After more than 380 posts since August 2005, I am afraid that the end is nigh for this blog. I have already channelled my attention and commitment to my Blogspot since last month. This Friendster Blog is left with incomplete post where stories will just end like that or some of the contents that can be read in Blogspot were not published in Friendster Blog.
The decision taken by Siew Meyy and Co to cancel their Friendster account made me ponder that maybe it is high time for me to do the same as well. Most of them are now having their attentions on Facebook and Twitter or maybe Blogspot, to a certain extent. If I am indeed closing this Friendster Blog, rest assured that my Friendster account will be cancelled as well.
Could it be the end of this blog? Well, for the time being, it’s 50-50. I will only make my decision after Chinese New Year. After that, I will come up with a decision whether to continue this Friendster Blog by importing contents from Blogspot or shut it down for good. Let me finish my examinations first. The final semester with three interesting papers where the topics are about politics, national policies, national integrity and contemporary issues. I want to complete my stint at UPSI with a big bang! Woohoo…Till then, Happy Chinese New Year to all my friends regardless of races and ethnicities. Kita kan orang Malaysia. I will not use 1Malaysia because I don’t believe in it as the concept is hollow and good for PR practice only.
380th Post (FULL AND COMPLETE VERSION of this post is in my Blogspot)
I am now in Ipoh, after spending only 30 hours in Tanjung Malim! Memang hebat! Pejam celik balik kampung lagi! haha..
Finally I’ve completed two semesters at UPSI. Today was the last day for Week 14 of Semester 2. The Finals Examination on next week will be a fitting finale for me after 7 months of great experiences with new group of friends whereby they are even more “cooler” and sporting than the people I met at UTAR.
Exam is on next week tapi gua langsung tak sentuh buku atau nota kuliah lagi. I am quite confident of scoring good grades for this semester because the subjects offered are about politics and contemporary issues.
Last night (8pm-11pm) was the final class for Paedagogy. Like what Faizal said in his appreciation speech on our class’ behalf to Prof Kantha, we are always a big fan and eagerly waited for his lecture classes because Prof Kantha is easily the best lecturer compared to the others not only for this semester but throughout the seven months. He is very hardworking and always came on time for classes despite travelling from Subang Jaya. More importantly, we can see his determination and commitment. He always shares his life experiences with us as a teacher and subsequently his promotions in the Ministry and now a professor. We appreciate his honest and sharp views on the education issues in the country. He can be very blunt in his comments and opinions but nevertheless we respect him because what he said were true. He always advise us to be sincere and truthful to serve as a teacher once we completed our course at UPSI. He has a very high expectation on our class to be a dedicated teacher because of our outstanding achievements in terms of knowledge, popularity, bravery and many more positive traits compared to other classes that he taught. He is like a father figure to all of us (50 people) in Group V and we have our utmost respect for him. Thanks Prof Kantha for all your advices and we will try our very best to ensure your expectation on us will be a reality.
Earlier on yesterday, I attended the official closing ceremony of the BIG Camp at SITC. it was a big waste of time for more than 3 hours. Nevertheless, I still can find “entertainment” inside the big hall with my housemates and coursemates. As I am the only guy among 10 of us (4 housemates and 5 coursemates where all of them are girls), I became their “victim”. I sat with my housemates in the same row while my coursemates were just a row behind us. This was the first time that this two groups of people met each other. When there is Mazni Ezura among the group, rest assured that the session will be a very lively one. She along with Siti, Mazni, Dayat and Huda were non-stop teasing me of having four beautiful housemates. For them, my housemates are very elegant and modern thinking although they just met for the one and only time on yesterday. On the other hand, my housemates heard of all the teasings and were smiling and laughing all the way.
The Mazni Ezura gang concluded that now they understand why I leave the lecture complex hurrily each time the class ended. It is because that I have four beautiful housemates waiting for me in the house..haha..Gua memang cepat-cepat balik setiap kali tamat kelas kerana gua tak suka berada lama-lama di kompleks kuliah. Tapi perbuatan ini telah digunakan oleh Mazni Ezura untuk memperli gua pulak. She and the gang proceeded to ask my housemates whether I am “naughty” in the house or is really a good boy. My housemates smiled and gave “no comment” as answer. Siti was even daring by asking them whether they experienced any losses of clothings including undergarments! haha..That question made all of us laughed so loud but still unnoticeable by a crowd of almost 800 students because we sat in the corner and everyone were making noises too. My housemates cheekily said they dunno but maybe it could happen. Dayat pulak bertanyakan pada mereka sama ada gua ini ada tak ber”flirt”ing dengan mereka. I interrupted by sarcastically said to Dayat that she dun have to ask the question because I am always loyal to her and she will always be “my perempuan”. Kena balik si Dayat tu..haha..She is the one I enjoyed kacau in the class by saying that she is my perempuan and no one shall lay their hands on her; a statement that really riled her up for seven months because a lot of our classmates also participated in this scenario created by me. They now referred Dayat as perempuan milik Chiang. Huda, on the other hand, did not ask any questions about me to my housemates but poked in when the others were asking. Mazni was quiet but paid attention to our noisy session. My housemates said Huda is cute and sweet while Mazni Ezura is beautiful.
“Pergi” was crowned as The Best Song at the Anugerah Juara Lagu 2010 on 10th January. It is performed by Aizat. Song by Pete Teo and the lyrics by Amran Omar. This song symbolized the real meaning of 1Malaysia where the element of the three main races can be seen here. It served as one of the many wonderful main themesongs in Yasmin Ahmad’s movie called “Talentime” where most of the scenes were filmed in Anderson School, Ipoh.
This victory is indeed a befitting farewell for Yasmin Ahmad and also for all the heroes in Malaysia. The song “Pergi” is also available in English version entitled “I Go” where Pete Teo performed it. The lyrics for “Pergi” (and also “I Go”) are very touching and the melody playing in the background adds more sentimental value to it.
The top video is taken from Aizat’s winning performance at the Anugerah Juara Lagu with great showmanship and also videos on the pictures of distinguished Malaysians. The bottom video is the English version “I Go” where only the movie official poster is displayed.
Sayu terpisah
Hikayat indah kini hanya tinggal sejarah
Berhembus angin rindu
Begitu nyamannya terhidu wangian kasihmu
Hujan lebat mencurah kini
Bagaikan tiada henti
Kaulah laguku kau irama terindah
Tak lagi kudengari
Kau pergi.. pergi..
Sepi tanpa kata
Terdiam dan kaku tak daya kau kulupa
Apa pun kata mereka
Biarkan kenangan berbunga di ranting usia
So long, fare thee well
The dancer and the dancing days have taken leave and fell
So turn down this bed of stone
Quench me with the deadly nightshade from the rose that you belong
The long December rain is falling now
Running down on streets to nowhere
Music is my life you’re my sweetest nightingale
But I can’t hear it here no more
And I go
I go
Hush now, don’t shake or break
Words have fallen silent like soldiers to the grave
No matter what they do or say
Lay me on the sleepy meadow by the tracks upon your face
This will be a not-so-long post as full and complete update can be read in my Blogspot. All the paragraphs in Friendster Blog are not in details, if you pay attention to the way I present it. Simple and not elaborated thoroughly.
I am almost done with my assignments. Waiting to complete the 14 weeks of academic studies before proceed to the examination week. Everyone in my class can’t wait for the day to come to leave Tanjung Malim and continue with practical which is due to start on 1st March.
It was a false alarm afterall. The latest and so-called finalised lists for practical placements were released on the internet portal today. At first, I was placed in my alma mater, Anderson. But the latest reshuffling for all the 2500 students claimed a lot of “casualties”. Some are still in their home states and in their choice of schools, others are still in their home states but not in their preferred choice of school while the remaining students were dumped out from their home states and have to settle in other states for at least the next three months until May 2010. I was quite unfortunate not to be placed in my alma mater but lucky enough to remain in my home state, my hometown! At least, it was a bad news for me with some sort of consolation. Last week, I was really happy to see my name in Anderson. Who knows that a lot of things happened for the rest of the week and the result :- I have to accept the fact that I will not be in Anderson! What a sad case for me. Gua dah berkobar-kobar untuk menabur bakti di Anderson tapi nampaknya hasrat itu perlu dilupakan pada masa kini. And now, my confirmed placement is SMJK Poi Lam. It’s so far and it’s in the town where traffic jam reigns all the time there. Anyway, I am still happy to be still in Ipoh! I am not going to let this latest news to kill my spirit ahead of the practical. Let’s Power It Up!
I have completed the BIG Camp on last weekend. I am not a great fan of such activities because it is about ceramah and sesi motivasi. Gua lagi berminat untuk berjumpa kawan aje dalam kem itu. Two of my housemates were placed in the same venue with me; SITC. But, I did not mix with them because I have my set of friends especially from my class and also course. I was in the same group with my class rep Faizal and also another 8 classmates of mine in a group of 21. We were in Group 16. Two days and one night camp that was filled with activities inside the hall and also under the scorching sun. My group were the noisiest and the most popular throughout the camp because of our believeable chemistry as a team and also the effectiveness of Faizal as the group leader. My role in the group is to buat bising and also whip up the spirit of my group members with tonnes of ideas. In most of the games, our group were always in Top 5 and also gave the most commitment during the ceramah sessions. Overall, I really enjoy to be in the group where mostly are my classmates because we know each other since last July. Therefore, chemistry and collaboration are not an issue for us. The food and drinks are quite okay compared to the previous “nightmare” we endured during our orientation back in July 2009.
It’s Monday and I am counting for Thursday to come because I want to go back Ipoh! As I mentioned in my previous entry, last weekend was the second weekend in 12 weekends for this semester that I actually stayed in Tanjung Malim. The previousencounter was for my NIP Programme in Labu. It’s time to pack up my things and send it back to Ipoh.
This blog is drying up. All thanks to my full attention towards Blogspot and also I am very busy with assignments and presentations.
End of Week 12
My patience is running thin. It is just a matter of time before I blow up and the one to get it would be my group members for assignments. Their work quality and ethics in assignments were really terrible. I have mentioned it in my previous entryso I am not going say it again.I am really agitated and shocked with the quality they ditched out. Only God knows that how on earth they can get a degree with their pathetic attitude and quality of work. These are the people, according to my other coursemates, that will bring down the educational system in our country by becoming parasites.
This weekend I will not going back Ipoh because I have a camp to attend. For the only second time in 12 weekends for this semester, I will be in Tanjung Malim. The other 10 weekends? Nowhere else but Ipoh..haha..Basically, for this week and also the next two weeks are about presentations and assignments.
I will be driving back to Ipoh on next weekend. This could be at least the second last time I am driving back home from Tanjong Malim as I am inching closer to the closing stages of my academic studies there. I have to drive because I am going to shift back at least half of my stuffs there back to Ipoh. Books and clothes are topping the list to fill up my car space.
I was surprised to get a message from Siew Meyy on Friendster. She is on the verge to cancel her account there to focus on her career as a doctor and not to be immersed on social networking sites. Beginning this February, she will only be using Facebook, Blogspot and Twitter for her updates. Other social networking sites will be terminated permanently. On the other hand, after seeing Siew Meyy with me in Proton City, my classmates always asked about her and in the class I can see them using their laptops to add Siew Meyy on Facebook and chatted with her by making me as their primary target. All of them said Siew Meyy is a beautiful and polite girl.
All of us at UPSI are now busy filling up our posting forms. We were given two choices for the states that we preferred. My two choices are Perak and Penang. Practical starts on 1st March and ends on 28th May. After that, June is a month of holiday for us as the result for our postings are scheduled to be known on mid-June where reporting date could be on July. Although I have put Perak and Penang as my top two choices, I am bracing myself to be sent to Sarawak or Sabah for at least the next 5 years. My convocation is on this July.
“Friendly warfare” on Facebook among my UPSI coursemates is filled with excitement and happiness. Led by me and also the best ever class representative Faizal, both of us especially me are very good in planting the landmines so that all the coursemates will step on it and boom! Discussions and comments can reach to three digits in one’s Facebook wall. But sometimes the game backfired on me where they turned the tables on me swiftly and I have to defend myself..haha..
When I said Mazni Ezura is very popular with all the guys in the class due to her active and bubbly personality, all the girls objected and turned 360 degrees accusing me of having a crush on her. She is easily the most beautiful girl in the class along with Cindy but Cindy is more to the small girl type while Mazni is the modern Malay girl. Mazni Ezura pun tak boleh diharap sangat although she is my partner-in-crime in the class..hehe..She joined forces with them and also said I like her. This girl memang hebat sangat menukar pasukan! I have to clarify that saya takkan suka kakak terutamanya si Mazni Ezura itu kerana dia lebih tua daripada saya sebanyak dua tahun. She always asked me to “potong” if I wish to be her boyfriend. She and the rest of the gang are very open when it comes to discussions on various topics.
She is the girl that I speak a lot with at UPSI. Both of us can pollute each other Facebook Wall with teasings. We always make noise behind the class when the lecturers/professors are teaching in front and sometimes got ticked off by them but we still cannot keep quiet..haha..In the class, I always sit next to her and the classmates said both of us are having scandal. My classmates are highly imaginative. Last time, they said Cindy and I are an item. Now, they changed the target by putting Mazni Ezura with me. She is okay with the arrangements and cheekily asked me to be her boyfriend. I am going to kill her one day..haha..She told me that her boyfriend and I shared the same passion. Both her Najib and I are big fans of F1. The best part is that we are also Schumacher-holics! That’s why she cheekily kept saying I can be a perfect replacement as her boyfriend. On the other hand, I always flirt with other Malay girls and one of them is going to kill me because I enjoyed tease her and the whole class think the scandal is for real.
I was in UTAR before and I am now at UPSI. That means I have at least two class representatives. I must say my class rep at UPSI is miles better than the one at UTAR. Faizal is a dependable and reliable guy for information on everything about our course. He is a very good guy and will not hesitate to spend so much on messaging us on any issues. In fact, he does not mind to do all the petty things to ensure our classmates have no problems in our daily classes. If you have any difficulties or lack of information about the course, you can always depend on him to sort out the problems. We all know he will be a great teacher when all of us graduated on this May because he is very active in class especially during Q&A sessions for presentations. He can ask and also answer perfectly with good points. He always speaks eloquently on national education system.
Here I am after almost two weeks without a proper update!
Life is treating me with good and bad stuffs in the past two weeks! Ada baik dan ada juga buruknya.
Kita mulakan dengan yang buruk itu atau lebih dikenali sebagai tak baik tu..haha..
Assignments are driving me to the wall. Not because of the contents but the people I am working with. This semester, I changed group for assignments because on the first day of class, I ponteng. My original group members dunno whether I still want to be in their group although we collaborated very well and obtained high marks. Mereka pun cepat-cepat mencari ahli kumpulan baru yang lain. I don’t blame them for their swift action because I sendiri yang ponteng..hehe..So, I went to find new group members. For most of the assignments/presentations, this new group of mine memang tak berguna punya. Kemalasan itu memang dah diagak. Bukan nak mengutuk mereka tapi gua memang terkejut that they ditched out very bad quality of assignments and dun even know how to do APA referencing although two of them claimed that they came from a very good public university which was UKM. In the end, gua kena re-do most of the assignments as they dunno what is APA referencing, dunno how to do APA referencing and worst still, they copied completely all the texts from the internet without bothering to paraphrase the texts or at least cite it accordingly. Macam lar seluruh teks yang dicelup itu hasil nukilan mereka..ish ish ish..They gave their uncompleted assignments for me to do the final touch-up one or two days before the submission date. Akibatnya, gua pun tak cukup tidur setiap kali menjelang tarikh penghantaran kerja kursus kerana terpaksa membuat segala apa yang patut diperbaiki sehingga pukul 4 atau 5 pagi. Whatever stuffs they gave me were of sub-standard quality and I was shocked by this revelation as if the degrees from IPTA were easily obtained since they dun even know how and what to do with APA referencing.
Okay! Cukup lar pasal itu! Let’s move on with abundance of good news that I received for the past two weeks! But I will only share one or two good news here!
The full lists for practical teaching were released yesterday! I was really happy with the outcome! My major is Malaysian Studies and I am going to teach Form 6 students on that subject. It is my wish to teach Form 6 students and it is also my desire to teach Malaysian Studies because of reasons that I am going to reveal next month in this blog in full detail. So, if you guys wanna know why I decided to switch to teaching profession and sacrificed a good career by opting for civil service, check out my blog next month as it will also tell why I choose Malaysian Studies as my major. I will write all and tell all from the very beginning until the very end.
As expected, I was placed in the school that I applied for! It is the school where I spent most of my glorious teenage years there! It’s the Anderson School! Seven wonderful years as an Andersonian and I am going back to my alma mater for practical starting this March for at least 14 weeks! I remember there was an idiot at UTAR happily said that he dun even knowmy school and instead he glorified his stupid and unknown school. Bodoh sial! I am feeling upbeat with this good news because I can go back to Anderson and be a part of the institution not as a student anymore but as a teacher. I always wanted to go back to my alma mater to serve as a teacher because it provided me with a lot of precious experiences with friends, teachers and environment from 1998 until 2004. That period was my happiest moments in my life; something that was never found throughout my 3 years at UTAR.
I was deeply touched and moved by all the congratulatory wishes and also well wishes from my Andersonian friends via Facebook, SMS and phone calls on my placement in Anderson. These people always have Anderson School in their hearts. We all grew up together, played together, fought with each other (together) and even “bullied” and to be “bullied” including ‘overthrowing” the lansi teachers together. In short, we encountered a lot of things together as one big family.
The draft of examination schedule for my final semester was published in the intranet. If there are no more changes to the schedule, I am set to leave Tanjung Malim on 11th February. With only 3 papers despite having 4 subjects in this semester, I expected slight drop in my CGPA due to low quality of assignments. I am confident with the exams because as I always said since the start of this semester, all the subjects offered are my interests and it should pose no problem for me to score beautifully to at least offset the damages inflicted via assignments.
I have to put an abrupt end to this post because suddenly my mind went blank on what else to blog although I have a lot of things to share here. I only met Siew Meyy twice since the start of 2010. She is busy with her career as a doctor. We only kept in touch through SMS, MSN and Facebook. But it is good to see her busy too because this showed that her talent in medical field can be utilized fully.
Sorry for the lack of updates. Apakah daya kerana gua ni malas dan sibuk giler kebelakangan ini!
So many stupid things happened in Malaysia since the beginning of 2010. It makes me wonder whether is this the Malaysia I know for the past 24 years. Politicians from both sides are to be blame! I always stressed that Malaysians deserved better options of leaders than this two groups of clowns! Kebodohan mereka membuatkan kita yang pandai pun kelihatan bodoh macam mereka!
I am very lazy and also very busy for the past week and also the weeks to come. Full updates will be published on this Friday, hopefully lar! hehe..
4 weeks more to go : Assignments and presentations are now all over me! Practical teaching starts on March!
Lastly, Happy Birthday to my father! The family (except for my younger brother as he is in UUM) celebrated his birthday on last Saturday and not on the actual day which is today because I will be going back later to Tanjung Malim at 6pm and my father is not keen to do it on weekdays. Nevertheless, Happy Birthday to my lo-dau!
Some said this is the FIRST year for the SECOND decade of this THIRD millennium.
The year 2010 will be a year filled with boukens (adventures) for me. It is my duty to embark on this boukens to find my own Precious.
Blogspot gua telah pun bersedia untuk dimulakan. By using one single account, I split it into two blogs there. Both served for different purposes but I will still relate both links into one master account.
Apa pendapat para pembaca about my final blog for the year 2009? Nothing big deal on that post. Maybe the sensitive paragraph on certain group of people might raise the eyebrows. Other than that, it was just an ordinary post. I can be more aggressive on that paragraph but I choose not to do it because they are merely “rubbish” in my life. I want to stress here that what happened in Cameron Highlands is not the major contributing factor to the collapse of everything with them. It is just part of the process. It all started on November 2006. Incidents happened prior to the industrial training made me knew who are my friends and who are not. From there until end of my studies, many more things happened and the true faces of other people were unmasked as well. I only trust myself and very few other friends but treading with extreme caution with the rest of them. From reliable sources, another incident happened on February 2009 without my presence but it still involved me. Bastards and bitches always love to put me on the chopping block just for their amusements. That was the final straw and I had enough of it. Okay, I admitted that I am at the fault too due to my own doings but what pissed me off, as I always said, is their attitude of putting all the blame on me without shame. Cukuplah sampai sini! I already said the year 2009 shall be the last time for me to mention about them anymore! But that does not mean I cannot take one very last potshot on them here in my own blog! Hahaha…Sudahlah dan cukuplah! Lagipun, gua takkan tengok muka mereka lagi dalam seumur hidup ini. Mereka boleh pergi main layang-layang lar.
Tahun baru ini bermakna kita mesti mempunyai azam baru! For me, I only want to live my life in peace and getting done what I’ve set upon since July 2009. With my studies are due to end on May 2010, I hope for the best in the examinations and also the practical. Semangat gua memang berkobar-kobar dan tidak sabar lagi untuk menamatkan pengajian. I already know what the year 2010 have in store for me in terms of career if I religiously follow the plan. In fact, this plan is set to be expanded until the earliest would be 2012 and I am looking forward to it.
My practical will begin on March 2010. The placement for it is still in the process although I have submitted my own preferred choice to the course facilitator months ago. Hopefully, I can get the good news as soon as possible. I will be leaving Tanjung Malim by end of this February. I really want to do my practical in Anderson. Two reasons : a) It is my alma mater where I have a lot of great memories there and b) Siew Meyy is working in RPB Hospital which is just a stone throw away from Anderson.
As practical is now about 8 weeks away, I just need to improve myself on at least two fronts. My presentation skills, although it is getting better, are not up to the desired mark yet. Somehow and somewhere, an element or two is still missing from it. Masih ada masa yang mencukupi untuk memperbaiki sebarang kelemahan tentang kemahiran persembahan/pembentangan gua sebelum praktikal bermula pada bulan Mac ini. My lecturer noted that I “froze” at certain point when I was presenting in front of the class. “Froze” here means that tiba-tiba akan menjadi kaku atau hilang arah ketika membuat pembentangan..haha..Nevertheless, my lecturer concluded that I can present very smoothly if the topics are my favourite or at least I know well what the contents are about. With this semester offered a lot of subjects on current issues, I was quite confident when doing presentations. Second issue that need my attention too is speaking in Bahasa Malaysia. I am already fluent in Bahasa Malaysia. In fact, my coursemates and lecturers praised me as the only one of all Chinese students in the programme that can speak the national language fluently. Fluent in the sense that without thick accent or slang. Langsung tak pelat. Nevertheless, I do speak Bahasa Malaysia in the conversational style just like my other coursemates. Banyak sangat “ko”, “aku”, “dio”, “derang”, “depa” and etc. Dah biasa bertutur dengan cara sedemikian kerana terlalu banyak kawan yang berbangsa Melayu. Apabila tibanya waktu praktikal, semua ini tak boleh digunapakai kerana akan dianggap tidak profesional. I am trying hard to kick this habit but to no avail because if I converse in pure Bahasa Malaysia (pure in the sense that BM yang diterima DBP..haha) then macam ganjil saja bila bercakap dengan rakan sekursus! Haha..Never mind lar! Bila tiba waktu praktikal baru gua akan berubah.
Into Week 10 now! Five more weeks to go excluding the one week for examinations and also one week for camp. That means I am now seven weeks away from completing my academic studies. Assignments are piling up like mountains with some of it, just like the previous semester, popped out of nowhere and needed us to complete it within 24-48 hours notice. Actually I can finish all the assignments earlier if I want to but I am too lazy. Malas sial betul! A lot of my coursemates are slacking too because we are too obsessed with just three days of lectures in every week. Boleh balik kampung pada setiap minggu..haha..Tinggal di Tanjung Malim macam tinggal di hotel kerana hanya berada di sana untuk 3 hari dan 2 malam saja. On the other hand, I have a lot of presentations from now until Week 14! Banyak giler presentations! Fortunately all the topics are of my interest and also forte!
Siew Meyy has started her career as a doctor! Nothing much yet can be asked from her because it is still in early stages and she is also quite busy to get used to the surroundings.
It’s been more than 10 days since this blog was last updated. The writing is on the wall that this blog is reaching its very end soon. My new Blogspot is waiting for the right moment to be launched as I have done with all the necessary test-blogging there and also the layout too. Mini updates can be read there in just less than five sentences in every post as I am getting used to all the features there.
About 360 days ago, I learnt a valuable lesson where some people of UTAR PR5 are the most useless and spineless creatures that I ever met in my life.For me, enough is enough. This will be the last time I am going to mention about them in my blog. Mereka bebas mempunyai penafsiran sendiri terhadap apa yang gua coretkan di sini. They think they are smart but for me, they are plain stupid. Tahun 2009 secara rasminya melabuhkan tirai tentang hubungan gua dengan segelintir makhluk-makhluk halus dari UTAR PR5. This includes one or two outsiders yang suka campur tangan dan juga kuat melekat daripada pelekat UHU. Semua makhluk-makhluk yang dimaksudkan itu ada yang kuat melekat pada orang luar, ada juga yang suka dilekat, ada juga batu api yang suka melaga-lagakan orang, ada juga yang nafsunya cuma tahu menang saja tanpa memikirkan perasaan orang lain, ada juga yang mahukan semua di sekelilingnya dibinasakan asalkan matlamatnya untuk menjahanamkan seseorang itu tercapai, ada juga seorang tu ingat dia tu Confucius dan akhirnya seorang lagi tu entah datang dari sistem cakerawala mana yang suka merempat untuk mendapatkan populariti. Having said all this, I am not implying all UTAR PR5 are as that bad. Only those stated above. Let’s put an abrupt end to this paragraph : Buang masa gua aje mengenali mamat dan minah yang disebut itu.
The result for my Semester 1 examination was released on Christmas Day. I was happy to see my results on the Intranet. I never expected myself to score beautifully with such a high CGPA and it is all about Aces only there. I am happy for my coursemates too as most of them also registered a commendable results. We were sweating like crazy throughout the 14 weeks toiling with 7 subjects where sometimes the lecturers only came for less than 10 weeks. It took 9 weeks for the University to release the full results. I am now into the 10th week of my studies in Semester 2. My marks for assignments are the major contributing factors to the strings of Aces. Although the assignments in Semester 1 suddenly popped out in big quantity and we have to complete it within the 24 to 48-hours notice, nevertheless, we successfully neutralized it and we are now tough enough to face this kind of “surprise” for this semester. Half of the battle won and another half to go. I am not gunning for great honours. I just wanna do my best and get the best results possible despite I am on the right track to end my course with First Class.
Last Monday night was the first time ever I went out with Jennifer Chang Ching Mun in Ipoh. I first knew her at UTAR although we are from the same hometown. I ffk-ed her many times before because gua hebat berjanji pada dia tapi tak pernah menunaikannya..haha..She is a simple but funny girl and that’s what makes me so comfortable to talk to her. Soft-spoken and love to buat lawak walaupun adakalanya gua sendiri pun tak faham. The best thing about her that makes me sometimes takut dan juga respek dia ialah semangat inkuirinya yang begitu tinggi. If she asks something, she expects answer from it. The last time I met her was at Mid Valley, few days before I resigned from GSC, as she came to the cinema for Transformers 2 with her colleagues. Since then, I only kept in touch with her via Facebook and MSN. It is always nice to chat with her because she keeps secret on our conversation and there is no way for third party to know the content unless I blurt it out..haha..Anyway, to go to her house in Taman Ipoh Boulevard Timur is really challenging my memory and also for those who are not familiar with that area although it is so near to Jusco. Semua jalan untuk ke rumah dia begitu berselirat. Yeah! I am talking about maze! We spent almost two hours in a café behind Jusco chatting on numerous topics and about people we know. Apa yang kami berdua bincangkan? Ahh! This is confidential. She memang hebat because she knows who is my mortal enemy in UTAR PR5..haha..Jennifer Chang Ching Mun aka Cacing Mun!
Earlier that day, I went out with Siew Meyy and Chia Wen. Siew Meyy has just completed her 7-weeks humanitarian mission trip in Africa under the MSF banner. Gua dah muak melihat muka Wee Chia Wen..haha..Miss Chin reached Malaysia on Sunday afternoon dan terus balik ke Ipoh on Monday at 8am to meet that useless Chia Wen for the movie Avatar in TGV. Chia Wen is currently in Ipoh since last Wedneday to clear all of her remaining Annual Leave from Bank Negara until 3rd January. On the other hand, Siew Meyy is now two days away from writing a new chapter of life as a doctor in Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun (Hospital Besar Ipoh) which is just a stone throw away from my alma mater. Her first day of reporting is on New Year’s Day at 8am. Ini Dr. Chin memang dah gelap kulitnya setelah lama berada di benua Afrika. From her story to us on Monday and also her Blogspot, we all know she really like and enjoyed herself there. Her experience is now richer in serving the needy people in the backward countries of Africa. Her already impressive CV is now pushed to yet another higher level. She will always be the woman I respected the most due to her outstanding capabilities and popularity. Miss Chin has already visited 32 different countries in 5 different continents. Dia masih belum lagi menjelajah dua lagi benua iaitu Amerika Selatan dan Antartika. Bersemangat sial dan juga kaya sial perempuan ini..haha
After our meals, the three of us went to the State Health Department for Siew Meyy to collect her appointment letter. The letter was already in the department for a month; if the postal date served as an indicator. Siew Meyy went to the office and received a big envelope from the Director as Chia Wen and I were waiting in the car. The envelope contained her appointment letter, a small book on medical ethics and also her duty roster along with the name of her supervisor. Bagus betul melihat jadual kerja dia tu. She works for 10 hours including 2 hours break. Six working days in three different shifts. Two in the morning (8am - 6pm) , another two in the middle (4pm - 2am) and the remaining two at night (8pm - 6am). Her off day is on Tuesday. Perempuan ini dah berkobar-kobar untuk bekerja di hospital sebagai doktor! Bersemangat sial!
National Integrity Programme (NIP) 12-13 December 2009
Entrance to the Balai Raya
Twenty of us went to Pelegong Homestay in Labu for our NIP. At 7am on Saturday, we left Tanjung Malim for Labu in four cars and reached there at 10am. The villagers welcomed us with traditional music and instruments. In the Balai Raya, we were separated into seven foster families. The three guys are together while the remaining seventeen with their six foster families.
The Ketua Kampung and his AJKs easily remembered me and my name because I was the only Chinese guy in the group. They always looked for me to chat and also to kacau me and Mazni because we always stick to each other. They commended me for my fluency in Malay and also laced it with local accents to perfection. They wondered how I can speak in such degree of Malay language and dialects. I spent 13 years in national schools and have a lot of Malay friends. Jadi, tiada masalah untuk gua bertutur dalam Bahasa Malaysia dalam dialek Utara dan Perak. Mazni was equally favourite too among the villagers because she is bubbly, active and wacko. Her most obvious style is donning the cowboy hat. She is already popular in our class and always become the center of attraction among guys.
Top : Fooling around in the Balai Raya
Bottom : Kasbun, Raziee and I riding on the motorcycle
I tried to be polite with my foster family because I am the only Chinese guy (there is another Chinese woman in my group). Every words and actions of mine were extremely careful as one mistake might make the people there not happy. I have no problem to mix with Malay people but I know my own shortcomings because this is the first time I stayed with a Malay family. I must say I failed badly when it comes to food. I have no qualms of eating Malay foods but not kampung foods. My foster family noticed that and accommodated to my problem by changing the menu. Both my foster parents are almost 80 years old. They were really nice and treated us like their own grandchildren.
Memang syok mandi pada awal pagi dengan air yang sangat sejuk. Suhu air adalah begitu rendah dan terus membuatkan sesiapa yang mengantuk itu terjaga serta-merta. Air sebegini memang seronok untuk dijadikan air mandi apabila cuaca panas ataupun baru selesai menjalankan aktiviti lasak di kampung itu. I enjoyed my bath on two occasions after completed tiring activities under the hot sun.
Getting ready for river-trekking
Earlier of the day, the ketua kampung asked two of us to volunteer for an activity. My friends shouted my name tapi gua terus menolak tanggungjawab. It was for a traditional wedding ceremony later at night and they need two “sacrificial lambs” to be the groom and bride. Kasbun and Mazni volunteered themselves. Then, the ketua kampung wanted another two to be the pengapits. This time, I cannot escape as they want non-Malay to participate in the ceremony. So, Amanda and I were picked to be Mazni and Kasbun’s pengapit respectively.
2pm : We went to see how the kuih bahulu was made. Kami berpeluang mencuba sendiri cara-cara untuk membuat kuih bahulu. Then, we had the honour to eat the kuih bahulu yang baru sahaja keluar dari dapur. Hot and crispy.
I had a rough motorcycle ride around the village. The roads were really bumpy and I spent about 30 minutes on the bike with the village’s AJK. That uncle ride so fast and I held tightly at the back because I was quite scared with the motorcycle speed and also the road conditions.
3pm : It is river-trekking time. The route was treacherous with dangerous mountainous terrain throughout our journey. I brought my slipper along but langsung tak boleh digunakan kerana arus sungai adalah deras dan kuat. Wearing slipper will only create the drag effect besides making it heavier. Whatever problems related to the blood circulation in my body were neutralized with this natural reflexology treatment kerana dasar sungai itu dipenuhi dengan batu-batan yang pelbagai saiz. We took 90 minutes to reach the waterfall and by that time, most of us dah pancit. We spent about 30 minutes bermandi-manda di situ. To return to the Balai Raya, we used the land route which can be very steep at one time and flat on the other.
We had our tea break before continued practicing their traditional dance = Tarian Piring. We have to find a partner to practice it and memang susah untuk mempelajari tarian itu jika tangan dan kaki itu tak cukup ligat. My partner was Mazni. She mati-mati pun nak gua jadi teman dia dan tak nak Kasbun. Other than that, we also learnt another dance using the Jong Jong Inai song.
Lepas makan dan mandi di rumah keluarga angkat, the three guys including me, rested until 8pm.
As a photographer during the Caklempong & Kompang session
8pm : We went to the Balai Raya again. Kesemua kita, kecuali pasangan pengantin, belajar bermain caklempong dan kompang. Gua cuma belajar caklempong kerana dah hebat bermain kompang sejak di sekolah menengah lagi. Caklempong is a traditional musical instrument played during any big day in a village especially for wedding ceremony. Gua enjoyed ketuk tembaga yang digunakan itu untuk menghasilkan bunyi Do Re Mi dan juga lagu London Bridge..haha..On the other hand, Kasbun and Mazni were preparing for their wedding ceremony ala Minangkabau style with the help from the villagers.
9pm : The wedding ceremony of Kasbun and Mazni was a grand affair. The Ketua Kampung and their AJKs plus all the villagers came to give support to our programme. I have to put on the Baju Melayu and Kasbun borrowed his set to me. Mazni kept saying she always wanted me to be her pengantin lelaki but I replied no because nanti satu kelas akan bergosip pasal kita berdua. Kasbun naughtily asked Mazni what are their plans for the first night and whether she is in “good condition”. Mazni, in a no pushover reply, said she is more concerned about Kasbun’s physical ability and all of us burst into laughter.
Top : Pengapit lelaki bersama pengantin lelaki
Bottom : Me, Kasbun, Mazni Ezura the CowGirl and Amanda
Kasbun, Mazni, Amanda and I tak buat apa-apa pun di pelamin itu. We just sat there. Sekali sekala, the emcee will come to us and teased us with questions that can be quite sensitive and also embarrassing to answer. Mazni and I kena paling teruk from the emcee because she noticed both of us are very close to each other from the moment we reached the village. The Ketua Kampung gave his blessing to the fake couple and they were declared as husband and wife. Then we have performances from our own team and also the villagers. The ceremony ended at 11.30pm.
Day 2, 8.30am : After having breakfast with our foster family, my two coursemates and I went to the Balai Raya to meet up with the rest of the gang for Sukaneka. Most of us were lepak-ing around the field and looked for the tents for cover as it was really hot on that morning.
Top : With my partner-in-crime, Mazni Ezura the CowGirl. She wants me to be her groom on that morning
Bottom : Everyone is gearing up for the Futsal
10.30am : Futsal. Our group sent two teams to compete but both were knocked in quarterfinals by coin-tossing after they finished respective games in draws (2-2 and 0-0). We rooted for the second team led by Mazni because they are the most popular in UPSI last semester during the Hari Kokurikulum and finished runners-up. Mazni’s trademark is putting on her cowboy hat whenever they are playing. In Labu, she is so well-liked by the villagers there due to her style and personality. Di Labu, both teams tumbang angkara duit syiling yang dilambungkan untuk menentukan pemenang selepas masing-masing seri.
Memang takde bakat menganyam rotan! haha
12pm : We went back to the Balai Raya untuk mempelajari cara menganyam topi mini dengan menggunakan rotan. Gua memang tak ada bakat seni kerana teruk sekali rupa topi mini yang lebih mirip kepada bakul..haha..Tapi gua pun tak kisah kerana sekurang-kurangnya ia menjadi bakul mini yang comel! hehe
Playing with Mazni Ezura’s cowboy hat
1.30pm-2.30pm : All twenty of us went back to respective houses of our foster families. We had our last meal there and also showers before bidding farewell to them.
2.30pm : Kami pergi ke Balai Raya buat kali terakhir for the Closing Ceremony. Ia berupa majlis perpisahan dan kami gembira dapat berada di Homestay Pelegong.
Top : Receiving souvenirs from the village’s rep
Bottom : The almost complete group photo before departure!
3.30pm : Semua pun balik tapi secara berasingan. Ten of them went back to Tanjung Malim directly while another ten including me went to Seremban for sight-seeing. It is just like Ipoh but of course I like Ipoh more!
6pm : The remaining ten left Seremban for Tanjung Malim in two cars. I drove my coursemate’s Satria Neo 1.6 because he was knocked down by flu. Kami sangkut dalam kesesakan lalu lintas di lebuhraya PLUS from Seremban to KL. We reached Tanjung Malim at about 8.30pm. Gua seronok memandu Satria Neo tersebut kerana gua memecut sepanjang perjalanan terutamanya dari KL ke Tanjung Malim. At first, I was quite nervous to drive because I am too used to drive my own car and afraid that I might not get used to it. But I just took 5 minutes to settle down and it is all about a Schumacher-drive in Satria Neo..haha
Overall rating of my performance throughout the NIP : I would give myself 85% because I did quite well in terms of getting know the people there and also popularity. The only con was my failure to really get used to the kampung foods. Perhaps I should take a lesson from Siew Meyy on how to score perfectly when staying in other places and live in another culture. That girl experienced a lot of eye-opening adventures including the jungles of Borneo, Orang Asli settlements in Pahang and also the native tribes in Africa.
If given another chance, I would like to join to this kind of activity again. I really like the atmosphere and also the living condition of a kampung. I really learnt a lot from this programme.
