESNE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi6i2giESNE
Thursday, May 29, 2008
JUST FOR YOU HASE'
THE NIGHT THE WORLD STOPPED SPINNING....
aarrrrggghhh !!! Last night has got to be one of the worst nights. Never realised how much we have grown to rely on the internet to keep us going. Yes --Horrors of horrors ! I was OFF-LINE last night !!
Can you imagine what it is like to be without it ? HEAVEN FORBIDS !!!
Well it happened to me last night. No e-mail ! no yahoo ! no blogspot ! no F1 ! no u-tube ! No anything !!!
Yes ! The world stopped. So its back to hi-fi listening and CDs ! Then ......its bed-time ! AT 9,30 pm. !!!!
@#!#$%@$%%^%
Yes thats how i felt ! and now that its out of my system---life can go back to normal !!!
Can you imagine what it is like to be without it ? HEAVEN FORBIDS !!!
Well it happened to me last night. No e-mail ! no yahoo ! no blogspot ! no F1 ! no u-tube ! No anything !!!
Yes ! The world stopped. So its back to hi-fi listening and CDs ! Then ......its bed-time ! AT 9,30 pm. !!!!
@#!#$%@$%%^%
Yes thats how i felt ! and now that its out of my system---life can go back to normal !!!
Labels: THE NIGHT THE WORLD STOPPED SPINNING....
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
What 'Unenglish English' Do We Speak ?
TIPS 1 : Omissions of verb-to-bes.
One common error committed by Malaysians speaking English is the omission of the verb-to-bes.. Examples of verb-to-bes are, ‘is, was, were, are, ‘etc. Because this part of speech is not in the Bahasa Malaysia, therefore Malaysians have difficulty in using it when they speak English.
EXAMPLES :-
Note this dialogue:
1. Where is Ina?
2. Oh, she sick Sir. - (Oh, she is sick Sir. )
3. What are the boys doing?
4. They doing their work. - (They are doing their work)
The following examples come from students’ written work.
1. Parents no longer bringing their children to the park. –
(Parents are no longer bringing children to the park.)
2. Secondly, the drains in this neighborhood always stuck with rubbish.
(Secondly, the drains in this neighborhood are always stuck with rubbish..)
3.Firstly, our place near the garbage bin.
(Firstly, our place is near the garbage bin.)
So , check yourself !
Check out for more tips in future. Need further explaination ? Well you know where to find me !!!
One common error committed by Malaysians speaking English is the omission of the verb-to-bes.. Examples of verb-to-bes are, ‘is, was, were, are, ‘etc. Because this part of speech is not in the Bahasa Malaysia, therefore Malaysians have difficulty in using it when they speak English.
EXAMPLES :-
Note this dialogue:
1. Where is Ina?
2. Oh, she sick Sir. - (Oh, she is sick Sir. )
3. What are the boys doing?
4. They doing their work. - (They are doing their work)
The following examples come from students’ written work.
1. Parents no longer bringing their children to the park. –
(Parents are no longer bringing children to the park.)
2. Secondly, the drains in this neighborhood always stuck with rubbish.
(Secondly, the drains in this neighborhood are always stuck with rubbish..)
3.Firstly, our place near the garbage bin.
(Firstly, our place is near the garbage bin.)
So , check yourself !
Check out for more tips in future. Need further explaination ? Well you know where to find me !!!
Labels: TIPS
Monday, May 26, 2008
My Local & International angels and gremlins..
Sunday, May 25, 2008
The World in my class.
Dewi(Indonesia), Endang, Kelara
(Xinjiang), Mepheret (Xinjiang)
Hafiz of Yemen
Bib, Maktub and Musa from Bangladesh
Akbar and Abu from Xinjiang
There was a time in my life when I had the world in my class. The students come from all over the world and the experience I had had with them was , to say the least, an eye-opener and a dosage of daily-discoveries of different customs , characters, attitudes and expectations. Everyday we discover similarities and differences in our language, culture, practices and social behaviour and expectations.
Lets see if I can still remember where they come from---- Indonesia, China-especially the Province of Xinjiang, Myanmar, Thailand. Bangladesh, Pakistan, Libya, Iran, Yemen, UAE, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan---and others that have slipped my mind.
But the most rewarding and satisfying feeling that I get out of this is to see them getting along with each other like they've known each other for life.
Lets see if I can still remember where they come from---- Indonesia, China-especially the Province of Xinjiang, Myanmar, Thailand. Bangladesh, Pakistan, Libya, Iran, Yemen, UAE, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan---and others that have slipped my mind.
But the most rewarding and satisfying feeling that I get out of this is to see them getting along with each other like they've known each other for life.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
a lass from Sabah….
Friday afternoon... the 6th floor is deserted. Strange! Silence! No usual noise from the class rooms….not even the sound of the occasional music that sometimes filled the air during the long lunch break
The weekend certainly starts early this time. Since I have some time to kill---just dropped in room 607 to have a chat with the occupants of the room.
First stop … a male student, from Sabah . Can’t really remember what we talked about but it ended with him looking at the photographs in the “Angels and gremlin…” posting. He realized that he wasn’t in the photographs and we somehow talked about blogging --- AND convinced him to start his own blogsite. Welcome aboard helas ! Find him at akuhelas.blogspot.com.
Next stop, ---a lass from Sabah. We talked about her interview with the Manager of a Home for Street Children and I was pleasantly surprised with the information she derived from that interview. I was partly surprised because she had always given the impression of a quiet and reserved student in the class – and here she is bubbling with stories and information for her project paper. Hmmmm…. The mind boggles.
Soon we started talking about this blog---and a second surprise! She has been following my blog—and her comments? “There has not been any new posting for so long! Write something Sir! “
Wow! So I gave a ‘blah-blah-blah’ explanation of why there hasn’t been any new posting and , out of cheekiness, I asked her to give me tips and ideas on what to write about and what she would like to read.
To this lass --- your points taken! Thanks for the ideas and I’ll try to follow them….
The weekend certainly starts early this time. Since I have some time to kill---just dropped in room 607 to have a chat with the occupants of the room.
First stop … a male student, from Sabah . Can’t really remember what we talked about but it ended with him looking at the photographs in the “Angels and gremlin…” posting. He realized that he wasn’t in the photographs and we somehow talked about blogging --- AND convinced him to start his own blogsite. Welcome aboard helas ! Find him at akuhelas.blogspot.com.
Next stop, ---a lass from Sabah. We talked about her interview with the Manager of a Home for Street Children and I was pleasantly surprised with the information she derived from that interview. I was partly surprised because she had always given the impression of a quiet and reserved student in the class – and here she is bubbling with stories and information for her project paper. Hmmmm…. The mind boggles.
Soon we started talking about this blog---and a second surprise! She has been following my blog—and her comments? “There has not been any new posting for so long! Write something Sir! “
Wow! So I gave a ‘blah-blah-blah’ explanation of why there hasn’t been any new posting and , out of cheekiness, I asked her to give me tips and ideas on what to write about and what she would like to read.
To this lass --- your points taken! Thanks for the ideas and I’ll try to follow them….
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Angels and gremlins !!
Here are photos of some of my angels and gremlins who would either make my day or drive me crazy !!
Labels: Angels and gremlins ...
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Don't you hate it...
…when you have been queueing for what seems like hours yo pay your highway toll, when the driver in front of you would only start looking for his ticket or change to pay the toll
...when your phone rings and the caller asked you who you are --instead of introducing himself
...waited in a long queue to use the ATM, and when it comes to your turn, “ OUT OF SERVICE” started flashing
…when the traffic lights turn green, the drivers in front of you take ages to start moving wth gaps between them that can fill two to three cars---and the lights turn red when it comes to your turn.
…when you step in any store , and the saleman or salesgirl follows you wherever you go like an eagle hovering above its victim
… when you call an unknown number which appears on your phone as a ‘miss-call’, and the person at the other end denies ever calling you.
…when you accidently pressed a paying channel over Astro and it takes ages to switch to other channel as the ‘loading’ process starts
...when your phone rings and the caller asked you who you are --instead of introducing himself
...waited in a long queue to use the ATM, and when it comes to your turn, “ OUT OF SERVICE” started flashing
…when the traffic lights turn green, the drivers in front of you take ages to start moving wth gaps between them that can fill two to three cars---and the lights turn red when it comes to your turn.
…when you step in any store , and the saleman or salesgirl follows you wherever you go like an eagle hovering above its victim
… when you call an unknown number which appears on your phone as a ‘miss-call’, and the person at the other end denies ever calling you.
…when you accidently pressed a paying channel over Astro and it takes ages to switch to other channel as the ‘loading’ process starts
Friday, May 2, 2008
Now why did I do this.?
So--today is the last day of the final examination. Everybody's looking forward to it. But early in the morning --about sevenish, I received an sms from one of my best students, ( if not the best,) informing me that she had to go back to her hometown because her son had been admitted to the hospital.
Its like being struck by lightning !
Of course between taking and finishing the exam OR going back to the hometown to be with a sick son, the choice of decision is easy. After all nothing but nothing is more important than your child's well being.
And yet--I do not envy her. The serious student that she is, I can imagine ( or maybe I cannot imagine ) what must be going through her mind. The countless hours spent on preparing for this paper ! And now this ! Anyway knowing her --this would probably be the last thing on her mind.
Such display of courage. Such display of strength ! Such display of determination! I can't say what she is feeling exactly , but I can tell what its like to be a student when your child is many many miles away from you. You'd have much more to face than your fellow students. The hollow emptiness inside you as you miss your child before you go to bed...The horrible feeling when you see kids of about the same age as your child.s. Even talking on the phone hurts - when it was supposed to give you relief. The pain -- and yet it had to be done.
So , to this student of mine, if you are reading this, may everything be fine for your family and I know all your sacrisfices will be worthwhile for you and your kids. So hang in there - I know you can do it, and more....
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