Norhayati's Thoughts & Ideas

Give Me a Break

2012-02-10T06:33:00.004-08:00

Salam everyone. I have to write this or my chest is going to explode. A long time friend (whom I thought is still my close friend ) was very sensitive over a piece of advice I lent to him regarding his choice of partners in life. You see, we can NEVER judge a book by it's cover. But I always believe that someone's appearance (not physical) is an indicator of what a person's belief in.

For example, if you dress up so openly in public to the extend we can't even differentiate whether you are a Muslim or not - i.e putting on lesser clothes compared to the non-muslim, well that says something about your character- perhaps 'I'm not ready yet to set things straight so let me be' or whatever d rationale is).

And I who am a believer in this (with no intention what-so-ever to hurt anyone's feeling) casually gave my 5 cents worth of advice,
"Look for someone who you feel worth calling "my wife" and perhaps someone who covers her aurah".

To my surprise, he quickly responded by saying he knew what he wanted in life and that I'm wrong to judge this current girl he's going out with (which I have no idea who she is anyway).
When I looked through his current photos (through facebook), I saw a beautiful young woman whom he casually put his arms across her shoulder. She was dressed in a close to spaghetti string shirt and they looked so happy together.

Well to me, that picture doesn't jive with his intention of having a good Muslim wife. But then again I know I might be biased and wrong.
What if this woman turns out to be such a wonderful wife and mother? It would be totally awful to have this kind of judgement! And so I take back my words, apologize and promise not EVER to give any kind of opinion.

Why did I offer him my unwanted opinion? Initially I thought, after going through a divorce and having the opportunity to choose a good wife, he should seriously think about his choices. Well, an advice can just be 'an opinion'. You can take it or leave it. No heart feelings.

No matter how a person will eventually turn out to be, we marry someone for the ORIGINAL character that he or she has. Throw away the intention of marrying someone to CHANGE him or her. There's a saying "Old habits die hard". And if we are not STRONG enough, it can backfire us one day!

Well, it's a tough decision after all - choosing the right spouse.
Our judgements could be blurred at times.... and that's why we ask for God's help.
And of course the prophet had already advised us on the right criteria... It's for us to seek and understand the list.

As always, it's everyone's dream to marry their 'soul mates'. But, not everyone will get the privileged of marrying one.
There is ONLY one chance to make it right.

By making the right choice.

I rest my case.

Thank you Section 8 :)

2012-01-14T22:37:00.000-08:00

Thank you to:

Siti Nurarina,Siti Sarah,Faris,Noor Aini, Nor Shaqiroh, Siti Fatimah, Syuhada Muhamad, Azrin,Munirah,Nurul Syuhada,Nur Fathihah, Nurul Atiqah, Nazrinah,Norsyahida,Nurul Munirah,Radziatul,Siti Hajar,Siti Fatimah,Wan Nur Aqlili, Nurul Hanis,Siti Zaharah,Nur Fazleena,Nik Aqilah,Rabi'atul 'Adawiyah,Naquiah,Nur Syazana, Nur Adlina,Rahmah,Wan Nur Atikah, Nursaadah and Nur Zulaikha.

...for your entries and responses. I have no doubt that all of you know what you want in life:)

Take care

Beautiful New Zealand

2011-12-24T22:18:00.000-08:00

What is My Purpose in Life?

2011-12-24T22:10:00.000-08:00

Salam ,

Dear Section 8,

Here goes the assignment (finally!). It's really simple. Answer the question above. Be authentic and truthful to yourselves (I always appreciate that).

Can't wait to read them :-)

"What is the best way to teach reading?"

2011-08-28T13:33:00.000-07:00

Dear readers,
I have been quiet haven't I?
For all I know, it is already the last day of Ramadhan.
Question: Have I done enough to please my Creator?...hem...(thinking hard)...

Sorry...I cant discuss well on this topic. Don't even know how to address this issue..and I haven't been writing for quite sometime. Obviously I'm NOT a writer..
Tonight however( just like any other weird nights that I had), I wish to write on this topic. Something that came at the spur of the moment. It came a few days ago while I was waiting for my pre-dawn meal (sahur). I felt like writing something on this topic that I wrote blindly on a piece of paper.
"What is the best way to teach reading?"

This question is interesting indeed. Does it sound honest to you?
May be..if the enquirer is sincerely looking for answers to this question.
But what if someone pound you with the next question,
"Come on, don't beat around the bush. What would you do if you have 20 hours a week to teach English and at the end of the semester, students are supposed to be able to answer the reading comprehension questions? Where do you start?"

To answer this question, let me share my experience as an ELT practitioner.
For the past 14 years of teaching English, I didn't seriously bother to look for answers to this question. I 'taught' reading according to the stipulated syllabus and I 'thought' that was enough. However, something didn't seem quite right - I felt something was missing.
This was when I started to ask these questions:

1) Do I know enough of what 'reading' is all about?
2) Am I aware of my students' abilities, preferences and levels of difficulties that they face during the reading process?

As a teacher (who was bogged down with so many other responsibilities) it was easier to subscribe to the quickest method - to cover whatever was needed to be taught for that particular semester. However, the next big question remained - Were my students 'learning' anything at all?

Group 9 - 12

2011-06-11T20:18:00.001-07:00

Group 5 - 8

2011-06-06T03:31:00.000-07:00

English Reading Program II - Awesome!

2011-06-06T02:49:00.000-07:00

English Reading Program II - 30th May 2011

2011-05-24T19:41:00.001-07:00

What is 'simplicity'?

2011-04-22T22:35:00.000-07:00

Salam everyone. Im here at this place where I usually sit to finish my marking. My mind starts to run wild while I watch my surroundings..There are people rushing to buy things at this Mall, parents hurryin to the baskin robbins and those who do ..nothing..just enjoying their coffee. I begin to open this book that I borrowed from my student, Dr.Susi entitled "How Philosophy Can Save YOur Life - 10 Ideas that Matter Most by Marietta Mc Carty. The writer who is an assistant professor of philosophy at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, talks about the 10 themes that are necessary for us to grasp in order to live a truly fulfilling life. The first one is 'simplicity'. I didnt understand what this word meant back then when I was younger. Now, I can really relate to it. It says "plain,pure, uncomplicated,basic, modest and essential" (p.3)..Essential again according to her is a simple lifestyle that is complete in the essentials needed to live well. These essentials are for us to 'uncover' or 'rediscover' by streamlining our lives. She throws a question "What are the basics that we must have for good living?". Hem...interesting indeed...

Since I have to get back to my marking (argh!!!), I shall end this post with a quote by Charlotte Joko Beck..."Life is actually a very simple matter".

Hem...is life really 'that simple'? What do you think dear readers?

May God bless you.

Thank you all.... (2rd April 2011)

2011-04-02T06:03:00.000-07:00

Assalamualaikum w.b.t

I know if I procrastinate, I won't get it done. So, I told myself, this is just as important as finishing my marking! Wow..if only this entry got published on time! pheweet!( Amy Search version).

Hem...what else can I say Section 31? Except.... thank you.... for coming to my house today!

I am so touched by your gestures like bringing food that you gals cook by yourselves! The spaghetti was nice (that was why I ate it) and the great warmth and cheerful faces made me feel blessed. Thank you God for bestowing me such a wonderful profession. I might not make tons of money (at least not yet) but I am so grateful for all the wonderful things in life - like my students' visit to my house - something that money can't buy (wait...but again if you have money ,u can always order food and invite people to come right?...hem..now I'm not so sure ..).

Anyway, it had been wonderful having you around in my EOP class. (Section 35 has yet to come and Helmi, what are you waiting for???).
In class we managed to watch a movie, listened to "Rebecca" and "Memoirs of Geisha", shared common problems in life, overcame stage fright, exchanged stories in extensive reading, learn new words in each class and the list continues.

I sincerely hope you enjoy those moments as much as I did :-)

Love you all and once again....Thank you.

The Miracle Worker - in EOP class

2011-01-26T19:42:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

How was the movie? Comment please..:-)

Welcome to Parenting Class :-) (Sem 2, 2010/2011)

2011-01-25T07:42:00.000-08:00

Salam everyone,

So far so good? I am sorry for not writing earlier. This is my first entry after a long, long time. Yes, I AM guilty as charged - for not maintaining my blog. T.Harv Eker a self-made millionaire mentioned the 'Law of Maintenance' which basically means anything that we wish to be in a good condition should be constantly 'well-maintained' i.e like a good relationship VS a hit-and-run one. If this is difficult to achieve, perhaps the practice of KAIZEN is an option. Doing something small but on a constant basis.hem.... But I'm not going to blabber on that. Now, I want to discuss about this course you are taking.

Hem....where shall we start? Oh yes, I told you in our first class - to START with a FRESH mindset - to leave behind any negative/ wrong models of parenting that you have experienced so far. This is very IMPORTANT so that we are not replicating the bad ones to our next generation. I would use 'we' alternately as a device to remind myself too!

Let me start on a positive or a rather beautiful quotation. I took this and other quotations from the book "Committed" by Elizabeth Gilbert. "There is no greater risk than matrimony. But there is nothing happier than a happy marriage." - Benjamin Disraeli,1870, In a letter to Queen Victoria's daughter Louise, congratulating her on her engagement. Beautiful isn't it? "Nothing happier than a happy marriage" Ahhh!!..But you got to be happily married to truly understand what this means!

....and so my task begins... I hope to shed some light into this matter. I wish I had a similar course like this when I was studying in UPM between 1990-1996. I only had 'Munakahat' class that I took at the evening religious school in Johor when I was younger. That was a really good one. However, no one told me of the challengers being a working mum and wife back then. It wasn't my ustazah's fault at all. She wouldn't have any inclination back then that the world is going to move so rapidly that young men and women need to be told of their 'rights' and 'obligations' in this challenging context.

The most important thing is to know how do we go about compromising with each other while maintaining rights of both the husband and wife? Because we come to understand that "Sometimes life is too hard to be alone, and sometimes life is too good to be alone" (p.81), that we must seek to understand in order to be understood (from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People).

So....I shall hand you this platform to discuss and throw your ideas....what are the rights and obligations of a husband and a wife - from the Islamic and also from other perspectives. Let us free ourselves from any gender bias and discuss this matter with an open mind. We also know very well the great mandate that Allah had bestowed upon men called 'husbands'. Even our mothers can't supersede them. Pretty cool and awesome to be given the highest rank don't you think? But again, what are their obligations to their wives and children? Can this 'mandate' lead to corruption of power? (Sorry guys, no intention of being sarcastic here). Hehe..So..... think hard and do some homework...coz a good homework will usually produce good results :-)..

See you soon!

English Reading Program

2010-11-20T21:51:00.000-08:00

Center for Languages and Pre-University Academic Development(CELPAD) IIUM Kuantan Campus will organize English Reading Program on 24th November 2010 (Wednesday) at Kulliyyah of Science,IIUM Kuantan Campus. This program is opened for primary & secondary school students. For those who are interested to join this program, please contact Miss Intan at 09-571 6400(ext. 2121) or 013-616 5453 latest by 23rd November 2010.

CCLM Leadership and Management Class SOS!

2010-08-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

Dear students,

Our class will be held tommorrow at 5-6.30 p.m. It is very important and will be the final one before your EID break.I will also brief you on your final task which will be evaluated by external lecturers.
So, do come if you are still in campus :-)

Thank you.

Too much & too little TIME is NOT good.

2010-08-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

Dear all..

I'm now sitting at Taj with my son. We have a late lunch cause I just finished class with the dentistry students. I am not going to edit this entry since it is going to be a quick one. I decide to share with you this uncomfortable feeling that I have inside me which is "boredom".
How can I experience this in the midst of my crazy schedule??????
I ponder upon this question again and again....staring on the ceiling before I go to bed, while driving, on the way to class, while eating...and I couldnt find an answer...until I noticed something..
Perhaps because I don't have a CLEAR direction of where I am heading.
Well, don't get me wrong! I do have my list of responsiilities piling up but this 'direction' has now been missing for the past one month! Last year...the aims were to move into my new house and present my paper in Spain. After I have succesfully achieved that, I didnt have NEW aims. So I ended up not being challenged, doing mundane everyday tasks which eventually lead me to BOREDOM.
How can someone feel bored when he/she is sooo busy?
Yes, you can...it is like going through the SAME roller-coaster ride and there seems to be no more surprises ahead. It's a lesser challenge and gosh now I know why I am BORED!

You see, I have learned that to be an effective person, I need to be PROACTIVE. To react rather that being reacted upon. Which means I should have a clear mission and vision of what I would like to achieve in my personal agenda!
But having goals will lead me to another problem. I have to work on it!! No wonder people avoid themselves from having goals. Perhaps that is the reason why we will end up with having too much time doing NOTHING or too LITTLE time fulfilling mundane tasks!
Whatever it is, I am glad I know what is happening to me now. So, I MUST finish writing my book by this year. Perhaps October?? HUAhhhh!!!
What about you my dear students. I hope improving your English is included in your personal agenda list.I think you know this. Those who read more (not academic materials) will write better in the long run.

Take care.

CCLM2051K-Leadership and Management

2010-07-30T04:13:00.000-07:00

Salam everyone,
It was wonderful to meet all of you for the first time last Friday evening.
Are you excited about this course???
What does leadership mean?
Well, leadership in Islam is a trust(amanah).
According to the Prophet(saw), Muslims must appoint a leader during a trip, select a leader (imam) to lead the prayer, and choose a leader for other group activities. In the family unit, the husband is the leader of his family. In the absence of her husband, the wife assumes the role of leader in the house. Leadership in Islam, is not a matter of grabbing power but essentially serving Allah (swt) through the implementation of His commands in all aspects of life.

Since we are going to dwell on this subject for the next nine weeks, I need you to think and answer this question:

* Besides our beloved prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who is the best leader that we know so far, can you name me another good leader that you know of and why you say so? Do some research if you are not sure who that person is.

Good Luck everyone and see you next week :-)

I LOVE YOU - It's easier to say it when we were younger..

2010-07-17T04:11:00.000-07:00

Salam everyone,

Today, I feel so blessed. My life is so wonderful and thank you God for all the great things you have bestowed upon me. Yesterday, while I was brisk walking at the lake near my house, I realized how wonderful it was to be able to walk, run and enjoy the scenery. Gosh..how can sometimes I take things for granted....
Earlier in the afternoon, I took my daughter to my office. As I was busy doing my work, she was busy pasting little pieces of paper on my table.

She said "JAngan tengok Ibu...Nanti dah siap boleh..hehehe." She asked me not to look at what she was doing.
And so I kept to my promise til the end. And as usual, when it's time to go home, I forgot what was the big 'project' all about until I entered my room today...

I think pictures speak louder than words..So,you can see for yourself..the younger we are, the easier it is to express ourselves. I wonder if I would be able to hear this (or see it) from her when she gets older...when she leaves for college...or when she leaves the house to have her own family.....

What about you my students? When was the last time you said these three magical words to your mum or dad?
If it has been long enough that they have not heard it from you...well, why don't you grab the phone and say it..... before it is too late.

I love you.

I LOVE YOU - Say it before it's too late 2

2010-06-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

Salam everyone,

I think this is the second entry of the same topic that I wrote quite sometime ago.
Here is the story.

I was very excited. My cousins and family from Spore will be driving down to Kuantan to visit our new house. Best of all, my aunt whom I had visited in ICU at Tan Tock Seng Hospital last year will be joining us.
She arrived on the 4th of June in her wheelchair via Firefly. When I greeted her at the Sultan Ahmad Airport Kuantan, I was smiling ear to ear, trying to control my tears of joy. "She finally made it" - I sighed. Her grandchildren were all very excited and asked me what was the plan like for them throughout the 3 days visit. I told them, there are so many activities that Kuantan has to offer. We have beautiful sandy beach, an esplanade along the Kuantan river and also the majestic Sg Pandan waterfall. There are also three cinemas and two big malls in Kuantan. RM6-RM10 cinema ticket per entry for my cousins are way too cheap when they convert the Spore Dollar into RM. There are hardly pirated DVD's in spore and so to watch a movie with SG10 compared to our ticket, made them crazzy over the idea of having a marathon movie episode.
On the 5th of June, we had dinner with the whole clan at my place. 7 Singapore cars with almost 50 of us altogether having fun, chatting, giggling while exchanging stories. My aunt was there too, observing but she was quite weak as she had started to have series of vommitting. She had not been well prior to coming here but was adamant enough to proceed with the trip. Because she had her medication with her, we thought she would eventually recover....
On Sunday morning I sent them back to the airport and at the check-in counter, I hugged her tight and whispered "Terima kasih cik sebab sudi datang. Saya nak makcik tahu, saya sayang makcik". I told her that I love her so much and gently kissed her on her cheeks and forehead. Gosh..she looked very much like my belated father. Everytime she stared at me, I could feel my father's presence.
At the departure gate, again I told her how much I love her and that I would be meeting her again. Little did I realize that I was going to meet her , sooner that what I had expected..
How true.....
Three days later, I received the news that she passed away on the way to the hospital.
Devastated, we drove down to Singapore, only three days after her visit to Kuantan. Her daughter told me later that it was her wish to visit me under any circumstances..

Bathing her (mandi jenazah) was the most touching moment. In that instant, I saw a woman who had lived her life to the fullest, contributing in whatever way she could to her family and loved ones. She had a tremendously kind heart and I would definitely miss her. All of us will. And when I left Singapore, I looked at my children and wonder whether they would miss me as much as I do towards my aunt. The time and love that she shared when I was young had created this feeling that I have now. How true..what we sincerely give...we will definitely get back....(Insya-Allah).

Al-fatihah to my beloved makcik, Hajjah Juriah binti Ahmad.

If you are a football fan and happen to be in Barcelona, you can not miss Barca.

2010-06-06T04:17:00.000-07:00

Camp Nou is one of the greatest stadiums in world football. Since FC Barcelona was founded, great players have created historic moments in its 100,000 capacity stadium. I experienced the magic of this stadium with the Camp Nou Tour. It cost me 17 Euro per entry. I also went to the FCB Megastore. Watching the historical football moments on the giant screens was such a thrill. I could feel the adrenalin rush, excitement and joy as I witnessed mesmerizing shots..truly football talent and skills at its best!

Let's Recycle! (and de-clutter our lives!)

2010-05-19T06:18:00.000-07:00

all,

Thank you for visiting my blog. Lately I have been busy moving into my new house. To Mac, I am the one who is honored to share your piece of writing on 'True Love' in my previous entry. Today I shall share my experience giving away some of the stuff which had been in my possession for the past ten years. Yup! Ten long years cause I'm such a
chipmunk! Little did I realize that I was cluttering my house with all these 'junk'. And so the shift to my new house was a liberating experience throwing away stuff that shouldn't be in my possession any longer. The stuff in a way represent the many details of my life which I now strive to lead a simpler and and meaningful one instead.I now know that my car weigh between 1,180 kg - 1,200 kg after going on the massive weighing scale and I broke the record of 150 kg of paper! 1 kg is equal to 2o cents which means that I received RM30 cash. On the way back, I filled my tank RM20 and bought 2 cans of 100+ & mineral water since the whether was scorching hot! When I reached home, what a sigh of relief to see the big space I now own after discarding the unwanted items. Wow..I thought only old people like to keep things. Aha! This experience also taught me the value of giving because some of these items were dear to me and I wasn't ready to 'let go!But you know what? Giving away things can be liberating and will lift the burden of not knowing when you are going to use them. I also discarded items which are redundant. There you go.Life can be simpler if we just know what we need most and not to ponder too much on the details. Learn from men. No wonder they forgive and forget easily compared to women.Hem...is that so?? Gudnite all!

Class of Spm Leaver`s 2010 (with Maclean Patrick)

2010-04-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

True Love - According to Maclean Patrick

2010-04-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

Dear all..
I was trying to continue a piece of writing that I had left 6 months ago. It was supposed to be sent in by February but I have been postponing it til now. I am, guilty as charged. Now, I have a problem. Whenever I write, it seems that I need a period of warming up and I work in a connected chain of thoughts. If it stopped midway, I faced difficulty going back to that 'moment' of writing. Shakespeare once said " Words, words, words. Once I had a gift. I've lost my gift. As if the organ of my imagination has dried up, as if the proud towers of my ginuses collapse". In the midst of agony, I suddenly remembered my writer friend Mac who came down all the way from Kuching, Sarawak last month. Mac has written two novels with Alaf 21. He stayed in Kuantan for a couple of days and we had the opportunity to give a talk at Sek Men Agama Al-Ehsan, Kuantan. His session was on creative writing while mine was on extensive reading. It was great. We talked to about 100 students. Mac's subject was on how to start writing and mine was on how to start selecting reading materials. Before he left Kuantan, he scribbled an anecdote of what love is while waiting for me to send him to the bus station. It was beautiful and I thought I should share it with you:

What is TRUE LOVE?

"TRUE LOVE is when you can still love someone at their most horrible self, at their dumbnest moment, weakest point"

What is INTIMACY then?
"The art of effortless communication"

Here is the story:

There is a tree in a valley, where the lily grows and a gushing brook babbles. A place where butterflies meet every April and swallows return every October. And on most summer nights, the fire-flies would dance among it's branches.
And underneath this tree there is a small hut, with roofs made of straw and windows of round barrels. A simple dwelling for a complicated man. The man called The Wise.
A man of many tongues, a man who measured the moon's walk as it travelled form east to west; and who captured the morning rays in a stunted glass jar.A sage. A philosopher. A man with a visitor. She came the day after. He was clearing his library of ancient books and as he marvelled at the empty shelves, he heard a knock and a rat-tat-tat.
"Come in," he bellowed. The door slightly opened. "Well, open it wider or else just keep the door close," he raised his voice, annoyed at his visitor. She stepped into the hut and politely stood before him.
"What do you want to ask me?" He asked as he turned his back to her. "How do you know, I wanted to ask a question?" she quipped. "The reason most people seek me out. And you may ask more than just one question. You do have a few questions right?" She could not hide her surprise. "Why? I was meaning to ask you a few questions. How did you know?"
"Just ask me your questions." He commanded.
She drew her breath and while tucking a stray hair behind her ear she began to speak.
"What is TRUE LOVE?" The man turned and in a swift glance, took note of her feet, arms and face. Then, he slowly walked around her, sniffing her clothes as he walked. "TRUE LOVE is when you can be a devil and someone would still love you and offer you the grace and mercy of an angel". The old man paused, waiting for the next question.
"Why do people search for true love?"
Suddenly the old man became quite angry.
"It is not LOVE that they seek. It is INTIMACY with the person they love. It is not the LOST of love that they fear but the lost of INTIMACY." The young woman held her breath. She wanted to know more.
"What then is the meaning of life?"
"To find one's self in the bigger scheme of things. All the religions in the world teach us this."
"Is it that hard to attain?" She rushed to the next question.
"No. But we are too busy defining life to really live life. We define and rationalize and seek to explain. When all that is needed is to live it. We look at the sea and describe it's waters, the hue of colours, the varst stretch of sand and matter of it's beauty yet we stop ourselves from swimming in it. Because true joy is in the swimming. In allowing the sea to envelope us and make us one with it." Her eyes swelled with tears. She was trying to hold herself back.
"Is this the same with love?"
"Yes. We explain it and rationalize it; but fail to be involved with it."

- The End-

TESOL-Spain 33rd Conference (University of LIeida, Spain)

2010-04-18T00:07:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

I was going through my photos in Spain and I realized that I didn't talk much about my conference. Furthermore, a friend commented on whether I actually went to Spain for a holiday or for other matters. Hem...
So, I have decided to upload some of the photos at the conference itself.
It was my first International conference (hopefully not the last hehe). The paper took me quite sometime to finish even though the title technically sounds simple. I ended up 25 pages together with the handouts for the participants. I think my literature review was a bit too much for a demonstration type paper. Initially, my dean was looking for the research part which was obviously limited to only one page (since it is not research based).
No matter how small the magnitude or how humble it was, I gained experience in preparing a demonstration type of paper.I am now able to assist my colleagues who are interested to try out this type of presentation. Previously, I was quite annoyed when I tried to refer to those who have presented and their answers were something like "Alah...buat aje...tak susah" "cerita aje what you want to say" etc2... until a Junior lecturer who was kind enough to show me her own full paper (thank you so much Wan Puteri).
So, there you go. Not everyone is willing to give a helping hand even though they have done it themselves.
Sometimes, I think that this 'sharing of knowledge' is not popularly practiced in our culture.Isn't sharing and learning from each other will turn us into a stronger and respectful nation? What's the point of keeping things to ourselves?
One lady lecturer from Canada who had actually written books herself attended my session. I wonder why. She was so humble and added some important insights into my subject matter.

I just love the experience I had.
It added value to my professional growth. This is what I called, learning by doing.
And I hope this spirit stays with me throughout my career.

Exam Results - Only YOU can stop yourself on a permanent basis.

2010-04-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

Salam everyone!

I opened my blog this morning and wow..it's been quite sometime since I last wrote something. Well, this is primarily due to the enormous marking, keying in and finally abled to confirm your marks. Yes, we spent almost two weeks before we could finalize your grades. I thought I should share some of the experience I went through..i.e. how I felt when I was going through your scripts. I hope this sharing would help you in a long run rather than upsetting your holiday :-)

It seems that your language ability is stopping you from scoring my papers. You have all the ideas but failed to express or interpret them especially in your argumentative essay (EAP)and proposals (EOP). Even your letter of complaint left us wondering what went wrong with the 5C's that we have taught you so far. FYI, after we had completed marking, we spent hours looking at border line cases. We went through the scripts again and again, trying to find answers which would move you to one band higher.
Yes, we did that because we love and care about you. We understand how difficult it is to study and score during exams because we went through the same process ourselves. But here is the thing. There were a few that we couldn't possibly help because the answers were just way below the requirement. For those that we managed to upgrade, please don't be too complacent with what you have achieved. You can not always base on luck.

Here's the rub. In life, we must constantly upgrade ourselves regardless of exams. Exam is purely a mechanism to test our knowledge and abilities. However, we are responsible of your own standards. Therefore, do it on an ongoing basis especially when it comes to English.

There are a lot of people out there that can STOP you temporarily, but only YOU can stop yourself on a permanent basis. I got this from Zig Ziglar. Even our prophet would want all of us to upgrade ourselves, don't you agree?

And so, during this holiday, please consider this activity seriously - READ a lot.
Read whatever interest you and find the PLEASURE in it. InsyAllah, in the long run, you will reap what you have sown.

Remember dear, English language is not a subject you learn in one semester. It takes time to develop the proficiency and the good news is, you can acquire it in a fun way if you HAVE the right ATTITUDE.

I love you all and have a great holiday!

A Humble Experience

2010-03-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

I believe we have to work hard and play hard as well.

We have to experience life and live it to the fullest.To work as if we are going to live long, and to pray as if we are going to die tomorrow.

When I was in Tarragona, a place they called the Balcony of the Mediterranean, I heard a faint voice of someone reciting Quran after Suboh in my next room. I was so surprised. In my four days in Spain, there were hardly Muslims around us. Therefore, chances of hearing someone reciting the words of God in a hotel room in Spain was indeed very slim. We listened harder. The recitation was steady and composed. It made us longed to hear more. It made us feel safe and secure..

(To be continued)

God Almighty

2010-03-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

I was still in Spain when I wrote this entry. Truly humble with the experience I was in. Amazed by the beauty of it.
I wish you too will be able to travel far someday. Not to show off to others that you have been to other places. But to realize how beautiful is the creation of God, the Almighty. To enable us to appreciate our country more because we come to understand that nothing in this world is perfect. And to know that life has a lot more to offer other than wealth.

From Spain with Love

2010-03-16T03:16:00.000-07:00

Tired of exams?Think again...you are indeed lucky!

2010-03-09T07:13:00.000-08:00

Dear all,

I was trying very hard to finish my power point presentation for my upcoming conference and yet I failed to do so. After spending days trying to finish my workload and personal errands, I have to admit, I am now running out of passion to finish this last piece of work.
I needed inspiration...
Or perhaps I have already started missing you guys hehehe :-)
Suddenly I remembered my blog which I have personally dedicated to all of you.
And so, tonight I shall send in an entry before my departure day.
Here it goes.

I want you to know that I totally understand your plight.
Your endless assignments, quizzes and tests are killing your spirits, burning your creative minds while in the pursuit of your first undergraduate degree.
I am not sure whether it is due to the type of courses that you are in (which is science based)but believe me dear..... SEIZE THIS MOMENT .....and live every minute of it.

Surprise? Why do I say so? Because trust me, what you are experiencing now will never come twice in your life (unless of course, you pursue your study to a higher level).
Even that wont be the same. Cause at that time, the challenge is even greater with your commitment to your family and working life.
This is indeed the best time of your life. In the spirit of EAP, (you know what I mean)
these are my arguments hehehehehe.
Firstly, no matter how tired you are, you can simply doze off. You don't have to worry whether your child will later wake you up from your slumber cause he or she is thirst for milk.
Second, you don't have to deal with the load of laundry which will then require you to iron, fold and keep them in three perhaps four separate drawers.
Third, thank God you don't have a refrigerator to manage in order to make sure there is enough food for everyone in a family. Whether your sauce, eggs or fresh vegetables have run out, this is still non of your business.
Fourth, you wont experience moments like this. You are about to OPEN that lecture notes or reference book, when suddenly the baby will scream for attention or it is time to change a wet nappy.Hem.........what do you think? Enough arguments guys?? Any counter-argument?

Therefore, study hard and don't grumble.
Remain steady til the finishing line.
Because where you ARE right now, would ONE day be, one of the best time in your life! Cheers.

The Bicycle - Book Review by Nurul Jannah bt Ahmad Ghulamuddin

2010-02-25T04:26:00.000-08:00

Nurul Jannah bt Ahmad Ghulamuddin

Mind Your English Class `10

What Do You Do When You Are Rejected?

2010-02-23T02:51:00.000-08:00

Dear all..

A few months ago a friend called mentioning she was rejected by someone special in her life.
Special here means someone whom she likes, feel happy with and hope to pursue to a more serious relationship.
You see, I am not an expert in handling rejections. Therefore, I could only give her advice based on my past experiences.... which not necessary had helped her in any way.
True enough...a week ago she still sounded bad, her self-esteem was still low and God knows what other 'damages' had occurred in this very nice person. She has a beautiful soul to me but she fails to see that in her.

It dawn on me that what she really needs is to see things more clearly in order for her to move on with her life. Without proper guidance, this feeling of rejection will 'linger' for a long time and for some, the rest of their lives....

You see, what is unfair is that, the person who CAUSED the rejection is not (again Im assuming) emotionally devastated as she is. He might be continuing his life as usual as if nothing happens (you know what I mean?). If Dr.Mahathir once mentioned "Melayu mudah lupa" , I would rephrase (in this case), "Lelaki mudah lupa" (Ampunkan patik..)

Well, people say that it is a bit 'inappropriate' for teachers to discuss this matter. However, I beg to differ. I suppose, we need to talk this thing out because it is REAL, it happens to everyone in the process of growing up and might happen again even after you pass that supposedly 'teenage life'.

Feeling 'rejected' is REAL. Let us not deny that. It seems trivial for 'outsiders' but for those who experience it (or shall I call victims) will have to face it every other day thinking what went wrong and trying to find answers to the predicament.

Because I have a class to attend tonight and phew this is such a crazy week, I shall continue this soon. Meanwhile, if you have any tips or advice on this matter, feel free to drop your comment. I believe this girl and many more out there need as much help as possible to be back on their feet.

It is definitely NOT EASY to be in their shoes.It is easier said then done. However, I hope they will have the courage to move on and continue with this beautiful life that God has given us.

Take care.

CCFM 2052K - Individual Task.

2010-02-19T09:20:00.000-08:00

Assalamulaikum....

Please understand the question that you wish to attempt.
Choose ONE only and present it well.

1. What do you understand by Islamic marriage?

2. Why is religiosity of the spouse the most significant element in Islam?

3. What steps must be taken in order to ensure protection of a marriage tie?

4.What factors do you think lead to conflicts in marriage?

5."Marriage is a field of battle, and not bed of roses" - Robert Louis Stevenson.
Do you agree with the quotation?

6.What are the challenges of parenting in the modern time?

Good luck!

Anything to Make Them Happy

2010-02-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

Dear all...

It has been another relaxing holiday amidst finishing work from home. I took my two kids to Gambang Waterpark which is about 35 km from Kuantan. I actually hate big crowd. I appreciate peace and calmness but for the kids, I would give it a try. When we arrived, true

enough, the crowd gave me a second thought ,but I would always try not to disappoint my kids."Well, today is YOUR DAY fellas!" I quipped.

Teh is almost 8 and Shafiq is already 13. They would survive in that close to 10,000 crowd that day! When I thought there were no smaller kids around, I was wrong! My God there were even babies in that huge crowd! Well, I was observing these `courageous' parents. They actually took their kids out when it was obvious that the best thing to do was stay at home.

Everywhere you go during this peak season, you have to queue. Yup! I did! Just to get the food, I had to queue from 2.30 - 4.30 pm. How do I know this? They have a big clock in front of the penguin express counter (so much of an express counter!). My swimming attire which was initially wet, dried as I reached half-way through the line. It was a disaster but for my kids, I actually paved my way while teh and I had spelling test and maths quiz while in line. Along the people who were queueing up were parents carrying babies and I thought, my predicament was not that bad after all! And so we got our food at 4.30, ate it like we had never seen food for a week and quickly ran to the long rides and had fun til the waterpark gave the announcement that it would close at 5.45pm. Close to 6 p.m. I asked one of the lifeguards to take a photo of us - when everything was quiet and back to normal.

Well, there are so much things to share people but the reason why Im writing this is I think, parents who spend time with their children are those who understand and willing to sacrifice to go the extra mile to fulfill their children's interests. If it is not for the children, what on earth are we doing during our holiday, going through the crowd and had to withstand all the odd moments. If you were married one day and had kids, just bring them out regardless of the crowd. It is rare that your holidays will coincide with the school holidays which mean if you are so particular about the crowd, you will miss those precious moments in their lifetime. Just blend in the crowd, be happy for them and who knows you will end up like me smiling all the way home cause I got to be a little kid again.hehe

What must couples do when they face problems in marriage?- CCFM 2052 (3rd entry)

2010-02-12T22:09:00.000-08:00

Dear students...

I believe we had a very important lecture on this topic last thursday. The week before, your dramatization on the marriage problems were really fantastic! You really made me feel sooo proud!!!! Some of you were able to 'see' things ahead of time.
Well, this is what this course is about. It is to prepare yourselves to that very important phase in your lives. Marriage is a phase that will be the ultimate test in our lives. People who dont go through it wont understand. Because in marriage, we are bound to have conflicts. It is possible for a man and woman to enter into a union with good intentions yet their personalities and likes do not coincide with one another.

After we have gone through that 'magical' first year, reality starts sinking in. Ive read in the readers digest before that the 'magical chemistry' would only last for 12 months! Hem.....
Later, all the strength and weaknesses from both sides will be exposed. Therefore, it is time to talk about the implications of marital conflict. How it can affect anyone at personal level, his/her professional growth and their families .

I also told you of how Islam encourages the party to resolve conflicts in marriage in the best possible way first before ending it. Divorce (according to the book I read) is similar to a painful surgery; " the sane human being endures the pains of his wound, even an amputation, in order to protect the remaining parts of the body to keep away greater injury."

Divorce is permissible in Islam in order to remove the harm from one of the two spouses. But we have to understand that Islam does not encourage divorce. Therefore, this entry is for my CCFM 2052k students and anyone out there who wish to give any comment on this issue. You can add in any anecdotes(short stories) related to this topics, or quotes on what couples should do to overcome conflicts.

I can sense that all these issues are now becoming more real to you.

I take this opportunity to salute all single mothers (and fathers) who strive to raise their children with dignity. I pray that God will continue to give you the strength to go on.
YOU are indeed SPECIAL and STRONG.
May Allah bless all of you.

Pride & Prejudice - Book Review By Aliff Khalid Bin Amran

2010-02-12T03:49:00.000-08:00

Aliff Khalid Bin Amran
Mind Your English Class`10

ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT ME TO READ?

2010-02-11T06:40:00.000-08:00

Assalamualaikum everyone...

"Iqra'" - "Bacalah" ...this powerful reminder from Allah reminds us the importance of READING.

If you read a lot, it broadens your mind. You become knowledgeable and able to explore a lot of wonderful things in life. You learn to appreciate others, be sensitive to other people's plight, acquire new skills, have a better judgement, make wiser decisions and the list goes on and on. But how do you start? First, if you had never loved reading, IT IS going to be DIFFICULT. You hate it because you have never felt any PLEASURE from the reading experience like you do when you play the computer games, watch TV or even sleep for that matter! In order to experience the PLEASURE of reading, you must sincerely want to try it out first. Lets see if this works. I have two simple steps for you:

1) There are many genres or types of novels/short stories/books out there. They are adventure, romantic, human relation, fantasy, suspense, thriller etc2..So, choose the one which you think INTEREST you most. I dont know what is your interest. You should know it yourself! Of course, you can always explore this by reading the blurps at the back cover of the novel or even the first chapter to see whether it 'suits' you.

2) Second, dont choose a book which is too complicated or difficult to read. I mean if the language is too advanced where you can easily get lost after reading a few paragraphs, very likely that it is difficult to understand. This can cause frustration and you wont be able to enjoy reading. Remember, to enjoy, your actions must be associated with pleasure(just like the feeling of you waking up from that sleep and makes you wanting for more -you know what I mean hehe).

So, try these two simple steps first and I ll give you the next one later. If you face any difficulty, just post your comment here and I will attend to it in my next entry.

I got to go. See you next week. To my EOP and EAP students, you guys must feel very happy now that the mid-term is over and so my Chinese New Year break will be occupied marking your papers. Believe me, every time I mark some of them, I would always say this to myself "IF ONLY THEY READ MORE.."

Enjoy your break people!

Harry Potter & The Philosopher`s Stone - Book Review by Nik Syariman Nik Khalil from my English for SPM Leavers Class.

2010-02-06T05:42:00.000-08:00

Nik Mohd Syariman Nik Mohamed Khalil Arif
Mind Your English Class

"I LOVE YOU" - say it before its too late.

2010-02-05T04:39:00.000-08:00

Dear all..

Thank you for coming back to my blog. Today, I read my other entries and I realized that I havent really expressed anything significant to all of you especially to my students. I mean, suddenly I feel like..what if I might not turn up in class next week cause it is time for me to go? ...You know... to meet God The Almighty.....Who knows when the time is up???

Well, Im not trying to be creepy here but in the midst of preparing myself for my trip to Spain this March.... planning to move into my own house end of April..... the agony of juggling the odd hours of teaching ......between being a mother, lecturer, wife and teacher.....all this will no longer be important...
When the time comes.........phew.....something to ponder right?
Well, whether I am READY to meet the CREATOR is another BIG question :-(
This is when, suddenly .......I have the urge to say this to you - that ...."I lOVE YOU". (Even if I have said it before).
I love you because you are the reason why I work anyway. To say that Im crazzy in love with my job is not really it. Most of the time I ended up feeling tired and actually feel like "what if I could reserve this energy at the turf instead? or be at the lake for my brisk walking 'magical moments'.. But then...the feeling would last only for a few days and later the itchyness to be back in front of the class keeps crawling back.
Then, it dawn on me that I actually love sharing the little knowledge I have and seeing you" turn into that butterflies in front of me.."
I will never admit that I am the best teacher.Nor do I want any of my students to say Im a lousy one. "Yang sedang-sedang aje" is fine with me. But that is also not important. What I honestly hope is that every time when we meet, you learn something from me (well, I on the other hand, sometimes learn from you guys!) Especially the IT thingy which you will then give me that very sympathetic look while saying "Its ok madam..we understand.." A confirmation of our generation gap hahahahahah..
Ah.....but u know what? Everytime u say "Its ok madam...."do you know how it feels?? It feels good ...hehe.....
Let me share with you another thing that I feel.
Do you know that whenever I'm harping over the issue of "Please READ during your semester break" do you know how I feel?? I feel like if you were to take that advice...you would have learn ENGLISH in the MOST SIGNIFICANT way that you would never imagine!
Well, every English teacher can teach u grammar including me but by doing so, you are treating English like you r learning Maths! Gosh! where is the fun in it??? Maths is maths and English is English people! (Do you realize that I hv just tranformed myself into that 'motherly' tone?)
Well, because I love you, just like a mother, I will always say "PLEASE READ".
Hahahahha...enough of this..lets get bck to the issue of expressing ourselves before it is TOO LATE.
The other day, my daughter wrote something on a drawing block. She told me that she would put it inside my beg and asked me to take a look at it..
As usual...I was so busy running here and there, I soon forgot about it until this morning I found and opened it.
It says...... "Dari pada Teh untuk ibu. I love u ibu.Ibu sihat tak.Teh sayang ibu.Ibu kat mana.I love u ibu. Ibu beranak kan teh sakit sangat. Ibu jaga diri ok ibu jangan demam teh sayang ibu." ...
....gosh....my daughter is only 7 years old. How on earth she knows that giving birth is painful??? I must have mentioned it to her once when we had that conversation in the car. She asked me then, whether it was painful to bring her into this world. I said yes, of course.
I said..... Imagine teh..... like moving your bowels (well, what else can I say?).... but this time....the size you have to push is the size of a small football. Well.... that,made her drop her jaw....
Well, honestly people, the pain of giving birth is beyond any imagination..the pain is unbearable...undescribable.... unless you go through it yrself hehe...so love you mothers and your wives when you are married.

So, because of that 'card' from her...and also the sudden urge to express myself, here is my entry for tonight..and if I remember to scan that card from her, I will do so the next time around....and remember this...I DO LOVE YOU.

Take care

Do you laugh a lot?

2010-01-22T07:15:00.000-08:00

Assalamualaikum...

Dear all....
Do you often laugh? What's the frequency like?I mean is it the moderate kind of laughter hehe. or when you experience that teary eyed laughter til your tummy hurts and it went on for a few minutes....(you know what I mean).
Of course it depends on the joke.
When we talk about jokes, its funny that NOT ALL our jokes, people could understand. I remember staring to a class who laughed like crazy when I asked a student to give his view and he kept quiet. Then, his friend quickly said " Teacher..he is shy-shy cat.."
I was actually trying to comprehend what was so funny but it was a bit too late because the rest of the class did not PAUSE and THINK.
Yes, limitation in background knowledge and language barrier can also be among other factors. Not understanding the Malay translation that was 'intelligently' created by these translators can make you go like "what?"
But for all the errors (if we are not going to use them in academic setting) I think it's fine to just have a good laugh. I think it is high time my blog gets a pinch of laughter from you guys :-)
And so, this short posting of mine is an avenue for ALL OF YOU- to share any of the jokes that I might have missed hahahaha.
I know for sure...... that if I can laugh when Im with my children, students and close friends, it will really make my day..... cause I believe that laughter - can sometimes be the best medicine.

My Own Quote

2010-01-18T03:26:00.000-08:00

Assalamualaikum...

Dear all...
Thank you sooo much for your comments. Hem.....I was wondering...am I forcing you to say things or facts that must always sound right or good?? You can always give any comment which is thought provoking you know? ANd then you discuss among yourselves to see whether it is 100% true or partially true. So tonight, Im going to post my very own quotation (or else you would accuse me of not producing one aha!).
And I will tell you how I came up with this.

I was observing some parents who were sending their children to a motivational seminar which was the MAP (which stands for Motivasi Alihan Pelajar )by Dr.Tengku Asmadi. I enrolled my son because I love reading his book "Teknik Memotivasikan Anak Secara Positif". The closing ceremony was great. I saw how serious parents were in enrolling their children with the hope that some kind of 'hidayah' will be bestowed upon them after attending this course. Tears fell down my cheek as I witnessed these kids transforming themselves into such brave speakers.
Imagine, speaking to a crowd of not less than 500 people with high spirit and confidence. Look how motivated and brave children can turn out to be. A boy actually invited his father up the stage and hugged him while asking for forgiveness. For those who are pessimistic, they would say, the change wont last long.
To me, it was an emotional moment, a moment which might be a turning point in the boy's life. Yes my dear brothers and sisters. I believe we must stay positive in whatever we do. Because the world out there is so full of negativity, we have to differ and believe that something can be done to achieve excellence in life.
And so I salute those parents and thought of how lucky their spouses are for having partners who are concerned about their children's education. I hope you will turn out to be like these responsible parents so that we can be a stronger Ummah. In the middle of all these, I came up with this quote. I am not sure whether you can relate to this (as all of you are still not married). But one day, when you are, you can always come back to this blog and confirm whether it is true.

" When you have someone who takes good care of the family, what is there NOT to LOVE"

- Norhayati Mohd Rasip

What is marriage?

2010-01-15T17:48:00.000-08:00

Assalamualaikum..

Dear students,

We met again for the second time. I thought you guys wont turn up.Instead the attendance was full house! A whopping 52 of you. Hehehe..let us see whether we can maintain that!

Hem...our topic that night was mostly on "What is marriage?"You still remember "mithaqan Ghalidan?" which means, a serious covenant (agreement) that should not be taken lightly. It is a legal agreement between man and woman through which both sides enjoy the rights and obligations as husband and wife.
Then, we also discussed the criteria in choosing spouses. Religion or Faith has always been the top priority followed by financial competence, compatibility, loving and beauty. She doesnt have to be as beautiful as Maya Karin -if you consider her as beautiful (well I think she is)or as charming as Robert Redford (him again?).Hem...lets see...do we have a Malay good looking man as an example?Hem...I dont know any except for Rosyam Nor (Sorry!).But again, beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder. At the end of the day, beauty is also only skin deep. Do you agree? As a future wife, you want someone whom you can respect, be a good leader, guide you and your children to the right path as stipulated in the Quran.
I shall end this posting with a few wonderful quotations:

"A great marriage is not when the 'perfect couple' comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences". - Dave Meurer, "Daze of Our Wives"

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person".
- Mignon McLaughlin

"Soul-mates are people who bring out the best in you. They are not perfect but are always perfect for you". - Author Unknown

Do you have any other quotes to share? Whether they are your own or taken from other sources, I would surely welcome them. Thank you for taking time to visit this blog. I hope you learn something :-)

What is 'LOVE'?

2010-01-12T08:31:00.000-08:00

Dear students,
I was about to go to bed when I remembered my promise to post this issue tonight. Last night, after an 'act of betrayal' of not getting ready the outline (you know what), I decided to teach and later we stumbled upon this, in the many "types of introduction". This is type number 1 - asking one or more question. There are six types altogether and you can use any of them in your introduction. Well, let us see this example:

What is love? How do we know that we are really in love? When we meet that special person, how can we tell that our feelings are genuine and not merely infatuation? And, if they are genuine, will these feelings last? Love, as we all know, is difficult to define. But most people agree that true and lasting love involves far more than mere physical attraction. It involves mutual respect, the desire to give rather than take, and the feeling of being wholly at ease.

Well....what do you think? Agree? As someone who has gone through youth, I would like to know how you would view this question. Will your views later shape your thoughts and actions? Because love, can be both powerful and damaging. So strong that you might lose control and yet so pure, it will never be replaceable. Are you a 'realist 'or 'romantic' ? These two different schools of thought can never co-exist hand in hand but whatever it is, its your own choices and I honestly hope you will give a careful thought when the time comes. Why? Because I truly love all of you.
So, section 11! For all the laughter we had last night, I now invite you to share your views on this matter. Are you ready? 1, 2,...Go!

What make/s good parents?

2010-01-08T08:51:00.000-08:00

Assalamualaikum

Dear students,

We met for the first time last Thursday night. Me, a bit uncomfortable after having to teach on the fourth night in a row while your faces showed the 'what-am-i-doing-here' symptom.

Teaching this course will definitely expose myself to the danger of being backfired later(if u you what I mean). How can someone who was trained in Education will be able to teach parenting skills (as I honestly believe that mine has a lot more to be improved). So, I would consider this journey as a 'sharing' and learning experience for both of us.The learning outcome says, you guys must be able to posses the ability to :understand the holistic nature of Islam parenting and family management, understand that parenting skills are learnable (who would have thought so) and applicable to family life, able to apply parenting skills in individual and social contexts,identify and solve family problems from the Islamic perspective and to understand the importance of buiding a balanced child personality. Wow...these can be a bit overwhelming to you (and to me) dont you think? But you know what? Lets cut the chase. It is not so much of the small credit hour allocated for this course (I wish you have more than 0.5). And not so much of making sure that your attendance is taken everytime you come to class (even though it's 20% from yr total evaluation). I think , what is crucial is as you learn these skills (I wont use the word acquire as this is difficult to achive) you will continuously map and reflect from your own experiences as a daughter, or son and later, prepare yourselves as future mothers and fathers. You will further learn to notice the strength and weaknesses of the many marriages around you, be it from your own parents ,relatives and friends. What are the plus points or elements that exist in these marriages that we can emulate so that ours will be a successful one. This leads to your first task which is to share your view on what make/s good parent/parents. I believe your experience as a child will help you to answer this question. On that note, I am proud to announce, that you have just embarked yourselves in one of the most important courses in life - Family Management and Parenting. Welcome to the real world!

What money means to you.

2010-01-02T05:56:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the late posting. I was caught up with the holiday mood until an sms came in which says "Madam, where are we supposed to comment?''

Hahahahahaa..
Wait until you guys work okay!

It started one day as I was driving to class that morning, my car ( a six going seven year old car) suddenly gave way and wasnt about to budge at the traffic light. After jerking for a few times, I stepped on the accelerator harder thinking that I might have not slammed hard enough for it to move. The temperature was normal (so was the fuel tank indicator ok). To my dismay, it was obviously another episode of that "whatswrongwithyou!" moment. I had several breakdowns for the past two years and this was definitely not good. Both out of Kuantan, one in front of Batu Caves (where we stopped for ice-cream) and the other at Genting Sempah (no I didnt stop at the McD as I was very upset). People say that the best time to test your patience is whenever you are tested in unforeseen circumstances, you can still SMILE. Well, I DID. But, 0nly for the first ONE hour. The fact that the car was recently repaired (which cost close to RM3K), made we wonder what went on this time. The car was moving so slow that I had to switch on the hazard light to tell other road users that there was this "whatswrongwiththiscar" moment and not "whatswrongwiththisladydriver" instead. Two days later the temperature went up and I think I have had enough of these episodes! Therefore....., if I need to buy a new one, be it! Suddenly, it dawn on me......the down payment.....bloody sucking interests etc...if only MONEY is not a problem.....

So...I decided to ask my students what do they think MONEY means to them. It was section 32 who gave me numerous and amazing responses. How come these 21-22 year old students able to see the importance while I didnt when I was their age?? HOw naive could I be? No wonder I married early even though I didnt come from a rich family!(neither did shafiq's father). No regrets, lesson learnt and we moved on but wow!!!guys you really are matured young adults..So, let us see whether you can say and add something more like desire vs needs...or having to achieve more...what do you mean by this?..or having a better life..how do you define 'better'?..you will be able to buy what you want...so what is the limit? is that so?? Which means you might not have watched the movie 'Indecent Proposal' featuring Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson (and charming Roberd Redford phew..)

In case you havent, it is a story of a financially strapped couple who were betting on a quick trip to Las Vegas. They needed 50K to save their dreamed property. They won $25K the first day and continued betting the next. Obviously they lost and then came the billionaire (why does it have to be Robert Redford...ahhh) who offered $1 Million (this is in the 8o's ok? A million in the 80's is equal to ..I dont know...$5M perhaps?) to spend a night with Demi. Of course if it was u, the moment u hear this, you would say "No way!" and sure enough Woody said, "You go to hell!" (sorry I never use that). But, you got to watch the movie to have a better understanding :-)

So, I pass the ball to your court now, your comments are highly appreciated and let's get the ball rolling!

Cecelia Ahern's "Where Rainbows End"

2009-12-25T07:19:00.000-08:00

From the bestselling author of PS, I Love You, comes a heart-warming, absorbing tale of love and friendship. I will finish reading it and post my comment soon :-)

Welcome back Yati!

2009-12-20T07:42:00.000-08:00

Salam out there!
Perhaps today is another one of those awakening days in my life! The last time I posted (or even visited my blog) was about a year back! How time flies! And to read some of my old postings (which of course now sounds rather stupid) is so exciting. Was that really me whining all the way? It seemed that finishing my M.Ed was such a BIG deal! Gosh... But, yes it was! People out there...dont you agree that whenever we are striving for something, we always wish that it will end soon. And the moment it does, we look back and say, "Did I do that?" Exactly like the pain of giving birth.. you ll never want to do it all over again..but God is great..we always forget..as Tun Mahathir eloquently said "Melayu mudah lupa", I on the other hand will say "Mothers always forget" ..and for that blessing, husbands should love their partners more, not to take them for granted and thank God that they have someone willingly enough to give birth to their beautiful children...

Final Thoughts and Reflections

2008-04-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

Developing this e-portfolio is definitely a paradigm shift for me. Only one semester ago, the idea of having my own website was out of reached. I do realize now that I have to keep abreast with time. This is because the world around us changes quickly. I had to learn a lot from my students when it comes to techno features. I am a language teacher and I believe that if I learn what they know, then maybe some kind of connection can be made. Knowledge comes in many forms and this is one of them – the ability to create an e-portfolio (no matter how humble it is). Thank you to my lecturer, Dr. Edwin who has introduced us to this world of ‘blogging’ which was once alien to me. There are still a lot to learn and I can sense that one of the reasons to pursue professional development is to acquire new knowledge and skills. It helps me to keep excited about my work and combat negativity in my teaching. As today is going to be my final exam, I want to congratulate my lecturer again for providing us insights into pursuing our professional development. I hope to practise what I have learned and continue with lifelong learning.

Frustration Again...

2008-04-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

How can I be so careless….After spending almost two hours, uploading some materials into my e-portfolio, I suddenly realized that my internet connection was disconnected! I did the most undesirable thing at this point of time – I didn’t save my work at all. Hem…what am I going to do now....Take a deep breath yati...This is the third time it happened to me and God…please have mercy on me. Probably I was too engrossed in my work that I didn’t do the most important thing. I suppose all my course mates are having sleepless nights finishing our assignments and revising for the final exam. For an incident of this kind to occur…I really need to pull myself together and take it as easy as I can (I’m trying okay..). It is almost impossible to keep everything on time. My students’ assessments came in when we are one week away from our final exams. The scripts are argumentative essay-form (where citation forms are crucial elements) plus two short paragraphs answers. Can you imagine how I felt as I was marking the papers? On top of that, I had to travel to Gombak for validation of marks and etc!!!. Why am I recording this incident? It serves as a reminder to me, not to proceed with my PhD (if ever!) while I am still working. There is no joy of learning when you have very limited time to explore the knowledge and not being able to let it ‘sinks’ in long-term memory. Yes, I love the lectures…but gosh…please do it full-time for the second time around. I am drumming negative thoughts am I? Stop it yati! At least what you can do is go to sleep. It’s almost 2 a.m. Pleasant thoughts now...No more regrets. Just go with the flow... Life is just great when you know where you are heading…be calm and everything will be over soon..

The Making of my e-portfolio..Help! I am almost drowning...

2008-04-05T06:02:00.000-07:00

Oh dear..I forgot that part of the reason why I'm keeping this blog is to share my experiences in developing my e-portfolio that is on www.freewebs.com/norhayatimohdrasip. I am required to post entries on thoughts and reflections on designing, developing and maintaining this e-portfolio. Let me begin with my selection of website for hosting my e-portfolio. At first I went to a different website address (http://www.freeweb.com/ - without the -s) and accidently register myself to a website for models! I believed I did that because I saw images or silhouettes of sexy figures in all the templates! For someone who is not techno savy like me, it caused me two hours of browsing and attempting to head somewhere and finally realized that I had chosen the wrong website (just because I forgot the letter -s!). This assignment is really testing my level of ambiguity tolerence as I am not keen to spend hours in front of the computer just to figure things out! I would rather read a good book or go swimming than attempting to upload (or is it download?) my photos, not knowing whether it will turn-out in my web. So viewers, what you actually see on my e-portfolio is definitely my own tortoise work, designed and developed by me without any professional help. The first few photos that I managed to upload caused an uproar of joy and happiness that you would not have imagined..

2008-03-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

22nd March 2008.

End of Class.

Last week was the last week meeting my beloved students for this semester. I taught two subjects; English for Academic and Occupational Purposes. My students come from different schools or what they call ‘Kulliyyah’ at our university. The thing which I admire about them is their hardwork and determination in accomplishing their assignments. Of course there are a few who still practice the ‘last minute’ submission but overall they are committed to their work. However, I hope they won’t just be any typical dedicated person who goes to class with the mere attention of getting A’s. Life is not just about getting A’s. Yes, the A’s ARE IMPORTANT but there are OTHER IMPORTANT SKILLS that they should acquire in life. I have seen a lot of successful people having these powerful skills which among others are communication and inter-personal skills. They maneuver life as if nothing can stop them from achieving their dreams. Their pure perseverance and commitment towards their goals are derived from classes, seminars, talks, meetings attended after the formal education setting takes place. The courage to change, accompanied with good attitude help these individuals to discover their true potential as human beings. Yes, we are indeed special my dear students, and if you are reading this, I believe we are born to be winners, to achieve great things in life and be successful. Therefore, I’m going to include the definition of success here, so that it can be a guidance to all of us. I believe I agree with this view of what real success is.

Success

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

2008-03-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

2nd March 2008.

End of Class.

Last week was the last week meeting my beloved students for this semester. I taught two subjects; English for Academic and Occupational Purposes. My students come from different faculty or what they call ‘Kulliyyah’ at our university. The thing which I admire about them is their hardwork and determination in accomplishing their assignments. Of course there are a few who still practice the ‘last minute’ studying but overall they are committed to their work. However, I hope they won’t just be any typical dedicated person who goes to class with the mere attention of getting A’s. Life is not just about getting A’s. Yes, the A’s ARE IMPORTANT but there are OTHER IMPORTANT SKILLS that they should also have with them once they graduated from university. I have seen a lot successful people having these powerful skills which among others are communication and interpersonal skills. They maneuver life as if nothing can stop them from achieving their dreams. Their pure perseverance and in commitment towards their goals are derived from classes, seminars, talks, meetings attended after the formal education setting takes place. The courage to change and accompanied with good attitude help these individuals to discover their true potential as human being. Yes, we are indeed special my dear students.. and if you are reading this, I believe we are born to be winners..to achieve great things in life and be successful. Therefore, I’m going to include the definition of success so that it can be a guidance to all of you. I believe I agree with this view…

Success

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Special Retreat

2008-03-08T01:06:00.000-08:00

Hem..
We are now at MS Garden Hotel Kuantan, finishing our assignments. By the way, today is the General Election and here we are performing our duties towards our studies. There are five of us; Marina,Mona,Mahani,Shafinas and I. Marina actually traveled all the way from Rompin! 3 group assignments need to be completed by the time we check-out of this hotel tomorrow. I am putting this in my blog as a memory to our dedication towards professional development hahaha!

Its a New Beginning..

2008-03-06T22:03:00.000-08:00

27th February 2008
1.50 a.m.
3rd and final semester.
EDU 5256 Professional Development in Language Education.
M.Ed (TESL) UPM.

1st Entry

It’s kind of weird starting my journal entry at this hour. I have just returned from my night class and later watched `American Idol’ Season 6 (Repeat). It is definitely NOT easy to study at this hour, especially when your mind and body are totally exhausted. However, at the spur of the moment, I forced myself to switch on my computer in my attempt to combat my `dreadful’ disease – PROCASTINATION. So, here it goes..

I’m an English teacher who is currently teaching at a University in my state. My formal teaching hours is 24 plus 10 extra hours teaching public courses conducted under the same university. Yes, I do feel this is too much for me. There are days when I feel like I’m `slaughtering’ myself; wondering why did I ever get myself into this kind of monotonous and unprofitable career. In the midst of looking for answers, I accidentally embark myself in a postgraduate study under University Putra Malaysia in TESL. I remember it was the last day for registration and my good friend Mona was there to witness how reluctant I was to join a programme which I had no interest in. As I had expected, I was doomed with endless assignments, quizzes and exams which must have contributed to the number of grey hairs and my children getting thinner.

But boy I was wrong. I realized that it wasn’t just another piece of degree to add to my collection. I began to reflect on so many things in life through the lectures which I attended during the weekends. If I had taken these lectures solely for the purpose of exams, I wouldn’t be sending my 4 year old daughter (then) to an English medium pre-school which is situated 16km away from my house. There is something about the critical period hypothesis which bothers and makes sense to me as a teacher and mother. I am not criticizing the previous pre-school that she went to. I just wanted her to be familiar with another language which is English. It was such a shame that even as an English teacher, I hardly spoke in English to my children! What an irony…