Aim for the Longkang !

Jess and I @ bus station

Literature paper was kinda tough.

Identify four reasons for the inclusion of the Literature component in the secondary school curriculum?
How do I know?

You guessed it. I crapped all the way. >.<

With Nerdy Alia :)

My fault this time.
I vaguely remember reading something like that in our slides.
But I didn't memorize them, goodness. >.<
But who cares about all that when you have awesome plans for the rest of the day? XP

Chiew Yen, me, Sun
(GIB = Girls In Black!)

Took the Rapid KL to Kajang for satay with (most of) my course mates to celebrate our "Best Decorated Table" win during TESL Gala last month. Fifty bucks wei. I say that's pretty worth it ! But more than the money pay-off was having our effort pay off !! It felt awesome to win first prize :) We worked our butts off for that competition ! And finally we get to enjoy the fruits of our labour (Satay-Kajang-style) together !!

Oh, makan alone was not enough.
Nooo. Of course not.
Bowling was next on the agenda !

Bowling shoes of different colours and sizes !

I was so glad so many of us joined the game, although initially they did not plan to.
So sporting ! I am definitely impressed with Syai, Shan, Dwee and even Sun. Jessie did awesome herself, finally scoring better than me tim ! *jealous* *but in a good way XD*

OMG.
I seriously have not laughed so hard, and that loud, in a looong time.
(Exam stress really does get to you ! Just look at the Lingkaran Api Pasifik on my face and you will know what I mean >.<)
We had so much of fun bowling.
Oh, and of course, camwhoring together :)

You won't believe it, I was so enthusiastic cheering everybody on that I screamed myself hoarse !
Okay, maybe not so hard to believe.
But well, everybody needs to be cheered for and high-fived right? :P

I learned that:

1. There are many different styles when it comes to bowling. You can:

(a) stand terkangkang and throw the bowling ball from between your legs (oh, and don't forget to show off your awesome butt while you're at it ! XD) a.k.a. Alia's Style,

(b) squat just before the alley and roll the bowling ball (doesn't matter if you can walk faster than the bowling ball then, it's for precision's sake) a.k.a. Dwee's Style, or

(c) fling the bowling ball as hard as you can but let your fingers get stuck to it, just for laughs (well, actually it was unintentional, so it was that much more entertaining ! However, you will need to bowl again :P) a.k.a. Syai's Style (no offense Syai, but you were too CUTE !! lol).

2. It does not matter if you keep hitting nothing but air when you bowl, or you keep getting a dash on your score board, keep playing anyway. :)

3. Getting a strike does not matter either, most important is the effort ! And that deserves crazy loud cheering ! Loud enough to make all the adjacent lanes (and those even further away) stare at you like you have horns growing out of the top of your head (cos that's how people seemed to be looking at the two noisiest lanes there) ! :P

4. If you want to high-five a person, make sure they see you first. Otherwise, it is pretty embarrassing to high-five the air. Trust me, I know. >.<

5. It's okay if your name appears wrong on the score board, people still know who you are. (Right, "Liyaa" and "Putei"??) *This is an inside joke. You will not understand this unless you are, well, inside.* XD

6. Hanging out with my crazy bunch of course mates is F-U-N. So we most certainly must have a Round #2 !!! :)

Toilet shot, of course.
Wouldn't want to disappoint ! XD

I have not enjoyed myself with these guys like this in such a long time.
Makes me think, "Why did we never have this before?"

I think we should have it EVERY SEMESTER !!
At least once we should all go out and makan together and enjoy each other's company :)

It was totally awesome !
Let's do it again, yes? *hopes everyone nods furiously here*

TESLians, I really appreciate you guys !
Thanks for an awesome day !!

Me and the normal gang went for a second lunch at Noodle Station.
Price was reasonable, noodles was...not bad. Not bad at all ! :)
Went in highly recommended by Chiew Yen.
And we were not disappointed !

Went grocery shopping (mainly hunted for Butterscotch Gardenia bread but finally only found Choco-Raisin) and then went to da bao KFC for dinner.

Imagine, I had been craving KFC for ages ! Finally !

Now, is that not a blissful life? *winks*


*At the moment, the author is ignoring the fact that she has not exactly completed her final examinations yet, with the last paper - English Phonetics and Phonology (yes, it IS as scary as it sounds) - still to come. For now, she claims partial freedom !*

p.s:

Suddenly teringin to have steamboat.
Tomyam style.
Aheh.

Itenetrsnig Tutrore

I am so terid of radneig Pyogucnlitsihics.

It is crtianley a vrey itesntrnig suejbct to sudty, but for an etxanimaon? It is srosileuy kllinig me !
It deos not seem to mtater taht I hvae arldaey gnoe tguhroh the txet book ocne dirnug sutdy week.
Rnadieg it aigan is lkie the fsrit tmie ALL. OEVR. AIAGN.

Why cna't I rmebeemr the fvie bniefets of ealry raednig?
Or all the mtoheds of scenod-lgnaague tcahnieg? Tehir smliriaiteis and dfirfecnees?
The fuor mian tehroeis on the rleatoin of lngaguae, tuhoght and ctulure? And tiher agrnmuets?
Troehy of Ntarual Gmamrar, Uvnisrael Gamramr, blignauliism and ahpsaias.
Sgih.

Trhee are smoe itnetrsenig suftf. Lkie waht I am tyrnig out hree.
Rsreaceh dnoe swhos taht fnulet Eglnsih rdeears eteuvalnly lrean to itnedfiy wlohe wdros rheatr tahn sngile lrtetes.
Sllnipeg may be iprfemcet, but mnaenig can siltl be rcoereevd.

Tihs has been crilcnig the itnreent snice 2003:


Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.


Itnerstenig, no?

But scuh a ttorrue to sdtuy !

Wsih me the bset.
I need hlep. >.<

Squishy Can Be Nice Too

Rain.

I know how the phenomenon of rain occurs.
(I mean, I do remember something from Form 3 Science and Geography.)
I understand how it happens.
It's logical, reasonable, predictable.

But, what I do not understand, is why it rains when you do not want it to rain,
but there's not a drop from the sky when you do want it to rain? >.<

Walking out of the exam hall after my (horrible) second paper, I am greeted by sheets of rain, large wet puddles, and soggy squishy grass.
The prospect of squashing myself into an almost-toppling-over bus full of other people with equally as damp clothes and hair was not very inviting. And considering my height, I have underarm odour to worry about too (since my face is just at that right height).

But how do I walk back in this rain?
In a baju kurung too. (Alamak ! >.<)

I took a deep breath and whipped out my brand new maroon umbrella from its plastic cover (it's that new) and took my first steps out.
*splash splash splash*
Ugh.

I can feel my shoes getting squishier with every step I took.
Every car that passed by, I would literally shrink to the side; so afraid they'd splash puddles of water all over me.
There were puddles of water everywhere, forcing me to "dance" all over the place.
"Dance" as in as much dancing as I can do while holding my baju kurung skirt up, that is.
And there was thunder and lightning too.
There was this bright flash of light, and I cringed in anticipation:
CRACK !!!!
It was really loud. The kind of loud where you can feel your heart go thump in your chest at the same time the thunder cracks.
I had this fleeting vision of a lightning flash hitting my (brand new !) umbrella (did I mention it was a lovely maroon colour? Oh, I did. Aheh.) and electrocuting me to death, leaving behind nothing but a pile of black ash. Or white.
And worst of all, the humidity made my hair go all poofy. >.<

Yes, I was a little grumpy.

But the further along I walked, the lighter the rain got.
The squishy sounds of my shoes *squish SQUISH SQUISH squish squish* was like music.
Every puddle I jumped over taught me a new dance move.
The weather got awfully cooling.
And I enjoyed twirling my umbrella, skipping in the rain :)

Sitting down at my laptop after I hung my umbrella to dry, I can hear the splash of raindrops outside.
And it is not annoying, it is peaceful.

The rain tells me one thing:

"Your bed is the coziest place on earth at this moment - so get in it !!" xP

I am sure you can tell what I am gonna do next :P

Theft

I really dislike plagiarism.

I really dislike people who take the credit for things that are not theirs,
for work that does not belong to them,
for ideas that did not come from them.

As a writer myself,
I would HATE anyone who took my short-stories,
my poems,
my writing,
and called it theirs.

I do not know what I would do if I should browse the net one day,
to see MY poem, or MY short story, or MY writing there
with someone else's name at the bottom.

That was MY work,
MY words,
MY sweat and blood.

MINE.

And I'll be d***ed if I allow such things to happen before my own eyes.

I shall not remain quiet.

You might not like me very much then.

But I feel strongly about this. So there.

Such people should not have the right to demand respect from others.
How dare they ??

How can I ever look at someone like that again without disgust ?

Plagiarism is theft.
A crime.
One that I do not, will not, tolerate.

Gluttons Galore

I just got back from a faculty lunch - Majlis Meraikan Pelajar Yang Menerima Anugerah Dekan.
Pretty straightforward, no fancy-shmancy names and stuff.

I didn't really care. Was just excited about having lunch with a few other course mates - free lagii.

When we entered the restaurant, the first thing I noticed was that there was a whole lot of people already waiting.
But very few tables. Definitely, not enough for the whole lot of us. >.<

Oh, well, what can you do? We moved outside to the adjacent dining hall.
True, there was no fancy table cloth, or pretty ribbons tied to the back of the chairs, but at least we get a table to sit at. We had to squeeze 7 of us at a table meant for 4.

Then began the waiting. We were there since12pm. And according to the programme, it was supposed to start at 12.15pm after the VIPs arrive. Well, waiting for the orang-orang besar - what else is new? >.<

We entertained ourselves in the meantime, despite growling stomachs, by taking pictures !
First take from this angle, then another from the other angle. Ooh, let's take in pairs ! In groups of 3 !
Excited happy chatter turned to silent groaning.
Our growling stomachs could wait no longer !

All we could do was stare at the food, covered nicely with very tempting shiny stainless steel covers.

Finally, the VIPs arrived (I bet they melenggang-lenggang masuk lagi) and the ceremony started.
But because we were seated outside in the adjacent dining hall, we could hear, and see nothing. We had no idea whatsoever what was happening inside.
Wait, we did.

Oh, then finally ! The long awaited moment !
Makan time !!

We were at a table that was nearby the buffet table.
But surprise surprise. Before I could even reach for a plate a whole crowd of girls (fellow Faculty of Education students, mind you) were pushing and shoving to get to the food.

I was patient. I stood there, waiting for some who were taking the melanin plates (which were heavy, I tell you).
And I waited some more.

But more and more people just kept coming and coming and pushing and pushing and shoving and shoving.
I was one of the earliest there, but I had yet to get a freaking plate.

One kind soul handed me a plate - a sweet Malay girl in a pink tudung. I was so grateful. :)

But it was kind of pointless because I never got to reach the food.
All I could see was a sea of tudung-clad heads and a tangle of arms.
I could see hands grabbing plates and spooning large amounts of the dishes onto their plates.
HUGE mounds I tell you. Their plates had food the size of a mini Mount Kinabalu.
And still, I had not the heart to push my way through to the food although I had been there earlier than the whole lot of them standing in front of the food now.

I stood there, clutching my plate. I felt a push from in front of me. Quite a rough one.
I assumed it was an accident.
But oh, no. She pushed again, and again, and again.

WTH.
I was seething. No, I was silently furious.

Do these people not have manners? No consideration for others?
Are these people not civilized ????!!!!
Can't you freakin' WAIT.YOUR.TURN ????!!!!

I gave up.
I struggled to pull myself out of the crowd.
Difficult to go against the current, if you know what I mean.

I did not get any food. Seriously.
There was no food left.
And there was no refill.

It was only later that we discovered that the organizing committee (I do not know exactly who) had ordered for 200 people. And 300 had shown up.

Now, tell me, how on earth can that happen?
All these people certainly did not come here uninvited.
Do you mean to say that you invited 300 over people, yet ordered enough for only 200?
Where are your brains, people ???

I would really like to give you people the benefit of the doubt, and assume you are not idiots, and that you do have brains.
Then how, explain to me, can this happen?
Not enough seats, not enough food.
Some of the unlucky ones had only plain mee hoon to eat.

The irony was, those GLUTTONS had taken mounds of food.
And had left their tables with excess food. Some had even plates of untouched mee hoon.

I really do not know what to say anymore.
I am just tired of all these unfair, inefficient incidences that just turn me into someone I really do not want to be.
I am extremely pissed, but lack the energy to rant and rave any longer.

I'm disappointed in the "esteemed" Faculty of Education.
What is this inefficiency in planning? Nobody bothered that there were some of us who had nothing to eat.
As long as the VIPs were oblivious to what was happening, and left with happy, full tummies.

I'm disappointed in my fellow future teachers.
Is this how we should be behaving?
What happened to consideration? Care? Kindness?
Is this the kind of example we want to be showing our students?

Can something be done?
Can we change the mindsets of people?

I do not know.

All I saw today was selfishness and a proud display, I would say, of gluttony.

Except the kind sweet Malay girl in the pink tudung.
I am grateful to you, whoever you are.
Not just for that small simple act of consideration for others that you showed me.
But for the values you represent.

We seriously need to pray for our future generation.