2011- The End

                                 

In few hours we will be welcoming 2012. Time really flies.  Just like the years before, 2011 has given some beautiful and some not-so-beautiful memories. Whatever it is, life has to go on and we cannot freeze the moments no matter how beautiful they are.

On professional front,  January 2011 gave me a big blow when my principal Evil Lady (EL) refused to grant  me permission to further my studies. I was so excited when I received the offer letter from UM in Dec 2010 and was preparing for an adventurous and exciting campus life when  EL stepped in and spoilt my plans. It took me awhile to accept the rejection and I guess God has better plans for me. As for her, just months after I withdrew from my programme, she went away to another school on transfer. The latest news I heard, she is having hard time at the new school as the staffs have no respect for her. I have only one thing to say …it’s KARMA (especially when you break an innocent soul’s heart  :p)

2011 marked my second year in teaching and I learned more about my colleagues this year probably because I am no longer a fresher J For someone who easily trust people, I learned a lot this year. I have learned that people have few faces and what you see is not what you get. Being a naïve person, it took me awhile to realise that some colleagues have been taking advantage on me. But anyways that is life and you will see all kind of people in life. I am lucky that I have few friends who knock some sense into me whenever someone is trying to push their workload to me. Hopefully, in 2012 I’ll know how to ‘read’ people.

2011 has been too kind to me on the personal front.  After years of struggle,  all three of us have graduated successfully.  My brother graduated in May in Melaka and that granted us the much-awaited family time. It felt good that we could spend quality time together after sooo long. Despite the fun and exhilaration, this vacation would certainly be unforgettable for me as I lost my favourite gold earring. My mum still has not forgiven me for that LMy sister graduated in November and we had another fantastic family trip to Sabah. Family trips are energy boosters. They keep you away from the mad world and pamper the kid in you J

2011 Deepavali has to be the best I ever had in years. After almost 6 years, we celebrated Deepavali together as a complete family and we had a blast. In fact we wanted to have a grand celebration to make up for the lost years.

And just when I am thinking it can’t get bigger than this, God is insisting on showering more blessing and who am I to resist? November has always been my favourite month as it is my month but now I have more reasons to cherish it. Past 3 months have been very special and if this is a preview of what 2012 holds for me, then I can’t wait for 2012 J

Thank You 2011 and Hi 2012!

Happy New Year friends!

My New Year Resolution

I’m so getting this!

random

My latest addiction. Can't get it out of my head :)




Coming soon : 2011 - A recap :)

The Dreaded Call

If there is a call that i dread the most, it has to be from my school. I have been working for 2 years and everytime 'school' appears on my phone screen my heart thumps ( no exaggeration..seriously). It is most probably because i associate 'school' with more work. Everytime i receive call from school, either i'll have to dig out an old students record which God-Only -Knows or collect school fee from some really stubborn students. And most of the times, i purposely avoid answering these calls. Then, after 30 minutes i go to office and enquire regarding the call. It's not the task that i avoid but the call. Don't ask me why.

But one can't be lucky all the time. Yesterday my phone screen was blinking and i answered the call despite knowing it's from school. I was expecting them to tell me not to come back early to school due to the flood. BUT...it seems the meeting has been rescheduled and i have to report to school on 27th Dec. I was tongue-tied that i could not say anything! So now i have to cut short my holiday which i don't mind at all. But the real problem is spending 6 days at Rompin doing nothing. Now that's difficult   torture.

How True!

Stress..anyone?

   
No.. i am not asking you to leave. Do spend few minutes here and you  might get stressed too :)
Before you jump into any conclusion ..no.. i am not stressed. I know that because i don't blog when i am under stress. So, what do you do when you are driven up the wall? I don't chew people's head and i don't yell but i certainly have my way of handling it..quite ineffectively though.




1. I am stressed. Where is my bed? I need to sleep!!

What a funny way of coping with stress? When i am stressed i hit the bed. That's perhaps because i always believe that when i sleep  the problems disappear too. May be i have not acquired the object permanence stage as i feel when the problem is out of sight, then it has ceased existing. But the problem is when i wake up, i realise that the world has not stopped spinning and i still have to solve my problems. Last year, i was doing something on my laptop and then once i was done i wanted to close the lid and as usual i held the upper part of the lid and suddenly i heard i 'crack'. I broke my screen! What did i do? I closed the lid, jumped to my bed and told myself 'it's a dream..a nightmare..You sleep and when you wake up you will realise". And i did sleep. I woke up after few hours oblivious to the fact that i had broken the screen and switched on the laptop and was quite shocked to know that it was not a dream after all. And then i did what i do normally when i am stressed...


2. I CRY!!!

That is something that comes naturally to me. So when i am under immense stress, grief and i just sit and cry and cry as that gives a sense of escapism. It feels as though the pressure comes out in the form of tears and usually i feel relieved afterwards. But still it comes with a hefty price..puffy eyes and swollen face which cannot be covered even with the best make-up


3. I am done with crying. So, it's time to recharge.

After sleeping and crying, i do what every human ought to do after shedding buckets of tears..eat. I have met people who say they lose appetite when they are sad or stressed and i usually give them 'are-you-for-real' stare. I get hungry when i am stressed. Well, i will need energy to think a solution to solve the worries, right? Sometimes, i do get guilty as i was supposed to be in gloomy mood and eating well certainly does not fit the gloomy category. But still, i pour out my feelings when i fiercely tear the chicken and 'whack' the food. Quite an outburst rite?


Then i write

If you think i torment others through my writing..no i don't do that.Well, at least not that often. When i am under immense stress, i write notes or poems. But those are exclusively personal as i grab any paper that can  and start writing or venting my feelings. Then, i chuck it aside and then another paper and then chuck it too. And eventually, when i am all cool and chill, i will read my ramblings, laugh at my silliness and tear to pieces (so that the garbage collectors don't read them) and throw them away. I don't keep anything that would make me sad and all weepy. 

So next time you are stressed and you want to deal with it your own way, just remember there are people crazier than you with weird stress management techniques. 

Little Rascals

More often than not we hear about impish kids and their never ending escapades. Especially me being a teacher, i witness such rascals almost everyday and sometimes it drives me bonkers.Kids nowadays are intolerable and parents are not helping either. I choose not to acknowledge the generation gap that exists between my students and I.Well, i'm just few years older than them. So , there hardly could be a generation gap :p

Unlike a few years ago, kids nowadays are well-versed in everything which is the core problem. Their expertise does not stop with academic performance alone! Or else how do i explain the girls with the 'swollen' bellies in my school and boys with red and teary eyes who always live in a different world. This year i am given a last class which is extremely challenging. As i am not used to teach such classes, i was totally lost for the first 2 months. I didn't know where to start and how to handle them. I didn't know what would attract them and what not.The boys would run away from the class and i would do the detective job by finding them and dragging them back to class.No i am NOT joking! It was exasperating. The more i show my claws more rebellious they were.Ignoring them was not helping them. Then, eventually i decided to follow the Gandhian way :) Ahimsa.

I started smiling more in the class. And i tell you, it's such a dangerous thing to do in the class because the male students are infamous perverts. They view porn as we watch serials and they do so at home with a company. No price for guessing. Yeah THE FATHER! So i used to get warning from other female teachers not to stand too close to the students or let them come near me in the pretext of clearing their doubts. Eventually, i got the hang of it. I smile often, praise the students for the dumb answers they give me, give them year 2/3 work (they are Form 4 students), give them money when they score 10 in their spelling and tell jokes. Everything and anything to keep them in class. And i proudly admit that it works though sometimes my temper flares up and i pounce on them :) Once i was casually talking and mentioned " I know you don't like me teaching you and you are silently cursing me but i have to teach you this..blah..blah" and one of the notorious student asked me "What made you think we don't like you? That might not be the truth". I just gave him a smile. Remember always smile and maintain your poise:)

They could be intolerably rude and devilish but they have their own reasons for such behaviour. And family is the first reason. Most of this naughty students are from broken, poverty stricken families. Unlike the good students who are tight lipped about their family problems, these students are not bothered to hide the truth about their families. This happened to my colleague. When she asked a boy about his mother's particulars he casually said " I don't know who is her current partner. She follows any guy". Since they are deeply hurt, they find solace in school and enjoy the attention given to them in school.

That's with  poor students. I am tutoring the daughter of one of the richest guys in this place and she is no different either. This is really Kaliyug because parents are so scared of their children. During my time, when i rebel (which i used to do a lot), a tight slap would keep me grounded. My mother was too generous with her beatings and i dared not to mess around. This student of mine could be so lazy at times and she would cook up silly reasons for not doing her homework. Finally, i had it enough and complained to her mother. Much to my amazement, the mother asked if i could do anything to eradicate the laziness because she cannot scold her daughter as the daughter would scream at her!! Reversed roles?? She was afraid that the daughter would talk back and might do something to tarnish the image of the family. So, she told me that she gives me all the responsibility to scold or punish the girl.WTH

And just two days ago, another student of mine drove me up the wall and i called the mother (i was tutoring her at her place). The mother came in shouted something at the girl ( they speak Chinese) and the girl refused to look at her mother. Finally, the mother snatched the books from the daughter and threw it outside the house. And guess what the girl did? She coolly took another book and pretended reading it (oh yeah she is just 11). The angry mother snatched the book and took girl's school bag and threw it outside the house! Finally, the girl budged and ran out screaming to rescue her school bag. Then, the mother took her cane and i closed the door not wanting to see that episode. After an eternity, the mother returned the cane and no exaggeration ..the cane was out of shape.

I don't know what is wrong with the kind of upbringing the children are having nowadays. Such kids when they come to school gonna make our life hell!

Royal Wedding

How can i not post about THE Wedding. Me being a sucker for weddings tried my best to keep up with the wedding news. Unlike other people i couldn't watch the wedding. So i was occasionally checking the websites to see the pictures. The unconditional love shown by commoners to the Royal family is unbelievable. I wonder if our own Agong and Permaisuri receive such love from people. Kate looked ravishing and she made quite stunning bride and William sans his receding hair line looked handsome. He appears to be very sweet guy. The gaga over the wedding shows that despite the modernization, everyone is yearning for that Happily-Ever-After life. So, i'll retire with that. Time to dream of a fairy tale wedding ..Awww

TAG

I am so bored but at the same time i don't have the idea to post anything here. So, i have decided to answer this tag.

Last movie seen in a theatre:
The Green Hornet ( That was like 2 months ago. There is no cinema in Rompin :( 

What book are you reading?
After relentless search, i found an online bookstore and got my fav books. So currently i'm reading

THE WEDDING GIRL by Madeline Wickham ( i'm a chick-flick chick:p

Favourite board game:

Chess.

Favourite magazine:

Reader's Digest ( i used to dread it)

Favourite smells:

Rose (I told you i am real chick:p)

Favourite sound:
Bangles clinking??

Worst feeling in the world:
Disappointment

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
Look at my mobile and check the time (I have always wished i had more time to sleep)

Favourite fast food place:
McD

Future child’s name:
I don't even know the hubby's name! God!

Finish this statement, “If I had a lot of money I’d…”
I will plan and plan and plan and keep planning what NOT to do with the money

Do you drive fast?
When the road is deserted, yes i do!

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
NO! ( i might like chick flicks but stuffed animal..NO..No)

Storms – Cool or Scary?
Cool when it happens elsewhere

Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
Yes (Is it Gross?)

If you could dye your hair any colour, what would be your choice?
I would not .

Name all the different cities/towns you have lived in:
Ayer Tawar, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney and Rompin (I wish i don't have to mention this place:(

Favourite sports to watch:
Athletics 

One nice thing about the person who sent this to you:
I stole this from someone. So, I"M SORRY

What’s under your bed?
There is nothing under coz evrythng is on the bed

Would you like to be born as yourself again?
No. Lets try something different

Morning person or night owl?
NIGHT

Over easy or sunny side up?
I don’t understand this question.

Favourite place to relax:

My HOME

Favourite pie:
None

Favourite ice cream flavour:
Chocolate

Now, i am tagging http://chandran-myworld.blogspot.com

Chennai Trip Part 2

The next day brought us to Mahabalipuram @ Mamallapuram. I remember seeing this place in the movie "kalloori" and secretly adding it to my 'must-visit' list. That's a historical site and if i am not mistaken it hosts a lot Historical stories and monuments. We were climbing everywhere and clicking away everything that we saw.Mahabalipuram took a long time and there were so many tourists clicking away just like us. And we also visited the "Rathas".

On the way back we dropped by a crocodile sanctuary. There is nothing special about the place and we were there just to kill some time. At night. before dinner my brother wanted to bring us to the famous Central Railway Station. I can't believe it's situated in front of the "Koovam River". Such a sore to the sight. The auto stopped near the "Koovam River" and i almost puked. The stench was so strong but nobody was bothered and they were walking without slightest uneasiness. May be they are so used it that it didn't bother them. The Tamilnadu government surely need to do something to educate people about the importance of keeping their environment clean. The railway station was so crowded and i don't think i had seen such a mob before. The hustle and bustle of the station was quite interesting.

The next day, we just wanted to unwind. So we chose to go to the "Vandaloor Zoo" and it was such a terrible mistake. There was nothing special and personally i feel our Zoo is much more 'happening". We saw very few animals but we saw so many couples dating there ! What a place to go for date!  Then, we  i decided to go shopping. Shopping was first class! We walked along the Renganathan Street and it was such a bargain. I brought  2 bodyguards (dad and bro) who were holding our shopping bags and guarding us against the mob :)
The next 2 days i was busy shopping and checking my shopping list. And the last day i was busy  packing thrusting in everything that i bought. Thank God for the extra bags that we brought along, we managed to bring everything back to Malaysia. When we landed in Malaysia, dad looked super excited and i was so glad that i did not miss out anything in  my shopping list :)

Chennai Trip part 1

This post is a very delayed post. I have been waiting to write this post eversince I came back from Chennai. But thanks to my immense laziness, I could not do so. At least finally I have found the time to write. Better late than never right?

 Well, visiting India has always been the first among my plans. And thanks to AirAsia it came true last December. After much persuasion, I managed to convince my dad, brother and sister to follow ( my mum is a hard one to convince). It was a six-days trip.  Before leaving I made an extensive research on internet and managed to book the accommodation and  prepared the itenary of our trip.

We took an early morning flight and guess who we met at the airport? It was none other than Dr. Burn the rapper. Apparently he was going to Chennai too and we were in the same flight. Dad was super excited boarding the flight as it was his first time on flight. However, the journey is not worth writing about as whoever travelled in AirAsia would know how ‘comfortable’ the journey is. It was early morning when the flight touched down Chennai.

The moment we collected our luggage and came out of the airport we bumped into Dharmendra and Esha Deol. It happened so fast that i couldn't click them. On a different note, i was definitely shocked at the sight outside of the airport as cab drivers were yelling and calling for passengers. It reminded me of our 'pasar malam'. We managed to get a cab and mind you that was my first time in an Ambassador and it felt cool. My Chennai trip taught me one two things about driving and the first and foremost lesson learned was the importance of horn. The moment the driver ignited the engine till he dropped us off, he didn't stop honking. He honked when he reversed, honk..turn left, honk..turn right, honk..went straight (!!??). And we were looking at each other in amazement and slight fear looking at the massively jammed roads. It's funny how they could understand each other perfectly and communicate through horns. One thing for sure, our Malaysians don't stand a chance. Our driver whom we hired on the next day said,
" Malaysian drivers don't drive like this right? We drive our cars as though they are bull carts. If our car get scratched or dented, we just stop , look at the car and shout at the person and drive away". 

After checking into the hotel, we freshened up and waited for the driver. The first thing we told the driver was "Bring us to a good restaurant @hotel ". The driver brought us to Saravana Bhavan near the famous Shanti Theater. I was dying to taste the Indian coffee and tea as few of my friends had already mentioned to me about them endlessly. I loved the food especially the Briyani though i could never finish the serving. But still the Cheese Naan and Kesari are the dishes that i could still feel in my mouth. Despite that, after 3 days we were craving for Char Kuew Tiow and other Malaysian dishes;) Malaysians are blessed don't we:p

 After a heavy breakfast we decided to go   around Chennai. What else could be a better beginning than a temple visit. We went to Kapaleeswarar Temple. There was something about the temple that gave me such a serene feeling and i made a mental note to visit that temple if i ever make a second visit. The 'tharisanam' was awesome and then we visited few other temples, the famous Marina beach (i wonder why the water was so black), Valluvar Kottam ( there was a National Handloom expo  going on ), Spencer Plaza and then we called it a day.          

 The next day was the Vellore-Kanchi Trip. Personally, i was looking forward for the trip as Kanchi Sari was too tempting to resist. We went to Sripuram Temple in Vellore and what do i say? What a temple and what a sight? Only few temples  give a sense of peace and divinity and this temple is certainly in. We were not allowed to take any pictures in the premise and thus i'm uploading a picture from net. It was sheer luck that we reached the temple during the "tharshana" time. So, we took the VIP ticket (money brings you closer to God!) and sat in front of the 'karpagraham'. After few seconds, the curtain was opened and there she was! Such a pretty Narayani! I remember the moment we laid our eyes on her, dad whispered "I think my India visit has completed and i don't mind going back now". That was how serene we felt. After having our lunch, we went to Kanchipuram and that was a long journey. Once we reach Kanchipuram, we visited Kanchi Kamakshi temple and then went shopping. I was a happy lady that day as my mission was completed. For the first time in my life i bought few Kanchipuram saris and can't wait to adorn them and show off to my girlfriends :) After such tiring day, we came back to the hotel, showered and went for 'Nandalala' in Shanti and came back saying "mama..mama..enga amma yenga..." :p

                                      

to be continued...

Romeo-Juliet

You would have written love letters or you might have stolen your friend's love letter and read but i bet you would have never seen this ever-classic letter from a Romeo to his Juliet.

To ,NithyaUKG A.

Dear Nithya,

I love you. My dream I see you. Everywhere you. You no, I live no.
I come red shirt 2morrow. You love I, you come red frock. I wait down
mango tree. You no come, i jump train. Sure come...

yours lovely,
VICKY
Std 1 B

************ ********* ********* ********* ********* *********

Reply....by Nithya....

Darling, your letter mama see. Papa beat me beat me so many beat me.
I cry. i cry. So no come to mango tree. No jump train. I love you.
See another day. I no red frock. Only green.

You love me, you love me you green shirt. Give I gift. I see you with pinky.
Where you go.. NO talk to her. Okay My dream also only you

Lovely
Nithya...

UKG 

(Taken from net :)

Clouds

I think i have too many clouds in my mind at the moment. Wish there would be a cyclone  that will clear away all the clouds and clear my mind. I need a Dummies Guide for decision making :)

Customer Service or Complicated service

I bet there would have been a moment where you desperately feel that you can slip through the phone and strangle the person who is attending to you. I experience that violent feeling ( I am a NON-violent person FYI) whenever i ring a customer service department. It is really really annoying when they put such a horrible music and let you listen to it forever and ever ( Sometimes i don't mind the waiting but the music..GOSH!)

Recently i did an online transaction to renew my road tax and the ordeal that i had endured to get it approved was tiring. Some problem cropped up, and i had no other option but to CALL them which i dreaded. After trying relentlessly for 3 days i got through, and was put on hold..not to mention about the hideous music..and finally someone attended to me. Whoosh... i was relieved. And before ending the call, the lady asked " is there anything else Miss?" and i nearly said "Please change the music"..nearly.

First Love

           As the world is still basking in valentine mood, here I am blogging about my first love which co-incidentally struck my mind yesterday. And I realised how much I have missed it. Well, I am not leading you to any guessing game. My first love has always been books. I might not be an avid reader but I am a reader and I enjoy books. My idea of perfect day is an engaging novel, few bar of chocolates in faraway land away from others.

         Since my childhood I have been a reader. I do not know how I fell in love with reading. May be I was my family especially my father who is reader himself. When I was small, I read a lot of tamizh magazines and books as my father was reading them. May be it started from there. And my maternal grandmother is a reader too. I remember whenever we went to my grandmother’s place, i would go to her book attic( back then there was no shelves in her place), grab some Tamizh novels and sit in a corner and start reading them. I was not bothered that i had already read some of the books. As much as I enjoyed playing all the typical outdoor games children play, I always had time for books. In fact, I had the habit of reading while eating much to the dismay of my mother. Until,  few years ago, I had the habit and now I eat either in front of my lappy or television which is worse.

       As I moved to secondary school, I was reading a lot of books and was a prominent person in Program Membaca( Reading Programme) . Both my brother and I were the winners of the reading competition and teachers especially my Malay teacher paid so much of attention to us and guided us. ( But, I cheated too by copying the synopsis and presenting as though I had read the books). And today I am the NILAM (Nadi Ilmu Amalan Membaca) teacher in school J. During my secondary school phase, my father started encouraging our reading interest by buying newspapers in 3 languages. He used to buy Star( English), Berita Harian (Malay) and Nanban (Tamizh). So, every weekend, all of us would be sitting in a corner with a newspaper. And my mother used to get so mad at me for not helping her in the kitchen:p

         During my time in Sydney, I read a lot and started buying second hand books and build my own collection. But now, due to the hectic working life I have distanced myself from books. Though, I have started subscribing Reader’s Digest I feel I am not doing enough to quench my thirst. Recently, I had to read a novel since it is part of the Literature  Component for my students and as a teacher it is imperative to read. I opened the book after dinner sat on the corner of my bed and finished it before I went to bed. That is when I realised the reader in me is still there and all I have to do is get some books. Strange enough I was browsing Mph website and an Indian writer’s page when I realised that I seriously need to get some books. In fact though I started  reading Tamizh books before anything else, as I grew old my priority shifted.  But Thank God I have found the love back. So I am planning to get at least 5 books. They are   :

ஏழாம் உலகம் - ஜெயமோகன்

ஒரு மனிதன் ஒரு வீடு ஒரு உலகம்- ஜெயகாந்தன் 

127 hours

The Wedding Girl -Sophie Kinsella

Love in Torn Land

OMG!

That title has got nothing to do with this post. It's just for the TRP :). Well i must admit that i have been very irregular here. It's just that i'm too caught up with my work( actually that's not the real scenario but it sounds cool).Well, on a serious note i feel so different. I think i am no longer the person who posted the last post:p


I think i have matured a lot in this 6 months having seen so many ups and downs. I am slowly and reluctantly getting ready for the next stage in life ( will reveal when the time comes) and at times i feel old. Receiving slaps on my face does not hurt me much these days. I am planning to lead a carefree life. Just 2 weeks ago, my application for postgraduate studies in UM was approved and i was in cloud 9. I felt i was the happiest person in the world. Believe it or not, i sat and talked with HIM saying how much i love him for giving me everything that i need  want.

Then i told my principal about it and asked her to excuse me on Fridays so that i can travel 5hrs to UM to further my studies. Her answer."NO, if you die on the road i'm responsible for you(that was not the exact word but similar) and she refused to entertain me. Not willing to give up, i was not bothered about her and took a medical leave and went to UM to register myself in. The climax of this story is when i realised i  could not enrol in any of the classes as the time of the classes clashed with my work.I was broken into pieces and i felt like crying. It's not just about the chance but the ordeal that i had to undergo in order to reach UM on time.

I took the earliest bus from my place to KL which was 10.30 am and reached Bukit Jalil at 4pm. And i had to register by 5pm.  Through out the journey to UM i was on the phone pleading with the officers to wait for me. It was raining when i reached UM by foot and i didn't even take my umbrella out from my bag fearing that could make me late. I ran towards the office and reached 5 mins late. I knocked and knocked the door and pleaded with the people to let me in only to find that the classes were full. Then i rushed to personally meet the lecturers and beg them to take me in only in vain. Then, i rushed back to the bus station only to be told that the only bus available was at 11.30pm. So i sat there watching and counting people till 11.30pm. I took the bus and reached the FARAWAY land at 4a.m.

That's the ordeal i had to experience in order to fulfill my dream. Alas, i flunked. Am i sad? Yes! Am i devastated? NO! Because nowadays nothing can kill me. I'm just not bothered. If it's meant to happen it will happen:)