My Kelab STAR Team

My Hardworking Kelab STAR Team

This may be a bit presumptuous, but, since I will not be around to bask in aura of the annual lunch organised by me and the Kelab STAR team, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have made a concerted effort to contribute to the success of this event.

Each and every one of the team members have played their part extraordinarily well, not just for this particular event, but also for all the events that this club has managed to organise and conduct, right from the beginning of the year until the last day of school. When I look back at the minutes of the first club meeting, I noticed that out of the many activities suggested, we did not manage to carry out two, which to me is an achievement in itself because we have managed to carry out the other eight!

I hope I have not offended anyone from my team whom I have not included in the composite picture that accompanies this entry because there is just not enough space. However, I must stress once again that some of the team members have indeed done more than their fair share of responsibilities throughout 2010, and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I hope you all have a wonderful time at the lunch. It doesn't really matter if I am in attendance or not because what matters most is the event that all of us have planned for months prior to this date, has finally materialised. Insya Allah, we will meet again in next year's annual event under the organisation of another team, lead by another chairperson; perhaps one who is better than I am!

Floods In Perlis and Kedah

Not Even A Cat Is Spared

When a natural disaster happens, it ultimately affects all, from the youthful young to the energetic elders, and from pretty plants to furry felines. The picture above is of a feline friend that belongs to a friend in Perlis who has been experiencing this calamity since the 1st of November.

One other person who is affected by the huge flood is a dear ex-student of mine who is studying in a university in Perlis. What is more challenging for him, who has had a very sheltered life here, is that he has to undergo the flood by himself and even had to be transported in a lorry that was used to transport sand, just to be saved from the flood! Well, my dear ex-student, experience is an enriching element of life.

On top of that my own sister could probably be in some flood relief centre. However, I am really praying that she is in no way involved and that she and her family are safe and sound at home, possibly have a hearty a dinner while watching news about the flood on their own telly! I have not heard any news from her even though I have made many unsuccessful text messages to her.

As an outsider looking in, my heart and my prayers go out to all those involved in the flood and hope that they be patient and persevere!

Responsibilities

Responsibilities Amongst Friends

There is not a single person in this world who is not bogged down by responsibilities, be they young school-going children or working adults. The only difference is whether those responsibilities are simple or difficult ones that involve other people around you.

It always makes things a lot easier when people around you are willing to cooperate in completing certain tasks. Even though, things may look daunting initially, but after some discussion your friend or colleague begin to see the light of things and start to accept his or her responsibilities. Of course, you will be able to exhale a sight of relief, knowing that this person, who earlier on started off by giving many excuses not to carry out his or her responsibilities, eventually agrees to them, after realising without that person, things will not go as planned.

But, how do you handle someone whom, after many discussions and giving alternatives and suggestions, is still adamant in not contributing to the success of a planned activity. You give the person every possible way for her to carry out the task, but she still comes up with excuses not to carry out her responsibility. Worse of all, she starts roping every body around her to agree with her demands; people who initially had agreed to their own responsibilities.

The way I am feeling now, is I am thinking of just letting go of the whole planned activity and just let that person handle the whole thing as she wants. Perhaps, the good thing about being called for a meeting on the very date that we are having the activity, is that I will not be around; and she can rope in as many people as she wants. Since I can't do things our way, I guess she should be able to do things her way!

Of Pots And Kettles

The Pot Calling The Kettle Black

I have been in service for more than thirty years, twenty-three of which is in the teaching profession. I have seen many types of people with many different characteristics and I have definitely gone through many emotional turmoils. Nevertheless, to be fair, I have also undergone my share of wonderful and gratifying experiences.

I have also had the experience of working for several superiors. I am happy to say that a few of them have made my work as a teacher very enjoyable in which case, time just flew without me even noticing. However, there are some superiors who have made my working experience very distasteful and have made me think about whether I am in the right profession or not, more than once.

To make things worse, there are those who do not practise what they preach. They tell their subordinates to do one thing while they do something else. In some cases they keep telling you to give all you can to the profession with verbal hints of gratification, when in fact the rewards go to those less deserving. Some people can just display the little that they do and get instant gratification, while you work your hide to the bone, and you get just that; bone!!

Well Done, Tarsians!!!

Girl Power!

With a sigh of relief, I exhaled, as the Form Six State Level Sports Carnival came to an ultimate close at 4.30 p.m. on the 23rd of October! I can finally let my guard down and let my shoulders droop a little after weeks of hardwork, struggling to see the success of this event.

This event actually started off in September when our school was unceremoniously chosen to be the host for the District level of this sports carnival. Even though there are only three schools with form six in the district of Tampin, organising the event was an Herculian task for some one as green to this scene as myself. Unashamedly, I have my colleagues to thank for helping me run the programme and making sure that it went along smoothly!

After the district level, we started preparing for the state level. The respective teachers who were assigned to train the students did their jobs well, except for one, unfortunately. I, on the other, hand took it upon myself to make sure that the students were assured of their pocket money, food during the competition and transport to the venue.


To tell you the truth, I was just as happy to have managed to get my students to the venue to take part in the competition and assuring them of their food and drinks after a tiring day out. But, when two of our teams won and became the victor in two games, it was the icing on the cake for me! And, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you all!

Teachers' Club Annual do

Well, it's that time of the year again folks! The SMK Tuanku Abdul Rahman's Teachers' Club committee members will be busy organising it's annual do, which will either be dinner or lunch. As the Chairperson of the club, I am happy to say that, my committee and I have managed to organise many activities all throughout the year. Starting from our participation during the school's sports day right up to this year's Teachers' Day celebrations.

Undoubtedly, with all the activities held earlier this year, one can only expect that a substantial amount of money has been used from the club's coffers. And now with the biggest event of the year looming in the horizon, the main thing on every one's mind is, do we have enough money to pull this thing through. We initially had illusions of grandeur of having our annual do at a hotel! But as the illusions turned to reality, the venue started to get more realistic starting with the local golf resort, then the local b-and-b and finally the school hall!

Well, the school hall it is! Unless of course every single teacher agrees to add another RM10 to enable us to have the do at a hotel! As of 1.00 p.m. no one has agreed to that additional fee. The main thing is, we have fun, even if it is in the school hall!

A Novel Novel

After months of waiting for the paperback version of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, it finally made its debut in bookstores last month. Based on the reviews made on it and also the fact that it topped the Malaysian's (and worldwide) best seller's list for weeks, my expectations were running high and I have to say that I was not disappointed.

I take my hat off to Dan Brown for being able to weave a story out of things that are factual into a wonderful work of fiction. I can only imagine the work and effort Dan Brown must have put into connecting the facts and fiction together to make the whole story seem so convincing and believable. On top of all that, he also created symbols and cryptic notes, which in itself must have required even more research, to add an aura of enigma to the story.

I for one, enjoyed reading the novel. I can easily differentiate between a book that I like and one that I love. A book that I like would take me one day to complete. On the other hand, one that I love would take me at least a week to finish, because I just don't want the story to end. Even though The Lost Symbol is a story that I like, I feel it is nowhere nearly as interesting compared to The Da Vincci Code, which I love!