From the Eyes of koko'

She’s Gone

2012-01-21T16:16:00.000+08:00

taken from 3g.co.uk
If only women were as simple as cellphones.

Once upon a time, I kept changing them because I could not find one that fit me well.
It was always interesting at first but once I really got to know them, I found out that they could not satisfy my needs. So I left them.
We are individuals. Everyone knows that it’s hard to find one that fits you well.
You may look at one and think. She looks great. But when you get involved, you find that she’s not that great after all.

After 22 years of searching, I finally found one that really fits me well.
When you do find one like that, you spend all of your time, energy & money to make sure that she’s yours.
In the end, when you finally hold her in your arms, it’s the greatest feeling ever.
It’s an ever greater feeling when you find that she’s exactly what you need & you never want to let her go.

Of course, there will always be younger ones, more popular ones, or more superior types.
But I have never looked at them with any interest because the one I had was all I ever wanted.
True, we had our ups and downs. Moments when we broke each other’s hearts.
But the many years we’ve spent together made her so much greater than the newest slimmest ones.

Woe to all of us who hath found true love
Because all good things must come to an end.
This is a tribute to the one who entered my life 5 years ago & left me just as abruptly.
It was involuntary. It was painful. It was her death.

It hurts as I remember the moments we’ve had.
The mistakes I made with her.
The distant lands we roamed together.
Finding another like her would probably take another 22 years…

RIP, my Sony Erickson W950i.
You will be forever remembered.

Off To A Great Start!

2012-01-15T06:07:00.002+08:00

I'm out in Sibu this weekend after a fortnight at school without any internet.
Firstly, I'd like to thank all my Birthday well-wishers. All 115 of them. (100 Facebook wall posts, 8 Facebook messages, 4 Blogger comments, 1 email & 2 tweets.)
I know you love me even though you only think of me for 30 seconds in a year on my birthday. Knowing that you took the effort to click on my name & type out a simple message really warms my heart. Really. Thanks.
Besides 115 x 30 seconds = 58 minutes!
That's a lot of time to be thinking about little ol' me! hehehe~~~

Together with me in Sibu are 4 students. If you've been following my blog for a year, you'll have read this post made last year.
I rewarding some of my students by taking them on a weekend trip with me to Sibu.
Will write a dedicated blog post about this later.

How is life at school?
So far so good. The first 2 weeks have been good & it's mainly due to how cooperative the students have been at school.
I was right about the F5 students, they were willing to work with me as long as I had an open dialogue with them.
Even though we face a water outage at school due to the pump being out of service, students have been cooperative & we willing to bathe in rain water or in the river.

This year I'm doing more team building activities to help students identify & get emotionally bonded with the hostels. This includes choosing a colour, mascot & motto for their respective hostel blocks.
A logo will be produced for them as well as T-shirts based on their selection.
The decorations for each room & each block will also vary according to their selected colours.
This will be quite interesting &, of course, I will share this journey here for everyone's benefit.

taken from digitaliq-photographic.co.uk

It has been a great start to the year, I foresee a year where I play psychological games & move behind-the-scenes chess pieces more than ever. I will also be working on my soft approach as well as my push & pull approaches for my future more urban school.
I will not be doing the magazine, I will not lead the English panel nor will I lead the English Language Society this year. I want to focus on the Hostels because it is something way larger & requires even more of my commitment & attention.
No Internet. No water. No cell reception. But still going strong.
Now, how can I get paid more for all my contributions. hmmm~~~

An Early Happy New Year!

2011-12-30T01:32:00.003+08:00

taken from mylot.com

Bad news. Dear colleagues, there is no internet at school.

If there is no internet at school, I will have to access it in Sibu or Song.
I do not plan to spend the weekend away from school until at least a fortnight so if the internet is not fixed by then, I won't be on FB or my blog. There will be absolutely no way to communicate with me whatsoever.
If I was eaten by a crocodile, nobody would know for 2 weeks until I update my status or blog about it.

I R Chief!

I will be going back to my ulu school earlier than most to prepare for the coming year. I need to check on the hostel repair works & prepare the paperwork for the hostels as I am the Chief Warden.
The prefects are coming back on 1 Jan so I want everything planned & ready for their execution before then.

I have a very good feeling about next year because the new F5 students show tremendous potential. Hopefully, with my capable team of wardens, we can mould them into student leaders.
Though they come from poverty & lack exposure, I believe they are meant for great things.

taken from olaabdolhai.blogspot.com

For those of you who are in the know, I'll also be spending my birthday in my ulu school.
For 2 years, I had to go to school the day AFTER my birthday which was already a real big bummer but, this time, I'm going back BEFORE so no words can describe how big a bum this one is.
No cell coverage so don't waste your time texting or calling. Just send me a flying kiss or, even better, BLESS ME WITH PRAYER.
No internet so I wont be able to thank the once-in-a-year well-wishers on FB or on my blog.

I'll be celebrating my birthday & the new year with a very special someone in school this Saturday. I'll blog about it in time & you'll also get to know this person whom I spent a lot of money to get to my ulu school.

Talking about stuff I want to blog about... There's so much!
My Singapore trip, the rest of my Kapit run, me in fashion contacts &, not to forget, there's a new series I'm going to start writing about. Look out for those soon!

taken from aquilogy.net

To my parents & siblings, I love you & thanks for making my 2 week break a good one. I really appreciate you guys even though we are not perfect but we make do with what we have.
To all my greatest friends out there, I love you & thanks for being there whenever I call or need you. You guys are the best support system I have & it's too bad I cant access you guys in the ulu.
To all my awesome friends out there, let's be an inspiration to each other!
To all my students, you're the reason I exist. I'll try not to be so hard on you this year... TRY.
To all my colleagues, let's get down & get jiggy wit' it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

A Singaporean Christmas

2011-12-23T12:00:00.000+08:00

taken from mike2.com

I'll be in Singapore for the Christmas weekend.
Sorry to all my friends & family who hoped to party with me on Christmas eve.
Maybe next year, okay?

I'll be exploring the infamous Christmas wonderland transformed Singapore.
Hopefully, I'll meet a hot chick or two. **fingers crossed**
Definitely will NOT be shopping... I hope.

Have a good one everyone!
Remember that Christmas was brought to us through the sacrifice of one man & it made all the difference.
Merry Christmas!
=D

SBPA: Now Every Civil Servant Can Be Rich... er!!

2011-12-19T02:46:00.000+08:00

The way this transition to SPBA was handled, kind of feels like a get rich quick scheme. They promise you the moon (naik gaji up to 40%, kenaikan gaji tahunan up to RM300 & it's apparently the best in the world), they rush you (15 days), they offer you high returns that are not guaranteed (no official jadual gaji released to date) & refuse to give you details besides big nice sounding words or bombastic acronyms because it's "sulit".

These ivory tower policy makers either think that we do not have any other choice or they're afraid too many people will sign up. Anyway, they spent RM2bil on SPBA. Imagine the zeros.
One of them gives it to us straight. We never force you. You want, you sign la. Not happy, don't sign la.

Back in 2002, when people had to decide on SSM, they were given 30 days to do so. I think this should be the minimum because they had to decide on their long-term financial future. They probably had to discuss it with their families & think it through calmly too.
It was also done in October when everybody would still be at work. Doing it during the last 2 weeks of December, somehow reflects the last minute rush everyone is too familiar with back in uni. Not to mention the worry & frustration caused to officers working in the interiors who are away on holiday. It's the Christmas break for God's sake!

Well, it is not my place to talk about people with power. I have to menurut perintah & you know what they say about power...
I just hope that when whoever is reading this, rises to a position of power, do not forget the plight of the lowly minions like me.
If you want to screw us over, at least do it with a smile & leave us thinking that we're getting a great deal. We actually have brains so you'll have to try harder than promises & mystery gifts.

SBPA (Saraan Baru Perkhidmatan Awam) for Teachers
Here is what I've learned with whatever scraps I could find.
Do take note that I am not an expert from JPA. I am just as confused as you are but I might be slightly more intelligent & possibly possess superior Internet & social skills.
**I may update this post as new information becomes available. Updates will be labelled.**

taken from The Malaysian Insider
I bet you skipped past this wonderfully concise graphic summary of SBPA, didn't you?!
Go back & read it, you lazy bum!

Whatever is already mentioned above I will not explain again because it's the typical sugar coated inspirational writing with low-frequency pompous vocabulary that looks beautiful on paper & is yet to prove itself in application thing we are so familiar with on the ground.

Different Circular Number for Education Dept (DG)
Before we begin, let me clarify that there is a special circular on SBPA just for education officers (DG): PEKELILING PERKHIDMATAN BILANGAN 13 TAHUN 2011
For the others: PEKELILING PERKHIDMATAN BILANGAN 11 TAHUN 2011
Always check the first page & keep this in mind when signing the SPBA forms because they are different!

Teachers are Pegawai Perkhidmatan Pendidikan (PPP)
All teachers are now classified as PPP under SBPA.
Used to be PPPS (Degree) & PPPLD (Diploma) under SSM.

No More Hakiki, KUP or Cemerlang.
All will be either Guru Biasa (DG1-1 & DG1-2), Guru Kanan (DG1-4 & DG1-5), Guru Wibawa (DG1-6) or Pendeta Guru (Khas).
However, you can still up your grade based on kecemerlangan tanpa mengisi kekosongan jawatan. Probably means, there will still be a Guru Cemerlang programme but it will be integrated into the new SBPA pay system instead of being something 'special' like it is under SSM.

The 3 Types of Gaji & Their Annual Salary Increments (KGT)
1. Gaji Single Point > Kumpulan Premier
frasa 36: "Gaji Single Point adalah diperuntuk bagi jawatan KPPM (Ketua Pengarah Pelajaran Malaysia)."
This dude will be assessed with KPIs & will get the best deal of all. He wont be reading this so I wont waste my time. Anyway, there is no information on his increments.

2. Gaji Minimum-Maksimum > Kumpulan Pengurusan Tertinggi
frasa 43: "Jadual Gaji Minimum-Maksimum adalah diperuntuk untuk Jawatan Utama / Gred Khas di bawah Kumpulan Pengurusan Tertinggi PPP seperti di Pekeliling Perkhidmatan Bilangan 12 Tahun 2011."
This group will get increments of 5% (Menepati Sasaran), 10% (Melebihi Sasaran) and 15% (Melebihi Sasaran Signifikan) based on their assessment results.

3. Gaji Sebaris > Kumpulan Pengurusan & Professional serta Kumpulan Pelaksana
frasa 60: "Gaji Sebaris - JGS adalah dibentuk bagi menggantikan JGM (Matrix aka. 3 tangga) sedia ada turut terpakai bagi PPP."
Unlike SSM, annual increments for this group under SBPA is fixed based on your grade.
Exp: DG1-1 has an annual increment of RM225 every year.
All you have to do to qualify is receive at least 70 points in your LNPT annual assessment. If you get less than 70 for 3 straight years, you will be vetted & probably given early retirement.
You know what that means! Oh, my nose so BROWN!

Higher Salary Ceiling Under SBPA

click to view a larger image

There used to be a problem of officers reaching the salary cap for their grade & getting increasingly frustrated at not being able to naik pangkat & enjoy annual increments. Not anymore!
Now we have more time to sit in the office, enjoy the air-con & eat kuih until pencen! WOO!

WTH is Jumud?
You will find this low-frequency word used very frequently in the circular.
Check it out in Google Translate.
Okay, now I'll give you the meaning according to SBPA:
Dijumudkan = Dihapuskan = Removed

How Will They Calculate My Pay Under SBPA?
Firstly, your basic salary on 31 Dec under SSM will be increased by 1 step on 1 Jan. Then, it will be matched with the equivalent under SBPA (usually a higher number). FURTHERMORE, you will then receive another increment under SBPA for 2012.
Meaning, you receive two increments in 2012 for accepting SBPA. One under SSM on Jan 1 & another when you reach your Bulan Gerak Gaji under SBPA.

Exp: Me.
Dec 31 > DG41 P1T6 = 2148.10
Jan 1 > DG41 P1T7 = 2238.55
DG1-1 T3 = 2375 (SPBA Equivalent)
DG1-1 T4 = 2600 (My NEW Basic Salary under SBPA)

**17:19 22/12 Update**
THIS IS NOT FAIR!!! I am paid the same as those who came a year after me. What gives?
Apparently they are going to balance it by giving the more senior ones an earlier Tarikh Kenaikan Gaji (TKG) & the juniors a later TKG.
Let's say I am the most senior in my SBPA tangga gaji. When I get into SBPA, my TKG will be Jan while my 1 tangga gaji lower (SSM) junior will get it on the next TKG which is in April & so on.

TKG: Jan, Apr, Jul or Oct.
Based on the above, my actual TKG will be in April.

Tangga Gaji Guru Under SBPA

The Holy Jadual Gaji & Details On The Fastest Time-Based Route Upwards

Here's what you've all been waiting for & the BIG SECRET that nobody wants you to know & they'll psycho you during the taklimats asking, "kamu percaya kah? percaya kah dari internet ni?"
F them. What have you got to lose by arming yourself with some inaccurate knowledge with a JPA logo on the PPT slide & dream about how you're going to squander all of that tax-payer's money?

SO MANY FORMS!!! Which Forms Do I Use?
Based on your situation, you fill in F & one of the other forms.
You may leave some of the details blank because your KJ is supposed to fill them in anyway. Just sign & post. Esp if you live far away from where you work.

You have 11 more days to hand in the forms (deadline 30 Dec). Though, in reality, the time you have de facto is shorter because your school has to process the damm paperwork & key in the details online before a specific date.
**22:53 26/12 Update** The due date to sign up for SBPA has been extended to 15 January 2012.
However, the due date for the Opsyen Umur Persaraan Paksa (Form F) remains at 30 Dec.

You can download circular #13 for teachers here. The forms will be at the end of the PDF file.
DO NOT ASK ME WHAT PDF IS. I will stab you. Seriously.

F: Opsyen Umur Persaraan Paksa
EVERYBODY MUST FILL THIS ONE. 2 copies.
Tick & sign whether you want to keep teaching even when you move slower than a crawling toddler, your teeth & hair are falling out, you have trouble getting it up & your grandchildren are in your classes.
**21:49 19/12 Update** You don't have to retire at 60 to qualify for SPBA. You can get SBPA even though you wish to retire at 58.

G: Skim Perkhidmatan yang Digabung, Dinaik Taraf, Penarafan Semula atau Pemansuhan Fungsi
Most of us would fall into this category if you have been "Sah". 2 copies.
Many schools have asked their teachers to fill in this form.
**20:55 19/12 Update** If your grade is listed here, fill this form.

H: Jawatan Jumud Sebelum Pelaksanaan SBPA & Dihapuskan Jawatan (Pegawai yang Telah Memenuhi Syarat)
I have no idea who this is for but I filled it in anyway. Didn't want to travel all the way back into the jungle or waste my meagre salary on Pos Laju. 2 copies.

J: Jawatan Jumud Sebelum Pelaksanaan SBPA & Dihapuskan Jawatan (Pegawai yang Belum Memenuhi Syarat)
I think this is for those in the DC grade who have not been "Sah". 2 copies.

Further Reading
The SBPA is way bigger than the mere remuneration that I have so eloquently described in this blog post.
Do take some time off the year end break to READ. MALAYSIANS NEED TO READ MORE!

Subsequent Circulars Released After SBPA.
Program Bersepadu Potensi Dan Kompetensi (PROSPEK) - This is how you will be vetted if you want to naik pangkat.
Peperiksaan Perkhidmatan Awam - Not relevant to "Sah" teachers. Maybe for those who are not.
Program Transformasi Minda - Those of you who have not been to Khursus Induksi will have to experience this. I pity you. Though it does sound much nicer & will probably be more interesting?
Penganugerahan Pingat Perkhidmatan Cemerlang (PPC) Dan Pemberian Anugerah Perkhidmatan Cemerlang (APC) - This musical chair farce is taken to a whole new level. Now, you can calonkan someone to receive a medal from some big shot. Then, he will also receive a cert & RM1k cash as in APC.
**17:26 22/12 Update** Pelaksanaan Dasar Pemisah (Exit Policy) Dalam Perkhidmatan Awam -Very interesting & equally important. If you chose to ignore the others above, you must read this one.

SBPA PowerPoint Slides
I am in possession of 3 PowerPoint slides of information regarding SBPA for teachers.
Hot chicks can send me a flying kiss for a copy. Guys can just ask & get out of my sight.
Seriously, just send me a nicely worded email or, even better, LEAVE A COMMENT!

koko's 2011 Kapit Run - Day 2

2011-12-08T15:04:00.000+08:00

Day 2 - 5.30pm, Friday, 18 November 2011

Today, I donned my climacool armour, put on my trusty Asics boots & set out to explore the unknown lands beyond the mystic arc of which was etched this warning: "Selamat Datang ke Kampung Muhibbah Beleteh Kapit".
I saw it during Day 1, got very interested, but didn't have the time then.

Kompleks Kerajaan Negeri Kapit
another severely underutilised overly air-conditioned buildings built with an eye to the super distant future

On my way, I explored the commercial lots before stumbling upon a massive castle. It was the biggest in the land. A majestic green giant shining in the setting sun. All the tribal leaders have an office here. They have meetings here too.
Storm clouds were gathering so I admired the castle from afar & made haste on my journey.

At last, I arrived at Kampung Muhibbah Beleteh Kapit.
Most of the villagers were friendly. Most smiled at me while a few even greeted me. The local populace was a mixture of Malay, Iban & Chinese.
The children looked on curiously as I jogged past. They were probably used to seeing knights on horses instead of running around in designer shorts.

At the end of the road, I did not expect to find a river & a dangling imitation of LA's Golden Gate bridge hanging over it.
I loved to be on the narrow slightly wobbly bridge. It felt really secure with the waist-high metal fences on both sides.
Kampung Baru Kapit was on the other side & it was very similar to Kampung Muhibbah Beleteh except the former is bigger & has cute school-aged girls staring at me & excitedly calling me names like "Cikgu!".

view on the way back

At the end of the day, I clocked in another 1 hour of cardio & plenty of fun! My knee needed ice treatment again though...

Since we're talking about the area, let me share with you my experience with the eateries in the area.

Decent: 99 Seafood Cafe
I had Pork + Soya Sauce (Good) & Bitter Gourd + Salted Eggs (Decent) for less than RM15.
I think I would have had something more adventurous or unique had there been a less clueless waitress. She had no idea what the chef was capable of & would scoot off to the kitchen to check if such & such was available.
Still, quick service & the meal was decent.

There was a couple selling burgers there but as per usual in Kapit, the patty & bread let the burger down.
The burgers are not worth a try.

They serve Kampua noodles (haven't tried this) at night.
So if you have a craving for those (I don't know why you might), this is the place to go.


Recommended: Happy Garden I had Pork + Lemon Grass (VERY GOOD) & Vege Soup (Decent) for less than RM20. Pricier than other similar establishments but I'd say it's worth it. I've been here at least 3 times & I find the food here very palatable. Probably the tastiest Chinese cooking in Kapit! Highly recommended!


Decent: Restoran Bahagia I had Pork Ribs King (Decent) & Stir Fried Kailan (Chinese Broccoli)(Good) for less than RM15. Having dined at almost every restaurant in Kapit, I'd say this restaurant is up to the standard. The high attendance there on a Thursday evening indicates some quality there as did the excellently done simple stir fry I ordered. Worth a try.

koko's 2011 Kapit Run - Day 1

2011-12-03T18:16:00.000+08:00

click to see the plan in more detail (2MB+)

A few weeks ago, I told a friend of mine: Once in a while, you've got to do something crazy to remind yourself that you are a living breathing human being. Not some robot doing the same old routine every day.

Since I have to be in Kapit for most of the next 2 weeks, why not make the best of it?
Do something out of this world yet constructive that can only be done here.

Well, I've decided to run every paved road in Kapit.
Don't think it's crazy enough? Take a good look at the map. MAGNIFIED.
I've drawn-out a plan & I'll stick to it unless there is bad weather or I'm left with only 1 leg.
If you're in Kapit, feel free to join me.

This is a monumental moment for me so I will share the story...
the story of koko's Kapit Run...
of 1 man in 1 town with 1 mission. (If you thought about 1Malaysia, like I know you did, you're a bloody moron.)

Day 1 - 5.30pm, Thursday, 24 November 2011

I set out for the Kapit stadium which is roughly a 10 minute jog away.
I have been doing the same thing for 2 weeks already & it was getting boring.
I'd jog to the stadium & around the track a few rounds like a clueless hamster before heading back & clocking in a 30 minute cardio.
There wasn't much to see & the stadium has seen better days.

My Starting Point

As I left the house, I thought to myself: Kapit is such a small place. I should really explore it on foot & see how much of it I can cover.
Agreeing with my bloody darn self, I nodded my head & instructed my feet to turn me around & jog down the other end of Beleteh Road.

On my way, I must have looked funny as I nodded to myself some more while thinking what a great idea this was. I decided to conquer every paved road in Kapit & claim my rightful place as King of the Road.
Not to mention, I'd get plenty of exercise & take in Kapit's hilly landscape.
I was also hoping to meet some hot chicks too but apparently hot chicks don't jog on the streets like this darned good-looking nut-case in shorts does.

On my way down Beleteh road, I saw some of Kapit's megastructures.

SMK Kapit No. 2
I honestly think that they should come up with a better name. This one just seems poorly thought over.

The Kapit Fire Station

The Land Survey Office
looks really good in their resort theme

The Kapit Clinic

Pier at the end of Beleteh Road

At the end of the road, I came across a concrete pier. At that time, there was a Hilux being unloaded from a small freight boat. I found out that the river was the Rajang River from a local woman who was out for a walk with her children.
(Coincidently, I met her again today (3/12) as I was about to pay for some diarrhoea medicine at a local pharmacy. She went on blabbering in Iban & Malay. I just smiled while working hard to hold it all in. Then, imagine my discomfort as, thanks to her, I had to talk about myself with the pharmacist after she left. My kegel muscles had quite an exercise today.)

Pond in an Industrial Area

Having finished the main road, I decided to go into the minor roads branching off Beleteh Road. The one nearest to the pier led to an industrial area. I could see thick black smog billowing out of the funnels of one factory. I felt my lungs wince at that sight.
As I continued to explore the area, I heard high frequency engine noises & I saw a crowd of people staring a pond. Could it be?
As I got closer, I saw remote control speedboats zipping through the water.
What a marvel! What a surprise! I never expected to find this!

Indoor Stadium & Public Swimming Pool

I went into the next branch which led towards the indoor stadium & public swimming pool before heading back home to the nagging of my aching right knee. I slapped it with a pack of leftover cocktail sausages from the fridge to shut it up.

Today, I jogged for about an 1 hour but it didn't feel that long because I saw another side of Kapit that I wouldn't be able to see speeding by in a car or a bike.
It was a great achievement for me & I was motivated to explore the other branches off Beleteh Road.

Pen-Pals for Mixed Proficiency Classes

2011-11-25T23:17:00.001+08:00

I've always had an affinity towards handwritten words.
I esp love hand-written letters.
It is personal. It is finite. It is unique.
There is a distinct romance there that really moves & captivates me.

By forgoing the ease of more modern means, it really communicates the heart of the person for actually arching uncomfortably over a table & torturing their hands in creation of the letter.
I feel as if someone is giving a small amount of his/her life to me on a piece of paper.

I believe that a deep connection via letters would really benefit my students & motivate them to learn the English language.
Last year, I played around with this idea by connecting my Form 1 students with a class of average-proficiency Primary 6 pupils in a SJK(T) Primary School in KL through their English teacher.
This year, I connected the same class (now in Form 2) with a class of high-proficiency Form 4 students in SMK Puteri Titiwangsa, KL, I taught during my practical. This time it was through a student rep & not a teacher.

My students really enjoyed writing, reading & esp receiving those letters.
They would always ask me when the new batch of letters would arrive & watch with glee every time I opened a package.
They'd give their pen-pals simple gifts like cute pens, key-chains & handicraft.
I believe they had a very meaningful experience.

However, there were some drawbacks:
1. Some pen-pals did not reply or did so half-heartedly.
Without the imposition of a teacher, some of the pen-pals did not bother to reply or write a good reply. Several of my students would often get extremely short replies informing them that their pen-pals were busy. Some would not get replies at all!
Are these KL students so caught up in their own worlds that they do not have just 1 hour to spare on an extremely meaningful letter to a less-fortunate child?
Next time I do this, I must involve a teacher.

2. Replies were very late.
I was able to force my students to reply within a week of receiving replies. However, the replies would only be received after 2 or more months.
Imagine the wait of my students & the lost time. Sometimes I told my students to write letters even when there was no reply.
Again, a teacher would increase the frequency of the letters.

3. Students copied/adapted from each other.
As should be expected from weaker students, some of them adapted the work of other students which was fine by me.
However, one student copied an exact letter of a classmate TWICE! I made him redo both letters.
The teacher must read students' work to avoid such instances as well as to avoid any inappropriate content.

I think this pen-pal idea was a resounding success. My students enjoyed it & it got them to use the target language in a meaningful manner.
Some of the pen-pals (those who really put their hearts into their letters) expressed their delight too.

I shall do this again next year with a school closer to mine.
I'm thinking SMK St. Elizabeth, Sibu, or one of the top schools in Miri.
Any teachers want to offer their classes?
Anyone have a suggestion for improvement?

Here are some students I would like to appreciate for playing a role in the Pen-Pal Project this year:
Stephanie Khor (Student Rep), SinYan, Violacea, Fatin Nadhirah, Natasha Eliyana, TzeYen, JiaYi, XinRo, JoeLynn, ManDee, SukKei, KarKee, Angela Tan, XingYi, Evelyn Lee, Faten Amira, Hazatul, EeMing, ZiShin, Neng Daris, Nor Maslina, Norasfarizan, Nur Hazimah, Nurizani Edora, Razrina Nazira, Shabrina, Syafiqah Rosli & Syarifah Jamiamirah.
You made a difference! =)

The Lytro Camera - Taking Living Pictures

2011-11-18T19:00:00.033+08:00

Chech this video out it's a demo & introduction to the Lytro camera.
Believe me. YOU WANT TO SEE THIS VIDEO.

I've pretty much lost my patience in carrying a bulky DSLR around with me wherever I go & tired of getting suspicious looks from people.
For a while, I have been looking for a compact camera (since I don't have a phone camera & may not be getting a smartphone in 1-2 years). That's when I discovered the Lytro camera.

Don't like the shape. Don't like the colours.

It's a bloody ugly camera, I know. Bulkier than a phone in the pocket (but I guess it's made for school girls who carry handbags & update FB like every second).
But for RM1600 (US$499) or RM1300 (US$399), I can take pictures without the hassle of focusing or worrying about blurred/overexposed/underexposed/noisy images.
Image capturing is instant & I can focus AFTER taking the picture.

This is how the camera works: Instead of merely capturing the light that touches the sensor, this camera also captures the direction this light comes from. This allows calculation of where the light will be if the sensor is moved forwards or backwards: thus, the post-shot focusing.
Fascinating, isn't it?

Here are the drawbacks.
The picture resolution might be low: meaning smaller pictures only worthy of FB/personal viewing.
Apple like business model: meaning everything is centralised. Lytro pictures are edited & shared through the Lytro website via flash. No mention of whether the pictures can be edited locally on a computer.
It is currently only available for MAC users & only in the US but such a revolutionary piece of technology will pretty soon be available all across the world. They're also working on a windows version.

Once it is out next year, I'll wait a while for people to try it & share about it on the net before I decide on getting one.
Besides, the technology might still be too young to be worth the hefty price.

Meanwhile, this year's expansion to my photographic repertoire will be a speedlight. I've been wanting to get one for a long time. It will probably help me take better pictures.
I complain about bulk & yet I'm going to add even more bulk to my DSLR by purchasing the Nikon SB-900 speedlight at RM1600 (US$495).
Will look for it cheap when I'm in Singapore this Christmas! =)

The Flower

2011-11-11T11:11:00.010+08:00

Scheduled at 11:11 11/11/11.
hahahahaha~~ I'm such a nerd.

Anyway, after reading the abysmal entries into the karya section of my school magazine by my best students, I wrote this poem to show them how it's done.
I actually wanted to write an adorable & interesting story but, at this time of year, I am far too buzy.
If this year's magazine were to be produced late, I might actually have time to slot one in & you'll be the first to read it here on my blog! =D

Anyway, enjoy this simple & short poem.
What am I writing about? Share your thoughts!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Flower

taken from monstergirlee.blogspot.com

There is a flower particular as can be

Not a flower you’d commonly see

She beams just like the sunlight

She warms the world just right

There is also a busy bee

From work be so weary

She’ll look into his eyes

And she’ll tell him no lies

They danced in lovely weather

It’s short their time together

A moment to remember forever

Depart he wished he’d never

Though the busy bee must go

Oh how he’ll miss her so

In time they’ll meet again

In meadows and summer rain

- Mr Yong, 2011

Lanjak Entimau Forest Reserve

2011-11-07T18:37:00.002+08:00

After hearing countless stories from my fishing sifu, Wesley, about super gigantic rare fish catches in the Lanjak Entimau Forest Reserve & reading about it in a magazine article he wrote, I was really hoping for a chance to experience the deep forests, inner rivers & their life-threatening rapids for myself as well as take photos to remember it as a must-do-before-you-die once-in-a-lifetime activity.
Such high hopes & expectations were doomed to be torn down & trampled on esp when travelling in a large group & following the plans of other people.

It was 6-7 hours upstream to the forest reserve resort & 4-5 hours back.
The boatride was an adventure on its own. In the 6 / 4 hours, we experienced all the seasons of a tropical heaven: super sunny sunburning hot, heavy painful liquid droppings & cool cloudy goodness.
Let's not forget the welcoming splashes from the swollen debris-ridden milo river.

The resort was a pleasant sight to behold.
3 buildings set on a hillside: 1 was the reserve office while the other 2 were lodgings for visitors.
I was informed that the paint job was new. Previously, there was no paint & the buildings had beautiful natural tones of timber hardwood.
We lodged in the 2nd floor of the building on top of the hill. There were 4 rooms, 2 large common toilets, a large living area, balcony, kitchen & back-veranda. Very clean & well-maintained.
The guestbook reveals the frequent patrons: government servants, YBs, international travellers & esp Japanese scientists (looking for Godzilla?).

We had 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches & 1 dinner of a strict Yo's canned Chicken Curry + rice, Curry flavoured Maggie Mee & crackers diet until we found other sources of sustenance.
Every mouthful was pure mental torture & painful for the tastebuds yet tired bodies & empty bellies left little to fussiness. It was either eat or starve.
However, we had plenty of Cap Apek (the #1 alcoholic beverage of the locals) to put us out of our misery.

I expected everyone to do everything together but, the next morning, one group left to explore the inner parts of the river, another to fish around our area & our group was left at the resort to play poker cards until we realised that making such a long journey into the deep jungle just to sit indoors & play cards was plain idiocy.
We decided to commandeer a boat & do some exploring of our own despite protests of not having enough fuel for the return journey from the person who was supposed to take us out.
So the 2 other boats could burn fuel all day & yet we cant? Ridiculous! Shut up & go drink Cap Apek!
That's what he did while we took a boat out to find fern & fish just before lunchtime.

We didn't manage to catch any fish but another group did & we shared what we had during lunch.
We made Ikan Semah Pansoh (Semah fish cooked in bamboo), fish sup & stir-fry Paku Pakis (ferm). A welcome change from canned chicken curry & rice.

During the late afternoon, we went out again to enjoy the clear waters & rocky shores. We made the best of our time there & although I was deeply disgruntled & dissatisfied, I was glad to be able to spend a weekend with some of the best people from work.
These guys made the trip special. Looking forward to more trips with them in the future.

Meanwhile, I am determined to return to Lanjak Entimau next year with my sifu.
There was so much in-river that I missed: the water-sculpted gigantic rock formations, superfish & the goodness of being near the heart of mother nature.
I must return. I must.
When I do, it's not going to suck. In fact, it's going to rock.

WTH?! Google Disabled My Account Last Night!!!

2011-10-29T21:20:00.001+08:00

After getting back from a party with a few colleagues late last night, I sat on my hotel desk & looked up a few blogs I loaded up earlier.
I proceeded to comment on one of them and guess what I found out?
Google bloody disabled my ahkamkoko account!
If you checked out my blog today, you would have received a "Server Not Found" error. WTH?!!!

taken from videogamerrob.wordpress.com
This bird totally gets how I feel.

I had a lot of Carlsberg last night (FOR FREE!!! I've got great friends.) but I was able to muster every last neuron in my brain to stare through the haze & focus on the few words that matter: 'click here to contact us'.
I filled in a form where I had to fill in my google email, a contact email & a short description of what happened. I was mentally flabbergasted so I struggled in 3 sentences expressing my confusion at what happened & told them about this blog that I loved so much of which I have been actively maintaining for 6 LONG YEARS (since 2006)!!
Yeah, alcohol opens me up real easy. I get emotional & sensitive too.

I fell asleep before I could launch an angry bird at Google.

13 hours after that, I received this email.

This is as cordial as you're going to get from a major corporation.

They did not even bother to explain why they shut me down. Well, I'm just thankful that this master of the web has returned my breadcrumb to ease my unsatiable hunger for self-expression.

My Hypothesis: Why Goof-le Disabled My Account
I have a habit of reading blogs once a week.
I load all of them up at once. Then, I proceed to comment on each of them in succession.
This sudden surge of comments in a short frame of time might have ran a few red lights at Google Spam Police.
So they came to arrest my poor innocent account & put him in a cell until daddy here bailed him out.

I have mixed feelings about this.
On one hand, it's good to know that Google are taking measures against those annoying spammers who post comments pretending to be interested in what you're writing about when actually they're advertising some product or website.
On the other, I'm pissed off at being victimised without being compensated in anyway.

Won't leave Blogger though. We've been together so long (longer than Google) & we work well together.
F*ck Google.

Invigilating PMR @ SMK Kapit

2011-10-18T22:28:00.001+08:00

For the past 2 weeks I was at SMK Kapit invigilating the PMR.
I worked with a really great team & an awesome Head Invigilator who took good care of all of us.
I made 2 good friends from SMK Song & took pictures with them.

I recently discovered an imitation of this picture made by a few F3 students from the said school.
They made a joke out of us & called us the 3 idiots but why did they go ahead & reproduce the same shot with similar effects? What does that make them?
A wise man once said imitation is the purest form of flattery. I have to agree. It's very adorable of them. =)

I stayed in Ark Hill Inn in a single room on the first night for RM45/night. Then, I moved into a 3 person room (1 Queen & 1 Single bed) with my 2 friends from SMK Song for RM75/night.
You must be wondering so I'll be direct. Okay, I slept with a married man. But that's it. No hanky panky involved.
The inn was clean, safe & the staff were friendly. However, an annoying stench of cigarette smoke would manage to sneak its way under our wet-toweled door & suffocate us every hour or so. This happened both when I was staying at the top level (single room) & the reception level (3 person room). This did not happen at a friends room in the middle level (double room).
We discovered that it was the staff smoking indoors (in their quarters at the top level & at the reception). This is totally unacceptable. I am not going back to that inn again.

We moved about in vans. You hop on & off it like you would a bus.
Most of the vans in Kapit are unmarked so it's hard to tell whether a van is personal or public transport. However, it never hurts to ask.
Just hail one as you would hail a taxi & it will usually stop if it is available.
The fare for a journey around town is RM1 as was the case for us moving from our lodging to the school. The further you go, the higher the fare but the fare rarely exceeds RM2.

The school was really hospitable.
Mr Kuek, the PK1, met us on our site visit & made us feel comfortable.
The SUP for PMR, Mr Wong, was exceptionally helpful as well. Everything was organised & ready for our arrival. They were also very willing to accommodate our needs & requests.
We were given breakfast & lunch every day. We were also allowed to freely use the school's photocopying & printing facilities. Very generous indeed!

During my visit to schools, I will always try to arrange an informal chat with the best students in the school. I met with the #1 & #2 students (both trial 8As) & discovered that good family background, peer support, personal discipline & ambition is inherent of a student who is excellent academically.
I esp wanted to chat with the best Iban students in the school (both trial 4As). However, they left me hanging & did not honour the meeting. Too bad. I really wanted to learn what it's like for them to come to school & how they managed to succeed in their own way.

I find listening to students very refreshing. They have a way of seeing things that I have forgotten in my pursuit of my personal goals.
What I've learned speaking to students over the years has helped me understand what is necessary for them to succeed academically & what motivates them.
I'm trying to incorporate this knowledge into my activities with my students & will continuously innovate. You'll be the first to read about my activities on my blog. =)

Food In Kapit
Over the 2 weeks, I've had the opportunity to dine at many establishments in Kapit.Here's my opinion of the food in town!

BAD: Chinese Dinner @ Ah Kau Restaurant

It was the worst & most expensive dinner we had in Kapit. The person taking our order was not hospitable at all. He was grunting & acting impatient while taking our order so the 5 of us only ordered 3 dishes (1 Chicken, 1 Pork & 1 Vege).
All the dishes had one flavour: excessively salty! The meal was so salty & Ajinomoto ridden, I was thirsty for the rest of the night & really uncomfortable.
The portions were large but so was the price tag. The meal with drinks cost us RM75!

BAD: Chicken Rice @ Soon Kit Cafe

I had a craving for good Chicken Rice so I scouted around a bit before stopping by Soon Kit Cafe.
Once I saw the person preparing the dish, I had a feeling it was going to be bad. I was right.
The chicken was dry & tasteless. Totally overcooked.
The rice was too wet. Either that or the rice was of poor quality.
The chilli complementing the chicken was also bland. Not spicy at all. It did not enhance the flavours.

I suspect that this is a case of business owner being successful & then getting lazy/greedy. They decide to leave the stall to an employee who follows instructions but does not care. Thus, the dish ends up bland & unpalatable.

The meal did not cost much though. I cant remember the exact price but I remember that it was around RM5 (drink inc.).

BAD: Orchid Steamed Buns @ Chop Chuong Hin Cafe

I love Chinese steamed buns & one morning I decided to find some in Kapit. I stepped into Chop Chuong Hin directly opposite the wharf.
The atmosphere of the shop was something to take in. It's like stepping into another era. I loved the experience.
There were Chinese cakes available but I did not sample those.

I ordered 2 Orchid Char Siew buns & coffee. Loved the coffee but hated the buns. The dough was good but the filling was disgusting. It was a reddish paste with very little meat & some jellyish thing inside. Next time, I'll go with traditional buttered toast.
Cant remember the cost but it was around RM5 (drink inc).

Orchid buns were once of exceptional quality. They were pricey but you were guaranteed satisfaction. Nowadays, it is still pricey but its ability to satisfy is questionable.
The cafe should switch to locally made buns which may be tastier & cheaper.

AVG: Kampua Noodles @ King Hung Cafe

Every morning we either had buns or kampua.
This was the place we had kampua. The kampua was pretty decent. Nothing to shout about but definitely good enough to merit coming back for several mornings in a week.
Cant remember cost. Around RM5 (drink inc.).

AVG: Baked Buns @ Ung Tong Bakery

This was the place we went to for buns in the morning. They had all sorts of buns; from Mexican buns to Garlic buns; most of them mildly sweet.
I don't like sweet stuff for breakfast so I went for the Garlic Bun & Mexican Bun.
The Garlic Buns were very savoury & had a generous spread of garlic on it. However, the buns did seem overcooked. It was somewhat tough but perhaps this is because it was made to be filling unlike the fluffy carbs common in many modern bakeries.
Cant remember cost. Around RM5 (drink inc.).

AVG: Curry Rice @ Far End Stall @ Open-Air Night Eatery

The Curry Rice from this stall came heavily recommended. Plenty of people have told me about this dish & every time I came around, it was out of stock. However, I managed to catch it one night.
It was a pleasant dish but I've had many curries in my life. I cant help but think that this is (in the words of a curry connoisseur I knew) a very Chinese curry. It's sweet, saucy & mildly spicy.
If you dont have curry very often or if you cant take spicy, you'll love it. If you like Indian curry, you'll hate it. I happen to love Indian curry. So, it's an average curry to me.
Cant remember cost. Around RM8 (drink inc.).

GOOD: Chinese Dinner @ Uncle Cinen Cafe

I'm a very picky eater so when I say this place is good. IT IS GOOOOOOOD!!
This place looks pretty common but the 4 dishes (2 Pork & 2 Vege) we ordered were excellent. Every one of the 5 of us were singing praises as we stuffed our faces.
The service was excellent as well. The owner even came down to chat with us & talk about her town.

The cost? RM50 (drinks inc). CHEAP!!!
Will definitely be coming back for more & recommending it to everyone!

GOOD: Street Burger @ Front Stall @ Open-Air Night Eatery

I am a big fan of the average Malaysian Street Burger.
It's like finding the perfect chick. There are so many types & shapes out there. One has to patiently search & make mistakes before discovering the perfect one.
I had the Beef Egg Cheese. They did not overdo the butter & the sauces were done just right to give the burger enough flavour & moisture to go down in a pleasureful gulp.
Forgot the price but I think it was RM5+ each. When you're there, check out the different selections & their prices on the menu.

I enjoyed my working visit to Kapit & am looking forward to returning again next month for the SPM invigilation at probably the same school (unconfirmed)!
Will take more pictures & scout for more good food while I'm there for a month! =)

My Views On The System

2011-10-09T22:02:00.001+08:00

Let me be the first to admit that I am NOT an expert on the system nor I have spent years studying it by analysing demographics, statistics, stakeholder opinions & whatnot.
I have, however, given the first 3 years of my best years & am still giving to serve in the interiors under this system.
This is purely my opinion & observations. Do not mistake them for credible fact.

Good People Leaving

I am passionate. I work hard. I am idealistic. People like me are pure energy. All we need is direction & focus. We will be the laser that will shine through the darkest moments & cut through the toughest circumstances. We are the ones who can bring change. We are willing to suffer & even die for what we believe in. We are willing to work for you to make a difference.

Sadly, over the years, I have seen many of my kind leave the service. Mostly due to frustration with the system. These people are not half-baked potatoes that give you diarrhoea. Many have found better remuneration & lifestyles outside the system. Mostly because they are good, they know that they are good & they want better. If the good are leaving, who is left behind? How will this affect the quality of the system?

Poor Vetting Of New Recruits

Are we able to bring out the best in students from best buy teachers?

I guess it all starts with the people who are let into the system. I agree that having the best academic results doesn’t automatically make you the best teacher; but it does help because, eventually, just as how you’ve learned to achieve excellent grades, you’ll learn how to be an excellent a teacher.
If we want to develop excellent minds, we need to have excellent mentors. Excellence can only come from discipline & discipline bears fruits in results whether it is academic or co-curricular.

I knew someone who judged recruits solely based on their SPM results. Whatever degree, training or certificate the recruit had did not matter. The SPM results are a reflection of a person’s discipline, excellence & dedication when he was at school & it will also foretell his performance at work. He has never been proven wrong.

We have a very peculiar vetting system where people with the best results do not necessarily get the job. People are said to have been chosen based on merits but it seems that there is some kind of quota system where a certain number from a certain race or from a certain part of the country are recruited regardless of merits. There are also rare occurrences of nepotism where the children of the influential are admitted into select programmes regardless of merits.

I am not against people with poor academic results. I personally have many friends who are weak academically but passionate about improving themselves & becoming a great teacher. I love them with all my heart & are proud to work together with them.
Sadly, I know even more people who are weak academically & professionally yet do nothing about it. They hide behind a loud bark & justify everything they do (and what they don't do) based on how many years they have served. These is the kind of people that should not be let into the system in the first place.

Not Walking The Talk

There is a saying in Sarawak: “Cakap Tak Serupa Bikin” (Talk Not Same As Do). We have a great National Education Philosophy & an even greater challenge to implement it in the lives of every child. Not everybody is able to rise to the occasion & take it on. Some people just want to put up a good show to make people think that they are working towards the goal & achieving it when in fact they are doing something completely different.

That is very common in the system. Many things are done just for show so that they can tell the parents: “See… we did this whole list of programmes so it’s not our fault your child failed. We’ve done all we could.” But have we?
How many times have I had to participate in ridiculously grandiose fancy-named mega-budget programmes that do little to achieve its objectives. I have also witnessed many programmes that sound awesome on paper but failed in execution due to weak planning, half-hearted execution or both.
Sometimes I think that the funds for these PR stunts could be better spent on simple yet significant programmes or simply placed in the hands of capable teachers with a heart for service.

Mismatched Rewards

Steven Covey, the author of ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, taught in his book ‘The 8th Habit’ that when it comes to rewards, we must water what we want to grow. It basically means that we need to check whether we are actually rewarding the right behaviours in our people & aligning the system to reward our people for doing what is wanted. Bear in mind that it is possible for us to water the weeds & then blame the seeds for not growing.

Steven Levitt, co-author of ‘Freakonomics’, reveals consistently that humans respond to incentives. Let me summarise the incentives in the system & basically what behaviours it rewards.
APC or Excellent Performance Award rewards kissing up & pushing down (how ironic).
Yearly Salary Increments & Time-Based Promotion rewards people for staying as long as they can in the system (regardless of performance). Many times I’ve heard people say something to the effect of “Kenapa rajin sangat? Perkhidmatan saya masih panjang lagi.” Do you think that they will work harder when tempoh perkhidmatannya hampir tamat?
Guru Cemerlang rewards those good in creating a pretty, thick & fully-illustrated report-book of what they’ve done for the past 3 years (strange thing is when people come to evaluate you, the first thing they want to see is paperwork).
The unbreakable rice pot rewards, heck, doing whatever you want without consequences (WOO!!)!
Undesirable behaviours that are left unchecked will also serve as an incentive to repeat them & for others to learn them i.e. laziness, apathy, tardiness, plagiarism, cronyism et cetera.

Just as humans will find a way to do as little as possible to milk the system for as many rewards as possible, the reward system needs to evolve & be constantly aligned to reward what it actually wants to reward.
The saddest thing to happen is for a hardworking person who really deserves the recognition & rewards to be bypassed again & again because of his meek personality.
p/s: Thanks for rewarding me with an allowance to work in the interiors! Greatly appreciated!

The Fish Rots From The Head Down

This is the most important thing the system has to do. Make sure that there are capable leaders heading each school. Unfortunately, I have seen people who are about to retire being promoted as some kind of appreciation for years of service. Most of these people merely warm the seat while waiting for retirement. In the 2 or 3 years they are there, someone else could have turned the school around.

Also, there are leaders who abuse their position to make money. Delivering a quality product for a fair price is totally fine. I’m speaking against those who spend school money buying thin air or overcharge the school for commission. All this money could have been used to improve the school.
Yet little or no action is taken until it has become too big to sweep under the carpet. In one case, the person was merely demoted & transferred to another school after making lots of money & spending it openly on smokes, booze, gambling & girls.

No matter how horrible a school is, put in a capable head, give him the support & he will turn the school around. Similarly, place a nincompoop in a good school & watch the school crash & burn. As the saying goes "there are no good schools with a bad head".
The system has to be extra selective about who they place on top. Not everybody who is able to sit through management courses is capable of dealing with tough decisions, teachers or students.
Instead of giving the post away to the oldest applicant or to a friend or to your uncle’s son, give it to the most promising people. Tell them to prepare a personal checklist of what they want to achieve in the school. Give them the necessary support, motivation (both soft & hard), monitor his progress (via multiple sources) & retain accordingly.

Weak heads who are honestly trying, can be given another chance. Those who are not, should be shown back to their old jobs. Only the best can be head. Then only can you expect the best out of every school i.e. the ‘First Class Mentality’ in a ‘competitive & globalised world’ as desired in Vision 2020.

Conclusion

Let me conclude by clarifying that I am not saying that people who stay in the system are bad or the system is bad. We are in a system with an excellent philosophy & overlying principles. Furthermore, everybody can repeat all the ideals required.
However, not everybody is practising it. People are not expected to & those who do are not rewarded.
I’m bringing out the issues so that we can stop the backbiting & finger-pointing, confront the issues in the open, ponder upon it & improve together.

There are many good, honest & talented people still in the system. I have learned a lot from the few of them I have had the privilege of studying under & benefitted greatly. These people are the ones who are working with the system trying to making a difference every day. Kudos to them.
To those who are going to leave the system, I bid you all the best. To those who have decided to stay & risk their sanity, I bid thank you.

English Week 2011 @ SMK Katibas

2011-10-01T16:21:00.004+08:00

Hello & welcome to the highlight of my year... The English Week 2011 @ SMK Katibas!
Compliments to the English Language Panel & the English Language Society for bringing an exciting week-long string of activities to the rural school which is SMK Katibas.
Esp to Messrs George, Royston, Chieng, Ida, Hilda, Wesley, Florinoya & Gomez.

During English Week this year, there were the staples of a time capsule, essay writing competition, treasure hunt, spelling bee, crossword puzzle competition &, the highlight of the week, English Night. There were also new additions such as the Opening Night, Sing-A-Long, Indoor Games Competition & Katibas Premier League Futsal Competition.

There were plenty of photos & activities but I'll just highlight the activities that I was directly involved in.

Time Capsule 2011

The support for this year's Time Capsule was better than last year.
More students wrote in & it seems many were really into it & excited about the prospect of writing a letter to future students!
As usual, I instructed the top classes to write a letter while the weaker classes drew a picture with a few English sentences.
I removed the wrapping from my giant whey protein plastic bottle, told the ELS to paint a few words on it & recycled it as the time capsule. The sign board was made by the school handymen & painted by the ELS.

English Week: Sing-A-Long 2011

Those of you who knew me back in Secondary School or Uni will remember me singing with a talented guitarist & totally rocking it out with him. I miss those days & even more so my talented brothers so I wanted to share similar moments with my students. Besides, I think such an activity will be a novel way to indirectly teach them the English language.

The original idea was to train a guitarist & a vocalist to learn several songs & then share it with the school.
I chose simple songs that were easy to sing & learn. They were "Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling, "Sway" by Bic Runga, "You And Me" by Lifehouse & "I Do" by Colbie Caillat.

The guitarist had no problems learning the songs but the vocalist faced serious problems mainly because she was totally unfamiliar with the songs. She had to learn from scratch & at the end of 1 month, she learned 2 out of the 4 songs. So, I came in to do the other 2 songs.
We did this for 2 nights during English Week & the response was so-so. Perhaps the songs we too unfamiliar, non-mainstream pop or just too old.
This was a pilot test for a long-term activity I was planning to start next year but I guess, I will have to experiment some more with more catchy or popular songs.

English Week: Indoor Games Competition 2011

The games featured in this competition were Scrabble, Uno Cards, Chess & Chinese Chess.
Originally, I planned for Monopoly & Jengga too but it was hard for our supplier to source them. Even now, they are still pending delivery.

The response was really good although a lot of students expressed frustration at knowing nothing about the games they were playing & apparently some umpires knew nothing too.
I really wanted to let students learn the games first before actually having them competing but the delivery was pretty late so we jumped straight into the competition.
Next year, I'll definitely let them learn the games first.

English Night 2011

Finally, the grand finale.
This year's English Night had our favourite MCs Caroline & Darryl, Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" played & sung by a student, a "Gee" by SNSD dance, "Standing In The Eyes Of The World" by Ella sung by the English Panel teachers & ELS as well as an "Alice In Wonderland" performance.
I was truly unforgettable. It was also the début of our exquisite brand new stage curtains (thanks to George!).

It was unfortunate that the Form 3 & 5 were not allowed to attend. In my heart, I wanted them to attend because I think this would be a great boost to their impression of the English Language & thus more motivation to study the not-as-dull-as-you-think subject!
Will make the English Week earlier next year & insist on including them.

I told the ELS to dress up & ALL of the girls did! They were so lovely!
However, only the older boys dressed up for that night. It was good to see them cleaned up at least for an evening from the shabby unsightly collared-up style that these boys liked to adopt.
Who does that any more nowadays besides wannabes?

Once again, the drama performance this year was just as impressive as last year. The costumes, props & thought put into it was simply at a higher level than any other drama ever performed in our school & it serves as a wonderful introduction to the newly minted Drama Club of SMK Katibas.
An initiative by Royston Sihas with the wonderful support of Gomez (art), George (language) & Florinoya (dramatisation). Simply splendid!

I was very satisfied with my "Gee" dance production this year.
Some people actually thought that I taught my girls the dances. No, you are mistaken. I found a really talented dancer & made her the leader. I gave her a laptop, a loud speaker & "Gee" videos downloaded from YouTube and told her to find other girls, learn the dance & perform it in 4 months time.
My only input was coming in towards the end & adding some fine touches to their performance. Also, having a large mirror & a video camera to show students their movements was invaluable.

Initially, I had commitment problems with several of the girls but thankfully, they pulled their act together before English Night & put a lot of effort into perfecting their dance. With the amount of my own money invested in such productions, next year, I will choose the dancers myself instead of leaving it to the students to choose their friends.

I was also very doubtful of the costumes I sourced from Bandung, Indonesia. I was worried that the colours were too dull to compliment the bubbly naughty cute "Gee" but the girls made it work. It looked wonderful on stage.
Special thanks to Mdm Junai & Mdm Liba for the hair & make-up.
Next year, I want to produce a boy's dance. If I have the time & the right talent, I'll do a girl's dance too.

There you have it.
A grandiose English Week from a RURAL school in the jungle.
What have you URBAN schools done?
Better? I don't think so...
Rural schools are still the best!

p/s: a video of the English Language Night 2011 is underway! Will post it when it's ready. Might take a few weeks coz I'll be really busy these final months!

Migraine Management Tips From Daddie

2011-09-25T00:53:00.000+08:00

Last week, I wrote about the migraine attack I had & immediately after reading it, my father sent me a useful email with tips on how to manage migraines. It's unorthodox so be ready for some simple but surprising reactions to these...

During Migraine Pain:

taken from yogajournal.com

To relieve the pain, use right finger to block right nostril and breathe normally through left nose until clear.
Search for a pressure point by pressing around the line separating the upper and lower arm near to the elbow. Either arm will do. It hurts the most when pressed. Massage/press it until pain subsides.

Migraine Prevention:

It's more complicated than it looks. Want instructions? =)

Holding a Qi Gong Ma Pu stance for at least 30mins every day. Also good for every day health/exercise substitute.
Stay away from direct aircon or fan blowing on your body especially the head.
The most common cause of migraine is direct blow of aircon, fan or window breeze during sleep.

Thanks, dad!
Now you've helped me as well as the world find relief from migraines!

Do try these out & see if they work!

Stabbed In The Head

2011-09-19T06:23:00.001+08:00

Hi there! It's English Week this week but I'll write about it next weekend.
Very excited about English Language Night this Thursday. Will definitely share the pics!
Anyway, I want to talk about the 2 migraine attacks I had this weekend.

taken from newportsaf.com

I'm healthy. I watch what I eat. I exercise both mentally & physically. I vent my stress.
I rarely have headaches or migraines. I can't remember the last time I had one that didn't result from a night of binge drinking.
Furthermore, I just cant imagine why it had to happen on one of the most relaxing nights of my year!
At that time I was lazing around watching "How I Met Your Mother" in my boxers while chewing on meat Kong-Piang (Stuffed Fried FooChow Bagels) & sipping on a mug of Meadow Fresh milk with nothing on my mind but an unwavering determination to do nothing.

Suddenly, it came. Without warning.
I wasn't aware of it at first but soon I started to feel nauseated & dizzy.
The pain was concentrated above my right eyebrow.It was not a throbbing pain. It was constant & boy was it intense.
I couldn't concentrate on anything.

To make things worse, white smoke was pouring into my dim apartment like milk mixed into a cup of black Nescafe.
It was thick. It was overpowering. You could touch the clouds & feel it clogging your lungs.
This happens once in a while because my neighbours are vegetable gardeners & their way of waste disposal is via incineration. More often than desired, the wind carries the smog into my apartment instead of theirs.

I couldn't stay in the living room because of the billowing smoke.
I couldn't do any reading or video watching because of the migraine.
So I decided it was probably best to go to bed... at 7.30pm on a Friday night. Nice~~
I found that lying on the painful side of the head does alleviate the pain a tad bit & helped me drift into a painful sleep full of nightmares of girls loving & then leaving me.

The next morning, I got a migraine attack again while watching "How I Met Your Mother" topless in my boxers after my breakfast of crackers, 3 sunny side up eggs & a mug of Nescafe.
This one was less severe than the one before.

Somehow I came up with a hill-billy idea of applying a cold can of coke to the afflicted area and...
IT WORKED!!
It was legendary!
Successfully finished Season 6 migraine free!


taken from fanpop.com Guys!, guys! Check out this video of this Asian dude in his boxers who we gave a migraine to!

Then, I did some Wikireading on migraines.
Apparently the causes are unknown but it can be triggered by stress, hunger, fatigue or poor indoor light/air quality.
The pain is caused by the constriction and dilation of blood vessels in the brain.
After the blood vessels dilate, some fluid leaks out of the walls of the blood vessels.
The leakage is recognised by pain receptors & thus: heart beat = fluids leak = pain.
Alarmingly, frequent migraines may cause brain damage. YIKES!

It's times like these I wish I had a woman to care for me.
Or a man. I'm not picky.

Seruan Merdeka Anak Desa

2011-09-11T07:45:00.000+08:00

Here it is! What you've all been waiting for!
My long delayed sharing of the video my students and I made for the Pertandingan Mencipta Video Merdeka 2011 as promised here.
It was already ready to share last week & I wanted to put it on YouTube but I did not have an Internet connection stable enough or fast enough to upload a 250MB file onto the Internet without disconnecting or taking FOREVER!
So last night, I stayed over in a friend's house in Song & left the computer uploading overnight to bring the production right to your computer screen.

The concept of this video is simplicity at the far end of complexity.
The purpose of the video is to give viewers a short & sweet glimpse of what life is like for a majority of young people in the interiors of Sarawak who live mostly from hand to mouth.

Basically, the story is centred around a boy called Moses. He is a mommy's boy and what many would call a good boy. His father works far away so he is forced at a young age to help his mom be a provider for the family.
With access to ICT, he reads about the 3 major races & how they worked together in the struggle for national independence. Unsatisfied with just reading about them, he longs for a relationship with people from every ethnicity because, to him, that is the true spirit of 1Malaysia.
In the end, he shows that he is willing to go the extra mile to achieve his ambitions. He wants to make his parents proud by studying hard to get a scholarship for his studies and achieving the true spirit of 1Malaysia.

View the video with an open mind & a desire to get to know a hidden away people of our nation.
If you are able, extend a helping hand by supporting their products at the market, donating used items whenever there is a disaster at the longhouse and looking at this young culture with kindness & love.

My Annual BI PMR Talk

2011-08-30T03:59:00.002+08:00

Hi, there! I bet most of you reading my blog are lounging at home with a cup of kopi, enjoying late mornings & the blissful mid-term/Raya holidays.

As much as I wish I could do the same, I don't have that luxury this time around.
I spent the first 3 days of my holidays at school taking care of the PMR & SPM students who stayed back during the holidays.
I also gave every PMR student a 3 part talk over 3 nights on best practises for the English Language PMR papers.

I started this last year because I realised that, even after 3 years of study, many students still were not able to meet their potentials in BI PMR. For many of them it was a struggle just to pass. For too many of them, they could pass the other subjects but not BI. Thus, failing PMR.
The students would usually stay back during the mid-term holidays in the second semester to study so I took advantage of this & last year I held a captive audience for 4 nights in a row.
I shared with them the requirements for each section of the exam & how they can score more. I also gave them tips on what to prepare as well as highlighting the common mistakes they made.

It was a struggle to control them in a big group & I used several iron-fist methods because I was pressed for time & could not tolerate any bullsheet.
I persisted & was able to give them as much as I could about every section of the exam. In the end, many students told me that they benefited from it.
It also showed in the results. Last year, 75+% passed BI PMR (sorry, I can't remember the exact figure). Which resulted in 72% passing PMR (passing every subject).
Of course, I dare not say that my talks alone helped them. It was the cumulative effort of the English Panel & the whole school in brewing excellence. However, I could not ask for better motivation to do it again.

This year, I did it with some improvements & especially updates on the common mistakes by the new cohort.
I was able to command the students by first enlightening them about their brains. Then, praying for them before each talk. At the end of my last session, I blessed them & prayed for their success.
Prayer works even though they may not understand the language it was made in.
Don't worry. They're all Christians so I wont be suddenly accused of proselytising. ;-)
I kept things interesting by relating things to them, telling them jokes & poking fun at several of them.

If you have a big group of students who are borderline cases, I suggest you do a talk of your own for them.
Try to keep things light & interesting. Use video or maybe music to motivate them.
hahaha~~ I don't actually practise that. I do not have the luxury of time so I go straight to the point with some entertaining deviations once in a while.
I'm an iron-fist teacher because I know my stuff & I'm going to stuff it into your head whether you like it or not.
If I'm at a school where students are harder to control or have low motivation, I might put more effort into the packaging. As it is, my style works with my students. You may have a different style based on your teaching context.

...and... NO, I will NOT share my PowerPoint slides. I'm sorry. I'm going to be selfish here because I put in a lot of effort into compiling it. It's nothing ground breaking or miraculous. Just common sense & a lot of heart.
You can make your own which may be even BETTER than mine. Look into the many reference books in the market. They'll help you compile yours. Remember to tailor it towards the unique weaknesses & needs of your students.

The more you use your brain, the more brain you'll have to use.

p/s: I have a brother who is taking PMR as well this year. It's sad that I'm doing so much for these children in the jungle but nothing for my own brother. Its times like these you hate working so far away from home.

Featured in Stuff@School

2011-08-17T14:18:00.002+08:00

Check this out!
It was published on Monday, 15 August, in Stuff@School by The Star.
Distribution of the pull-out is limited to certain schools. Even then it has a 300,000 readership.
I will be applying for a subscription for my school.

Thanks very much, Amanda Ng of Penang Chinese Girls' High School for picking little ol' me for your interview of inspirational people.
=)

Anyway, do I see a movie deal in the horizon?
hahahaha~~

会いたい

2011-08-05T20:52:00.002+08:00

Strange.
I thought that by sheer determination, business or ignorance I could wipe out something from my heart.
I thought that, like memories & kinship, distance & time would fade emotions away.
I thought that I'd be able to make other women be my next obsession.
I guess it's another one of those self-delusions humans are so prone to.

It's been many years. Too many.
Every time I see a couple with a child, I think of her. Then, I'd wonder what it would be like for us to have a child of our own.
Every time I see a pretty girl, I think of her. Of course, I'd check the girl out too. I am after all... a man. Then, I'd wonder how she is.

I really want to be settling down. I really do. But I've yet to feel strongly convicted about someone to commit myself eternally. Except for her & I did not tell her. Stupid.
I hate this feeling. When the things that she does to piss you off makes you smile & when the things you did to piss her off leave you in deep remorse.

Maybe its coz I have strong feelings for her.
Maybe it's some twisted form of self-delusion from a hurt male ego.
She did leave me before I could leave her. I can still remember the last time I saw her... walk away... at the airport. I went numb & lived in denial.

I was stupid. So stupid I did not make utopian promises to her. I wanted her so bad but I knew that if we kept going, it would be tough, so I chose to keep quiet hoping that it was the best thing for both of us.
Maybe it was... but certainly not for me.

I don't know if I'll see her again.
I don't know if she feels the same way.
I don't know if she has someone.
All I know is I ache every night & this will go on for a really really long time.

Pertandingan Mencipta Video Merdeka: ICT & Kemerdekaan

2011-07-30T23:34:00.002+08:00

Some of you may remember my students & I taking part in last year's Liga Remaja Kreatif competition.
I wrote about it here & here's the video...

We didn't win any award but my students did get an awesome looking certificate + invaluable life experience.
I think it would be great if I were to share the videos from the winners too.

Sarawak #1: SMK Luar Bandar No.1, Sibu - Jalur Lebar Untuk 1 Malaysia

Full list of state winners here (pdf).

Malaysia #1: Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah, Putrajaya - Segenggam Janji Seerat Ikatan

Malaysia #2: SMK Pokok Sena, Kedah - Evolusi
Unable to find video on the Internet.

Malaysia #3: SMK Taman Selesa Jaya 2, Johore - Hikayat Kampung Mega Jaya

Anugerah Khas Juri: SM Pendidikan Khas Vokasional Shah Alam, Selangor - Jalur Istimewa

I honestly think that they all deserved to win. They had really meaningful/creative videos. I've learned a lot from watching theirs & I hope to produce an even better video this year.

This year there's a new competition: Pertandingan Mencipta Video Merdeka bertemakan "ICT & Kemerdekaan". You can check out the details here.
This is going to be challenging because the whole theme leaves me at a blank. However, this does open up a lot of room for my students to give me a unique view from the children of a forgotten people.

I'm going to assemble my key students & we are going to come up with something great!
See you in 2 month's time!

English Language Society 2011

2011-07-24T17:33:00.001+08:00

Behold the new logo for this year's English Language Society!
Building on the success of last year's English Language Society, the ELS continues into this year... with some changes & improvements, of course.

Last year, I personally oversaw every aspect of the society because it was a personal experiment to see how far I could go with the students. Thankfully, I had the support of the society members, the teachers & the school head. The society was able to made a big impact in the school.
This year, I've divided up the work between the English Language Panel teachers to lighten my load because I wanted to dedicate more time into my role as the Chief Warden. However, as time went by, it seems that students are sometimes more reliable than adults. I had to help the teachers more often that desired. Somewhat against my beliefs in leadership but I might have to start managing people very soon.

Also, I've decided that all ELS Presidents from hence forth will be picked by the teachers. We had a President this year who was voted in by the students. He was mostly absent & did not contribute much. Over time, I found that the members were reluctant to follow or listen to him which leads me to believe that they might have chosen mindlessly or maliciously. (Kinda like the way their parents choose politicians but that's a story for another day.) After half a year, I stepped in & made a change. It's been better ever since.

A month ago, we spiced up the English Language noticeboard with all that jass (will post up pictures on another day) & are currently working on our very own ELS HQ (an unused room at school given to the ELS)!
You know me... when I'm done with it, it'll be all flashy with fancy deco & lights!

Our single most significant event of the year, the English Language Week & English Language Night will be held in September. Planning is complete & every teacher has selected an activity to run.
Some of the more interesting add-ons are "Gee" by Girl Generation will be performed this year & there will be a voluntary sing-a-long every night conducted by myself + powerpoint + a talented student guitarist.
I originally wanted to include a RockBand 3 performance but I have had difficulty procuring the said game.

Will share more as time goes by.
So, what is your English Language Club/Society at your school doing this year?

Another Rant On Another Ugly Football Jersey

2011-07-17T17:04:00.005+08:00

2011/2012 Home Jersey

My oh my... The new Milan home jersey is an ugly one.
I know ugly football jerseys & I see them in Malaysia all the time. From a Star Trek jersey to a blue bumble bee jersey, the most popular & most publicised EPL club in our country has shamelessly released one ugly jersey after another.
While their new home jersey has gone the way of clean body-fitting red & is looking good, a football club from the fashion capital of the world has decided to make theirs look like pyjamas. Those stripes are too thin & the whites really do not belong.
Perhaps they want to put their opponents to sleep? You never know. People will do anything to get an edge.

The consolation is the new away & third jerseys are great. I like the thin vertical red & black lines on the left side of the Away jersey. I also like the horizontal Italy colours & the low-key Milan logo on the Third jersey. Both minimalistic & very classy.

2011/2012 Away Jersey

2011/2012 Third Jersey

At RM300 per piece, I'd rather go for my favourite, the 2008/2009 home jersey, which I still wear proudly.

2008/2009 Home Jersey

In the end, a football club is kinda like a woman. Both are reasons for men to stay up late at night & get really excited over the weekend. Guys also talk about both with passion & conviction.
Similarly, there are many in the world at varying levels of competition. In the end, you choose one & stick to her because you like what you see & you feel that there is a connection between you two.
One day, this woman is going to look really ugly but it doesn't mean that you leave her. People will criticise her looks & makes jokes about her in your face but you have to stand even more firmly next to her even when, honestly, she looks ugly even to you. You highlight her good qualities instead of focusing on what is skin-deep.

I love AC Milan. Even though she will look ugly this year, the reason I love her is because she is cultured & she is very tactical & careful in her games.

Forza Rossoneri!

Yellow Movies

2011-07-10T11:37:00.006+08:00

Here're some Yellow Movies from Youtube.

The Best Beerseeh Vid Ever

Beerseeh Raelly KL Vid by D A P

Beerseeh Raelly London Vid

Beerseeh Raelly Melbourne Vid

Beerseeh Raelly Singapore Vid

Aljazeera Report Vid

Channel NewsAsia Report Vid