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Showing posts from 2009

A Note Slipped In Class

VIDEO How tired I am of this unbearable distance between us How I long for the toll of the recess bell Have you forgotten me? Grown mindless of me? Tell me I am not writing into an abyss Or that is what will become of my heart I find this so sweet :) link from Limmie's blog

Angels We Have Heard On High

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The following story was inspired by another short story Angels We Have Heard On High in the book Joan 'n' The Whale. It was Christmas Eve. Snow fell from the sky like light feathers from a down pillow; each snowflake unique and special, then blending in with the rest on the ground in a blinding brightness of white. The lights from Harvest Church shone like a warm fire in the coldest of winters – a yellow glow on the stark white. Service was about to start. Pastor John stood patiently before the pulpit, waiting for the congregation to settle down. He heard snippets of women chattering about Christmas decorations and dinner preparations of the turkey, men discussing the increasing prices of decent Christmas trees nowadays and the dangerous conditions of the roads in this weather. As Pastor John cleared his throat rather loudly, his patience wearing thin, there was a hush over the sanctuary and everyone hurriedly took their seats. Pastor John stood over the pulpit, his arms h

Melancholy, Indeed

I was suffering from a slight headache after sleeping late and getting up early to register for my ko-k subject. The system was having some problems, and after 328594738562305783 times of trying (okay, an exaggeration) I finally managed to register myself for the class that I wanted (with my brothers helping me click the " Daftar " button ceaselessly). After that was settled, I had another matter weighing heavily on my mind. I could not go for my Korean class. There were 4 sets offered. And I had problems attending class for ALL FOUR of the sets. What are the chances? I prayed I would be able to negotiate with the coordinator and figure out a way so I can attend classes. If the coordinator could help me, I could start classes this week itself on Wednesday. But if he could not help me...I would have to give it up. :( Reaching UKM after months of not seeing it, I could not help but sigh. Not in nostalgic fondness, mind you. No, I am being honest when I say I was not

The Master Chef and the Klutz in an Ideal World

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The mansion was magnificent, to say the least. Well-manicured lawns, its perimeter lined with beautiful rose bushes - ruby red and pearl white varieties. The windows were spotless, reflecting the light of the sun into my eyes until I had to shield myself with my arm. I walked up a cobbled path that led me to the front door, watching each step as I went. My heart was hammering in my chest; I felt about to burst from the build-up of anticipation of the past few days ! Finally. The moment was here. Who knew what could happen? Who knew where this could lead? I took a deep breath as I stared at the grain of wood on his polished front door. And I took another deep breath. And another. After what seemed like a millennium, I raised my arm to knock on the door and alert someone of my presence. But before I could... "Hey ! You're here ! Please, come on in." Gosh. It really IS him. I cannot believe that he is really standing before me, larger than life. I pinc

Key To Freedom

It happens only once in a lifetime. Once it comes, it never occurs again. You have the key to your freedom, to independence. Your whole future is ahead of you, and you hold the reins. You control which direction you go, from here on out. You are your own person, you call the shots. You can do whatever you want, and no one can actually stop you. Turning twenty one. :) Yes, finally, legally , I can consume alcohol. Not just "Shandy" anymore. I can walk into a casino and gamble away every cent in my pocket. (With my height, I think the guards will still ask me for ID; then I can give an indignant face and show them that I am legally allowed to do what I am doing at that moment) I can get married without my parent's consent and leave the country (but I'd have to get my passport done first, though). Somehow, I do not feel any different to when I was twenty-plus. My weight is the same (I wished so hard I was a few kilograms lighter ! ). And my height to

Aim for the Longkang !

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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

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 m

Squishy Can Be Nice Too

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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. *spla

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 ta

Darn Unity

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Even with the final examinations drawing awfully near, and the semester in its final week of study, burdened with assignments yet to be completed before then, my beloved faculty decided to help us relax and reduce our pressure and tension by giving us: A QUIZ. Whoopee. Strange that this quiz for beloved Curriculum and Pedagogy class seems to be so poorly publicized. All we received was an announcement on SPIN (student e-portal) asking all of us to attend the final lecture on the 13th of October in Dewan Budiman at 2pm where there will be a reflection of our micro-teaching, oh, and a QUIZ. Nothing else mentioned, like how many marks were allocated, the format of the paper, nada . I frantically searched my (very dusty) notebook where I had written notes for the class (when I successfully managed to stay conscious long enough to actually write) and lo and behold ! There was something about a quiz during the final week. I had written: IMPORTANT !! QUIZ WEEK 14 (ESSAY) - 30