Rombong Cik Kiah akhir nya berjaya jugek...kekekeke...

Sometimes life is just unpredictable...and we
do not know what will happen in the next moment...

We, that is Wani, Kak Lin, Kak Jem and I, planned to visit the
so called 'international' bookfair in PWTC on Friday...
then Sarurday...then Friday....
then Saturday...and finally Friday....

The story went like this...
We called it Rombongan Cik Kiah....
Why...because we were so excited to go...and
we had endless excited discussion about it on Thursday morning....
and well...we wanted to drive to Kl....
4 of us and we refined our plan...as in on Saturday....
what time we would be leaving etc...etc....
and the driver would be Azmeer...as he is familiar with the way...
But the thing was...Amir was not even there...
and he had no idea at all that he would be our driver....
and we planned...and planned ...and planned....
and finally after the plan was refined...
we informed Amir...
Turned out he couldn't make it....
He would be involved in a camp that weekend in skul..
So, we had to change plan....Plan B.
Kak Lin would drive and a friend of hers would show the way...

But when i called to confirm...she was not sure....
so i did not bring my change of clothing on Friday...
Then we discussed again...
Very Cik Kiah like...We decided on saturday....
then after my class....
i discovered Wani said it would be on Friday...as Kak Jem
insisted on that day itself...
We tried to persuade her to change her mind but she was adamant....
So finally we said fine...we'll go Friday...
I somehow managed to switch my class at the last moment
and Wani, Kak Lin and i left for Seremban at 11.30.
We made a brief stop in Kuala Klawang to buy slippers...
then we were off sending Wani first to change
and then to S2, my house.
By the time we reached the commuter station, it was already
1.20 pm...so we rushed...
and the train left at 1.30...just in time...

But...after all the discussion and disagreement etc...etc...
Kak Jem called us on our way to the commuter
station that she won't be joining us....
something to do with her son....
i got the feeling that she was just getting all of us worked up
and then she pulled out from the whole thing...
But we three still reached Putra station one and a half
hour later and finally made it to PWTC...
Pheew....not bad for Rombongan Cik Kiah i would say...
We managed to reach there despite all the changes in plans,
the disagreement, the working out of things...
and alas...we were there....
we were there for 3 or maybe 4 hours....
looking for books....
but i was disappointed because for an 'international'
book fair, MPH only offered a 10% discount....
hah...i can get the twilight series cheaper in Popular
even if there is no sale....
I couldn't find The Lovely Bones...
and The Story of Edgar Sawtelle...
I found Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House series
but it was in a set of 28 books....
Baby got most of the 28 books already...
So i just bought the reference book for Florence
and some PMR model papers....at RM1....
apart from that....not really my kinda fair...
I'll wait for the yearly fair to splurge on books....

But i'm happy hanging out with Wani and Kak Lin....
our next trip...Sogo with Kak Ngah....
Wakakakakaka....

I splurged man...boy did i splurge....

Gal (Tessa) came down last weekend to fix her
car in Seremban...and she came to my place with a good news...
Just that she didn't FEEL excited enough to LET me know
on the phone....
in her own words...she prefered to hand-delivered the news....
She got a job in Putrajaya....
in the education department...BPG....i think...
and she'll be here for a few more year.....
Yay...more fun to have with her here.....
I am SUPER happy....

But that's beside the point...
I didn't splurged because of that....
Gal has a bad effect on me....
I can't go out with her too often....she will cause me
to splurge on my money....

I wanted to buy materials for my sister's curtain in Casa Moda
since there is a sale...
so i brought her along to give some positive criticism...
but before that we ABSOLUTELY had to stop at this
boutique - Soong Sisters - that i frequented to so called
'window shop'...
But i should have known...with Gal around...
the term simply flies out the window...

We tried on dresses...blouses...skirts....
but she never gets anything....
but i, on the other hand, always get something...
I couldn't resist...
i splurged on 2 dresses, a blouse and a skirt....
and truth be told...that is over the top....
I have so many dresses which are unsuitable for school dinners
(which i never cared anyway since i don't have many
opportunities to look pretty in them)
almost all are drop dead SEXY....
ranging from green to black to purple....
haih...and i still though i don't have RED....
Mr Chin of course is ignorant of all these....
he will only discover it when i wear it and then i will
pretend innocently that he actually have
forgotten that i have own that little sexy thing for a long while now...
Hmmm....

Anyway...right after that extravagance...
Gal convinced me that a haircut is what i need and
throw in hair wash as well....
And after nearly an hour of preening in front of the mirror...
we FINALLY arrived at our original mission....
Casa Moda....
Haih...she definitely is a bad..bad...influence around me...

5 % processing fees? Does it still exist?

Arggh...i had this entry on Thursday night or rather
Friday morning bu Chin pressed a button
which magically erased all my thoughts from this very page...
So here i go again trying to capture my feelings
when i started out writing this entry...

We went to Kl an Thursday to have a little breather since
it is the holiday after all...
so after going to Sogo for a so called shopping that did not happen,
we headed to Mines instead...
Mostly, we browsed as usual...
but Chin happened to enter one computer shop there
to ask about the Acer laptop that we had been
wanting to buy for weeks now...
We had gone around Seremban asking and each
shop told us that they has ran out of stock...

So, by luck...this particular shop still had the last one...
so after checking evrything is in order, we decided to purchase it...
Chin upgraded the gigabytes and then decided to
throw in the extended warranty and all in all
the laptop cost about RM2800 something.
So, the man swiped his card and he without looking signed it...
and only then did he realised that it was more than RM2800.
So he enquired about it and was told that the shop charged
a processing fees of 5%.
So Chin brought out and article he found in
a newspaper that said the processing fees no longer
applies anywhere...but the owner insisted that it is their
shop policy to charge a processing fee.
So, Chin called up Maybank credit card centre to verify
and lo and behold.....
The centre does not even charge the shop any fees for
processing...
so Chin argued for his rights but the owner refused to return the RM140
he had charged....
So in the end Chin went back to get a detailed
list of the items and the charges
and upon reaching home, wrote a complaint letter
to the Consumer tribunal about the matter...
So, now we are patiently waiting for a reply...

So...here is the scenario...
the shop rents a credit card machine and expect its customer
to pay the rent and they in return
pay nothing but get all the profit....100%....
Is that fair on the consumer?
Tis' the question....

To the Vet....with Matahari...

Matahari went out the whole night on Monday night...
and he was missing a whole day yesterday...
we went to look for him in the evening...
calling his name...
Yeap...i looked for him in the morning and then afternoon...
but then there was no sight of him...
by evening...Chin's nephew and I went looking around calling him...
and i heard his soft answer from the monsoon drain...
Luckily the drain is dry...and the
steel hatch could be lifted up easily...
so..Chin's See Gem went in to bring him out...
after dinner...i bathe him...
and he kept mewing when i washed him...
only later that i realised he injured himself in the stomach...
so i sms Zairol to ask what should be done...
(Ol is my old buddy from Uni and he's a vet in Putrajaya)
I washed Matahari's wound as instructed but
he seemed to be in pain...
finally he fell asleep in his basket at 12am...
haih....
This morning he still seemed unwell...
ao we brought him to the vet in Jalan Pantai...
The vet pressed his wound for the abses to come out...
aih....then he applied antiseptic...
and Matahari got 2 jabs...
Owww....that must be painful...
served him right for missing a whole day and night...
Coming back from the vet...
he slept the whole day....
fed him at six just now and then applied the antiseptic
to his wound...
he seems okay a bit...more energetic...
but he stil has trouble jumping onto high areas...
i put him in the cage since he already seems very
curious to roam again....
I'm glad he's okay...
Luckily this happens during the holiday and we
have the time to send him to the vet...
and that we are at home to take care of him...
If it happens during school days....
haih...maybe we have to bring him to school...

Walk...walk...walk baby...

Yesterday, we sent our car to be fixed....
Chin's student rammed into the back part in Bukit Chedang
during CNY but we only had time to fix it yesterday...
since we didn't have a car, we used the motorcycle..

At noon, we went to Jusco to have a look the the laptop since
we are thinkig of getting another one...
but the model was so popular...the shop does not have any stock left...

So after browsing shoes for a while we went back...
but somehow at the traffic light near S2, chin suddenly
took a detour to check out the plant nursery behind Jusco.
The owner wasn't there since we wanted to check out the plants
for our small garden.
When we wanted to go back, we noticed that the tyre was flat...
argh...we totally could not ride the bike...
so we had to walk...
he pushing the bike and i walking with the helmet...
luckily Petronas was not far...
but after refilling the ttyre...
we hopped on the bike and went but...
it didn't get us very far....
so i had to walk again to the next Petronas....
the one after the traffic light to City Park..
after another refilling, we hopped on again
(just like Amazing Race according to Mr Chin)
but this time it only took us across the road...
and from there we had to walk....
he atleast propelled by the bike...
me, i had to walk...
but it was okay...
it was not as tired as i thought it would be...
hahaha...most prolly because i danced as exercise
so it was okay...we laughed a lot...
and we met our neighbour on their way out...
we just mentioned his name...speak of the devil....

Anyway...our Silver Prince looks brand new now...
all sprayed up and fixed...
Goodie...

Mesyuarat GC Negeri Sembilan

Today was the meeting for GC all over Negeri Sembilan

at SM Teknik Tuanku Jaafar in Ampangan.

I didn't get the letter but Pn Hjh Normala told me about

it during the Kursus Pendedahan in PKG last Monday.

So, well we practically met almost all the GCs but some

did not come because of the beginning of the holiday

season.

Anyway...of all the people i met Teh Soon Yong,

my former colleague in St Co.

She's teaching in SMK Mantin...

or rather she the counsellor there - Kaunselor Cemerlang.

Anyway...there was good input...sleepy input...hot input....

haih....perkembangan staff....

wat to do...

but the hot stuff was about kenaikan pangkat dan gaji....

hehehe...

everyone was awake....

First session was....

how to do GC SKT....and the responsibility of GC

Then, stress management.

Then, gaji....and lastly eduwebtv....

hmmm....not a bad day....

despite it being a whole day event....

but we met some people and we have an idea on wat to do

for the district level activities....

which is a good thing....

School sports day again....

The 49th school sports day....
Nearly half a century.....not bad...not bad...
this year...i see more creativity and better management....
most prolly because it's a new GPK Ko....
But definitely more creativity....

As usual...teachers had gone wild for the day....
some danced, some hooted, some scream....
argh....those actions that can only be seen on this one day...
oh...there's still the teachers' day....
but i guess sports day is the craziest...
anyway...Blue House got last....
Wei Bin got olahragawan sekolah....errrm....
YB Siow came for the opening ceremony and he
gave RM3000 for the school...
But....yeap....there are some crazy pics and video clips
to be uploaded....
Enjoy....

SPM 2009 results...11 March 2010...

Yeap....the day that everyone is waiting for is finally here...
it was yesterday actually...
i was so looking forward to have a chat with my ex-students
but seemed that yesterday was a busy day...
results arrived in school at 11 sumthing
and the KPs had to help the SUPEP to do the analysis...
before the results were released....
i did the analysis for English very quickly with the
help of excel programme...
The percentage for English has gone up by 2 point sumting...
argh...a slow climb...
there was an increased of 2 point sumting too
from the previous year...
but we got more A's i think...
Ciwin and Ecah got A+
(so proud of you girls)
The other As and A-
are Vishnu, Yik Fung, and Amirah from 5SN
and Rose Ezatul from SI 1.

Ciwin and Ecah also get 1A for their Cambridge English...
so for 2009, there are 2....
I did not have the time to really scrutinise the results
yet but Aida promised to give the whole list
to me on Monday to analyse.
Anyway....after the huha...
i had to go to Simpang Gelami for the SELECT prog. training...
argh....wish i could have stayed and chatted....
Anyway...i'm proud of my students...
and i hope this year's batch will do better too...

Congrats UJ for the good result...
It's still an uphill battle for the English teachers tho...
but i hope i have put the right teachers to teach form 5 this year
and that between the 2 of us...
we can at least increase the percentage more...
I have in mind 5 students from 5 SN who can get high A
but i hope to get more As from this present class...
More work coming for them i forsee...
Chia yew...chia yew....

Torturous journey by commuter train...

We rarely take the commuter unless if we want

to avoid paying expensive parking fees like in The Gardens

or in Bukit Bintang area.

But today, we went to Mid Valley by train

because sunday usually is not a good day

to drive around KL.

Argh....but the journey by train is torturous...

I have forgotten how torturous it is because

i only do so about once or twice a year.

The train was packed this morning....and it was stuffy too

as there were too many people...

and most people are just selfish...

if you want to see selfish people, board the train.

First of all, there were ample space inside the train but the people

refused to move in...they would rather

stood by the entrance of the train....

so ended up many people could not board the train....

Everybody is in a rush to get somewhere...

and i think it is rather selfish to make them

wait for goodness how long for the next train...

Finally, Chin could not stand it and he said loudly,

"Adik2, sila masuk ke dalam, ade byk tpt lagi.

Beri ruang utk org masuk."

Then, the crowd moved. But one lady actually said

thank you conductor?

I don't know, maybe she meant it kindly

but it could also sound cynical.

Another incident was i noticed that a lady was holding

her handbag under her armpit but the bag

was quite exposed...

I could actually see her purse in the open top bag...

It's more like a basket type of bag...

so i told her to hold it in front of her

as it was a perfect invitation to a pick pocket.

Chin whispered to her that she was a good target

for a pick pocket in a crowded train.

She didn't say thank you for reminding her...

most prolly she was a shy person...

i'll give her the benefit of the doubt....

but well...a little gratitude would at least be good right?

But let's hope that she will be reminded of this incident

and will not be so careless anymore...

and that when she sees someone in such a situation,

she too will repay it forward by reminding that person

to be careful.

But well....a train is a good place to see many things...

It was an awful journey to and fro...

but at least...

there were a lot of things to observe...

High Blood? Low blood? Half Blood? Huh...?

My mom made a really funny deduction one evening...
My young niece, Baby, who is 9 years old..
read the first page of Percy Jackson and the Olympians...
since i bought it for Moses, promising them that
we would watch the movie on the first day
of CNY but had to be postponed...

It was a narration by Percy Jackson saying that he's a halfblood..
so Baby was curous as to what is half blood...
i guess she tried to look for someone to explain to her
its meaning but she could only find my mom...
so she posed the question:
Popo, what is half blood?

My mom, after thinking for a while, went:
Half blood?
I don't know...
There is high blood...and low blood...
so i guess...now there is half blood...
maybe it's in the same category of disease...

Simple deduction.....right?
Ahahahahahahahaha.......
I really shouldn't laugh at her...
but that was a brilliant answer for someone who never heard
of the term Demigod before...or halfblood....

In need of a recharge....

My energy level is pretty low this year...
Feel like everyday is an effort to get out of bed
and get ready for school....
What is wrong with my system...
In school...it is not so bad...
my battery will last me a whole day...
but by noon, the heat would have sapped all my energy and
it is a great relieve to finally reach home....
but well....my one dream of turning in early
still deludes me...

I still can't understand the school policy of heaping
all the work on people who manage to score
high mark for their yearly evaluation
and let those who score low marks getting away
with minimal works...
Yesh...those who got high scores worked their butt off for a whole
year but don't they think they should heap responsibility
on others too...
just to give them a fair chance at achieving something?
I guess those administrators are dolts...
They exist in almost all schools in Malaysia...
Real dolts...
Chin also suffer the same fate...
slogging away until 5 - 6 pm almost everyday of the
week in school while some people have it easy...
The term Guru Cemerlang is a bullshit when
the teacher does not even have the time to
sit down and plan and organise his or her
teaching materials...
Ah...i should be spending time doing that and adapting
materials to suit my students' needs
rather than worrying about nonsensical stuff...
haih...Recharge please...recharge...
i am badly in need of a RECHARGE...
Give us a break please...

After the holiday...extra classes and debate training
will start...
what does that mean?
It means slogging away till 5 pm everyday of my life...
I wish for once i can finish all my work
and sleep at 9pm...
maybe then...
i'll be really recharged huh...?
I guess i'll never find out...

Do you feel lucky tonight?

Hello bebeh...do you feel lucky tonight?
Can you feel it?
Nah....i don't feel the tingling sensation up my finger tips...
Hahahaha....

Chin always bemoans that we often missed our luck...
but after a little thought, he would say that we
are actually quite a lucky couple...

Why did he do this?
Well...two days ago he missed buying a 4D number
for our car number...
It's not like we buy anyway....
we never believe that we would strike it big...
But, he was so busy preparing for his
school PIBG meeting that he forgot to go to
the shop to buy...
and the next day....whammmm....
the number came out...
it was consolation prize but then...
he complained that he forgot to buy it because he was busy...

When will my dear, dear hubby realise that
God does not want him to get the money....?
Hahahahaha....he often said it's just not his luck...
but, well...that's God's way of saying...
the money is not for you....

But, yeah...he has other argument up his sleeves....
We attended the church CNY lunch in Ming Kok
restaurant last Sunday...
and out of 700 something people...
we both got the lucky draw hampers....
how lucky can that be?
That somehow restored his faith that we are lucky indeed, ya...
After all, as he often puts it...
"Well, we are indeed lucky you know. See, out of
thousands of people sending sms for
the Pringles competition, we were the only couple
chosen to represent Malaysia and Singapore
to go to NZ and visit the studio that
shot LOTR"
...at the same time he would grin his Orangutan-like
grin and hold my hand....
ROFL....

Visit by Larson

The school visit by Larson started right after the
CNY break....
he started to visit classes even before CNY break itself...
so yeah...
on last Wednesday afternoon, Bed was still in school
when he suddenly turned up for our timetables...
and Bed sms me about it at 4 pm...
what were the chances that he would call...
i thought to myself...
but half an hour later i got the call...
he wanted to visit the following day....
Hmmm...so okay...
i'll just carry on as i had planned earlier....
it's too late to change plan anyway....

So, i did the Reader's Theatre as i had planned
earlier for The Pearl, literature component...
I had never tried it before...
but i was dying to try it after having some ideas
on how to carry it out by attending the
presentation of the paper during ICELT last year...
and i was curious as how my students
would respond to it....

I did the choral reading the week before and they
were quite intrigue...
s, for the class visit i did the whole process....
up to the presentation itself...
turned out that the students really loved it...
since i brought some items for them to utilise during their
presentation : a cowboy hat, scarves and sort of a blanket....

Larson liked the lesson too and he gave lots of positive comments
about the whole activity
though he didn't stay for the whole 2 periods...
I was not nervous about him being there actually...
just that it was quite funny as
my students were very excited about the whole
visit thingy...
When Larson spoke Malay to Faris...
he was quite surprised that Larson can actually
communicate in Malay...
What he didn't know is that Larson's name is
Mohamad Larson Abdullah.
Ahahahhaha....

Anyway...it was quite a good experience for us teachers...
for me and Azie that is...
i can't say for sure for the other teachers...
I refer his visit to the nazir's visit
because he gave feedback for improvements and some
suggestions for variations....
not like the nazir that i suspect
have no ideas of what they are observing...
and their comments are usually nonsensical...

Today he visited Kak Zu's, Kak Jem's, Tan'a and
i think Srivani's classes...
I didn't ask how they fare....
since i as busy with my own classes just now...
but i'll have a chat with them tomorrow and
see what's the feedback like...
The excitement of the week for my UJ's students...
and some of my classes asked why he didn't enter their
classes...
poor thing....