Anders Backman - my Swedish friend

Introducing Anders Backman, 43, from Gottenberg, Sweden. Also known as Gnarl the Beast in Tagged. A simple man, yet full of humor. A very kind-hearted person, who devotes all his love to his beautiful soulmate, Tina Carlstorm and their three children.

I met Anders on the net. He approached me in one of the 'meet friends from all over the world' site and of course later we became friends. Honestly at first I thought he is a species that comes from the same tribe of mentally-retarded people who turn internet into an environmental apocalypse with their flirting demeanor -- in their first email they'll chant the common  'hi how are you doing' note and the next time they will ask if you're interested to have sex with them online! Sheesh!

But getting to know Anders..... I admit that he's different from the rest. He aims to make as many international friends as possible to fulfill his mission to improve his English language. In his very first email to me he even warned me 'dont get me wrong but I belong to someone else so don't even think of falling in love with me!'  

Hahahaha....*rolling on the floor*.  That's so straight forward but it's cute. I mean, how on earth would he be so sure that I will fall in love with him after several conversations? Hey Anders, that should be my line, not yours!

The beauty of our friendship...? Priceless! Of course we exchange common things like personal experiences, about relationships with our spouses, about raising the children, about works, traveling experience, adventures, past times, and many others, but the best of all is our 'foreign language session' where he'll teach me simple everyday Swedish language and I'll convert them to Malay language for him. Some of the words/sentences he taught me are:

God morgan - Good morning
Hej, mitt namn ar Ati - Hello, my name is Ati
Lat oss dricka kaffe - let's drink coffee
Jag foredrar te - I prefer tea
Kall? - cold?
Varm - hot
Vi ses nasta gang - We see next time
Ha en trevlig dag - Have a nice day
God natt - Good night
Jag alskar dig! - I love you!

...and of course the simple counting from one to ten... (I think for beginners like me, number six must be the easiest to remember!)

ett - one
tva - two
tre - three
fyra - four
fem - five
sex - six
sju - seven
atta - eight
nio - nine
tio - ten

We truly had good times together and I really miss him for these moments. Gosh! Wish I have more time to chat with him on the net. Well, I used to get hooked up to the internet at least five to six hours a day but since I am getting busier with my study I have to leave my friends aside for now. I have not written to him for many months, but I hope he will still remember me, just the way I remember him.

Anders, my good online friend. Like a rare diamond in the glittering sands.

A day out at Dataran Putrajaya

Once in a while it's fun to take the children out for a treat at a nice restaurant and then let them roam free on their bicycles after all the hardwork in schools and offices. We went to Dataran Putrajaya. There is ample space for hundreds of visitors from all walks of life to admire the beautiful scenery, snap some pictures, relax, chit chat, play, or take a nap, if it need be! Some regular visitors already know their ways around the place. They brought with them remote control cars (there's also one with a helicopter for show-off),  or play freesbie, and some of them even brought a flap chair and some magazines to read. The children enjoyed themselves very much, as much as we the parents did. Tired, but satisfied. It's shown on their faces. We ended up leaving for home at 12.30 a.m. Si tembam Aida was so tired that she dozed off in the car right away. Looking at her face when she sleep is so peaceful....

Sudirman Terasing

I seldom listen to the music. Most probably because I don't have a radio or any other music applications. But I like to listen to nice songs, sometimes I hummed them to reflect happiness in myself, in fact I like singing them outloud once in a while, just to reduce the tense that is building up in me. But nowadays, the opportunity of listening to the music only exist when I drive. Had it not been because car comes with audio equipment attached to its belly, I'll never get to listen to any songs at all. But worry not. I never cared who sings what. Not a priority in life.

But this morning when I was on my usual chore browsing the internet, I stumbled upon the lyric of a song by the late Sudirman Hj Arshad. He was my idol during the '70s and '80s. Back then I was his die hard fan(peminat mati keras???). I know all of his songs and memorise the lyrics. I even signed all my letters to my friends using his unique signature (ops!).

I can't tell which song I like the most because all of his songs were great. Including this one below. I used to sing it loudly in the bathroom, pretending that I was on stage, performing live in front of thousands of fans! (mati keras jugak???) Such an enegertic performance! I felt so alive! The crowd were cheering at me. Some of them even cried when they sang along with me..... Until I heard my mom's voice at high pitch outside the bathroom,

"Woi!! Dah lupa diri ke apa tu, terjerit-terlolong macam kena sampuk setan kat dalam bilik air tu!!!"

!!!--zzzaaaappppp--!!!

And so I'm thrown back to the ground. Hahahahaha......

TERASING by SUDIRMAN

Kegelisahan didalam kedinginan

Meniti sepi keseorangan

Sebuah kematian yang tiada bernisan

Sendu mengiringi perpisahan

Ruang nan luas diri bergerak bebas

Namun keupayaanku terbatas

Segala mimpi menjadi asing

Perit membakar diri

Sebuah cinta dan harapan

Menjadi mimpi berterbangan

Tersekat nafasku kabur pandangan mataku

Amat tersiksa diriku

Kerana kehilanganmu

Oh mengapakah terus mengharap menanti

Walau cukup kusedari

Kau tak kan kembali

Pemergianmu mengisi kekosongan

Biarpun dikau masih kuperlukan

Kita dikatakan pasangan bahagia

Kini terasing luka

Dear Sudirman,

Thank you for being such a great man during your days. You'll always be my favourite artist, till the end. Honestly, you're irreplaceable. Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke atas rohmu. Amin.

...and yes, Que Haidar does have resemblance with Sudirman.

Deep thinking while driving is bad for your eyesight

The new semester 2010 starts today at the Open University Malaysia (OUM). My teaching slot this time is allocated from 3.30pm to 6.30pm. I looked at the watch. It was already 2.35pm. Must rush to the City Campus, like, now! I don’t want to be late for the first seminar. Oh! Hey! The fuel tank was empty! Great! Just great!

So, with the speed of a hurricane, I drove the car to the fuel station, filled in the tank, and headed towards OUM. After about five minutes drive, I came upon an accident scene. The badly wrecked car has been removed to the side of the road but the scene was terrible. I wondered if the driver (and perhaps the passengers) was alright. Judging from the car condition, he has a slim chance of coming out unscratched. It made me shiver to think of sudden death caused by road accidents. It’s like you’re not given any last minute notice. It’s like an ugly punishment…

The accident scene was still haunting me when I got into the Touch‘n’Go lane at Kajang toll.

I hastily retrieved the smartcard from the front compartment and hit the electronic card reader. Normally I will hear a ‘beep’ sound to indicate that the transaction is successful (or that the card has been read). The automatic lane barrier or the flap gate will then be lifted up and I can continue my journey. However, this time, no matter how many times I waved and touched and up to one point, knock the card reader, the magical beep didn’t realise at all…! Nothing happened. Tak terangkat pun palang tol ni, pehal? Oh! No! This could not be happening to me. I took a peep at the side mirror and saw that cars were forming a long queue behind me and that created bigger panic in me. Could it be possible that I don’t have sufficient balance in the smartcard?

Ala Kassim…Mati la mak macam ni..!

For a few seconds, my head was blank. I wish I could turn my car invisible and reappear in front of my house. That would solve the problem. Next time I’ll consider installing a special car seat that could be ejected and !!puff!! ......here I land somewhere far away from the toll. But for now, what must I do? How do I face this humiliation?

Hey, wait a second. There’s a “panic button” that stucked drivers like me can press when they need help. The intercom, of course! Okay, I’ll call someone for help. Stay calm, do not overreact. Where’s the button…

Ahh.. there it is.. Eh, this looks just like…..

ARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

I have just realized that actually I did not wave my card at the electronic card reader, instead, I repeatedly waved and touched it on the intercom speaker right next to the reader…!! No wonder it's not working. Ayoyo, malunyer aku!!! Gosh! Where was I just now, at the planet of the apes? When returned to reality, I touched the smartcard on the reader and !!puff!! , this time the lane barrier lifted up.

So magic...!

Hurry, Ati…! Make a move…

Ceh!! So malu….!!!

Highlight of the week...

This is the second day of water disruption at the university. Early this morning when I reached office, I received this message in my mailbox:

"SYABAS has repaired the pipe. Unfortunately, because of the water pressure or the lack of it, the rate of water flow into our reservoir is very slow, and it will be sometime before normal supply is restored. Syabas and JPPHB are monitoring the situation and taking whatever action that is necessary to restore supplies. Meanwhile, SYABAS will continue to send their tankers to supply water to campus"

Well, it's good that actions have been taken almost immediately to rectify the problem, but even when water is being supplied by SYABAS tankers as temporary solution, I believe they are meant only for colleges, cafes and the mosque. What about the offices?  I made a visit to ALL the washrooms located in this faculty in search of water (due to urgency to @#$%^&)  but to no avail! AAAArrrrggggghhhhh.....!!!!! This is serious problem, man!

"In view of the above situation, kindly be more judicious in your usage of water." 

Message in the email read further. Yeah, right.... !


About an hour ago I bought mineral water in a 500ml bottle from a convenient shop. Not to quench my thirst. But to take ablution so that I could perform my Zuhr prayer. Later I need to give my soulmate a call and ask him if we could retire early from the office today. I can't think properly right now. My mind is messed up. I am looking forward for tomorrow to come. I feel like it's been ages since I last sit at the sofa and tease my baby girl till she cry...

What a brilliant idea!

I found this on YouTube today. Thought of sharing it here with everyone. Very brilliant, especially the book wrapper and the bag. Will try it later at home.

Cute and adorable he is...

Last Saturday, my family and I went to visit Chah at her home in Shah Alam. She is already in 7th day of confinement, after giving birth to a 3.65kg healthy baby boy that brings joy and happiness to the whole family.

This is Ahmad Ariff Hakimi, the baby who absorbed his mom's PhD journey and synthesizes them in his dream.

Penat la, tido kejap ye...

A tiny whisper on the global warming issue.... Huh!?

Patut la tak berbedung...alasan!

Such a fine baby who is always in deep slumber but loves to stretch every 20 seconds


Aida Amani & Ahmad Aqil Danial.... pipi sama bulat, badan sama tembam!

A perfect match, perhaps?

Note of desperation: Chah, you must get back to UM as early as possible. I am running a campaign to become the VC. Need your physical support. On top of everything, I need you to run amok at the DTC building every Saturdays 3 weeks before election. Rose could not do it well because everybody thought she's experiencing her first menses. Do you get what I mean???

ex-Demons 12 years later.....

I was searching high and low for something I've left unnoticed for many years, but I found something else instead....

A nostalgic picture of me and my ex-classmates (only a few of them) taken during Aidilfitri gathering last year. We are all graduates of De Montfort University of Leicester, England, 1997. It's been 12 good years now and everybody has become somebody in their expert field. Tam Masthura,Nor Azlina and Emizura were not in the picture. They could not join us the last minute.

Back, right to left: Shiful, Salini, Syed, Marina, Julia and Khairul. Sitting in front is Min and myself. Eh, mana hilangnya Faizal & Marliha?

Wish we could have bigger crowd in the next gathering.I've recently found Rosela, my so called 'soulmate'at the Kenneth Holmes Hall of Residence. I also found Mary, Angie, Magdalena, Ahmad Halfian, Syahanum, Raidah and some others through facebook. It's wonderful to be able to get in touch with them again. I miss you guys!!!

Unexpected visitor

Rain has been heavy lately. There has been strong winds as well. I found the rain water dripping from a hole at the ceiling of my son's bathroom. Made a check. The roof is intact. No leak. It means no problem. But somehow water could still go through the tiny-miny holes in between the slates because of the strong wind factor. Need to do something about it before the water rip open the ceiling one day (sigh!).

But what I really wanted to share here is not about the ceiling, actually. The heavy rains and the strong winds brought a visitor stranded and trapped at the back door of my house. An enermous catfish..! Yikes! In a glance, it looked like a giant snake!

Where it came from, we really have no idea. Perhaps from the nearby drain. But the drain is too shallow for the fish to swim in. The rain water must have overflown a river somewhere and resulted strong current that dragged the fish along, threw it into a drain and left it stucked at my doorstep. Well, I suppose that's what must have happened. What else could I think of?

Bibik took all her energy to put the fish into a big basin (for God knows the fish was awfully heavy and slippery!), while the children shouted hilariously as if they were running away from Freddie Crouger on the Elm Street. The fish was still alive and we didn't know what to do. No way we are going to cook and eat it. Ewwwh!!! But we can't simply throw it away either...



After sometimes, we stopped an Indonesian passerby who was on his way back home from work. Offered the fish and turned him the happiest man in the world. You should see his BIG smile when he took the fish home.....

Oh! well...! Tak payah masuk pertandingan memancing pun, ikan datang menyerah diri kat rumah... Hahahaha! What an incident...!

A message to the VC of UM

We should all be concerned about the future because we will have to spend the rest of our lives there.
-- Charles F. Kettering --

Publish or perish - The dilemma of "Jigong Jinli"

.

The pressure to rack up publications in high-impact journals could encourage misconduct, some say - by Jane Qiu

The latest in a string of high-profile academic fraud cases in China underscores the problems of an academic-evaluation system that places disproportionate emphasis on publications, critics say. Editors at the UK-based journal Acta Crystallographica Section E last month retracted 70 published crystal structures that they allege are fabrications by researchers at Jinggangshan University in Jiangxi province. Further retractions, the editors say, are likely.

Chinese universities often award cash prizes, housing benefits or other perks on the basis of high-profile publications, and the pressure to publish seems to be growing. A new study from Wuhan University, for instance, estimates that the market for dubious science-publishing activities, such as ghostwriting papers on nonexistent research, was of the order of 1 billion renminbi (US$150 million) in 2009, five times the amount in 2007. In other studies, one in three researchers surveyed at major universities and research institutions admitted to committing plagiarism, falsification or fabrication of data.

"The extent of the misconduct is disturbing," says Nicholas Steneck, director of the Research Ethics and Integrity Program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. "It highlights the challenges China faces as it struggles to rapidly improve the research capacity of a very large system ? with significant variations in quality ? to be a world-class player in science."

Two weeks ago, reacting to the retractions of the crystallography papers, Jinggangshang University fired the correspondent authors, Zhong Hua and Liu Tao. It is unclear whether their co-authors, who include researchers from other institutions in China, will also be investigated.
The journal's editors say that the discrepancies came to light during tests of software designed to flag possible errors and unusual chemical features, such as abnormal distances between atoms. The software identified a large number of crystal structures that didn't make sense chemically; further checking, the editors say, suggests that the authors simply changed one or more atoms of an existing compound of known structure, then presented that structure as new. Zhong and Liu could not be reached for comment.

Editors at the journal are now checking the authenticity of other published crystal structures, including all submissions from Jinggangshan University. Half of the 200,000-odd crystal structures published by the journal during the past five years have come from China. William Harrison, a chemist at the University of Aberdeen, UK, who is one of three section editors for the journal, would not discuss the ongoing investigation but says that the generation of large numbers of structures by one group would not necessarily raise questions, because diffractometers can easily collect a couple of data sets a day. "In terms of papers submitted to Acta E, the vast majority coming from China are correctly determined structures, and they make a valuable contribution to science," he says.

Nevertheless, the Wuhan University study suggests that misconduct could be widespread in many fields. The team, led by computer scientist Shen Yang, used website analyses and onsite investigations to identify a wide range of dubious publishing activities. These include ghostwriting theses and academic papers on fictional research, bypassing peer-review for payment, and forging copies of legitimate Chinese or international journals.

The researchers analysed the most popular 800 websites involved in such activities - which together rack up 210,000 hits a day- and found that the cost of each transaction is typically 600 -12,000 renminbi. Three-quarters of the demand comes from universities and institutions, says Shen. "There is a massive production chain for the entire publishing process," he says.
Concerned by such trends, China's science ministry commissioned a survey of researchers, the results of which remain under wraps. However, several sources revealed to Nature that roughly one-third of more than 6,000 surveyed across six top institutions admitted to plagiarism, falsification or fabrication. Many blamed the culture of jigong jinli - seeking quick success and short-term gain as the top reason for such practices, says Zeng Guoping, director of the Institute of Science Technology and Society at Tsinghua University in Beijing who was involved in running the survey.

The second most-cited cause is bureaucratic interference in academic activities in China. Most academic evaluation from staff employment and job promotion to funding allocation is carried out by bureaucrats who are not experts in the field in question, says Fang Shimin, a US-trained biochemist who runs a website called 'New Threads' that exposes research misconduct in China. "When that happens, counting the number of publications, rather than assessing the quality of research, becomes the norm of evaluation," he says.

Cao Nanyan, a colleague of Zeng's at Tsinghua, conducted a similar survey commissioned by the Beijing municipality, which surveyed 2,000 researchers from 10 universities and research institutions. It, too, found that roughly one-third of respondents admitted to illegitimate practices.

To critics such as Rao Yi, dean of the life-science school at Peking University in Beijing, the lack of severe sanctions for fraudsters, even in high-profile cases, also contributes to rampant academic fraud. Many researchers criticize the fact that Chen Jin, a former researcher at Shanghai Jiao Tong University who is accused of falsely claiming to have developed a series of digital signal-processing chips, was fired with no other repercussions. Meanwhile, others involved in the scandal have gone unpunished.

"You send out a very wrong signal when such high-profile cases are not dealt with properly," says Rao.

Will Universiti Malaya be in the same "jigong jinli" dilemma too? How soon is that?

I believe in you

I was on my way to the general office to check my letters when I met Dr Anna Azriati. We exchanged hellos and shared what we have been doing in the past few weeks since we last met. I shared with her my progress in study, which is now on the right track and is taking momentum. It was enjoyful talking to a person so full of spirit and motivation, not to mention beautiful like Anna. Pursuing PhD resembles embarking a lonely journey. I always felt light hearted everytime I met her. At the end of the conversation before we depart separate ways, she moved me inside when she said,

“I believe you can do it”

Thank you, Anna. I promise I will never let you down.

Ya Rabbal ‘Alamin, life is so beautiful at the moment…!

New South Wales, here she comes.....

Liana is flying to New South Wales, Australia today. She has managed to secure a place at the University of New South Wales. A four-year placement to pursue her doctoral degree in Islamic Accounting. That's a rare opportunity. Congratulations...!

We went to Bangsar Village Nando's to celebrate her. How odd it felt to be together again because it has been terribly difficult to gather all 6 ladies in a place simultaneously due to dissimilar workloads and individual schedules.

Minah-minah hippy-yippies

Talk to the FORK...!


Oh..! I am so sorry I have forgotten to snap some photos on the gift we bought for Liana... But I hope she'll like it.

Minah-minah skema

Tale of the bengong Bangfes tutor

Single and available...

Anyway, take care, sweet girl. God luck in your study. May Allah protect you from any kinds of evil doings and harmful people. Looking forward to meeting you again when you come back to collect your data here. Have a safe journey!!!

Ghajini 2008: The return of Aamir Khan

I am sure, at least once in your life, there must be a time when you watched a movie and was touched by the story line that you kept remembering it until after several days. Be it thriller, comedy, romance or any other genre, the after effect of the film made you continue thinking about it as if you are part of the story. Mesti ada, kan? Well, last week I had the opportunity to watch a Hindi film "Ghajini", starred by Amir Khan and Asin. Such a sweet love story that has a very sad ending. So touching. Until today, some good scenes from the movie are still re-played in my mind.




Amir Khan used to be one of my favourite hindi actor. His boyish face is so cute and attractive. But the moment the other two Khans conquer the industry, Amir suddenly disappeared as if he was swallowed by mother earth. I mean, he still played hero in some movies, but none of the movies reached my high expectation. His last film that I watched was "Mann" and that was way back in the late '90s. Since then, I had never thought that he would make a come back. I mean, seriously, all his films since "Mann" failed to get my attention. I can't waste my precious three hours watching rubbish till my butt hardened like metal, can I?

But then this new film released in 2008 really made me think of him as an attractive person (hello! attractive as in the movie la ye, not in personal life, okay!).


The film's story revolves around a rich business entrepreneur (Aamir Khan) who falls in love with an ad film actress (Asin Thottumkal). Sanjay Singhania, the owner of AirVoice India falls in love with Kalpana, the actress-model cum activist in several meet ups though she does not know that he is a tycoon. One day, her activist work for children comes in the way of child racketeers. When she successfully saves a bunch of children who were in danger, she is brutally murdered by a gang leader, Ghajini as she intervened with his plan of kidnapping 25 young girls to Goa. Aamir himself gets hit hard on the head when he tries to save her, eventually leading him into a state of short term memory loss.

Because of the severe injury to his head, his memory can only last for fifteen minutes and he doesn't remember events or incidents that have happened before in his life. He can now only live a comprehensible life by tattooing notes on himself and taking pictures of things with a Polaroid camera to remind himself of the incidents that have happened. Aamir’s status as a patient at the hospital is later studied about and helped by a psychology / medical college student, Chitra (Jiah Khan) who is searching for a patient with an "interesting" record for her college project. Chitra comes to know about his love story through his diaries he kept with him.

There is also a role of a police officer (Riyaz Khan) who is hunting Aamir due to several murders he has committed while trying to find his girlfriend's murderer through his diary. With the help of Chitra, Sanjay sets out on a revenge spree, searching for the murderer of the one love of his life... but then the romantic scenes in this movie are really, really romantic....Aww...!!


Tengok la citer ni... Tak rugi mengadap TV 3 jam bertenggek atas sofa macam burung jampok tengah-tengah malam. Dari mula sampai akhir, citer ni memang best...!!! Yang paling sedih, sampai ke saat akhir Asin mati, dia tak tau pun identiti Aamir yang sebenarnya...uhuk! uhuk!

Thumbs up for Aamir Khan and Asin!!!

Celebrities in the lime light...!

Errkk!!! Oh! No! Which one is my father-in-law? I am confused!

Baju warna apa dia pakai tadi, yek???

Saying goodbye to yesteryears.....

Today, with heavy heart, we let go of this house to its new owner

So many damages done

Merciless

I am sad, only God knows how I feel

It should have been nice

Comfy place for us to get together

To run away from metro life

And sink deep into tranquility...

Each piece brings memory,

Each spot has its own story to share....

Hush! Let them be buried!

For I refuse to bend down to history

This was where I kept my diaries

Were they still there?

Who read them?

Did they know of our story?

Mom, they ransacked the kitchen!

Look! Your beloved punch bowl was there

Its glasses nowhere to be found
I am sorry.....

This was my bedroom

It used to be tidy

Neat

There was a flower vase close to the window
I was proud of my books on the shelves

My treasures

Nights and days were spent

with tears streaming the eyes

And wet the pillows

Again and again

Where is our Dad?

Why isn't he at home?

I bought the dining table
Forked out money from my first salary
RM600
1992
I worked at Hitachi Air-Cond Bangi
I was an account officer


At night Dad used to rest here
He can't sleep properly in bed
It made him feel uncomfortable
Restless, endless nights
No one could endure the pain like he did
He was my superhero
He still is

I miss him dearly

Goodbye yesteryears
I suppose nobody cares in the end
They have forgotten the family
Fatimah, Wati, Lina, Za, Fadil, Farid, Eda, Firdaus
Who?????
Perhaps one day I'll buy back the house

Will it do any good?

"Ya Allah! Kurniakanlah kesabaran yang teguh ke atas kami sekeluarga dalam menghadapi kesukaran dan dugaan Mu ini. Aku mohon padaMu, Ya Allah, tunjukkanlah kami jalan yang benar dan berikanlah balasan yang setimpal dengan perbuatan masing-masing. Amin."

Let the competition begin....

New school term has just started. Irfan is now in standard 5 and Aliya in standard 2. Time sure flies fast. Within a few blinks of the eyes, my children has grown up and I am getting older. Add another few years and they'll be out of school in no time. Just like any other parents, I want the best for my children. I send them to a good primary school (well, I've heard people said that Sekolah Kebangsaan Jalan 3 is the best primary school in Bandar Baru Bangi). I send them to a reputable tuition centre (perhaps the one and only tuition centre in Bandar Baru Bangi that obtained operation licence and is registered with the Ministry of Education). I also put them into Abacus class, Tae-Kwon-Do class, add up with more swimming sessions..... All things that they love and enjoy doing and I love it too but I never have the chance to experience it at their age many many years ago.

Come to think of the young generation today, things are very different from the olden days. During my time, there was only sekolah kebangsaan without any sekolah agama. Which means I would be spending my time in school for 5 hours the most. The rest of the day was fully occupied with co-curriculum activities. I was a hockey player, for the school and for the state. Such a beautiful memory. Weekend was untouched. That's family time together. No extra activities involving schools. Unlike today, Saturdays and Sundays could not be considered off days any longer due to extra classes. Family vacation will have to wait until school holidays start.

Schools are also turning contemporary. We dont have any centre for ICT in my days. Desktop computers were aliens to us. There was fear that if you press the wrong button on the keyboard, the monitor will explode and you will die. At that time if you can type very fast with typo error at minimal, you qualify to work as temporary clerk with handsome monthly pay. There were also no pusat sumber, kaunseling rakan sebaya, hari kantin and year-end jamboree. Gosh! Where do these teachers find their time to organise so many activities in school?

Anyway, first day of the school term normally witnessed lots of parents in distress and running after their precious time to ensure their children settle nicely in their classes. Eager parents are those who sent their children to standard 1. Will my child be alright in school? Will he/she cry if I left him/her and head for office as I am running late now? Does he/she know where the toilet is? More important is to ask whether he/she knows how to clean him/herself when done? What is offered at the canteen? Does my child know how to trade their money with food of the same value? Is the canteen operator an honest person who returns the balance of money paid by these children? Oh! where is the classroom by the way? ........................

Achievement in 2009 summarised:

506,620 candidates sat for UPSR nationwide.

48,171 achieved 5A in their results.

95,826 applications were made to boarding schools.

6,600 only were accepted due to limited placements .

(source from Utusan Malaysia)

Of 48, 171 candidates with 5A, only 13.7% managed to secure placement at the boarding schools. What will and normally happen to the rest that fail to go anywhere? Will they be denied their opportunity for brighter future? How do they end up after school in 5 years time? But then, how sure are we that those kids that go to boarding schools will succeed and continue to university? How lucky can they be? (sigh) Long journey.....



Come, my children, it's time for you both to start running and win the race. Dont look back and never reduce your pace. Be strong and steady. Your dad will ensure your path to success is paved for you. I will run together with you and protect you from any obstacles.

Run! Let the competition begin......

Finally the struggles lessen....

Professor Gray has reviewed my write-up and provided encouraging comments on my study plans. He even forwarded to me a copy of his coming article on disclosure indices and content analysis for guidance. Alhamdulillah, I can now steer my study confidently at the right direction. Dr. Saleh has suggested I appoint Professor Gray as consultant, and I am very pleased with the idea of having a 'guru' to guide me in this lonely journey. Dr. Mazilah has also supported my arguments on the types of index to apply and led the way to the correct path. Dr. Devi and Dr. Anna are two moral supporters and I am very grateful for what they did to help me. My husband also provides strong supports, which, of course, in different ways unexplained here.

Everything seems to run smoothly on its track. What I need now is speed.

Funny meanings by improper usage

Mistakes.


I would understand it if the language used is a foreign language and we're not so familiar with it. But I would also think that it is ridiculous to have someone saying something not of one's intention/meaning just because one can't understand own mother tongue. Pure intention of communication then becomes practical joke, as these pictures below explain themselves....












Pictures courtesy of posted@isuhangat.net

A new day has come...

I am not saying I am a good person. But I am not bad either. Yet improvements are required here and there. As a mother to my children, wife to my husband, daughter to my parents, teacher to my students and finally nice person to my neighbour and everybody else.

My main resolution this new year (in conjunction to Awal Muharam) is not to delay the 5 times prayer everyday as I used to do in the previous. I also want to be a good wife and mother to my family. And finally, I want to take care of my old mother and make her happy. That's all. I dont want to be over-ambitious. Hopefully I'll manage to fulfill my resolutions.

When rationalisation speaks for itself....

When the Israeli troops attacked the Palestinian Muslims at the Province of Gaza, resulted in the loss of thousands of innocent lives, Malaysia was one of the country that voiced out great disappointment and started petition to stop such inhumane actions. One of the campaigns launched was to boycott companies that support Israeli activities and mission. This includes the largest fast food chain companies - KFC, McDonalds and Pizza Hut.

I tried to educate my children how important it is in any means not to support the criminal activities indirectly.

"Kalau kita beli dan makan KFC, kita bagi duit kat orang Israel untuk bunuh saudara Islam kita"

So far, my children have been comprehensible. They obediently "quit" frequenting KFC and its sister outlets and kept telling themselves there are many options available for them.

Nevertheless, before the school term ended this year, my daughter showed me a terribly sour face and told me that her teacher was organising a 'get-together-after-exam' activity, her classmates were going to contribute RM10 per person and the teacher was going to buy KFC and they would eat together in class. My daughter refused to pay her portion. She refused to go to school on that particular day. I was touched by her determination.

A few days later it's my son's turn to show protest. He refused to go to school on the day his "school prefects" group organised a farewell party at McDonalds for the senior prefects from standard six. This time, I felt pity to my children. The impact of these fast food restaurants have on children is huge. Sometimes I think it's not fair for us parents to prevent the children from enjoying something they like just because there were conflicts and contradictions at higher levels. I was in dilemma for quite sometimes. How do I treat my children at KFC without paying for the bullets?

So when my husband told me he wanted to redeem his credit card points for the year end but could not decide what to have, I took this opportunity to redeem a RM50 KFC voucher on a pretext I don't actually spend a single sen from my pocket to buy KFC. This way, I will not be feeling too guilty. He agreed and arranged for the redemption.

The voucher was supposed to arrive about 3 weeks ago. Till this very day, my husband was still having arguments with the courier company on the delivery of the voucher. Because the issuance of the voucher was under my husband's name, the courier refused to release it to anyone else at home. Somehow rather, the voucher was always sent at the wrong time, first time when my husband was still at the office, second time when he was still on the way from office and had not reached home yet and the third time, he was out buying the school textbooks for the children. He was so frustrated waiting for the voucher and fighting over the phone with the representative from the courier office, that finally he decided to give up.

"Either you send me the voucher or not, it's up to you. I don't care anymore!!!"

So here I am, sitting in front of the laptop and writing this entry in my blog, thinking....

"Agaknya niat tu tidak pada jalan yang baik, sebab itulah sampai sekarang Allah tak makbulkan..."

Oh, well....(heavy sigh)

Number one rule in parenting

Mom always gave me this one piece of advice that I'll remember till I die...

"Jangan suka mengutuk anak orang, nanti dapat balasan, anak sendiri yang tak betul"

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Oppss....! Sorry. Story has been deleted.

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............................why?

Nak cerita panjang-panjang pun tak guna. Aku letak posting suruh ambil iktibar, si Mr Observer ni pulak tuduh aku macam-macam pulak. Ko tanggung la dosa bebanyak. Kulit badan ko kan kalis api...

MORAL OF THE STORY for the one who claimed that he deeply reviewed my blog:

Parents must be very sad and disappointed if they came to know that their children are treated badly by other people outside the family.

Saiz huruf ni aku kena besarkan sikit, sebab ada orang tak mampu berpikir untuk menilai apa mesej disebalik cerita yang aku sampaikan. Hampeh betul...

Doa orang yang teraniaya itu makbul...

I believe what goes round, comes round. Balasan tetap ada untuk setiap perbuatan. Be nice to other people, we'll be happy. Live a moderate life and be grateful with what we have, God has made everything beautifully and sufficient for us in many ways. We just have to open our eyes and say "Alhamdulillah..."

The K-O-C-I monster

This is Bibik Ana. She is my maid who has been working for me almost two years now. I have always told her she is my first maid ever working for me and she will be my last one. She loves to cook. If given the opportunity, she will cook almost everything she knows. Spicy dishes, all kinds of noodles recipes, cakes, doughnuts, curry puffs, chicken rice, etc..etc..etc... Just put the raw ingredients in front of her, she'll tranform them into something delicious. Hmmm...Not bad for an Indonesian maid. Not bad at all....





But then one evening, when I came home from work, my son rushed to the door to greet me and also to whisper an unexpected message,


"Ibu, bibik buat kuih koci hari ni. Pergi la tengok kat dapur"


Having said that, he gave me a wide smile and then ran upstairs. Hmm... that's weird! What's so funny about "kuih koci"? So I went straight to the kitchen and have a check on the dining table. WOW! What have we here?

Gosh! What are these? Are these KOCI? How come they look more like LEPAT?

Feeling curious, I took one of the koci and peeled open the banana leaf covering it. Soooooo greeeeeen!!!!!! Yikes! It did not look edible at all! This is the first time I saw a green koci in my life! Perhaps it's related to the family of the famous incredible hulk. Or perhaps Bibik Ana is revolting against my choice of colour for her dress I bought her during the recent Eid Mubarak celebration (I bought her a red baju kurung that looks 96% similar to the one I bought last year). Oppss...that's me being forgetful..!

And so an interrogation process was carried out on her new controversial invention. She confessed that that was the first time she made koci in her entire life and that she did not actually know the exact ingredient required to make one. She found the green colouring in the refrigerator and carelessly pour excessive amount of the liquid in the ingredient mix and then regretted it and prayed hard that it will not make the taste of the koci bitter.

Nevertheless, the taste was as nice as any other koci sold outside at the stalls. Huhu....! Weird koci... Green, big, square-shaped koci! Not bad at all....

I love you too...

Aliya has been so stubborn today. What got into her, I don't know but she just refused to listen to what I said to her. Instead, she purposely tested my patience by saying something that raised my temper. It was then too late when I realised that I was actually screaming and hitting her hard with the cane in my hand.

Having done that, I marched into my room and closed the door behind me. It took me some times to ponder on what had just happened. It was terribly disturbing to see the child enduring the amount of pain on her body without even twitching. That was so daring of her.

Suddenly a piece of paper appeared from under the door. It was for me. I took it and unfold it. From the neatness of the hand writing I know who sent the note. It read....

I hate you

I closed my eyes. There must be something wrong with the way I teach this child that she has the courage to write such words to me. I felt sad, defeated, worn out, beaten, angry, frustrated. For all that happened just now, I only have myself to blame. If I want to be a good mother, then I should act like one. There must be a proper way of educating all of my children, Aliya especially, without having to hurt each other's feelings. I need to rectify this. Immediately!

I came out of my room with the note in my hand, just to find out that Aliya had shut herself in her room too. Grabbed a pen, I sat down at the study table and drew a line underneath her message. A line lower I wrote this...

But I never hated you. I love you so much.

I pushed the paper under her door and waited patiently. A few moments later I saw her silhouette behind the door, picking up the paper. It was silent for a long time before the door creaked open and Aliya standing in front of me. She was crying quietly.

Seeing her that way made my heart melt. Not long after that Aliya was in my arms, sobbing out her sadness. That is my six year old daughter regretting what she had done to me and repeatedly asking for my forgiveness. How else could I refuse her? She's my baby.

Don't cry my precious one. I am sorry for being so inconsiderate and selfish. I promise I will change. I'll be by your side everytime you need me and protect you with all my strength. Hush now. No more tears. Yes dear, I love you so much ...

Stop bothering me!

~Prologue~

I have always hated lizards in the house.

.......cet... cet.... cet....cet...cet......

The sound iritates me everytime I hear it.

.....cet....cet....cet......

Damn! You make another one more sound, I'll hunt you down! The pencil in my hand broke into two pieces. I made a big hole in the paper I was writing with the pencil.

Silent.

Good. You understand.

Let me concentrate with my work. Now, where did I keep my other pencil...... oh! here it is! OK, where was I? Oh ya! Now I remember.... The value relevance of information of intangible assets in the financial reports.....

.....cet...cet.....cet...cet....cet.......

Arrrgghhhh!!!! That's it! You are so in deep shit now!!!

I went downstairs to get several rubber bands in the kitchen. Fold some papers till the size of a finger. That will do it. My slingshot! I am going hunting for lizards. Saw one at the corner of the ceiling in the living room. Took my aim. Inhale. Let go.


Bullseyes! The lizard fell down onto the floor and tried to escape. Unfortunate, for I was ready to hit it with the broom in my hand. Too bad. Had it not made that iritating sound, it might still be able to go smooching every Tom, Dick and Harry of its own kind up there on the ceiling.

Goodbye! To the sightseers, don't mess up with me!

I hate lizards!