WHEN I WAS LITTLE

The teacher said, ‘No shorts eh, in your underwear then!’ Alamak! Only then I realized that I had forgotten to bring along my PE (Physical Education) shorts to school!‘That’s it! I’m finished!’ By then, I was already imagining myself running around the school field, which was beside the town’s main road, in my underwear! ‘Adus! I’m in for the biggest embarrassment of my life! What should I do? What should I do? I definitely do not want myself to be seen “half naked” by so many naughty eyes out there! No way! I’ve got to get myself out of this mess! But how?’ I heard the teacher blowing the whistle and saying out, ‘Hurry up girls! The ones without shorts, either you sweep the floor or come out in your underwear and play!’ I quickly looked around me. There were five of us and only three brooms to grab. All five dashed to the corner of the class with the same intention!
'Ok girl, go get the broom  or become the one being laughed at in the field!' I told myself.

I managed to get hold of a broom but unfortunately I was not the only one aiming for it. Another girl also grabbed the broom and the next few minutes saw us fighting for the broom! The girl showed no signs of giving up and neither was I! No way I was  going to let this girl get the broom! My mind was racing against time! I was thinking hard for a way to make the girl give in to me. Ahah! I know! I then pulled with all my might , held the broom high and hit the girl’s head with it! She screamed out loudly and immediately  let go of the broom. Ha! Ha! Nasty me! The teacher came to check on us but to my surprise, the girl did not reveal the incident to the teacher! Was she scared of me? Anyway, I got the broom and she had  to do PE in her underwear!

Thinking back, it still makes me ache with laughter! But do not get me wrong, I do have some regrets ... If only the teacher  was kinder to us….

SUNFLOWER POEM

Sunflowers

Sunflower, sunflower, I love you
You look so gay and bright

Sunflower, sunflower, I love you
You make me think of light

When I see your cheerful face
I want to dance and sing

Sunflower, sunflower I love you
You make me think of spring! 

 By Swapna Dutta; Illustration by Sudheer Nath

SUNFLOWER QUOTES

Every Friend Is To The Other A Sun, And A Sunflower Also. He Attracts And Follows.

Jean Paul Richter quotes. (German Novelist and Humorist, 1763 - 1825)

ThinkExist.com

"Attention Shifted To Him Like Sunflowers Turning To The Sun." 

Khaled Hosseini quotes .

" We're All Golden Sunflowers Inside. "

Allen Ginsberg quotes .

www.goodreads.com

squidoo.com

AN IMAGINARY SCENE

AN IMAGINARY SCENE FOR RATTINGAN'S ADVENTURE STORY.

Written on January 10, 1989. An assignment for Mr. Malachi Edwin for MT047 class.

( Roxana enters and stands impassively before Alexander. After introducing Roxana to Alexander, Ptolemy leaves them to discuss on their own. Alexander who is sitting on the throne, holds out his hand. Roxana moves to the divan near the throne and sits down, with eyes lowered.)

Alexander : How do find my place?

Roxana : Most comfortable, thank you.

Alexander : Roxana, my officer and I had a talk just now and we had discussed your fate.

Roxana : (raises her head) My fate? What do you mean ? I do not understand.

Alexandre : (smiling) My officer, Ptolemy suggested that I should marry you and ...

Roxana : (cutting short his words) And betray my promise to marry the King of India and be a traitor to the Bactrian nations ? Is that what you are saying ? I can decide on my own future if you must know.

Alexander : (rising) Roxana, just let's not make things worse. Just agree to the suggestion and no harm will be done.

Roxana : Why should I marry the one I do not love ? This isn't marriage for me!

Alexander : (warningly) Are you aware of what is going to happen to you if you refuse the offer ? I will throw your head to your father as a gift !

Roxana : (bravely) It's better than living with a mad man!

Alexander : (angrily) Yes, I will indeed fulfill your wish. You can refuse my offer to become the Queen of Macedonia if that is what your bold heart desires. And, I will not have you killed my dear. But, there will be no more future for you as I will fight your father and the King of India! My heart assures me that I will win the battles and they will die ! I will make you suffer Roxana, mark my words!

Roxana : (fearfully) You could not mean what you say..

Alexander : (placidly) Alexander of Macedon will never betray his words!

Roxana : (miserably) You have taken all hopes from me Alexander. By words, I will have to marry you and lead a miserable life as your wife. But you Alexander, will have all the opportunities to pacify Bactria easily then, and have my father kneel down at your feet! His son -in-law's disgusting feet! Oh father...forgive me.

Alexander : (chuckling) I do not leave you with any choice, do I?

Roxana : (tearfully) No - no, I won't let you do it!

(Roxana rises from the divan and runs to a table at the corner of the room. There is a dagger on the table. She grabs it and faces Alexander).

Roxana : (warningly) If you think that you can take me so easily, you are wrong Alexander. I'd rather die than lose my dignity.

Alexander : (moving closer) Now- Roxana...

Roxana : (warningly) Don't come any nearer! I will put this knife in my chest if you get any closer!

(Before she can finish her words, Alexander rushes to her , grabs the dagger and throws it onto the floor. Roxana lets out a cry and falls to her knees.)

Alexander : (whispering into her ears) That was a nice try Roxana. You must never try it again..

Roxana : (between sobs) You would never let me choose my own fate, wouldn't  you? Not even a weak princess like me.

Alexander : (boldly) I am invincible Roxana!!

(pauses) Come,  (holding out his hand) let's start a new life.

Roxana : (raises her head) Yes, a whole new life with an invincible man.

(and she takes his hand)

THE HARD WAY

Let me share with you this story. I really hope it will somehow remind us of  how important it is not to misjudge people as well as not to do things without thinking twice. 

A lady submitted her form online applying for a long leave for a festive occasion. The boss had been kept updated but due to his packed schedule decided to look at it again the following week as the requested dates were two weeks away. The lady, however was a little impatient and was very upset with the boss whom she thought denied her of her rights. Thus, she decided to make her feelings known to her colleagues by expressing her dissatisfaction in the Facebook. She purposely mentioned her boss's name accompanied by some ugly remarks about the boss. 

Her action was questioned by her colleagues but she dismissed it by saying there was no way the boss was going to find out about her comments as he was not her Facebook friend. Her mistake was to be so confident about this. She forgot that among her 'friends' were also colleagues of the boss! Sure in for the surprise of her life!

How did the boss get to know about this? Emm, among the many 'friends' who read her comments was a manager who also worked for the same company. This manager then called up her boss to get a clear picture of what really happened between them. The boss, innocent as he was, was truly surprised and shared his side of the story.

The manager was very upset with the whole thing. Want to know why? The manager told the boss that prior to this incident, she was considering a promotion for this lady. As she had shown her "unethical true colors", the manager had a second thought and decided that she was not the suitable candidate for the post after all. The boss could not do anything to help as the damage had been done. So what do you learn from this ?

Yes, never use this medium to express your anger or dissatisfaction over something or someone. You never know who could be reading your comments and what the consequences would be. If you are unlucky, it  can cause you some life opportunities.  Remember not to reveal other people' s Aib or to put them in such a situation as it might just get back at you and sometimes even worse than what you do; as the saying goes, what goes around, comes around! All in all, let's not be the one who has to learn things the hard way!

WHEN SHE WAS LITTLE

STORY I

Along came to me and said, 
"Mom, there’s someone at the gate." 
"Oh really, who could it be dear?" I smiled down at Along who was then only 3 years old. 
"It’s Superman Mom!" She said excitedly.
"What? Superman!"
By then, I could not think right anymore. All sorts of things came to my mind when she said Superman. Who could it be? A lunatic maybe in just his underwear with a cloak wrapping his body? If there was one out there, what should I do?  I was beginning to worry even more! I decided to check on this so called Superman at the gate. So I took a peek through the window. SubhanAllah... budak ni! It was not a Super man after all! It was actually The Postman with some letters to deliver!

STORY II

Along came home with an exciting news. 

“Mom, guess what ! I am chosen for a sprinting event!” 
“Wow!That’s wonderful dear!What event are you taking part in? 100 metres, 400 metres?” 

“No Mom,” she said proudly, "It’s the 100 kilometre event!" Hei, ada ada saje budak ni !!

OUCHHH ..

Oh dear! Do you know what happen to me yesterday ? It was so embarrassing! Adus, malunya! Even thinking about it now makes my face hot with embarrassment ! It happened at the cafeteria. I was on my way to the office after clocking in. I did not notice that the floor was wet and slippery. That was when I slipped and fell hard onto the floor ! People? Of course there were quite a number of people there ; it was at the cafe remember ! Thank God, Wahida my colleague was there! It was such a relief to see her after such a misfortune! Thank you so much Wahid! Alhamdulillah, there are no broken bones or sprained ankles due to the incident except for pain in my left arm. I take it as "kaffarah" for some wrongdoings I might have committed. May Allah swt always forgive us of our sins. Astaghfirullahaladzim and Alhamdulillah.