HAPPY EID MUBARAK

Hi there! SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI DAN MAAF ZAHIR BATIN! Hari Raya is always a time when you get to meet relatives and close friends whom you might have not seen or talked to for quite some time. This is actually the blessing that comes with Hari Raya. Well, here are a few snapshots taken during this wonderful festive season !

Honey cornflakes made by the kids ! 

A must serve cookie on hari raya ! It's called "Biskut Kerang".  Also made by the kids and of course under strict supervision of Grandma !

Mom's delicious chicken rendang.

Cookie jars ready to be filled-up with delightful cookies!

All set !

My " beautiful " son ! Taken on the morning of the first day of Hari Raya.

It was five years ago when I last met these " stalkers " ! Ha ! Ha!

Yummy cakes  at my sister's house.

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 Ok, those are all ! Amateur remember ? Ok friends, SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI AND MAAF ZAHIR BATIN. 

ABANG

If you asked me what would be one of the biggest rahmat Allah swt had bestowed upon me; my answer would be my husband. I thanked Allah swt for I am blessed with a wonderful husband. Abang always has so much to give and forever willing to forgive and forget. Our children do not only adore him but they also look up to him. They always say that their Abah is everything a father should be. Thank you Abang for giving us so much love and for always being there for us; your wife and children who love you so very much.
 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABANG AND MAY ALLAH SWT BLESS US AlWAYS.

VALUES

Hi. Another story to share. 

I was looking out of the window while doing the dishes when a man on a bike stopped near my house gate. With him was an adorable little girl. The girl got off the bike, squatted on the pavement and then started to eat what looked like satay to me. The concerned father was obviously sensitive to his child's need or else he would not have pulled aside and let the girl finish eating her satay first. Ok, that is so commendable, I said to myself. I continued watching with great interest as to what would follow next. A few minutes later, the girl got onto the bike again. Much to my disappointment,  they left without even bothering to throw the leftovers at the right place. The father did not seem to mind at all. So, off they went leaving behind the rubbish right in front of my gate.....sedihnya...

Well, some people said that  parents are the best teachers for their children. What we do and what we say can actually become transmission of norms, values, and beliefs. Thus, an experience can sometimes become an unintended lesson. According to Tielle Webb 2012 in eHow,  we need to live a life that is worthy of emulation. Children learn by example; they learn what they live. Believe it or not, your child is watching you and how you react to life. Live in a way that portrays good values in order to teach them to your  child. Some of us might think that it is premature to teach young kids about values.   The truth is the children are  never too young to learn about values. Children need to start learning good values when they are very small. This will carry them through their turbulent teen years.

As Muslims , we should also instill in them the right niyah, lillahi taala in whatever that they do. This can become a good reminder of the order of the day and of what they should and should not do. InsyaAllah.

Let me end the day with a quote by Abdul Kalam , “If  a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.”
So, why not give it a thought ya friends... 

BUBBLES

Years back, when my kids were still very young, I hired an Indonesian maid who was in her mid 40s. I was lucky because she was one very hard working lady. Household chores were made easy with her around. The kids called her " Bibik " and they really enjoyed her company and it seemed like the feeling was mutual on her part. However, kids will be kids! Hmm... sometimes, they did give her severe headaches with their boisterous, monstrous and disastrous acts! On one fateful day, I received a distress call from my maid.

"Puan, Puan. Cepat balik Puan ! Tolong saya Puan ! " (Madam, please hurry home ! I really need your help!")

" Alamak ! This is SOS !! " What could the kids be up to this time !"

Abang and I rushed home immediately. Bibik was already at the door with my son clinging onto her. However, she forbade us from going into the house, " Puan, jangan masuk .. nanti Puan jatuh.." (Don't go in Madam..you might slip..) I could understand her concern for me as I was on the family way but I demanded to go in. My heart nearly stopped beating the moment Abang and I walked into the house. I just could not believe what I saw. The floor of the living room was thoroughly covered with soapy water, yes soapy water ! Bubbles were floating everywhere around the house. Before our eyes were our two daughters having fun sliding in and out of the bedroom into the living hall !! Bibik was near tears as her pleas were totally ignored by these two little monsters! I was also near tears as I watched my two daughters lathering themselves up before sliding again across the room! Yes, that was exactly what they did over and over again ! By then, the house was all bubbles !! Hu Hu Hu..

Although we were so upset with our two daughters, we did not resort to any forms of punishment. We did not even shout at them, what more to spank them. Abang and I merely asked them to stop and clean themselves. The " piece of one' s mind " thing ( a long lecture ) came later that day ; after the house was back to its normal condition AND the poor parents had fully recovered from the shock !!

Some parenthood experience, eh ? Not just colorful , but shall I say full of bubbles as well ! Ha ! Ha!

BLESSINGS

       I was feeling extra tired this week. Yesterday was the worst. Thank God the students had a pretest which meant no talking on my part. However, the thought of having to attend the department's meeting put me back into the under the weather mood. “ Well, it wouldn’t be so bad, would it ? I just need to sit and listen, that's all,” I thought to myself. So I went down to the meeting hall and placed myself in between Kak Nor and Cheong. When the meeting started, I listened and listened to all the speeches delivered. Then, it was time for the highlight of the ceremony ; giving away performance awards to some staffs of the department. There I was, still listening. That was when I heard my name being announced. What do you know! I was actually one of the recipients!  It was such a pleasant surprise! Totally unexpected !! Alhamdulillah.

       Now, let's do some reflective thinking. Firstly, I considered myself lucky because my students were mostly very well- behaved. Teaching them brought so much joy to me as they were always so responsive, creative and participative. You should see how they presented for a task on product promotion! It was a week full of learning and fun! The task required these students to be in groups of five and work on a product to promote. They went to great extent preparing for the presentation. Thus, during the course of the week, the classes transformed into cafeterias, bakeries, shopping outlets, cooking classes and even investigation location! It was indeed surprising to discover what the students were capable of doing in completing certain tasks! It was simply awesome! 

        Apart from that, there was always the work of God. Weeks before their final examination, we started focusing on writings and reading comprehension. I did not know how to explain this but I had this intuition saying brain, brain, brain. The students and I worked on several texts on mental health and you know what, it was exactly the topic asked in the examination for the essay part ! Guess, you could imagine the joy in the students when they left the exam rooms and hall! They were all thumbs up when asked about the question! That was why I was not the least surprised when many of them obtained an " A " for my paper.  
       Now, back to the teacher. Yes, I am happy and I thanked Allah swt for all these blessings. Alhamdulillah .
This may be the end of the story of last year 's students but talking about my present students, hu hu hu , the journey has just started ! Still have a long way to go !

OUCH !

Having an upset stomach would always remind me of this incident. It was in 2003. That morning someone came to me with the news.

" Cikgu, your boys got into trouble again."

" Oh dear ! What is it this time ? "

" They were caught in the girls toilet ! "

What! This was beyond my wildest imagination! Since curiosity was overloading by then , I went to the classroom with the intention of digging out the truth from the two boys.

That class had been giving me some problems ever since it was handed to me. Adui !! There was a time when they nearly took the last breath out of me by jumping out of a corner and landed right before me with actions similar to that of the Superman,Spiderman, Batman  and some other superheroes that I could not identify ! Yea, they succeeded in making me scream out loud ! See, some students I got, back then.

Coming back to these two boys. I asked them, " Why on earth did you guys do that for? "

" Teacher," they said, " It just couldn't be helped. You just wont believe it. "

I doubled the size of my eyes and said , " Try me. "

According to these students, they were just coming back from the canteen when one of them had this strong urge to go.... where else .... He knew that he would not be able to make it to the boys' as he was in dire need to relief himself. He could not think of any better place than the girls' since it was just a few feet away. They did not dare to go into the teachers' even though it was nearer. Ahah ! To go into the teachers' would be suicidal ! He somehow managed to persuade the other boy to wait on him. Therefore, both went into the toilet and the boy got to do his " business ". After doing what he had to do, he came out of the cubicle with a sigh of relief only to find the school' guard standing near the door with both hands on his waist! The other friend ? He was already "half-dead" in fear ! They were then brought to the Principal's office but luckily they were dismissed with only a warning !

My ! My! I really had a good laugh that day !

TAKE CHARGE

I was particularly interested in how one of my students responded to my questions. We did a few speaking practices in class as I was preparing my students for their first assessment. I noticed that he was improving a lot compared to the first few practices he did earlier. I highlighted this to him and he seemed very happy with the good comments. Somehow, I felt like I needed to know more about his past as he had this “ Don’t do the same mistake !” look on his face whenever he did the practice. So I asked,

“Boy, where are you from?”

“Pahang, “ he said.

“And your former school? ”

“SMSxxxx. “

“Oh really, that’s one of the best in Malaysia!”

“ The school, yes, but not me..” he responded with a smile that seemed to me more of a sad than a happy one.

“ I did not do well last time la, teacher..” was his next response and that explained everything.

Thus, I did what I had to do as a teacher, what else but to share some experiences and thoughts with him.

“ Boy, the first thing that you need to do is to pull yourself up and let go of your disappointments and frustrations. Well, you are here now. That’s what matters most. Take it as a second chance for you to make your dreams come true. Familiarize yourself with the new life as a college student. You need to be aware of what you should and shouldn’t do; your priorities and responsibilities. If life is hard on you, just tell yourself that things will be okay once you get used to the routine.

Don’t ever, ever look back. Close all doors to the past. Open up your mind and heart to new experiences. Reach down inside and you will see that you are meant to be just the way you are. Always believe there is something in you that will make you stand out in the crowd. Therefore you must always be in control of the situation or in other words, take charge.

Besides that, you need to aim high, stand tall, think big and bold. Always believe in yourself that you are capable of making changes. Take the failures that you face as part of a big game. Tell yourself that you are being tested and what you need to do is to stay focused. Always remember that Allah swt works in miraculous ways. Everything happens for a reason and at its own time. So, never give up and never stop believing. Just move on because you could actually be on your way to win the game. With a little bit more of self -confidence and self-determination, at the end of the day, the trophy could be yours.

Just don’t mind what people say about you because some people often seem to have so much to say. Always remind yourself of your core business; you are here to pursue your dream. Never look down on yourself and never let people do that to you. Do not let these people ruin your decision and dream. Take charge !!! Ignore these people, just go out there, do your best and make your parents and this teacher of yours proud !