If the teacher feels uncomfortable teaching in English, he or she may choose to get the lesson “over and done with” quickly, covering the bare minimum without going the extra mile to include other good-to-know’s or tips. I’m not saying learning in English is a bad thing. I’m all for English as a medium of instruction, even if it’s just for Science and Math. But the fact remains that we do not have enough qualified teachers to do that. Furthermore, I personally find learning in BM is just as effective.

I agree that we tend to use strange terms like “janjang” (“series” in English), “penyahpecutan” (BM for “deceleration”) and so on, but at the end of the day it’s the concept that’s important. It doesn’t really matter how it’s delivered, as long as it gets delivered. And if it helps to make the delivery more effective, the teacher can throw in its English-equivalent terms as an added bonus. I grew up learning everything in BM and when I entered uni, I found the BM-to-English transition both redundant and enlightening.

Everytime I came across a new English term, I felt joy in successfully relating it to its BM-equivalent word. Japan, Germany and China are examples of technologically-advanced nations that do not use English as a medium of instruction in their education system. Practically, I think we should not be too worked up about the whole PPSMI issue. We can instead focus on what is being taught in schools (factual/accurate History syallbus?) rather than how it’s taught.

Honestly, learning stuff in BM is not the end of the world. Many people turned out fine. There are more pressing issues that need our attention. PPSMI is not going to stop brain-drain. PPSMI is not going to stop our kids from having to sit for IELTS or TOEFL when entering universities. I just think that the PPSMI is a little too far fetched an idea and our country isn’t quite ready for it. Don’t you think so?

I’m trying to pick up writing again. Because I know blogging helps to keep my brain going, to some extent. And my photography, too. As it is, my camera is collecting dust. For a while my blog went dead, and displayed rubbish. It wasn’t my doing, I don’t know how it became like that. I managed to seek assistance from my hosting provider and restored an old backup. I can’t even remember when was my supposed last post, before I went on the unplanned hiatus.

I embarked on a big journey of self-discovery, soul-searching, and took a big leap of faith and pursued a flying career. I learned about people, about teamwork, management, about relationships, and I learned how to fly a jet aeroplane. Throughout all this, I gained some, and lost some. I lost some valuable friendships, since leaving Malaysia to reside in a new country. Don’t mean to say they’re no longer friends, but we don’t connect the way we used to.

My journey had taken me to Australia, where I did most of my flying. And trust me Australia is a really beautiful country, and even more so when viewed from the sky. Well I don’t even know who still visits my blog. I know I’ve got a little over a hundred RSS subscribers, still. Hello again :)

4-secs, f/14, ISO100

Last weekend my friends and I drove down to this place called Hillarys Boat Harbour to catch the Launch of Summer Fireworks, one of the biggest fireworks show in Western Australia apparently.

It’s really an interesting place where the locals relax on weekends, go for a sail, buy and sell their boats, have meals, etc. There’s a beach where children can have fun as well.

For the event that night itself, an emcee-cum-DJ was stationed on the jetty and played music while visitors shopped around and had dinner.

We chilled out in one of the restaurants til dusk before heading outside to grab a spot. By then the place was already quite packed with people. Here’re some of the photos taken throughout the show:

3-secs, f/14, ISO100

3-secs, f/14, ISO100

3-secs, f/14, ISO100

3-secs, f/14, ISO100

2-secs, f/14, ISO100

3-secs, f/14, ISO100

2-secs, f/14, ISO100

6-secs, f/14, ISO100

4-secs, f/14, ISO100

Summer in Australia is really quite awesome. I think the locals really love the summer alot too. The parks and beaches are full with people having fun playing frisbee, volleyball, picnicking, surfing, wind surfing, cycling, etc. It can get quite hot during the day while under the sun even hotter than Malaysia or Singapore, but of course not as humid. At night it can get quite cold (around 15-20 degrees Celsius) though.

P/s. Sorry to disappoint my Facebook friends, you’ve probably seen these photos before ;p Anyway, we’re days away from year 2010 and it’ll be my first time spending Christmas and New Year (and Chinese New Year afterwards) here. Something different? ;)

I had passes for all three days, but I only attended on Saturday and Sunday. The F1 event in Singapore is a huge thing and the atmosphere is amazing, both in and outside the circuit area.

I saw this DTM race car on display outside one of the gates. It was the meanest-looking Audi A4 I’ve ever seen in flesh.

The weather in Singapore throughout the event was perfect. I went around taking photos of different parts of the circuit, including this area where walkabout ticket holders are allowed to watch the race.

And then because I was holding a media pass, thanks to my friend, we had access to one of the VIP suites at Turn 1!

That’s one of the Ferraris accelerating out of the pits. Actually the view we had was excellent if you’re merely enjoying the experience and soaking in the atmosphere. I soon left that place to look for a good angle to take photos.

I needed to go to some place where the camera guys were stationed. I did alot of walking and there was no surprise why my heels ached for a few days after the race was over.

Instead of overlooking Turn 1 at an elevated platform, I went over to the other end of the Long Straight, where I could see the entrance into the pit lane. Also, to the uninitiated, the final turn into the Long Straight is usually a high-speed corner!

That’s Travis performing at the F1. Note that it wasn’t Fort Canning Park. Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, BEP and other big names performed at Fort Canning Park, whose tickets were sold separately because it was a separate concert altogether.

During the race itself I was standing at the same spot where I stood last year, at Turn 11, because compared to all the places I surveyed, I still preferred this spot. I arrived late and it was already jam packed with people.

After the race, Backstreet Boys took the stage at the Padang and as you can see, the crowd was huge there! We were particularly critical about their behaviour; ie. when they sat on the floor, etc. We thought they might be tired. Hehe.

After BSB’s show we had the chance to visit the F1 paddock and see the teams pack up. I was actually worried about taking pictures there due to obvious reasons. I also saw David Coulthard talking to his team members.

Just right before we left the circuit, we bumped into Lewis Hamilton – winner of this year’s Singapore GP – and his father Anthony. There was already a small crowd asking for Lewis’ autograph.

This year’s Singapore GP was a different kind of experience for me because of the special passes that allowed me to visit different parts of the circuit. Let’s see what 2010 has in store for me. He he…

Note: All photos taken with either a 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 lens or a 70-200mm f2.8.

We chatted for a while, before I proceeded to show my documents. After getting the forms stamped and signed, I realized I had left out another set of documents that needed verification. I decided I would settle that the following day. I could go either go back to him, or to another place. I therefore did not fix an appointment with him.

When I went to a nearby coffee shop for my lunch, I saw him again so I invited him to join me. Things became less formal. We talked about what I’d be doing in Australia and about life in general. And then he related that his daughter also graduated from Australia, and was currently working in Malaysia. He said he didn’t really understand his daughter (who was, btw, single) well, and asked me how do young people think.

I offered him my views, albeit briefly. It was after all, over lunch and inappropriate to speak about things at length I guess. So that was it, not a single indication that I’d see him again after that day. The following day I decided to go back to him again because it was convenient. He was very happy to see me, a warmer reception compared to the day before.

He knew why I was there so it saved me the trouble of explaining. After we were done, he charged me only a minimal sum, much less than what I should pay. Then came the interesting bit. He said something like this; “I see you look like a nice guy. Do you think you can do me a favor? Make friends with my daughter, or introduce some friends to her because she’s at home most of the time and I’m worried she’s no friends”.

He said if his daughter were to expand her circle of friends, it was better to do it through people that we know, rather than strangers. “I now know you already mah”, he added. I honestly didn’t know what to do. He didn’t charge me the full amount for his services, and now he was asking for a strange favor. He then handed me a piece of paper with his daughter’s name and email written on it. “Damn,” I thought, “want meh…”

He said there was no obligation to his favor, just try to make friends and see how it works out. I said I understood, and that I’d see what I could do. As I was about to leave, he stopped me and guess what, he showed me a photo of his daughter on his handphone! I felt it was not very right and for some reason I tried not to look at the picture. But of course, it was shown to me like that already, and I wasn’t blind, so I saw.

What do you think? Since he was willing to show me her pic, obviously she had to at least look ‘OK’ right. It was a photo of her with her pet dog. Quite cute also lah. Both the dog and her. Anyway I left the place and immediately sent my friend an SMS saying some guy just pimped me his daughter. But you know what, it’s been about a year now and I have not followed up with that ‘favor’.

Feeling guilty as I might (for accepting a discount), I certainly didn’t promise anything. It’s probably better to let that girl find and make her own friends. What if she found out her dad had been ‘helping’ her? Sometimes such help is indeed of no help at all. She was 2 years younger than me. I didn’t think her dad should be too alarmed about her still staying single.

Its superior camera is very much unrivalled even til today. After a couple of firmware updates, the phone (including the camera) still performs like new, which really leaves me with no valid reason to change to a new phone…;(

While everything on the inside is working perfectly fine, its outer body is beginning to age. Suffice to say the phone’s taken quite a bit of abuse during its lifetime ;-/

The battery cover now needs to be taped because the plastic latches securing it have all broken, and the battery would just fall off.

How cool is that? Of course the tape itself needs to be replaced every now and then too and a masking tape is not very hard to find.

I’m pretty sure the phone will not attract thieves. I’m now carrying a second phone for my other number but its features are nowhere as good as the N95. If only I could replace the phone’s casing with a new one, like how we used to do on our 3310 (you remember that don’t you?) during the stone age.

Let me know if I could somehow refurbish my phone ok. I don’t mind spending some money to restore its glitter.

Thinking that it was one of those seasonal attacks, she was taken to our family doctor where she was given antibiotics and other meds for her persistent cough. When her condition did not improve, she was brought to a nearby hospital for an X-ray. The doctor there suspected that she had bronchitis, which startled me, who was 300km away from home at that time of course.

My family never had such medical history! How did this bronchitis even come about? I later learned that the hospital (medical center, hospital, same, no?) did not have anymore rooms for Sis, especially the single ones because her condition was contagious. An attempt at warding her in another neighbourhood private hospital was futile because it was also full house. Luckily a third attempt paid off – a private facility which was not too far away from home.

Because of the fever that came along, we were told that it could be dengue. The various diagnosis that cropped up in a span of just 3 days began to worry me. Then suddenly I received an update saying her fever had subsided. Thinking that she was already warded and that she’d have sufficient medical attention, I actually heaved a sigh of relief. And then the next day came the bombshell. ‘Pneumonia’ was by no means a small word! A quick check on Google with keywords ‘pneumonia’ and ‘h1n1′ only returned frightening results.

In view of the escalating numbers of H1N1 infections reported by the papers, not to mention the number of fatalities, I was worried sick. Within 3 hours after receiving that phone call, I hopped onto the next available MAS plane home, the last of the day, and the most expensive I had ever taken, plagued by anxiety and, believe it or not, fear. I was actually very afraid. I had never been that scared in my life before.

I applied for an emergency leave, and spent the remainder of the week shuttling between home and the hospital where Sis was warded. By then it had dawned upon us that it was actually H1N1 that we were dealing with, but since her infectious period was already over, the question of quarantine did not arise. She responded well to the treatment and the (mild) pneumonia that was detected earlier had gone.

And the fever did not return throughout that period. Her condition improved. By the 10th day or so she was allowed to return home. But because of her weak immunity she was given a further 1-week M.C. to recuperate. Thinking back, I was pretty sure god heard me when I said my silent prayers in my flight seat the night I flew home. Sis has now fully recovered, and everyone else in the family is as healthy as a bull.

“Actually I would prefer the window seat” I heard myself say today, instead of the usual “I’d like to have the seat near the emergency doors”. I traded off legroom for window seat today ;) I don’t usually carry much when commuting between Changi and KLIA, and I’m glad that airline companies recognize this. I paid a ‘Lite’ fare – a return Jetstar that cost a little more than a return Aeroline – where I can’t have check-in baggages. Today was particularly nice because I hadn’t felt this good about coming home in a long time. Important dates are over, the major stresses are gone and I really need a break. Even the lady at the immigration officer was being nice to me. She smiled and looked at my passport, did some stuff and wished me a nice weekend before clearing me. (Btw it’s common to have your occupation and company name written in your passport when you’re a working foreigner). I wished her the same and left for the departure hall.

I realized that everytime I walked through that metal detector I would expect the buzzer to go off. Today was no exception. I can never understand why sometimes the buzzer goes off, sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve even tried removing my watch and wallet but I’d still trigger the detector. But today, even the metal detector ‘gantry’ (Singaporean’s most dreaded word) was ‘wishing’ me a nice trip home. I held my breath as I walked through it and when nothing was heard, I smiled at the officer in relief. He smiled too. My pleasant homecoming didn’t end there… I was typing away on my laptop (gotta love the wifi) when a hottie came and sat next to me. She was in a dressed-to-kill combo of white silk dress and heels. Looked like she was headed for some ball or something. The True Fitness backpack looked a little out of place but it was cute nonetheless. Turned out she sat right behind me on the plane. Naw no exchanges took place ;).

And my seat? No I didn’t suffer a muscle cramp. But it was tight sqeeze. Anyway I wouldn’t have sacrificed my legroom if it wasn’t a short flight ;) Have a fantastic weekend, you!

Shorttalk: Narrowband is to answer a call of duty tomorrow, for his sister’s graduation ceremony. Guess? Free labour!

I, for one, don’t do that. I always want to get the max out of my bedtime so I don’t like to be interrupted until I really have to get up. I’m also a light sleeper, so usually the first ring (which is also the lowest volume) will be enough to get me up and moving. So if I need to get up at, say, 0715 am, my first ring shall be at 0715 itself.

In my lifetime I have seen people who’re very much the opposite. They prefer to set the alarm to ring 15-30 minutes before the time when they would actually get up. There’d be a couple of snoozes. I look at that as a 15-30 minutes loss of quality sleep time. Why’d anyone wanna wake up and press a button (snooze) and only to go back to sleep again?

According to a friend, we can actually set a few alarms on a Nokia phone. Some people would utilize this feature and set alarms to ring 10-15 minutes apart. How does your body recognize if it’s time to wake up, then? If it isn’t the first ring, would it be the second? Do you keep count (in your sleep) how many times the alarm has rung?

Interesting isn’t it. Efforts should be made by scientists to study this behaviour and explain the cause and ways to overcome the problem. By the way, would or wouldn’t you call this a ‘problem’?

P/s. After 15 weeks of hardwork, stress and swollen eyes, it all came to an end with three important days. Don’t know how well I did yet, but I’m very relieved anyway! ;)

I’m supposed to be studying for an exam, lol. Til then, updates will be scarce.

Psst: Love the simplicity of this theme ;p