The Weeks in Pictures

It's the rainy season, until October. It rained every day, and I like it very much because I prefer the cold. This is taken at 730 am in the morning, when the school was about to start. My plants get more than enough water and the weed grew like, oh well, weed. Have to pay somebody to have them cut soon... 

The bane of them all.... Science presentation. I took the month off teaching and forced my students to do it instead. The result? TERRIBLE. But they appreciate me a lot more when they understand how difficult it was to make people understand, making the complicated, simpler i.e. be a teacher.

(Most presentation were show-and-tell. They read from texts and were not able to describe the process clearly, or even methodically)

I am teaching again as usual, after warning them to never ever get in my way again while teaching. 

They agreed, readily. Lesson learned.

Students at the assembly square.... on a Friday.

My multi coloured chili plant. I love this plant, as it flowers and produced chilies everyday.  My thai basil and mint are doing ok. But my basil plant died of fungus infection (damn it!). I may want to but some flowering plants soon.

I love sunflowers, but was not able to grow some. 

This was taken during a fire drill sometime ago. The firemen talked about how to extinguish certain type of fire, using two types of fire extinguishers. I was chosen as the teacher representative to extinguish the petrol-fueled fire in the picture.

It's a 'meh' experience. (Arson was a childhood hobby).

Me and my niece at a wedding reception. I drove my mom here, her friend's son had this ceremony at a new university hall.

My niece Qasrina is having ice cream as dessert. When I was her age, we couldn't get any ice cream., because it was never part of the menu. But as weddings got bigger and more exorbitant, the menu and decor reflect thus.

People eating in the hall, wedding reception.

The place where the bride and groom shall take their place for the guest to admire, see. This is also called sitting-in-state ceremony @ 'bersanding'. 

The set up in this picture in typical for a big wedding, where smaller weddings may have 1/3 of this size.

The ultra luxury weddings may even have living flowers and armies of followers to company the newlyweds on stage.

(I rarely wait for the bride and groom, I like to leave early before the rush) 

The food. Typical high cholesterol, glorious blood clotting food!

Fat is flavour!

And lastly, some of my students accompanying me to eat at some nearby food shop. I do this sometimes when I stayed in school as warden for the day.

To answer why I am infamous to some people.... it is mostly my own fault. I was a fiery teacher who spewed profanity whenever I don't get my way, even in class. Not only my words were harsh, I ruled all my classes with an iron fist.

Students tolerate me, hate me, or whatever.

And these students will tell their parents, and their parents will contact the people above - why is this monster teaching our children?!!

I don't know where you come from.... But if a teacher cannot scold you for anything... what will you end up being? Spare the rod and ruin the children.

But no worry. The new Government, with the new Education Minister is accelerating the rot by restricting teachers a lot. "The students cannot be harmed emotionally. The students cannot be scolded. No punishment will ever meted. etc "

Don't worry, it was the end of Fiery Ramzu. Well Hello Docile Discipline Teacher!   

Tuberculosis, Duck Faces and Mega Coffee

It has been sometime I lost contact with a good friend of mine who lives in the next state (two months I think). And last week I found out that he had been admitted into the hospital because of tuberculosis, that severe lung infection. With the school recently open, I was unable to set some time to meet him (I would be too tired to drive far after a tiring day at work).

Today, a few friends and I promised to give him a visit.

A couple of my friends who spent the night in my living room. I have a guest room, with a spare bed at the back of my house, but they prefer to sleep in the front. Witness how my teddy bear was choked during sleep. This is already 8 a.m. in the morning.  

 I was surprised when my sick friend instructed us to wear masks when in the same room as him. Then I remembered that tuberculosis (T.B) is a highly infectious disease. So everybody wears a mask. See the masks... they looked like duck beaks! I wore mine for five minutes and took it off because I could not breathe easily. My friends kept wearing theirs though... 

 This is my sick friend. He was very very ill before, and is way better now. In fact, days ago he was unconscious and in a very bad place. We are very happy that he is recovering well. At the time we arrived, he was about to start eating his hospital lunch, which is rather unappetizing for me (boiled vegetables and a boiled egg with some gravy). 

 We bought him some sweetened bread and he said he cannot eat them. So I took half of them back. We left after an hour an a half, me still not wearing the mask. We were required to wash our hands with soap or disinfectants outside his room.

I am so sorry that we cannot come much earlier. I am so sad that a friend had to be too ill to contact his loved ones. Hope you recover soon Noorfairul Faizal :)

We will walk and talk together soon.

I have to include this picture of the biggest cup I ever seen and bought. On our way back, we stopped at a food court and I saw a small stall selling hazelnut coffee milk. While my other friends had their lunch, I only have this to sip / drink / quaff. This cup is almost 4 times bigger than Starbucks' and 3 times cheaper! Yay to enterprising new businesses!! 

And a friend is generous enough to give us 28 grams of Calvisius caviar to take home. We finished the entire stuff in one seating, with rice! Hahaha!

p.s. - I don't post pics of my own face this time because there were none that are worth posting. pity me :(

The Haze is Finally Gone. Yay! And Brutality Gets You Famous.

 This was the view from my school during the haze. The air was dirty and understandably unhealthy.

People stayed indoors and many events got cancelled for health reasons. 

Respiratory illnesses spiked in the entire region, and there were deaths cases, especially in the country of origin, Indonesia.

Imagine not being able to see 50 metres in front of you! 

 Now this is what I mean when we can see for miles in a clear day. The haze is no more! Thanks to the shifting winds, which blew the haze back to its originator. I just love blue skies!

The monsoon is here, here expecting a lot of wind and rain.

And floods too, yay!

(Both of the pictures were taken at the same time in the morning, before I attend my class)

 This was taken last Friday during a ceremony. The school is on top of a hill, yet we still have two hills which are higher next to the school. I sit at the front, but usually I walk around the students, and buildings, just because I can :)

And this was taken this morning, in a ceremony celebrating the many achievements of the hostel students and wardens. It took a lot of energy to control the boys, especially the older ones who think they know everything. But never mind that, most of them who were against me will be gone next year. And we shall build our empire anew!
I am the most brutal warden of the seven, heck, the scariest teacher in school. Yet, I am abnormally popular amongst students. Fascinating character attracts attention.

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 :)

Hazing the Neighbours....

This picture was taken earlier today, at 10.50 am. Nope, it wasn't fog. It's the bloody haze.

My school is on top of a hill, Bukit Merchat (or Mer-chut Hill to you English speaking people). We have a spectacular view of the surrounding, and from over elevation, can see kilometres away. The haze has made this impossible for months now...

Indonesia is on fire.... The country surrounding Malaysia is burning its jungles for new plantations. Smoke and ash are spread throughout South East Asia and the neighbouring countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines are affected. This happens EVERY FREAKING YEAR!

The air was so polluted that some states close schools because of the high API (air pollution index). In the picture, our API is about 128.... Just imagine in south Sumatra, Indonesia, some parts reached 800 - 1000 units.

And yesterday in the news, a minister from Indonesia asked why must they apologize for the haze?

....... some people are born stupid it seems....

The Witch Doctor Will See You Now...

I have a mixed view about traditional remedies and treatment. It's all great with natural herbs and exotic spices, but when it comes divining illnesses and shady practices (in my point of view) I avoided them like the plague.
Last Sunday my mom asked me to accompany her and a few friends to a 'bekam' session. BEKAM is an ancient tradition, where blood is sucked out of the skin at some points of the body. A needle (or lancet) pricked the skin at a particular spot and then a container was placed upon the tiny wound, vacuumed so blood can be drawn. For every few minutes, the container will be removed so the trickle of blood can be wiped off the skin, and then replaced. Each session might last for one and a half hour, and the amount of blood drawn vary for each subject.
My mom and her friends finished their sessions (hours!) as I read a very thick book, outside waiting for them. Then my mom asked me to take the treatment as there was no one else in line for it. As a dutiful son, I obliged, took off my shirt and trousers (a towel is provided) and had my blood drawn voluntarily by the practitioner.
It was one of the most boring few hours of my life (this new year).
As I walked out of the small treatment room, I saw my mom and her friends listening to another practitioner with rapt attention. Oh, oh, I smell a money trap.....
And I was right. My mom had ended up spending a few hundreds ringgit on medications I don't think she really needs. The girl was also trying to bait me by asking about my health, and even had the NERVE to guess my illnesses through reading my palms! Major quack clackety clack!
But I played it cool, and smiled at every foolish noises that came out of her mouth.
Like I said, I am a dutiful son ;)
And this quack prescribed me a bottle of the essence of garlic of all medication! I ate garlic on a DAILY basis, girl! That's why I am healthier than the next person. But I kept my mouth shut, and took the prescribed bottle gracefully (my mom paid for this too).
On the way back, my mom chirped at how much better she was after the treatment. She said she felt lighter and her hands trambled less. I nodded to all, but the same cannot be said to me.
I felt nothing. There was no improvement, or anything less with me after the treatment.
Maybe my body refused to believe in such a celebrated treatment (prescribed medication notwithstanding).
Or maybe my guardian angel wont let me get influenced so easily.
My mom wants to return soon. And I will drive her there.
I am a dutiful son, yessiree!

P.s.- i tried to find a suitable picture to put here.... But I don't think the lot of you will appreciate me for it :p