Time Wasted and Wasting People

Yesterday a friend wanted me to drive him to town for some errands. He wanted me to pick him up at 4.00 pm, and graciously I said OK.


And then at almost 4.00 pm, he texted me and said if I can come much later, say 4.20 pm because he had to meet some people who owed him money. And again I said, OK.


Came 4.20 and I was already at the designated spot, he texted me again to wait until he arrived because the people who promised to meet him didn't show up yet.


This time I didn't say OK, and you can say I was royally pissed.


I hate waiting for people. Because all my life, very few people waited for me.
WHY?
Because I am ALWAYS on time.

Classy people are rarely late, and as I literally have CLASS(es) (as a teacher), I am not known to be late. That's why I secretly look down upon tardiness, no matter who you are. That hundred ringgit worth of watch on your wrist is not only a fashion statement, it also tells time.

Once a long long time ago, a dear friend made me appreciate my very own personal time. He had me waiting for him 5 hours, while he was sleeping away the afternoon, and I only knew about this when his mother picked up the phone and told me his son had just woke up, and was still lazing around the house, when he called me much earlier saying he was already halfway to see me.

It really broke my heart.... (and this guy never see me again)

After that, I made it a personal agenda to tell my friends and (fewer) new friends how I HATE waiting. You make me wait, better have a very valid reason WITH proof. And I lost some friends this way.... but hell, its much better this way. You don't respect me, and I don't have to keep you as a friend.

p.s. - I was not angry with my earlier friend as he KNOWS my wrath is akin to Smaug, the Dragon. I told him to waste his friends, saying if they owed money from you, you have actual power over them, not the other way around. (Lessons over money lending soon....)



We, Teachers are under Attack! (because of the bloody haze!)

This godawful haze, originated from Indonesia has created many problems for the neighbouring countries. The rise in respiratory illnesses spiked this time of the year. A lot of outdoor events, some major and important are also cancelled because of the worsening air quality.

And schools were closed for days too..... People should stay indoors for health reasons.

This created a new problem, for parents at least. When schools are closed, where do you put your children for care? Most parents cannot bring their children to work, and the hyper active ones will bring major headaches without supervision.

So where do the parents go to vent their anger and frustration? The Internet, especially FACEBOOK.
Who they blamed? The TEACHERS for closing schools.

The war between these narrow minded parents and teachers online has gone critically viral these couple of weeks.

I must make this very clear; The decision to close school was made by the Ministry of Education, not us lowly teachers. A directive was issued for the schools to be closed for certain times in certain areas. And the schools were closed not by whim, but to save a great many children from travelling to school in hazardous situation. (So why blame the teachers? We don't create the haze to close schools for pleasure). 

Some of the comments by these frustrated parents are dangerously scathing. Other than blaming the teachers for closing schools, they accused most teachers to be improperly trained  and not really serious about the well being and education of their children.

And some comments are seriously not proper to be typed here.

Teachers retaliated (including yours truly) by pointing how narrow minded these adults were. We teachers ARE NOT glorified nannies, to care for your children while they work.
We educate and improve minds and body. A school is NOT a daycare centre.

(My actual nuclear bomb; If you cannot care for your own children for a couple of days without us, you have no business whatsoever to breed!)

About the level of education of teachers, those of us with high levels would seek these misguided parents in their Facebook domain, challenging them to see whose education is higher. (Mind you, we teachers got so many university grads and even PhDs. ) After heavy fire, many FB accounts of said victimized parents were terminated by the owners.

It maybe petty and bullying. but WAR IS WAR.

There are still a great many parents who thanked us teachers during these hours. A lot of the people understand, and are still happy to send their children to school, trusting us with the education and growth. For this kind of parents, we teachers are very happy to accept the responsibility.

Now picture time; (something to show that a teacher is not only good in class, and I already posted this in my FB account to prove)

This is me calmingly waiting for something....

Here, in a hospital ward, at midnight...... (seriously, after midnight)

For this student of mine, who had his foot stitched because of an accident at the hostel room. 

We are TEACHERS, and We do Serve.

But We are NOT your damn NANNIES!

p.s.
- Facebook can be a very very bad place to be when people with limited intellect decided to share their piece of mind :P

I am a School Warden, and Hear Me Roar

I am just back from looking after some 300+ students in the school hostel. Its only babysitting the students, making sure they do stuff on schedule and hoping nothing bad happens during my time on duty.

What are the bad things that may happen you asked? Children are still children. Accidents during sports. They might fall off the stairs. Brawling rarely happens, but its a possibility. Some students may have high fever in the middle of the night. They might got food poisoning. Unauthorized personals invading the hostels. Or the students decided they wanted to go out of the hostel grounds without permission. The list can be quite long....

There are 7 wardens, all of us are also teachers, three men and four women. Only me and a fellow male teacher live outside the school compound. (I love my house anyway, and do not wish to stay apart long with it). Close proximity to the students will be BAD for a warden's health. There'll be constant knocking on the door, and endless stream of questions from both students and parents during the weekend. From 'when can we go out' to 'can I bring my child out for her grandma's wedding'.

Every wardens has his / her own style. And mine is 'in your face' approach.

If I don't like a student (behavior) I will tell the rest that I hate that particular human being and his associates will also feel the heat. I don't usually sugarcoat my words because I always believe honesty is the best policy.

Some may wonder in shock, WTH are you posing as a teacher then? From my 14 years experience, my observation of human (student) nature is; they will never change in school. A good student may improve, but an average or the bad ones may continue being so for the rest of the year. I am talking in behavioral terms, not academic. A tardy boy will continue being late, and a hardworking girl will continue creating great diagrams in her homework.

So what kind of children do you have?

The best way to change children's mind for the better is by telling them why they must do so, making them UNDERSTAND what will happen if they fail. Yes, talk to them to nail in the facts, properly.

This may prove very hard because usually peer pressure will destroy this holy task of yours.

So I always turns to BLACKMAILING instead. The next best thing.

You don't do what I ask, I will never look at your face again. You will make 5 copy of this correction paper if you fail my test. You will stand the entire hour in my class if you are late. You will acknowledge yourself as an idiot if you fail to answer me, even after I told you to read. You will sit in the middle of the corridor if you fail to hand in your work etc etc.

Harsh. (Not very) brutal. But it works. I don't do much shouting anymore when I found out that the results will be much the same without any screaming. Now I aim for their ego.

Anyway, picture time!

I used my younger prefects to set up the hall for yesterday's ceremony. These students work directly under me and know what will happen if I don't get my way. So everything went fast and smoothly. If I use the average students instead, sharp and abusive words may have to be expressed to have the job done. (They will play... oh how they play....)
Oh and this was about 930 in the evening....

The next day, when all of them are in school prefects uniform. I didn't have to tell them twice (now that's a teacher's wet dream). You girls sweep and you boys pick up the pigeons' feathers (our school is infested with these flying vermin). Observe and Obey, my personal motto.

You just cannot win the war by playing nice. The Dark Side of the Force can have things done too :)

Tales From The School 1

I was refilling my Parker fountain pen from an inkwell at the common table in the teachers' lounge this morning during a free period.


"That's a shiny pen. Must be expensive. How much you bought it?" a female teacher who was sitting nearby, watching me asked.


"Somewhere below RM 100." I answered curtly as I didn't like this particular older woman. She's a known backstabber. 


"It's a lot of fuss using fountain pens.Young people these days must go with the times. Even I've never seen teachers my age using fountain pens anymore." See? She's ancient, chatty and patronizing the wrong sort of person (i.e. me).


"I like it."


"Bah, I think you just love showing people your expensive stuff and all. You don't fool me."


I just hate this particular bi***. If we were living in darker times, I'd ask her outside for a duel to the death. She just wont let it rest.


"I like it because it reminds me of my DEAD father. He always used fountain pens. You do have a father, don't you?" I said this coldly while screwing the pen together. She did not deserve a glance from me.


That kept her quiet.


My late father was quite a legend in his own right. He was a great teacher in Economic and Literature, and phenomenal in sports. The principals who ever had him will never be willing to part from his service. He was the only male teacher who coached netball in the entire state. Most elderly teachers know him.
Sometimes it galls me because I am his exact opposite, like all his negative energy was channeled into me...
I teach Science.
I hate all kind of sports.
I am not easily friendly with people like him.
The list can go on.


That genetics for you. Sometimes monsters are born among good people.

My Second Run As MC

This is rather stale news. I was the MC for the school's end of the year dinner last Monday. 

They wanted the ceremony to be 'a bit informal'.

I did my research on the proper text, wrote my own script by referring to some fantastic materials I found on the net. Fitted in some golden pantoems and traditional poems for taste.

I was defying the order. I try to be as formal as I can.

During the ceremony, with my almost chocolaty voice, I performed rather well (this is not simply self appreciation, ok? I have a few listeners who said I did great). Even though there were a few disruptions, the dinner was a success. Everybody was happy and got presents each.

But no..... some people are never satisfied in peaceful times. SOMEBODY must tell people behind me that I wasn't following the exact protocol. That SOMEBODY had never got the nerve to tell it to my face. 

That particular SOMEBODY rejected to be MC in the first place, and when the job was thrusted upon me,  I just say, "ok". So you can imagine how disgusted I was with that bitch's nerve.

I did well by preparing the text formal-style, if I followed the feather-brained bitch to be informal, I'd end up being a laughing stock.

p.s. - I just said "I don't care what you think and next year she can MC" loudly so that particular someone can hear in school.

True Tales; The Unfortunate Boy and Society's Trash

Let me tell you a true story about two friends who also happens to be students of mine...

X (real name cannot be disclosed for secrecy sake) is a shy and quiet boy who rarely expressed an opinion in my Physics class. He is also very clever, but alas, like a smashed mirror, all brilliance but still, a broken item (I will tell you why in a moment).

Y is an extrovert kind of person, who'll bug you everywhere, at anytime of the day. He's not really bright, but he can be quite helpful if he puts his mind into the job.

Both X and Y, in my professional opinion, are not really 'right' in the head, but not in a bad way.

So anyway, one morning, a few days ago, X and Y decided to visit me during the weekend, by bus. My esteemed mother asked me the same morning to buy a notebook computer for my handicapped brother, and gave me a lot of money for the purchase. So I called up the boys and told them to stay put at the bus stand, so I could pick them up to accompany me to the city. This they did.

So the three of us went to a computer store where I bought an Acer notebook computer immediately (because it's not mine and I was a bit annoyed to be woken very early just to do shopping for others). "What you want to do next?" I asked my students because I don't have the afternoon planned.

"Let's go to the movies," they said. I agreed because it's a hobby of mine anyway.

So we drove to the nearest cinema and I bought 3 tickets for the 4.00 pm show (because we missed the 2.00 pm show for 'FarCry'). Then I let the boys roam the mall, as long as they didn't do anything stupid that require my attendance.

I received a call soon after, from an unknown number;

"Is this Mr Ramzu?"

"Yes."

"Where are you?"

"I am somewhere near a cinema?"

"You are going to watch a movie?"

"Maybe. Who is this?"

"I am X's mother."

I will not continue the dialogue , but will tell the gist of it. She is ANNOYED that I brought her son to an INAPPROPRIATE place (cinema/mall). She said I was IRRESPONSIBLE and SELFISH. She said her brilliant son would be scarred for life, being somewhere near places with BAD INFLUENCE. She went on and on and on. I was quiet because 1. My parents never teach me to talk back to older people and 2. She has all the right to be angry for her son and 3. I am not that stupid to start an argument.

And when knowing her son is going out with Y, she commented thus;

"Isn't Y the Trash of Society?" ('Trash of Society' refers to people who contributed zero, useless individuals, e.g. drug addicts, snatch thieves etc). Y is not an excellent boy in study or behavior, yet a mother calling another's child such is completely unacceptable for me.

So, after she hung up, I rounded up her son and Y and immediately started the journey to send them back home, thus abandoning the cinematic activity. X was very adamant about my decision, because he really wanted to watch a movie. He told me that he has NEVER been in an outing with friends (that was his FIRST), and also never been to a cinema (unlike most of his peer, 17 yrs olds). X was never good at expressing his feeling, and after talking to his parent, now I understood why my student behaves oddly. Something is wrong at home.

When I was his age, even younger, my parents would persuade me to go outside and 'get a life'. They even gave me money to go to the cinema or anywhere I like as long as I got back home in the evening. They knew I am bright enough not to be caught in any sticky situation.

So I pity X because from what I witnessed and information from his friends, plus from himself, this unfortunate boy has 'no life' (normal social life). I can predict the outcome in the far future, but I would not be too specific here. Let's say when you fenced a young one, he'll fly away and never return when the opportunity comes. I told X to prepare for this future, but never get into an argument with his parents. Sometimes people do hard things for love.

As for Y, he said he was used to it. I told him to buck up and change his way, or the infamous tittle would be truly his, years to come.

For the first time in my 7 years career as a teacher, a parent had called me IRRESPONSIBLE. I wish I can sit down with this particular woman and tell her that sometimes, an accusation like that can be harmful to people's state of mind.

I will remember this.

An Outing with My Pet - Ferret Hilton a.k.a. Kaos

I am just back from the night market, with a couple of friends and my ferret. We left Kaos alone in the car as I bought 1.5 kg of gizzard (my fav part of the chicken after the heart) and my friends got some tasty food and drinks for our supper.

We took the foodstuf to a nearby recreational area, spread the food on a bench and took my ferret out from the car for him to roam (on a leash). And as his previous owner told me a long long time ago, a ferret is a chick / kid magnet. Boy, he was right.

Twenty one young boys and six girls touched my ferret tonight. Several more just watched from afar, either too scared or their parents wouldn't allow them to come nearer. And people do ask what animal was it. All of them never heard of a ferret, or its closest domestic cousin, the civet. I predicted that there are only four ferrets in this state. You see, ferrets are VERY costly here. Though they are exteremely cute and lovable, ferrets are not for beginners.

They need a lot of attention. Eat high quality cat food (expensive). Only a very huge cage is suitable. Two or three hours of playtime daily. Etc. A ferret is not a cat or a small dog. Our local vet admitted that he never held one before (so I NEED to pray my Kaos is always healthy).

Cons aside... this little mammal is the BEST pet I ever invested in. He's funny and cuddly, very active and curious. As I talked to my friends, Kaos never tire of sniffing around, padding towards children who were so fascinated with him. He might feel like Paris Hilton, amongst the paparazzi. Ha ha ha ha ha.

This is a very joyful evening for me and Kaos. The only thing that marred my happy feeling was when my friends telling me about a woman and her boyfriend who were walking behind me while I was playing with my ferret. She was the only person among many who made a disgusted face, complete with the "Eeeewww! Eeeewww!" soundtrack. My friends knew if I saw her, I'd spit fire and poison to the ignorant bitch and her poor excuse of a lover, so they kept quiet as the couple walked past behind me. They were right, I'd chase the stupid duo around town if I have to.

Anyway, here's a pic of me and Kaos before we return back. It's good to gloat once in a while, non?

Evil Teacher Strikes Again

Parents are allowed to come into class today for the 'Meet the Teachers' programme. This is held twice a year, after the mid term and the final term exams. Parents are briefed about the school's policy and they can ask the teachers about the performance of their children in class.

I am the class teacher of 2 C. There are 14 boys and 15 girls under me and I have their result sheets in my hands. I have a lot of things to say to visiting parents... Let's say today is a good day for revenge.

So the influx of parents started at 9.00 am. There were more parents than I expected, but no matter. I used to stutter when I was young but this grown man has a new nickname - Silvertongue, I can talk my way to people's destruction.

Parents were surprised. Parents were saddened. Parents were angered (not at me). Woe to the students who vexed me in class. I told EVERYTHING to their parents. The laziness. The truancy. The rudeness. And a couple of fathers SLAPPED their precious daughters in front of the entire class, so ashamed of their own spawns. Tears were shed, not that I care.

I've warned them before. Cross me and you'll get what you deserve. I was actually smiling while other people were in shock.

But I was not a complete beast, ok? Good and polite students (I treasure these more than clever students) received glowing praises from me. And the look on their parents' faces were of pride and joy. We talked about the children progress and most parents just agreed whatever advice I recommended for them.

Tomorrow is another schooling day. And after school I'm going to watch 'Transformers 2' with eleven people I work with. :)

Ruining lives (of snobbish students) is a hard but satisfying work. :)

And I've read this quote somewhere by Alfred Hitchcock;

"Revenge is sweet and not fattening." How true.

Words From An Educated Psychopath 2

"What are you going to give me next week?" - for Teacher's Day (next Monday). Yes, please be mockingly horrified - I am a teacher who ASKED for his presents (and would even go the extra mile of slashing marks from exams if I don't get what I want). I am evil anyway.

"Did your mother dropped you in the gutter when you are small? And forgot to wash your mouth afterwards?" - to a REALLY stupid, stubborn and bad-mouthing student. I don't normally attack my student's personality that harsh, but when you keep on poking - expect clawmarks from an angry dragon. 

Words From An Educated Psychopath

You guys have your own things to brag about everyweek; either in illustrations or the very clever wordplays. I have no time to do sketches, and I am not patient enough to plow with words. So starting from today, I'd just entertain you all with a weekly dose of whatever my students got from me; either bombardments or words of encouragement. (Monday or Tuesday)

"I don't care what your Chemistry and Biology teachers tell you how it should be done. I want it written my way and you can do nothing about it. I am the law in this lab." - of science experiment reports, when students said they wrote differently in Chemistry and Biology. They have to rewrite it -

"No matter how many of you failed or passed with flying colours, my pay is still the same. Better still, my pay is elevated every year. You don't even know if you will ever got a job." - to students who believe they can do harm @ play head-o-logy with me -  

X-MEN Origins: Wolverine SUCKS!!

The title said it all. They should've put more budget in cgi-realism. Wolverine's claws looked as fake as plastic. Nuff said cause I am giddy for lack of sleep.

Do You Believe in The Occult? (Read at Your Own Peril)

I am just back from meeting an Indonesian shaman who lives near the Hang Jebat Stadium. My mom, aunt and a couple of female relatives accompanied me to meet this ordinary looking guy who said he was some great and powerful witch-doctor / shaman / miracle-man.

Yes, I have a big and evil demon inside me. And they had been unsuccessful to remove him.

I do believe in the paranormal because I had witnessed two unexplained phenomena myself. But I will only tell you if you wish to know about them. I do not like to seem like a crazy person who make things up.

Back to the darkness within... I was never afraid of the dark. I like the dark and I do have my classes in poor light, to the protest of many students who wished the lights to be switched on. I was born bad and had to act my way through life to be accepted. Only my late father knew about the true me, but it was way too late, because shortly then, he passed away.

Anyway back to this shaman guy who said pretty much convincing things, saying excerps from the Holy K0ran to make his points. His home was small and stuffy, and it got worse when he smoked in that windowless hut. My aunts kept asking him various questions; mostly about remedies to so many ailments. He answered by giving the recipes most commonly found in the folks medicine tomes. I am not impressed.

Then, he asked me to cleanse myself by fasting for 3 days. Seriously no food and drinks for 3 straight days! (The usual method of fasting; no eating and drinking from sun-up to sun-down). I almost laughed in his face. It's hard and impossible for me (as I need to drink gargantuan amount of water, it's diabetes insipidus). The guy said, by fasting, I cleanse my body (which is true) and he will be able to insert himself into big wicked me (which I have serious doubts) and drive the horror away.

I studied the guy carefully... and instantly saw something that made my doubts reasonable. Moslem men cannot wear gold, as stated in the Holy Book and Sunnah. This man was wearing a golden necklace under his shirt. So I do not need to heed an order from someone who breaks a religious law. Even I, as bad as you can only imagine, never wear gold.

Tell me what you think. Have you meet these so called holy men before? 

This is Going To Be A Very Tough Week....

I was finishing my Physics class at 12.40 pm when one of the girls said; "Sir, what are we going to do for this afternoon tuition class?"

And I said,"WHAT???!!!"

Bloody hell! I have forgotten about the extended class after school for Fifth Formers. I was hoping to go back earlier and take a nap.

Tomorrow I have a meeting for a rocket launching competition this coming Saturday. Ok ok,  not real ballistic missiles, just water propelled rockets. It's a Physics thing.

I hate meetings. It would take too much time and I will lose my nap, AGAIN!

Next week, we will having our 'Science & Maths Week'. Our Head of Department is asking left and right about the preparation, wanting everything to be ready and perfect. I dislike perfectionist. Such people will not leave room for creativity.

I am in charge of photography, the Physics exhibition and 'The A-Math-Zing Race' (NOT my idea,  I think it sounds silly).

p.s. - Well, at least I returned back and had my late nap finally. Pandy is so cute, I am so glad I have him even though he's messy about pooping! Kiki is toying with a cockroach now. I hope she is not planning to eat the poor insect.

I Hate Camping!!

I was forced to join a camping programme. I hate it i hate it i hate it i hate it!!

My late father was a Royal Scout, and met my mother (also a Scout Leader) during a Scouts Jamboree a long time ago. They have 5 children who also LOVES the outdoors except the eldest, ME. I hate it!

I'd pay good money to anyone who would replace me. But unfortunately, everybody hates camping too.

Not My Fault People Abandon You!

My cousin in KL had her wedding ceremony last Sunday (thus the IKEA visit). This Saturday the second wedding ceremony will be held in Perak, zillions of miles away (for me).

In another note, I am EXTREMELY busy this few days, and also for the whole of next week. (But please take note that I ALWAYS have time to do entries and comment on people's). The earlier few months are always busy for most teachers. The school holidays is approaching (in a week), and there are many things to finish before we all can go have fun in the bloody sun.

Back to my cousin's wedding ceremony in Perak... My aunt called me this evening asking if I was free to join the ceremony. My mom and another aunt decided to go there by bus and she said I should not let my mom go by herself. The lack of drivers for the trip, as I am one of the best in the family, plus my car's rather big (ha ha ha). I told her that I have a PTA meeting this Saturday which I cannot skip and never told her that I don't like to drive long distance. Oh and anyway, my mom and auntie are ok with the bus. I feel like a very bad nephew.

My cousin's parents; my aunt and uncle are good people. They attended my sister's ceremony and mine without fail. But UNFORTUNATELY their daughter's lack of judgement makes life hard and hurtful for many relatives. The holidays is just a week away for GOODNESS SAKE! Can't you wait another week for the ceremony, so EVERYONE can attend?!

Because of some poor judgement from a hothead girl who CANNOT wait to be married, there are now great gaps between us and her family.

The parents are good people, unfortunately my cousin is not. So my mom, her brother, sister and a few relatives will attend for the sake of my aunt and uncle ONLY.

Be respectful to the elderly. They can disown you.