My First Day

It was in February 1978. My father drove me to SMS Tuanku Syed Putra, Kangar, Perlis. I was sad to leave my family for the very first time, worried, for not knowing what to expect staying in a boarding school, yet, excited to start a brand new life there. When we reached the school, my father and I walked into the school office and were greeted and warmly welcomed by the Penolong Kanan, Mr Othman Mat, who happened to be my dad's old friend. He briefed us on the school and then, he called one of the female prefects to help me settle. After a few minutes, a prefect who introduced herself as Jasimah appeared at the office. She greeted us smilingly and invited me to come with her. On the way to the hostel she told me that she was in Form 5. And I was in Form 4. I was taken to a dorm on second floor and unpacked my things and arranged them in the locker beside my bed. After getting myself settled sis Jasimah took to back to the office and then she left for her class. That was when I bid my father goodbye with tears rolling down my cheeks after kissing his hand. I stood there, trembling as I watched his car slowly moving away away towards the main gate... I was then taken to 4 Sc 1 by a very beautiful Pn Khatijah, the class teacher, who was also teaching Geography. She then introduced me to my new classmates. I still remember how I was welcomed by those friendly faces Jane, Jana, Khairul, Chempawan, Jas, Fauziah...who later became my close friends. Then I was taken to the text book store by our class monitor, Shukri. He helped me carry my textbooks back to class, much to the excitement of the whole class because it seemed that we looked perfect together as both of us walked into the class with my books. I was short and so was he....I heard that he is now well rounded...hahahah.... Thats what i was told later on by the girls. Well I suppose being in a boarding school, we tend to get excited over things, no matter how trivial it is....

An Interesting Story

Just recently, I came across an enlightening story from this blog...still thinking. This is how the story goes:

Only One Move :: Awesome Short Story




A 10-year-old boy decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move.

"Sensei,"(Teacher in Japanese) the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?" "This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training. Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament.

Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out.

He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. "No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue." Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament.

He was the champion. On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"

"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."

The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

Al-Fatihah...Goodbye, My Beloved Grandma

My grandmother passed away at 8.20 am, 8 Feb 2012 after being bedridden for about four months at the age of 86. She was the woman who took care of my father after the death of her sister who was my father's mother. My real grandmother, that is, my father's real mother passed away when he was only 7 at a very young age. After that, my grandfather married the younger sister. So, as far as we are concerned, she was our grandmother.

She was a very healthy woman in her better days which spanned from birth up to four months ago. She very seldom got sick, not even having common cold like we often do. Never once was she warded, even during her childbirths which were 6 times. She was a very energetic lady. She would be the person calling the shots in almost every family events such as weddings, kenduri, or any other family gatherings.

Her cooking, yess, her masak lemak and gulai tempoyak is simply unparalled. What I remember most is her masak lemak cili api maman with ikan bilis...hmmmmm

BATTLE OF EMOTIONS

The best line of defense in a war within yourself in the battle of emotions is NOT TO CARE. When you succeed in finetuning your system into an "I COULDN'T CARE LESS" attitude, you have actually installed a strong solid shield against the feeling of helplessness when it comes to matters of the heart....

Pregnant Fireman??

21st Nov 2011 marked my forth year of leading a cancer free life. Being cancer free does not mean being free of the agony of the possibility of facing it all over again. Cancer has and always be at the back of my mind. However, that has not deterred me from enjoying life.

This morning I couldn’t help smiling to myself as a flash of an incident came to my mind as I was brushing my teeth. At the time, I was a bubbly English teacher. One of my students wrote about a pregnant fireman.

This was a part of what he wrote which was towards the end of his story:
The house was engulfed in flames and black smoke was smothering the onlookers. Every one was waiting in suspense. The fireman just rushed inside the burning house after the mother cried and screamed uncontrollably. Her baby was still inside. It happened so fast. The rescuers had to drag her out not realizing that the baby was still there.
Finally, at long last, everyone let out a sigh of relief, phuuuhhhh!!. The fireman came out, pregnant……..
I then called the boy and asked why he said the man was pregnant.
“Pregnant means carrying a baby, right teacher?”

Well, at least I know that I did a good job in the previous lesson on vocabulary, right????

BALI, INDONESIA

Hi and salam,

I am now in Bali, Indonesia waiting for my sister in-law having her facial. I just had a foot massage..it was awesome… cost me just Rp55000 for an hour of massage which came to about RM20. Earlier on, we took a stroll down Kuta Beach. It is no wonder Bali is the place to be if you long for white sandy beach and crystal clear water. Oh…we have lots of beaches in Malaysia, but I would say that Bali is different. While we were there relaxing, there was an announcement, well, an instruction; to be exact directed to the snack and drink vendors on the beach to bring their garbage bags, garbage containers and rakes to the edge of the ocean and collect all the rubbish along the beach. And they willingly did it...which i think is just amazing..

A flash of pantai merdeka came into mind...the laksa and rojak stalls all over the place and rubbish scattered while the sellers just stay put waiting for the majlis people to clear the place...hmmmmmm

POLYGAMY? NO WAY!!!

He goes out every nite and he meets the beautiful, young girl everytime..This has been going on for a long while. Her friends have been advising her to end the marriage because there's really no point in going on with it. Whenever confronted, he never gives her a straight answer.. denying, denying, denying...but she knows whats going on. Therefore, discussion is out. There's no end to it. She has lost her faith in him and has also lost her faith in the marriage. What kind of marriage life is this when he has his heart with the other woman? How can she perform her wifely duties sincerely with the blessings from Allah when her heart is full of hatred for him?

This other woman actually has a strong hold on him. Just by batting an eyelid, he would go crawling to her and be at her service. Its like 'your wish is my command!"

What should she do? Allow him to marry her and share him with the other woman? No way! Not that she's against polygamy...polygamy is ok as long as she's not the wife because she has a good, valid reason for it. Her health. If she contracts HIV from her husband who might have got it from this other woman, who's going to be responsible? Nope, she's not going to allow that to happen to her...husband sharing is just out of question.

Her health comes first!!!!