月灯りふんわり落ちてくる夜

月灯りふんわり落ちてくる夜は
貴方のことばかり
考えても考えてもつきることもなく
月灯りふんわり落ちてくる夜は
貴方と２人きり
海のはてへと続く月の路歩きたい

南風がほほをなでてく
やさしい手のひらのように
体中が貴方色した
夕闇にそまりそうで

風にのせ 伝えたい
そんな想い１人抱きしめる

月灯りふんわり落ちてくる夜は
せつない言葉だけ
何度でも何度でもくりかえす波のように
ありふれた小さな恋の物語
エピローグだけみたい
まっ白なページに笑顔のあなたがほしい

会わないでいられる恋なら
いっそ気楽でいいよね
新しい朝がくるたびに
ため息で夢がおわる

風にのせ 伝えたい
そんな想い１人抱きしめる

月灯りふんわり落ちてくる夜は
貴方のことばかり
考えても考えてもつきることもなく
月灯りふんわり落ちてくる夜は
貴方と２人きり
海のはてへと続く月の路歩きたい

by

小川七生

Crayon Shin Chan ending theme song

So, You Want To Be A Dentist?

This one's for all budding dentists to be who are currently doing their BDS, DDS, LDS etc..and wish to come back to work in Malaysia. ( This applies to Malaysian citizens ONLY. Non Malaysians, ask and I'll post a different entry.. if I have the time and feel like doing so)

Well, I consider this as a service to the Malaysian dental community.

Someone named 'faez' posted a comment on my latest entry asking about working as a dentist in Malaysia. I hope this will answer your questions.

First and foremost, you must make sure that your degree is recognised by the Malaysian Dental Council. If it is not.. I don't see the point of you coming back. There are several types of registration and some requires you to be a trainee dentist first before you can fully register.

Well, I hope my past experience is still valid but this was what I had to go through , not so long ago.

I first headed to the Public Service Department to get a recognition letter for my DDS. If you are a scholarship holder, they will also hand you a letter saying how many years you have to serve the country or more popularly know as 'bond to the government'.

And then, together with the PSD letter and other documents like your original degree, translation of your degree if it is not in Malay or English , mykad,.. shoot.. I don't remember what else, ...?? Nevermind that, you can always call the MDC and ask. Well with the original documents, a copy of each documents which have been verified by any penghulu or government servants grade U41 and above , any govt dentist can do this for you, and postal order/money order of mm RM 150?? ( you have to reconfirm all these details later ok?), now you can go and register yourself as a dentist.

And of course you have to apply to work for the government through the Public Service Commission. You can also apply through the internet. Then , they will call you for interview. In my case, I called and asked for the nearest date available for interview.

Make sure you are well prepared for the interview. Some people think dentists are badly needed in the country they came to the interview unprepared. And guess what, they failed the interview.

That was the easy part.

Now please read carefully what I am about to write next. This is very important and please hammer all these facts into your head and never let it leave you or you will be in deep trouble.

Please be aware that dentists and dental practice in this country shall abide by certain rules and regulations. And one of the most important one for newly registered dentist is- the dental act 1971 with amendment in 2001 clearly stating that all dentists who are registered in Malaysia after June 2001 ( I don't remember the exact date) shall go through compulsory service for the period of 3 years, uninterrupted. Read: once you have registered, you must start service immediately and you can't break the service and serve the government continuously for 3 years unless you have a written permission from the Minister of Health. That also means that you can only pursue your post graduate studies AFTER the 3 years. And if you are granted unpaid leaves due to unavoidably strong reasons, your compulsory service term will be extended to the same year, months and days of the unpaid leaves that you take.

If you fail to abide by this rule, your name will be struck off from the register which means, by law, you can't practise in this country anymore. Well of course the MDC people will try their best to hunt you down and persuade you to finish you 3 years compulsory service. Oh yeah.. when I say compulsory service, that means you are to work for the Ministry of Health only. If you wish to work for other Government agencies like the armed forces or the universities, you will have to ask the permission of the Director General of Health first. Please do not blindly work at especially the universities without a written permission from the DG!

After you can accept the fact that you have to serve the government non stop for 3 years, now come the 2nd thing that you really have to pay attention to.

Posting.

I have been told by a reliable source that dental officers are being treated too nicely when it comes to first posting. According to the source, if it is a medical officer, she will not even be asked to name 3 states she that she prefers to be transfered too. They just post her to wherever there is a vacant post.

So, far, for dental officers, (dentists in the public service are called dental officers)
well, dental officers are usually asked to name 3 states that she hopes/wishes to be posted to. Her posting will be considered based on a lot of things.. priority is of course the necessity then the officer's welfare like family, health and so on so forth. But sometimes you just can't satisfy everybody. Somebody has to go and serve other states beside KL, Selangor, N9, Perak, Penang, Melaka & Johor. And if that somebody happens to be you, please... for god sake, just go! It's not like you are going to be there forever, you can always ask for a transfer later. And I think it is wise not to use politics and start pulling strings ( or the more famous malay phrase for it.. 'main cable') to get the place that you want. Imagine this, if everyone starts pulling.. then things won't move also right?

Just some points to ponder upon.

• A lot of public dentists are female
• Of those female dentists, a lot of them are married.
• Of those married female dentists, most of their husbands are working /staying in the Klang Valley.

Go figure.

Once you are posted, you are required to fill in some log books. We do not have housemanship but we have a First Year Dental Officer Programme or FYDO where you must do or observe certain procedures and get signatures from the supervising dental specialists. Usually, you will have to be attached to specialists available in your state on rotation basis,for the period of about one year.

The first 3 years might seem tough to some but once you have managed to go through it, then there are quite a lot of things the government can offer which the private do not have.
But of course there are lots and lots of things to consider before we make the next move.
But, no need to worry about that, finish the compulsory service first. Nothing beats the experience you get from the compulsory service, seriously.

Anyway I wish all of you guys all the best in your studies and don't forget to also have fun while doing so.

Life is not just about Dentistry and Dentistry alone.

For more information, you may also visit

the Oral Health Division

or

the Malaysian Dental Council

or

the Public Service Commission

or

the Ministry of Health

you might find difficulties sometimes to access the sites. Server problems.

Disclaimer
Scrolllock is a personal blog and does not represent any government body or agency. Scrolllock shall not be held responsible for any damages done by information obtained from this entry , or any other entry for that matter....


click here for an update on this topic

Free Giff , everyone!

Am just wondering.. is this spelled wrongly on purpose or is it because they simply just can't spell the word gift correctly... i wonder which one is it... mm?

From Conjunctivitis to Sinusitis

And today, this is how my eyes look like. Syasya generously donated her conjunctivitis to me which was made worse when the infection went to my sinuses and clogged my sinuses which if left untreated , can lead to bronchitis and then an asthma attack.. again..
Thank god.. this time not only i followed all the medications schedule but i also took the doctor's advice to stay and rest at home. So here i am, home, recuperating from all the *itis and concentrating on my blogging skills...( as if i have any... )

Nebulizer oh Nebulizer!

This was me last month , worst attack ever.. but i think i looked ..mm not so bad ...
This is why i want to live in somewhere like the place they have in the Sound of Music.. ahh.. the hills are aliiive... huk huk.. *cough..

Sutong Chelok Ttepong @ Pata Telok Ketapang

Aghi ni seghe nok tulih dalang bahasa tghanung lah pulok.. .. tapi ghasenye susoh lah nok tulih dalang bahase tghanung sebak caghe sebok die kadang tu susoh nok eja biar bunyi molek .. dok tau la.. nok kkabor dok gheti..

Tapinye.. kali ning nok cite sikek pasa sutong chelok ttepong dekak pata telok ketapang.. dekak je nge airport llage bating.. first taing gi tera makang ssitu suami bowok.. setakat ni rasanya kalu nok banding nge tepak laing .. ssitu ah sedak sekali.. keda dia.. nama menda dok ingat la pulok.. khepok gote pong sedak.. ikang goreng ttepong die pong sedak.. mmm... maghi la tera sekali..

Rase2 kalu ade tepak hok buleh lawang keda ning.. kkabor la etek kite.. buleh gi tera..

Dang ambik gambo sutong je.. hok laing dok dang pasa sibok nok makang..



Kalu tepak awok makang tu ada napok laut ginning.. ye lah tu.. keda sama la tu..



Sedaknya !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Met Joe Black

Nah... I just wanted to catch your attention there, gotcha! Neither have i met Brad Pitt nor the Death Angel himself ,not yet.. and don't know when.. and don't think so i would be able to live to blog about it...Anyway, the title should actually be.. I just watched "Meet Joe Black".For the 3rd time i think.. But.. what the heck.. now that i've gotcha..

Not that i am interested in the fantasy sort of things like.. well, you know, such a good looking death angel who actually mm.. i shall use the word 'lusted' ( ooh.. how dare him!!) over a girl whose father's soul he was supposed to take to eternity. Y not 'love'? u may ask,... well.. as the father (who is one of my favourite actor but his name totally slipped my mind right now... urgh.. me n my mini amnesia.. ) said...

" Is it really love? Have you told her who you are? Would she still love you f she knows? It is not called love. Your are being selfish, You take whatever you like without thinking of what the other person thinks.. that is not called love"
excuse me there.. i just jumbled up the sentences that Bill Parrish said to Joe Black in no particular order..

Anyway, again.. after such a lenghty opening... this is not what i wanted to highlight on tonight's entry. *sigh....

Actually, I cried. Yes .. I cried watching that movie.. not during the first and the 2nd time.. but tonight.. watching the movie..alone ( halfway, i watched it with my daughter who was not interested at all with the movie!)

It reminded me of my father. Who is now 70 years old, and is ill.. i know he is.. he's not telling.. but i know.. his heart is giving him problems everyday.. his BP is not helping either.. what more with the diabetes that he has.. he takes medicine now more than he takes his rice.The thought of him bearing the pain every morning, every night makes me feel like crying all day...I really love my father.. but I don't know whether he knows that I love him very much or not.

He has been an extra loving father to especially me.. and i knew it and i've used that advantage against my 3 elder sisters when i was growing up. My father was 40 years old when I was born. He was done with the spanking, scolding and yelling at his children that he adopted a new way to raise a child. He called it.. 'gune saikoloji'.. yup.. that was his favourite phrase.. use psychology to raise a child. He believed that nurturing a child and listening to what that child wants and not to scold her immediately and try to use other methods to overcome whatever problems or mess she created.. will help mould the child to grow up and become a smarter person. A person who is not afraid to try. A person who could become anything her heart wants her to..

Well, admittedly, it also spoiled me .. a bit.. ( huh??? a bit??? this is what my sisters will say when they read this entry, i bet ya). But i have to say.. he was right after all.. it did help me be where i am now. No offense teachers.. but to me.. my father who was only standard six educated ( or was it five?) is the greatest teacher in my entire life. He gave me the confidence i never had.
He gave me the shove i had always needed. But he was always careful not to shove too hard for he knows that might make me fall... He always try to listen to my problems although i know that most of the times.. especially starting from secondary school, he couldn't understand a thing i said. He was always interested in whatever it was that i did... He would eagerly listen to all my stories when i went back home from my school breaks..He always tried to give me everything i asked although sometimes he knew it was too much for him and sometimes he could not afford it.. but he never said no. I f only i knew better at that time.. i wouldn't have been such a brat. I would have listened more to my sisters and wouldn't have pushed him too hard.

I still remember he used to carry me to the bedroom because i always fell asleep in front of the tv . Up until i was 10 when he gave up and had to wake me up and made me go to bed myself.. i was too heavy for him then.. and believe it or not.. i have never used public transport back in my hometown for my father would drive me around anytime, anywhere i wanted to go, in his old, second hand toyota corolla..

When i told him that i was going to japan for my first degree.. and the course is for 6 years..
He was stunned.. he was shocked.. I could tell from his eyes, I knew he didn't want me to go that far.. but he never said no, you can't go.. One day.. a few moths before i left for tokyo.. he whispered.. " what if I die when you are overseas.. u will come back for my funeral, right?"
And only god knows how hard i cried that night... i almost cancelled it and decided to continue locally instead.. but then when i saw the gleams in his eyes when he talked to the village folks about her beloved daughter going to tokyo to study to become a dentist... when i saw how proud he was... when i listened to his voice.. i knew.. he was actually very happy for me.. he was just afraid that he won't see me again after i leave for my studies...

He drove all the way from Terengganu to come and fetch me at KLIA in April 2003 after I came back with my DDS. I was a bit surprised to see that he has grown very old.. although the last time i saw him was in 2001 when i went home during semester break. But he was grinning ear to ear to see me.. tears welled in his eyes. He was the sensitive one in the family. Even far more sensitive than my mother.

Little did i know that over the 2 years from 2001 to 2003.. he actually underwent an operation for his heart condition. He never told me.. and warned the rest of the family not to tell me.. he didn't want to disturb my studies.

When I started work, he was very busy finding a house and even a car for me. By then I was 25, I knew already that my father was not a rich man and i knew he could not afford it... but he insisted.. He was afraid of my safety. He knew i had to do calls and stuff.. he wanted to make sure i have everything i need to work safely and comfortable. Not long after that, I got married. Right after that, ayah seemed to stop looking after me anymore... When I mentioned anything.. he would just say.. discuss it with your husband..

But until now.. i have a 2 year old daughter and is happily ( although sometimes i do feel like kicking my husband in the butt.. ) married.. i still feel that deep down ayah's heart.. he still wants to care.. he just doesn't want to overdo it. He will call us regularly.. sometimes without knowing what to say..

So, when I saw Meet Joe Black, i thought of my own father.. will i ever be ready for that kind of thing? I know.. maybe it's me who will go first.. but let's not talk about that possibility now..
I don't know.. i have always tried to be prepared just in case.. but only thinking about it made gallons of tears poured down my cheek.No matter how natural it is to die of old age.. i don't think so i will ever be ready to see my father go... no..

Ayah.. if only u can read this..

i want you to know that you are the greatest father one could ever have.. yes we had our ups and downs ayah is not an angel.. he has his weaknesses.. i hate the fact that you are a heavy smoker... and i know that you have been a casanova when you were young , always leaving mom in tears .. trying to go after some other women.. even until when i was in the university.. ( so my sisters said..) But in the end.. you came back to us.. and.. you didn't really do something stupid.. you were just.. being... well.. a man.... a li'l bit naughty though....

I want you to know.. you will always be in my heart and only god knows how much i love you, ayah!. Please forgive me for everything that i did.. you have never done anything that need you to apologise from me. In fact, I need to thank you for being the best father ever. I hope you will have a very happy and healthy days ahead.. I wish you will be free from worries and problems..
And my prayers ayah.. that Allah will let both of us go to heaven if we die.

Your beloved daughter,
HR.

The Art Of Staying Connected

How wonderful it is nowadays that we could reach almost everyone, anywhere anytime , provided we have the right tools.. Well, thanks to stuff like Friendster, Myspace, Facebook, Mixi,Flickr, Yahoo, Gmail n countless other networking and www online sharing thingy..

Recently, i was able to contact an old friend whom i met in Tokyo during the 2001 APDSA or was it 2002?? Anyway, She is now practising dentistry in Indonesia and just got married...

Another lovely surprise came from Dr SY Lau.. a dear old friend from college days.. She is currently working in the USA as a medical specialist.... She helped me a lot during my first 2 years in TMDU.. I just randomly invited some names in my address book to join friendster and facebook.. and she replied to the invitation mail..

Although there are times when i felt that i wanted to be left alone in my own world.. but there are times when i want to reach out to my friends and listen to their stories and maybe reminisce about the old days.. And now is the time that I want to know what's going on with my friends all over the world..

So, if u r one of them.. do drop me aline.. and if u do have any of the account listed above... please add me as your friend.

Oh yeah.. forewarning though.. i may not be consistent in updating and responding.. but that doesn't mean that i forgot all about u guys!

lastly, before the seasons end..

happy hari raya y'all..

Sebab tu laaa....

It's been a week full of frustration for me. Come on, people expect us to deliver but how could we if there are always people of so called importance always meddle with our work??? U tell me!!!
Oh.. anyway, the next sentence onward is going to be in malay, in honor of the Bulan Bahasa & Sastera Kebangsaan 2007 ( Which no one in my office knew about it.. sad huh? working at the administrative centre but doesn't know about what's going on in the country... )

Saya mulakan sekali lagi tulisan kali ini dengan satu pertanyaan.

Apa itu amanah dalam bekerja?

Saya telah mula berkhidmat di sini sejak 4 bulan yang lalu. Pada mulanya saya datang dengan penuh semangat dan hati yang ikhlas untuk berkhidmat sebagai kakitangan kerajaan yang bersih, cekap dan amanah. Azam saya ialah untuk menghapuskan pandangan negatif masyarakat terhadap stigma perkhidmatan awam.

Umum tahu bahawa perkhidmatan awam sering dipandang rendah oleh kebanyakan orang awam. Kenapa? Perlukah saya mengulas lanjut? Baiklah.. untuk kebaikan mereka yang masih kabur tentang perkara ini.

Perkhidmatan awam dikatakan lemah dalam sistem penyampaian terutama nya perkhidmatan. Perkhidmatan awam sering dikaitkan dengan dengan rasuah, kroni, orang dalam, kurang mesra, lambat, karenah birokrasi dan pelbagai lagi imej negatif. Walaupun kerajaan kebalakangan ini mewar-warkan pelbagai slogan dan kempen bagi mengatasi masalah tersebut, sejauh manakah ianya dipatuhi oleh lebih 1 juta kakitangannya?

Kali ini saya merasa sangat terpanggil untuk menulis mengenai amanah.

Apabila menyebut tentang amanah, kita selalunya membayangkan polis atau jpj menerima duit kopi , ataupun kes ahli lembaga pengarah pecah amanah.. atau pun kes ahli politik wang.. tapi itu adalah secara kasar..
secara halusnya..
bagaimana dengan kes ini?

Pegawai bawahan A ditugaskan untuk menguruskan pertukaran dan penempatan pegawai di kementeriannya. Selama ini terlalu ramai pegawai dari seluruh malaysia yang menghubungi pegawai tersebut dengan harapan permohonan masing-masing akan diluluskan dengan kadar yang segera. Pegawai A menerangkan kepada setiap orang bahawa mereka perlu mengikut prosedur yang ditetapkan. Kenapa perlu ikut prosedur?? Kerana- ini adalah untuk kepentingan perkhidmatan. Sekiranya semua orang dibenarkan bertukar sesuka hati, bayangkan kesan yang akan dihadapi oleh perkhidmatan yang ditawarkan dan akhirnya akan melibatkan masyarakat setempat.

Tapi sayangnya, masih ramai pegawai-pegawai kerajaan yang ego dan mementingkan diri sendiri dan merasakan masalah dirinya adalah masalah terhebat di dunia lantas menggunakan cara kotor untuk memastikan permohonannya diluluskan.

Pernahkah mereka ini terbayang kesannnya kepada perkhidmatan????. Ini akan menimbulkan masalah dalam penyampaian perkhidmatan secara langsung dan secara tidak langsung pula akan menimbulkan rasa tidak puas hati kepada pegawai lain yang bagaikan si dungu menunggu giliran untuk ditukarkan. Dan tentu sekali ianya satu masalah kepada saya untuk menerangkan kepada pegawai-pegawai lain kenapa si polan dan si anu dapat ditukarkan tanpa mengikut prosedur?? Pegawai -pegawai ini adalah dari golongan profesional. Mereka tidak akan dapat menerima jawapan seperti ' Oh.. si polan tu ada kabel., abang dia somebody, bapak dia kenal orang , oh.. bapak dia pengarah la! dsb.. '!!

Kesannya.. ini akan menebalkan rasa tak puas hati dan tertindas pegawai dan meningkatkan kebarangkalian mereka meningglkan perkhidmatan kerajaan dan berkhidmat dengan swasta. Ini adalah satu kerugian besar kepada kerajaan kerana mereka adalah aset penting. Jutaan ringgit telah dibelanjakan kerajaan untuk menyara pengajian mereka dan kerana sikap tidak amanah sesetengah pihak, masyarakat kerugian.

Tetapi, apa yang menguatkan rasa kesal saya adalah, yang mengamalkan sikap tolong kroni ini adalah bukan ketua yang tertinggi, tetapi mereka yang dibawahnya. Menteri sudah pesan jangan guna kabel demi kepentingan perkhidmatan tetapi menteri tidak tahu apa yang terjadi. Menteri tidak tahu yang ketua bahagian sekian, pengarah sekian, setiausaha bahagian sekian menggunakan kuasanya untuk bertindak di luar prosedur dan menolong sedara mara, sahabat handai dan rakan taulannya.Alhamdulillah , menteri sekarang belum pernah lagi masuk campur dalam urusan-urusan ini.

Persoalannya di sini.

Bagaimana dengan mereka yang hanya lah anak orang kebanyakan yang tidak punya kenalan di pihak pengurusan tinggi??? Siapa yang akan membela nasib mereka??
Harus di ingat setiap yang memohon mempunyai alasan yang kukuh dan sebab tersendiri.

Saya akan ingat mereka dan saudara mara mereka yang tidak amanah ini hingga ke akhir hayat.. untuk pengajaran dan peringatan kepada diri sendiri.

Saya tahu.. mungkin ada yang berkata, kalau tak pakai kabel, tak dilayan.

Pemikiran ini lah yang harus dibuang!!!!!

Kerana anda telah mengulang semula kitaran yang tidak sihat. Yang paling saya sedih, 100% kes kroni yang saya lihat adalah melibatkan kaum saya sendiri.

Kita melenting jika kaum kita dipersenda, kita melenting jika perkhidmatan awam dikeji, tetapi kita tidak berusaha untuk membaikkan keadaan.

Pesanan saya.. sekiranya anda berada di posisi yang berkuasa, ingatlah.. jangan menindas orang lain, dan jangan menolong kroni hanya kerana mereka kroni anda. Kaji lah dahulu alasan mereka. Dan kepada semua pegawai .. ingatlah.. nama pun pegawai awam, berkhidmatlah untuk orang awam. Sekiranya tak mampu, berhenti. Ni tidak.. nak kerja dengan kerajaan, nak cuti banyak, nak bonus, nak naik pangkat , nak cepat sambung belajar .. semuanya nakkkk.... tetapi tidak mahu menyumbang kepada masyarakat di pedalaman. eeeeee... geram!


saya akhiri dengan satu lagi pertanyaan.

Amanahkah anda????????????????????????????????????????

Shoot!!

I forgot to blog about that meme I read on k. ruby's blog..
urgh.. n to think that by leaving clinical work and opting for office work will leave me more time to blog.... amainaa..( japanese word)

Blogging @ 1 am

My husband sounded angry when he woke up to have a drink and found me still facing the computer, blogging at this hour.

I can't help it. I am not good at being constant .. so I can't be doing it regularly.... so when i have the time to blog, I'll blog till my eyes drop.. ( read: till i feel very sleepy and can't lift 'em eyelids anymore).

I guess I'll have to call it a night now..

I work at an office from 8:00 to 5:00.. just in case some people think bloggers are unemployed.

I will try to blog about this one meme I read on K. Ruby's blog.. when? .. Only god knows.
Till then... thank you for visiting this world of mine.

Fuss Over SP

Forewarning: SP doesn't stand for Sungai Petani..

Anyway, I remember the whole dorm was punished because of a used SP in the pantry ( was that small room between our dorms in the main block called pantry? Someone help... I can't remember)
The seniors ( fifth formers) accused us for being unhygienic and not civic minded to do such a thing and locked the 30 strong of us into that small room. With the stench and pong of the unwashed laundries .. we were forced to stay there for more than an hour because nobody confessed of being the culprit. At last they asked us to make a straight line from that small room to the toilet's dustbin and made us pass that used SP ,by hand, no gloves allowed, into the dustbin. It was gross then, and I still find it gross now.

What I actually want to share here is.. we had an unfair trial!
And we were punished unfairly just because we were the youngest.
Actually, that small room was shared between 2 dorms.. One is us... the first formers.. and the other dorm was occupied by the 4th formers.

My question to the dearest seniors who did that to us..

" Were the occupants of the other dorm exempted from the embarrassment just because they were seniors? Or did you seriously think they were not involved at all????"

If you are reading this and this somehow triggered some old memory in the back of your brain shelf, please.. feed me with some answers.

be honest

the story:

SHOCKING PUNISHMENT: Cold, dirty penalty over sanitary pad
By : Dennis Wong and Nancy Nais


The students enduring their punishment in the muddy pond. — Picture courtesy of Borneo Post




KUCHING: Two hundred schoolgirls of a boarding school were forced to squat, neck-deep, in a murky pond after a used sanitary pad was found in a toilet bowl.
The girls were in the pond for an hour during heavy rain while the warden, who meted out the punishment, stood under an umbrella to supervise the punishment.


The punishment, which was described as "improper", is being investigated by the Education Ministry.


The shocking event at SMK Bawang Assan was captured on camera by the school’s parent-teacher association chairman Jimmy Kiu at 5pm on Wednesday.


Seeing Kiu taking photographs, the warden ordered the girls out of the pond.
By then, several of them complained of itchiness and rashes. Several were also reportedly ill after the incident.


Kiu claimed none of the school officials came to check the situation despite these complaints.


Most of the 500 students in Form One to Five are from the interior areas of Sungei Pasin, Batang Lassa, Nanga Singat, Sungei Lengang, Sungei Belangan and Tanjung Bekakap.


The students from the co-ed school go home on weekends.


"This kind of punishment is inhumane. And it is all over a used sanitary pad in a toilet bowl," Kiu said.


"The water in the pond is dirty as waste from the canteen flows straight into it."


A school official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the warden decided to punish all the female students after no one owned up to leaving the used pad in the toilet bowl.


"I think the warden was angry as it is expensive to fix a clogged toilet," Kiu said.


Sarawak Teachers’ Union president William Ghani Bina expressed his uneasiness with the disciplinary measure applied by the warden.


"The warden’s intentions may have been good, but she should have followed the guidelines on disciplining students," William said.


"Teachers are humans, too. This warden may have gone overboard in instilling discipline."


William did not, however, put all the blame on the warden.


He said the student concerned should also take responsibility.


"This incident would not have occurred if school regulations were followed. There are proper bins to dispose of used sanitary pads."


Sibu deputy police chief Superintendent Zamani Hamdan said they had yet to receive any report over the incident.




http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Frontpage/20070722072045/Article/index_html

I Am Not Your Average Malaysian!

Why? You may ask..

Because I have read more than what the average Malaysian read in a year.
So far I've finished reading 4 books and am in the middle of reading 4 or 5... ( and it's only July, mind you.. *grin*)
and I am going to add a new one to the list.. Of course.. the boy wizard book! But I will patiently wait until the commotion is over and will slowly read it at my own pace.

Meanwhile, I will try to finish this first..





I like this book and there are several chapters that I could relate to my own Malaysian stories.But I'd better finish reading it first before writing a review on it.

These are the other books I am also currently trying to finish..











pics are coutesy of



http://www.fusionview.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/honk.jpg
http://www.mph.com.my
http://www.malaysiainsuranceguide.com/images/New%20insurance%20book%20Cover%20Image.JPG
http://www.kinibooks.com/images/i%20am%20muslim.jpg
http://a0.vox.com/6a00c225256c85f21900cdf7e53160094f-500pi
http://mpus.com/images/stop_worrying_and_start_living.gif

This Thing About Old Boys..

I just finished reading this



That actually brought my memory to this



which I read months ago but never had the time to write a review on it.


Both are written by MCKK old boys. I am not a good writer so I don't really have that talent to twist the words ( althought I can twist balloons,now... :)) and certainly not the talent to write a good review on these two books... but I really have to say what's on my mind right now.

Born and raised at the turn of the millennium ( if u consider the late 70's as the starting point of the turn of a new millennium.. ), into a moderate muslim parents, and families who tried their best to abide by the rules of the religion ( kindly note the word 'tried' which translates into: 'we are not perfect!' Ok?).. I found the stories told by my old friends who happened to be old boys themselves were rather .. hard to believe.

For example..

Most Old boys .. especially the very old ones.. are avid liquor lover and will go to any extent to get them served during the OB weekends. To the extent of having the principal transfered if he didn't do as they say .

Most Old boys only perform the mass prayers like Fridays and Tarawikhs.. and not the daily 5.

I doubted what he said because my mom's little brother is an old boy himself ( judging from his age, which is 57 this year.. most probably he was there in the 60's.) and I can assure you he is not like my OB friend claimed most of the OBs are like.

But after reading these 2 books.. I can see that these OBs( In this case,I take Dato' Hamid and friends as OBs , not Kam Raslan ).... do drink and actually love to drink. Not only that,they also gambled , had free sex, and a list of other things that are forbidden by the religion. No.. don't jump into the conclusion and start sending me hate mails and malicious comments on my blog ( which I won't approve, anyway.. ). I am not trying to say that all MC OBs are like that, not worthy as muslims or things like that .Only the Almighty could decide whether someone is a good muslim or not..

But when it comes to pork. Suddenly one is a muslim again. Isn't that funny? What is it with I am a muslim so I don't eat pork but hey.. that Dom Perignon is marvelous! A woman who covers herself are kampung -ish and backward.. under-educated.. bla bla bla.. But when they are married they want their wives to dress decently. Religion lies in the heart.. no need to show .. but why do u need real food to fulfill your empty stomach? Isn't thinking about it alone is enough?

I just don't get it.

Me..

Don't understand.. especially when these kind of people sometimes try to preach about religion to us..And when these people quoting verses from the Quran and hadiths.. and sometimes quoting the prophet s.a.w and when these people trying to impose the new Islamic views on us.. Since when do we actually have new and old Islamic views? aren't we supposed to believe in ONE God? To follow One Prophet's teaching?

Just what the heck is going on with us muslims? Or is it just us.. Malayans who refused to have the connection to the British cut after independence , hence keeping the tie through this method?

sigh*






Btw, I believe the Old Boys days are almost coming to its end..

now it's time for the Old Girls!! Yeah baby..





ps: all nasty comments are not welcomed and will be deleted by me, so please don't you even try to send one..


pps: Confessions of an old boy was a good read. very entertaining indeed. Go buy one! If u want to borrow mine.. just ring or sms me.. limited only to those who have my phone number..
A Malaysian Journey.. well.. was Rehman Rashid's journey and has almost nothing to do with me although I am also a Malaysian. Not a single point where I could say.. "ha-a la... I agree.. ". If u are a fan of him.. It's good to read it.. and if u r into literature... this is also a good one. I had to flip through my dictionary for quite a number of times searching for the meaning of certain words.. too beautiful for my simple English standard.


pics are courtesy of
1-http://tedmahsun.blogspot.com/2007/05/review-confessions-of-old-boy-by-kam.html
2-http://www.silverfishbooks.com

I have A New Hobby!

I am sooo into balloon art now!

They are economical because balloons are cheap and air is free. Practical in the sense that not only I like it but my daughter is also enjoying the fruit of my twisting labor.

My First Twist
This poodle's nose is too long but hey, not bad for a first time huh? And I didn't even pop any balloon in the process of twisting this baby.

My 2nd Twist
This is supposed to be a giraffe although my husband kept saying it looked like a poodle with an elongated neck. That man has no heart for arts. Sigh*



My 3rd Twist
This poodle is sooo cute u feel like grabbing that phone and order one for yourself , right??!
My best twist so far.


A Happy Customer

I really need to expand my skill and start twisting other things beside poodles or this customer of mine will turn into one and start barking and biting for something new.

Anyone know where to get books on balloon art?

ps: Searched at MPH but they don't have it.. at least not the MPH store I went to yesterday.

No Wonder Smokers Are Reluctant To Let Go Of Their Smoky Sticks

Dan??

Shoot! What is that supposed to mean? Dato' Seri Dr Chua..... some help here please..

Upside Down

I wonder what is the view like from this car driver's eyes.

In the Wrong Business

1 month has passed since i moved to P town from B town. What i like about this P town is.. it's so damn near to where we are currently renting.
And i don't have to do calls anymore. I purposely refused my lecturers' advice which was to do medicine.. because i hate getting work calls after office hour. To me, having to get up in the middle of the night to go and sew people's face because they were too drunk to see that the road actually bended is really a pain in the butt.

Just FYI, most call cases I attended so far were either due to drunk drivers or drunk men fighting and injuring each other.
Little did i know when i joined the service that i had to do calls as well.
At least now, I am temporarily safe from that ... But I really have to pursuit something.. a specialty i mean.. or else when i am out of this place, i will have to do calls again.. urghhh.

Now that, is my main concern, or rather , my main problem.

I am currently attending a 3 day convention at Sunway ... but the more i learned about the industry... the more i feel i am in the wrong business. So, if i basically do not like what i am suppose to be.. how, please , tell me how.. can i go further?

I have other options like.. go private and make money$$$. But i don't want to take the risk because going private actually really means business.. and a softie ( i am soft hearted.. only u don't know about it.. ok.. laugh all u want but it's true!!!)like me has no place in the business world.

Maybe i should just continue doing whatever it is that i am doing and try to enjoy the joy of life God has given me so far...

Let the main breadwinner do his job first. I'll see what I can do when the time comes..

Yeah.. when the time comes.

Sean Ghazi - A man of his words!

I came back from Terengganu yesterday and found this in my mail box!

I opened the envelope with great care and there was another envelope


Inside this red packet.. was a lovely red package with a postcard.



Inside the red package was this..

Come on, by now you should know there's a CD inside.. no need for me to tell what's inside the cd case la huh..

Such a sweet guy this SG is.. Not only he's multi talented, but he's also sweet kan?

At first , well you know , he got several nominations during the last AIM and actually surprised a lot of people because he got only the best new artiste award. The crowd expected that he would get more. Meaning- he was the favourite or shall i say popular . And became more popular and well known after winning that award. ( Btw, if u r reading this and still don't have the slightest idea who SG is, either u r not from Malaysia or u have been living under the tempurung (coconut shell) all this while.)

But this is the proof that he actually remembered, and kept his words.
You have my respect for that!

A review of the album:

Concept- It's unique.. not like the usual local album u can find in the market
Music- Pleasant, nostalgic, yet refreshing.
Voice- I like it.
Favourites:- Lets never stop falling in love or it's malay version- ku impikan bintang

Personally, i find the song 'dengar ini cerita' kinda horny... i know i am married and have a daughter , and too old to feel shy about the story but.. i dunno, i felt a bit 'malu' listening to that song..'malu' as in blushing kind of 'malu' . Y? I have no idea.

For those who love P ramlee-ish or you can say Michael Buble-ish if u want to ( I'm sorry, my music vocabulary is not that good, mind the improper choice of terms, and words. I wanted to say it more beautifully.. but, alas.....).. I highly recommend this album for you to enjoy.

Even to those who are not sure whether they like it or not.. give it a try..
Those who do not like it.. get outta here you.. you..!

Last but not least, many many thanks toMr Sean Ghazi for being such a generous man and took all the trouble to send this signed CD, FOC , to someone you barely know.

And not forgetting Kak Ruby Ahmad for playing fairy god mother and made it happen.

You guys rock!


ps: for the real blur ones.. (I copy-pasted from wikipedia.)

Sean Ghazi (born 4 April 1969, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) is a Malaysian actor, singer and dancer.

Ghazi is best known for appearing in the 1999 movie Anna and the King (in the role of Khun Phra Balat), alongside Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat. He has appeared on stage in London's West End and in Europe, in productions such as Miss Saigon, Rent and The King and I (in which he also played Khun Phra Balat). He has also appeared in several television and theatre productions in Asia.

In 2006, Ghazi released his first music album, Semalam, which features jazzed up versions of classic Malay songs. The album earned Ghazi the 'Best New Artiste' award at the Anugerah Industri Muzik (Malaysian Music Industry Awards).

In 1995, Ghazi won a nationally-televised talent competition in Singapore called the Fame Awards.

pps: check out his website: http://www.seanghazi.com/

Thank You, Dr Z.

A lot of depressing things happened these last few days. Before I turn sour all over, I want to wish my lovely dentist, Dr Z , thank you for her help last Saturday.
A filling I had for more than 9 years ago fell off leaving a cavity on my upper left first premolar. Dr Z was very kind to help me re-do the filling ,F.O.C!
Considering the clinic's location, I think the cost would have been around RM 100 or so..
It was very good to see her again though.She was my junior back in dental school.
Well Dr Z, thank you for your kind gesture.
May your life be blessed with alll kind of good things.

WHY???!!

My current boss is holding back my transfer!!
They even kept the letter and there's no sign of them passing the rightful letter of mine to me.

Sucks!

Sucks!

Sucks!

urghhhhhhhhh Why???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????!

I am supposed to report duty to the new place this wednesday, man..
I never knew i am that good, now everyone wants to have me work for them. Sigh*

Kurang Ajar!

Is there any word in English which gives the same meaning as the title above? The word rude did come across but I don't think it is strong enough to describe the emotions involved. Insolence? Maybe..

This story is about a one very 'kurang ajar' patient of mine.
'Kurang Ajar', directly translated means 'not having enough education'
I don't know whether he was a bad student or his guardians or parents who whoever they are, slept on their job.

The out come was this one kurang ajar young man.

I know we're not supposed to talk about patients, we have to keep the secrecy , but this one, is not really about his health condition nor about his social status, but his attitude.

He was very rude towards the counter staff, he did not cooperate during examanations, he gave different answers to the same questions when asked twice, he didn't want to listen to explanations regarding his conditions, he just wanted us to do what he ordered! And the way he talked was so damn rude i felt like punching him in the face and kicking him in the ass. If only I lost my professionalism at that time and purposely mistreated him..
that would be one very painful event for him, Payment for being very kurang ajar to us. Thank God, my sanity never left me even for one second. Kalau tak.. naya ..

Come on la, You may call me a government servant, but I am NOT YOUR SERVANT, OK!

gerammm

Mama's Day!

It's mother's day today.

Who should I give my love to?
My respect and my honor to
Who should I pay good mind to?
After Allah
And Rasulullah

Comes your mother
Who next? Your mother
Who next? Your mother
And then your father

Cause who used to hold you
And clean you and clothes you
Who used to feed you?
And always be with you
When you were sick
Stay up all night
Holding you tight
That's right no other
Your mother (My mother)

Who should I take good care of?
Giving all my love
Who should I think most of?
After Allah
And Rasulullah

Comes your mother
Who next? Your mother
Who next? Your mother
And then your father

Cause who used to hear you
Before you could talk
Who used to hold you?
Before you could walk
And when you fell who picked you up
Clean your cut
No one but your mother
My mother

Who should I stay rigt close to?
Listen most to
Never say no to
After Allah
And Rasulullah

Comes your mother
Who next? Your mother
Who next? Your mother
And then your father

Cause who used to hug you
And buy you new clothes
Comb your hair
And blow your nose
And when you cry
Who wiped your tears?
Knows your fears
Who really cares?
My mother

Say Alhamdulillah
Thank you Allah
Thank you Allah
For my mother.

song by Yusuf Islam

I dedicate this song to all mothers in the world especially to my mum Meriam and my mum in law, Fatimah.

Ladies out there, our children are not our toys nor our possession. They are not for you to use when you want to play with and throw away into the dustbin or down the drain when you don't need them anymore. Do appreciate them and love them with all our hearts.  If not, please, you have no right to be a mother.

In short, think before you say yes to your partner's seduction.  It will turn your life upside down if you aren't ready!

Happy mother's day y'all!!

ps: Btw, not everyone celebrates mother's day today. For more info on this, log on to wikipedia, 
Interesting read.

K. Pi in the News.

I was flipping thru the Sunday Star yesterday when I came across this article.

Blogging on

By DAPHNE LING

Lately, Malaysian bloggers have been on the receving end of bad press. Sadly, the work of a few bad apples has given the millions of other bloggers a bad name.

There are some, like the ones I will share, who despite the turbulence in the blogsophere, keep at what the love most: To share their stories.

Pi Bani, of ‘Pi’s Twist’
www.pistwist.blogspot.com

Pi Bani, 44, is one gutsy lady. Having been a volunteer with The Buddies Society of Ipoh for three years, Kak Pi, as she is fondly called, started her blog early March to share the stories of her work.

The Buddies Society is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) providing moral and emotional support to People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Besides sharing her experiences, Kak Pi also writes her blog “to reach out to more people to enlighten them about the plights PLWHA’s”. She also hopes to slowly debunk the social stigma that comes with it.

By profession though, Kak Pi is a certified Company Secretary.

“I now work on flexi-hour basis with a friend of mine in a company providing secretarial, accounting and management services,” she says, adding that she is happy with the arrangement as it gives her time to indulge in her voluntary service.

Through her writings, people are able to read about the little triumphs that PLWHA’s achieve in the face of struggles, and their unfortunate treatment by some members of society.



So guys,  click on her name ( she's on my link list) and read for yourself what wonderful things this lady has done and still doing. You too , can make a difference.

He Won!

I don't really know why, but I felt very happy when I switched the channel of my telly and caught Sean Ghazi holding the trophy for Best new artiste.

Congratulations.

Now that he became more famous than before,I hope he won't forget his promise.

My story for today

Time really does fly. It's been more than a month since my last post. It's not that I have no stories to tell, but I just couldn't find the time to do it.

Early March
I got my transfer letter from Pahang to Selangor about 3 weeks before the transfer date. Amidst all the excitement, my daughter got 'poxed by chicken' .. chicken pox laa.. A week later, she generously donated her varicella viruses to her mama. So, I had to bear all those itchy blisters for more than one week. And some of the marks are still visible especially on my forehead.

End of March
We moved to Selangor wth all our furniture and stuff. We rented a small single storey terrace house about 10 km ( via highway) from my husband's office. My daughter is so used to living in government quarters which were big and spacious, she kept saying 'nak balik' ( wanna go home ) for the first few days. We could have rented a bigger place but then, there were only the 3 of us. Plus, the rent is not cheap. 
For this house, we are paying RM 500 a month. And the house is I think just an 18 'x 65'. 

2nd of April
I reported duty to the state deputy director in Shah Alam.  I noticed that she always wear a smile on her face no matter what the situation was. Quite a friendly face for someone of a higher rank.  I was told to go to work in B town, which is about 42 km from where we are staying. My husband suggested that we move again to B town and he'll commute to work to C town. But I disagreed. B town is so far away and quite hot because it is quite near to the coastal area.

Today
Well, I have been commuting for about 3 weeks now.  If I exclude the long commute, everything is just fine in this new place.

But secretly, I am waiting for another offer, that is to work in P town. The boss in P town gave the green light already but she is yet to issue the letter.  When the letter comes, then I'll kiss B town bubbye!  If any of you knows my current boss or staff in B town, please don't mention anything ok. Lets just wait for the letter from P town to arrive.

Till then, have a nice day!

Words of Wisdom

These were the words my fortune cookie blurted out when i cracked it open:

"career is great, but you can't run your fingers through it's hair"

thank you fortune cookie dear, i really needed that. Lately, I have been arguing with myself about my future, about whether or not i am wasting my talent just by doing whatever it is that i am doing now when i can actually do more and achieve better things in life, career wise.

Thank you again for reminding me why i stick to the decision i made almost 4 years ago.

1977

In 1977 (the year you were born)

Jimmy Carter becomes president of the US Most of the 10,000 Vietnam War draft evaders are pardoned by President Carter Singer Anita Bryant starts her "Save Our Children" crusade against gay rights Elvis Presley dies in his Graceland bathroom Congress creates a Department of Energy Anwar Sadat flies to Jerusalem in a dramatic gesture of willingness to discuss peace Orlando Bloom, Shakira, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Liv Tyler, and Ludacris are born New York Yankees win the World Series Oakland Raiders win Superbowl XI Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup Swedish music group ABBA passes The Beatles as having most records sold Star Wars is the top grossing film The Shining by Stephen King is published "You Light Up My Life" by Debby Boone spends the most time at the top of the US charts Three's Company premieres

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

The Things

It's 4:50 in the afternoon. 10 more minutes before the office hour ends. I've wanted to write about something but i just don't know where to start. a lot of things happened lately, around me, around malaysia, around the world.
things like, my work place was just audited by 'XIGHIM' yesterday. and how we all worked hard to prepare for that bloody thing. sleep deprivation, a lot of yelling and depressed souls.

And there was this Linda onn and Star Movie-red carpet thing, where i find it quite amusing for most of the journalists and those in the business were all like in unison whacking and banging her, calling her act as 'divarism' and how unprofeesional she was for rejecting Radzuan's baju kebaya ,thus refusing to do the interview. As someone from the 'outside', i say we have to question the other part's professionalism as well for making a very last minute change and would not budge for even an inch.

And then of course, the 'women bloggers are unemployed and liars' thing. This put a smirk on my face. too tired to be angry and not at all .. funny. Fine, call me an unemployed liar for who the f**k cares. most of the women bloggers on my link are all professionals with a degree and a handsome-above-the-malaysian-average income.
Now who's the liar here?

Oh Come on sir, grow up.. everyone by now should know that we are living in a world flooded with infos. Yes, admittedly not all infos are reliable because anyone can write anything and can pretend to be anyone online. Who knows, that this naa might actually be the Queen of England who pretends to be what she's not? Our duty is to educate the public to be selective and to be smart and not to blindly believe everything they see and read. And i don't think so this should be done by calling other people names or accusing them of spreading lies. and certainly not by banning things. How pathetic some people can be..

And then there was the rat race for As among our secondary school students. Well, i don't think we should condemn them students.instead, i think it's about time someone has to do something about the education system in this country. When I read in the papers about htese kid s getiting lots and lots of As.. i would think back of my own SPM result. My result was nothing to be proud of compared to the kids' today. But i have to say i really enjoyed my schooldays.. with all those extra activities and living in a boarding school made it more fun than ever. It's not that living in a semi prison environment was fun, but living with the 'inmates' were. Because back then, the race was not that bad. Although the headmistress kept saying that we were 'creme de la creme', we didn't really care... we studied yes, but we didn't forget to have fun.
People tend to forget that a good education is not measured by only how many As do u get in ur exams. As are good , no doubt, but there are things greater than that. What about the quality of the As?.. if those As scorers can survive in the unis and in the real world without someone spoonfeeding them , telling them what to do and how to succeed, giving them step by step manual on how to live their life.. then, i shall rest my case. I shall say, 'The As are good, our education system is excellent.'

This brought me back to my memory a month back when I went to send my niece to her school after the CNY break. She was one of the top student in her primary years and always scored straight As in her exams. As expected, she got straight As for her UPSR. What she didn't expect was, she was not accepted into my alma mater , which she wanted to be in so badly. Nevertheless, she was offered a place in a local boarding school back in our hometown. This is supposed to be a very good school. My niece is the 3rd batch. The school only accept straight A students in.

The thing that bugs me is.. i think they only prepare their students for the major exams, SPM and PMR that is... The school really concentrates on producing straight A students. Their facilities were very modern and up to date but they only care about getting more and more As. The sutdents go to school only to get more and more As!
They don't have to clean their rooms nor their showers and toilet because the makcik cleaner will do that for them. They don't have to wash their clothes because there is a laundry service available. It made me worry. What if the only thing my niece is going to learn after 5 years is only how to study? I remembered we had to scrub the glass doors of the living room every sunday during the house cleaning. we had roasters to do chores, daily and weekly roasters. It was not that fun, but it helped. All those house meetings and cleanings taught us how to live in a community.
I hope my niece's school authorities will realize soon that education is not just about getting straight As.

And one more thing. About me getting transfered to Selangor. I am quite surprised to find myself feeling bad and sad when ithink of leaving Pahang.

I hated the people who sent me to Pahang almost 4 years ago. But now, i have to thank them for sending me here. for here, in pahang was where i

found my love who now is my husband

gave birth to my darling angel.

became in charge of an organization, although not that big, to think that the people in pahang actually trusted me to lead a team is really an honour to me.

i hope selangor will aso be a good place to live in.

urgh...

i am trying to compose my entry but i think there is something worng with the site..
i can only use the 'edit html' box to type my entry. sucks man...
i've wanted to write about sooooo many things but at the same time, in the real world, things are moving a bit too fast for me. i have a lot of catching up to do..
march is one busy month for naa. i don't think i'll have the time to sit down , face the computer and wirte all the things i 've wanted to write since chinese new year break. sigh*.
hopefully after the audit is over ( yes, i'll be audited , no.. not an idol type of audition.. but an ISO audit)i'll be able to hit the keyboards again.
meanwhile, do enjoy my mobile blog. i'll send in pics of the reporter a.k.a syasya going places, learning new things and having fun via my sony ericcson.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

Wishing all those celebrating, a happy and prosperous year ahead 
On behalf of my daughter, ang pow lai la! hehehe..

I am going back to Terengganu for one whole week starting from tomorrow.
Yippi!!

Miho is Getting Married

Contrary to my last post on the song by Johnny Soul,
I think Miho is a beautiful Japanese lady and Yousuke is one lucky guy to get to marry her.

She was the first person who dared to talk to me in my class back in Tokyo, when everyone else was just too shy to try.
She tried her best to make sure that I felt at home in her country.
She didn't mind the fact that my Japanese was very minimal at that time.
She also didn't mind the fact that I looked different because I was covered from 
head to toe even when it was blazing hot. She showed me places, she introduced me to her family.
Her mom, one of the nicest obachan I have ever met. Her Dad , who helped me with my wisdom tooth and my teeth grinding problem. Her brother, who was also very nice and never ceased to try to talk to me about anything.

But she didn't force me to follow her wherever she went. When she saw that I could take care of myself, she let me go, she let me explore the world around me, made new friends.
But at the same time, she was always there whenever I needed her help.
Thank you.

I wish Miho and her husband to be, Yousuke,

Congratulations & Omedeto.

Oshiawaseni.

Semoga bahagia ke akhir hayat.

Dental Tip Of The Day

I thinkI want to start sharing some of 
my professional opinion and experience with everyone who reads this blog.

Today's tip is:

Please brush and floss your teeth properly before you go see a dentist.
(please ask all your friends, your friends'friends, yourfriends'friends'friends and so on so forth to do the same too)

                                                

The reasons why you should do as I suggested are :-

i- It's hard to properly detect cavities and decays if your teeth are covered with food debris. This is important during your first visit.

ii- it will take longer treatment time because the dentist will have to do extra work removing them prior to original treatment. Longer time means, the longer you have to open your mouth. I don't know about you guys but I hate the state of having to open my mouth for a long time. It gives me a painful TMJ ( temporo-mandibular joint: the joint that connects your mandible to your skull)

ii- It's just simply not that nice to see laaa.. Especially when u are so smart on the outside, donning branded clothes and looking very up to date kind of person. But once you open your mouth.. ah yo!

Well, that's all for today folks.

I'll bring you another tip from the dental world whenever I feel like doing it.

If You Wanna Be Happy

No wonder it's hard for pretty women to get married. There is a song advising the guys not to do so. I am married and am not pretty. But hey.. I don't think I'm ugly either!

If you wanna be happy

For the rest of your life,

Never make a pretty woman your wife,

So from my personal point of view,

Get an ugly girl to marry you.

A pretty woman makes her husband look small
And very often causes his downfall.
As soon as he marries her
Then she starts to do
The things that will break his heart.
But if you make an ugly woman your wife,
You'll be happy for the rest of your life,
An ugly woman cooks her meals on time,
She'll always give you peace of mind.

Don't let your friends say
You have no taste,
Go ahead and marry anyway,
Though her face is ugly,
Her eyes don't match,
Take it from me she's a better catch.

Say man.
Hey baby.

Saw your wife the other day.
Yeah?
Yeah, she's ugly.
Yeah, she's ugly but she sure can cook.
Yeah?. Okay.

                    Song: If You Wanna Be  Happy

 Singer: Jimmy Soul

 

Not True

No way ! Am I ? Oh No...



What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

I Am Pretty Happy

 

You Are Pretty Happy

You generally have a happy, fulfilling life. But things could be a little better, and deep down, you know it. Maybe you need more supportive friends or a more challenging career. Something is preventing you from being totally happy. You just need to figure out what it is!

How Happy Are You, Really?

What is Your Favourite Pastime?

These days I realized that between balancing a career and a family
( and  a pay TV , named ASTRO), 
I have lost the time to do one of my favourite pastime : reading books.  
After what felt like ages, I managed to visit a book store yesterday. 

Living in this part of the world really made it hard for me to continue my hobby. Why, you may ask? Well, it is simply because the nearest bookstores ( which sell the kind of  books that I want to read ) are not very near. 
The bookstore that I visited yesterday was in Kuantan. Some 200km away from home.

Well,of course there are bookshops here in the area that I currently reside , but they mostly sell either school textbooks, references or those mushy malay novels. It's not that I hate novels, but sometimes I think my time is too precious to be spent on reading novels, especially mushy love stories. But I did finish all the Harry Potter series though. Fantasy and Magic,
they come under a different chapter.

Upon entering the store, I felt a tingling sensation,  a feeling which was very difficult to be transfered into words. Excitement was in the air. Non book lovers will never understand this, I guess.  Books, books, books.. they were everywhere. They had everything in store. From text books to references, from novels to biography, from politics to religion, from language to cooking, everything.

all I had to do was , choose the ones that I like. 

Now that was the problem.  
At first, I heard myself complaining that it was hard to get a decent book to read. 
And when I finally get to 'the' place, I still had a problem. What to buy???

I have a dream of setting up my own library at home .  At this age,
I still don't own a house simply because we don't know where to settle down , yet.  
So, Most of the books I have , I keep them at my parents'place . 

I learned a lot from reading books.  
My parents  did not have enough time and knowledge to teach me on most of things. I am not accusing my parents of 
neglecting their responsibilities. NO. 
But they only finished darjah 5  ( standard 5 of the primary school ). 
I never expected them to teach me on things they didn't know. 
I realized a long time ago that my parents were just 
human beings who worked hard and did their best  for their children so that we could have a better life than theirs.  
They have taught me a lot. More than any teacher could ever do.
They taught me to continously seek knowledge . 
They taught me that knowledge could change life.

Well, back to the bookstore,
I remembered reading on suhaimisulaiman's blog about him reading a few books. 
I tried to remember the titles but to no avail. 
So I just browsed through the shelves,
from bestsellers to the latest to the forgotten corners.
And after series of debates with my own self, I decided to buy these 3 books
( the thin blue book was taken from the state director's office waiting space,
It was very interesting to read, I decided to take its picture too.)



I will elaborate on each one of them when I'm finished .


I also had a tough time choosing which CD to buy yesterday.
I wanted to buy both but my allowance ,  ironically did not allow me to do so.
I had to set a limit to myself when it comes to buying cd or else
I will end up buying the entire store.
Music, apart from books is also one of my favourites.

Blogs really do have good advertising effects . 
One of my regular read is  k.Ruby 's blog, and she mentioned more than once
about Sean Ghazi. 
Initially, when I entered the CD shop I wanted to buy Sean's CD, Semalam. 
But when I set my eyes on the regional artiste section, 
I noticed one of my favourite singer was there. 

I think I stood there holding both 
her CD and Sean's for more than ten minutes, 
not knowing which to choose. 
After considering the odd of finding her CD at other shops,
I had to say goodbye to Sean and promised
to buy 'him' on my next visit to a CD shop.

This was the CD that I bought.



Ultra Blue - by Utada Hikaru.
I like most of her songs. I think she is a very bright young lady.
Some info on Utada.

She sings.
She writes her own songs and lyrics.
She's bilingual.
She's a billionnaire ( if not  a millionnaire) because she earned it
and not because her parents are oil tycoons nor 'towkeh balak'

Well, I have to stop writing and get back to being a mum.
I will listen to utada on my way to my daughter's babysitter's place.
And tonight, after she goes to bed, I will try to ignore my pals
on ASTRO ( namely, HBO, STAR Movies, Cinemax, AXN etc)
for a piece and quiet time of The Five People You meet In Heaven by Mitch Albon.

Jueya, my friend.

Forewarning: This is going to need concentration reading because so far, this is my longest post and somewhat emotional.  Only read it when you are physically and mentally ready.

Last week, Wednesday, I had dinner with Jueya.
Who's Jueya? well, we went to the same secondary school. We had a few 'kyoutsuuten'
that made her one of those persons I still remember strongly after
(believe it or not, sigh*) almost 13 years having left secondary school.
#1: we were both from Terengganu
- although she was from Kuala and I was from Hulu, we spoke the same dialect. We boarded the same night bus back to Terengganu every semester break.
We even attended the same computer class after SPM.
#2: We were in the same English set since form 3.
- We made fun of the same teachers. Miss Choy with her clock tower story and her bulging eyes and strained neck whenever she tried to explain something to us.
Miss Choy was always upset when none of her students wanted to be an English Teacher .
Well, we were very ambitious young ladies then, right Jueya?
I myself wanted to be at least, a cabinet minister then.
Hahahaha.. now, no more politics for moi.
I am trying to live in denial of whatever it is that I (politically) disapprove . I don't want to be angry no more.And of course, Puan Ashidah. How could we ever forget her.
Well, Jueya and I weren't really her favourite, I think. But at least Jueya got better treatment. Puan Ashidah remembered her name! Where as for me, Puan Ashidah only remembered me as 'mm.. the one with 'r' or 's''? ' Well, my deskmate was another girl that went by the name almost similar to mine except for the difference in the 3rd letter in our names. Hers was 'r' and mine is 's'. And to think that she taught us for 2 years in a row. Tsk..Actually, I admired Jueya 's talent when it comes to creative writing. She was full of ideas and imaginations.I still remember one of her 1119 essays.
She wrote about the Titanic.
I forgot the details but it was about the love between husband and wife. I liked it.
And I think she had more emotions than I did. By the way, just for fun, I am going to list
Puan Ashidah's favourites here. They are: ( in no particular order)
Haireen, Fern, Liza Fisal, Linda Noordin, Suri.. and a few more.. but never me, not even once.
#3: Our third language subject was Japanese:
I was very lazy when it comes to Shukudai. And I think Jueya was not very keen either.
But I like the fact that we actually had actual Japanese for senseis.
We got to learn all those Japanese songs, ate Japanese food. We had our own T-shirts.
T'was fun. Once, when we were in form four, the sensei deducted 20 marks from my exam result because I didn't send in shukudais on time ( and sometimes never even send any..)
# 4:We were classmates in upper secondary.
- We were both in the pure science class : form 4C and 5C
( C , not because we were stupid, Ok! C was for College)
For I don't know what reason, Jueya had the most front seat when we were in form 5.
I can still picture her mountain high textbooks and references on her desk, almost covering herself from the teacher's view.
Our upper secondary teachers were also one of their kind.
Encik Ahmad: Taught us Maths only for a few months in form 4, then he surrendered? Hehehe..
Mr Tan Jhi Seng: Very funny add maths teacher. But half of the class had to re-sit for the year end paper . And I think Jueya was one of them ,together with yours truly.
Puan Romas: Also a math teacher, made us stand on our chairs for not doing our homework . Sometimes she powdered our face with blackboard eraser when we were very naughty. But that was more than a decade ago. Puan Romas never got sacked because we knew we were wrong. Why should involve parents in this matter?
Mr Lim Kim Oh: Actually, he's one of my favourite add maths teacher. Very strict!He was our school's discipline teacher. I still remember his favourite motivational line: ' do u want to wave to your friend, on the tarmac or from the tarmac?' Something like, do u want to wave to your friend bye because that person is going somewhere far because they succeeded in their studies and get to board the airplane but u just get to go to the airport and wave from the ground, or.. do u want to be on that plane instead, waving to ur friends on the ground.?
Another favourite line is.. ( while staring right into our eyes, and his face was just like 10 cm away from our face) : "are you with us?". Thanks to him, the whole 5C passed add maths! with quite a number of distinctions.
Mr Nathan : Oh, who could ever forget the late Mr Nathan. Our beloved physics teacher. It still hurts me to think that I never got the chance to see him and thank him after I left school. To him, we girls were all 'hopeless la..'. Well, the average marks for our physics paper was around 45 ..
Encik Zainal: I still blame the school for assigning Encik Zainal as our BM teacher in 5C. Encik Zainal was ok.. but not for an exam class. please.. He was not the type that we would be scared and rush to do his homework. He was fun because he talked a lot, and he rarely gave homework. And even if he did, I rarely finished them. Ok, partly my fault la.. I didn't get an A1 for my BM. But if he was as garang as Mr Lim, I could have done better!( go on naa.. blame other people for your failures.. .. hehe..). And if Jueya ever read this, I am sure she could still recall the images of the stories.
The list is still quite long. I think I will write a different post dedicated to these teachers, later.

Jueya and I weren't really the goody two shoes type ( or were we? nah.. no.) We talked a lot, we made noises, disturbing other people who were busy studying. Together with other samsengs from 5C , we once organized a 'gusti rambut' ( hair wrestling- I'll try to write about this later ) and Miss Vicky  the discipline teacher shouted our names from across the block, begging us to shut up. We were that loud, She didn't have to come and see who were the culprits. She recognized our voices.

But the memory sharing stopped because we took different paths in life.

We went to different universities. Took different courses. Now we have different jobs at two different places. The 13- year- gap is huge I think. I have changed. Jueya has too.

I am now married with one daughter. Jueya is still free to go anywhere she wants, do whatever her heart tells. Though I never asked, I think I am only getting paid less than half of what she gets monthly. Well, me working for the government, and she, a consultant for a private company. She spends more than my basic salary a month.
We live two totally different lifestyles.

To me, she looked  and sounded very ambitious, with lots of thing to do in life.
And me, myself? Mmm.. I think I am not as driven as I used to be. I remember when I was , 'younger' ( if you consider 30 is old), 
I believed that I could do anything that I wanted to do, 
provided I work hard enough for it. 
'Yareba dekiru' or the famous malay equivalent: Yakin Boleh. 
I have proven it right through various stages of life. 
The sweetest was when I was the first malay who passed the Japanese board of dental practitioner license exam ( shikaishikokkashiken). After several seniors failed , after being mocked by those damn prejudists and racists saying that malays are stupid and can never achieve anything, After being emotionally disturbed by questions from japanese friends who were fed stupid racist infos from non-malay , after being insulted by one of the dental school teacher saying that we all malays must never sit for the kokkashiken because we will fail anyway and that would bring the university's ranking down.
After all those nasty remarks, I proved them all wrong!
At first I didn't want to sit for the exam because the license was only valid in Japan. Furthermore, we had to pay to sit for the exam. But I was so sick and tired listening to those people, I decided to take it. And I thank God for giving me the strength to fight. To prove that, victories (or losses) do not belong to only one race.
They belong to those who deserve.

Time has passed. I have changed.

I have decided to be the best mother to my daughter and the best partner to my husband.
This is my choice. I chose to obey the rules of Islam. I am not a preacher but I also don't want to be someone who talks a lot about Islam but at the same time refuses to follow the doctrine.
It is not that I am 100% contented with life, I just want to live my life happily with my family and friends. I had the choice of between continuing my studies to the higher level and be a successful career woman but will have to sacrifice my time with my family ,or, have a decent job but I get to be with my family all the time.

I chose to be with my family. I have calculated  and gave a lot of thoughts,
I could never have both. 
 No matter how positive I wanted to think of the outcomes, 
I know my limitations.
I don't want to be the sore old woman who regretted not spending more time with her children when they were young.

I hope this change will not intimidate any of those who knew me before.
Just because I have decided to wear tudung, doesn't mean I am going to strap myself with bombs and be a martyr. Just because I don't do karaoke anymore doesn't mean I don't like music anymore. Oh, I still do sing, dear friends.. I just don't do it in public anymore.

I don't really know how far the 13 years had widen our gap, but what I really know is, to me, Jueya is still the same bubbly girl whom I spent 5 of my most precious years in life together.

And I also want her ( and all of my long lost friends, wherever u are) to know, we may have different views in life,  but that doesn't stop me from being your friend. 
 Lets  respect all the differences but that doesn't mean that we
 must agree with each other all the time.

I love all of my friends and I cherish all the time I have spent with
them. They have became part of my history. I have never erased or deleted the cookies and files of my friendships throughout my life.  And I never will. 

I hope you won't erase me too.