For Teachers of the World & Cikgu Cabuk

i am a teacher, did you know that?

i’ve never been a school teacher, but i’ve been a lecturer at a hospitality college, and then a magazine editor, and then a mentor at a kids’ development center (best job in the world!). so i teach. and i know what comes with teaching. a teacher friend of mine once said, “gim, you’re teaching kids. all cutesy stuff. it’s different than teaching teenage boys.”

i agree, it’s DIFFERENT. but the challenges and obstacles are nowhere more or less. i’ve taught teenage boys and girls before. and then i’ve taught little kids. believe me, all has its ups and downs, highs and lows.

..but i love each teaching moment!

* * *

found this floating over facebook today, LOVE it! :

i stumbled upon a blog once, belonging to a TEACHER. when she wrote about her job, she simply wrote : “cikgu cabuk aje.”

CIKGU CABUK.

this, coming from a teacher. i don’t know whether to be angry, or to cry. or to lower my head in shame for this fellow educator who is belittling this noble profession; her OWN profession. why the heck are you a teacher in the first place?!

be PROUD that you are a teacher. because god knows you’re doing so much more than just teaching. you’re touching people’s lives. you’re moulding young minds. you’re inspiring future leaders.

i dedicate this to cikgu cabuk, may you LEARN something today.

Hepi Teechairs Days

dear teechair,

i is wanted to swishing u olzzzz one happeely teechairs dayz. bescouse off you, many peoples dident spellt loike theese. tenchiu. but why peoples steel spellt ‘keep it up’ as ‘kipidap’. ‘daughter’ as ‘doter’ and ‘update’ as ‘hapdet’? oso i see dis ‘cantik’ as ‘santek’, and 'je' as 'jew'? the word ‘je’ is ohledi bahasa pasar, why we want to further degrade our language?

dis verry worry me. bahasa jiwa bangsa, izzit? plis du your part, teechair!

oh, HAPPY TEACHER’S DAY!

my eldest sister yong; teacher syazrin with students @ rps, ipoh. raja perempuan school is so lucky!

Clockwatchers

it's a day for thoughts.

i watched 'clockwatchers' just now, and can't help my train of thoughts. i've never heard of this 1997 movie comedy but it was such a simple movie with a mundane office setting and plain characters that i'm sure it's a sleeper hit when it came out - coz it's really good.


i caught it when it just started, and couldn't changed the channel. probably because of the good script and engaging acting of its casts. more so because of the whole story of 'clockwatchers'.

the movie's tagline 'four women. four dreams. one office' sums it all - toni collete's character iris came to work as a temp, befriended three other girls; and together they faced office politics, being ignored, critized over puny tasks, and also the target as suspects over series of theft in the office. because of suspicions, the friendship of the four faltered off and eventually died away.

the title of the movie refers to the mundane, day in-day out 9-5 deskjob that ended up being meaningless perfunctory thing someone does for a living. your job is boring. you are bored. you can't wait for the end of the day. you watch the clock as it turned 5:00. clockwatchers!

* * *

i'm not working now; but i'm glad to say i did found a wonderful job that i love doing. it doesn't have to pay a bundle, or placed me in high positions, or gets me my own office with a view - but i absolutely love it, that waking up monday mornings had never been a bluesy day. i love my daily tasks and assignments, and i love my co-workers. it had been fantastic.

but oh yes, before that i had had my share of being a clockwatcher - guilty as charged! i was hired as a 'C' but when my department was disbanded, everyone in 'C' had to do a whole other odd jobs for other departments. most of us at 'C' department were disappointed, highly demotivated and frustrated. i felt i was wasting time, and i wasn't fully utilized.

i became a clockwatcher; to the point of drawing blocks of minutes and ticked them off as the hours passed! it became more depressing - you know what they say, 'a watched pot never boils!' or what phoebe said to chandler, 'you gotta stop staring at the door. it's like a watched pot, you know if you keep looking at it, then the door is never gonna boil.'

*snicker*


but hey, lesson learned - and i left before i waste anymore of my precious time. i know that stuck-to-a-desk-job department was not for me; and i found my calling in my last job - the one i left for before i went to dubai. teach, plan, move, create. impart knowledge, stir brains, nurture minds, laugh a lot. listen, speak, sing. research, write, read, share.

i was never again a clockwatcher. and i can't believe i ever was. in fact, at that office, time did fly - i had so much fun!

Birthdays, New Job & Exams

good news, good week, good anticipation for my cousins, my sis-in-law and both my youngest sisters.

* * *

siti & wani

looks like there's a number of october babies - on the 2nd and 6th of this month, it's happy, happy birthday to my cousins wani and her younger sister siti, both daughters of my mak's sister, cik. more october babies coming soon!

* * *

tina with nephew khaleef

mr. khairul's sister started her new job for about one week already now. have fun and don't forget to save your pay for khaleef and kahfi's next year duit raya!

* * *

azi & syida

days of cramming in the middle of the night and noon, surrounding yourself with piles of book just so you wouldn't feel guilty - it's the exam week for my sisters syida and azi! good luck girls! i hate this week the most as you guys would be too busy to go online!

oh, as we're still on the exam bit - best of luck also to my cousin nadhirah on her PMR. hey, it's just a stepping stone to choose a stream next year, so take it easy! you'll sail thru!

cepatlah korang abis exam... my yahoo messenger is so sunyi sepi...

Hari Kantin Revisited & To Be a Teacher

Majlis Hari Anugerah Kokurikulum akan diadakan pada 25 Julai 2009 (Sabtu). Semua ibu bapa, bekas pelajar dan orang awam dijemput hadir bagi memeriahkan lagi hari tersebut.

Terdapat pelbagai aktiviti menarik seperti gerai jualan, pameran dan persembahan pelajar.

..so goes the ad in the official website for raja perempuan school, ipoh. i didn't go to this school, nor am i a fan. budak-budak sekolah ni tak la sebest MGS girls - malaysia's best school! haha. however it is special in a way, since my mak is a product of this school, (still unbelievable since she's such a COOL person!) while currently my eldest sister, though an ex-convent-ian is teaching there. hello cikgu syazrin!

anyways, we went to its 'hari koko' for short. in recent years, my school mgs called it 'pesta ria' or a fun fair. call it whatever, it is still a 'hari kantin' for me. a day where the students put on the role of canteen makciks, aci and ahso. form 2 and 4 student open food stalls, while students facing major exams like form 3 and 5 organized fun-fair-like games, karaoke 'lounge' and the ever popular, gearing the longest waiting line - 'rumah hantu'!

last time (now, azi said the boys and men were shun from entering the school on a hari kantin after several untoward incidents) anyone from gramma to mat motor can come. they buy coupons to be used to buy food.

my best hari kantin was undoubtly when i was in form 2, under the helm of the fantastic mr. ooi ah bah. we sold burgers and our class collected the most moolah! yay!

back then i remember the heat was already on right from the week before the actual day, with perang poster - students aimed to come up with the most creative, most catchy posters, banners and buntings for their stalls. it was festive!

and the crowd - man, oh man. you can't hardly recognize our canteen with the amount of people walking within the vicinity! dah tak nampak apa! the field was teeming with people and the hall, crowded! even the walkways from the main entrance leading up to the field was full of people walking to and fro.

as for raja perempuan school, yong said before this only students and family members were invited to join. however, this year is the first time their letting the outsiders in. yong said by the time we came which was fairly early, the coupons to buy food were already sold-out and the teachers and students were overwhelmed by the crowd.

crowd? what crowd? haha.


we arrived bright and early morning, only to find out we were not that early! yong was waiting at the hall and her bright all-teeth smiles welcomed us into the vicinity of her beloved school. we met a teacher who's the boarding school warden (maaf, lupa nama. yong?) and she led us to the back of the hall where a feast of spaghetti and kuih melayu awaits. it was the extras from the vip in the morning award-giving ceremony (remember the one where yong won the best club?) langkah kanan lah, bak kata yong!


then i met the charming mr. t.j., teacher with loads of experience on his back. i thoroughly enjoyed talking to him, not only because he has a nice sense of humor, but he's the sort of teacher you know you'll enjoy listening to in class. nice to meet you, mr. t.j.! and yes, you are young at heart!

after the simple spaghetti meal, we were off to where the action really is - the field!


as expected there are stalls selling cupcakes to burgers. from rojak buah to fresh fruits. there was even this questionable murtabak made from maggi. hmm. not bad.

there were a few students urging cikgu syazrin (yong) to buy from their stall but this was only when we approached their stall. some with aprons and standing up ready to welcome customers to their stall. however, i can see some girls just sitting down sembang with each other without even looking at us, even when we're near their stall! macam mana nak berniaga macam ni!

there was a karaoke section right at the edge of the field - and the worse part was the speakers were directed straight across the field! so any minah or minachi singing can be heart from miles away - pitching ke laut, screeching voice and all! but i guess to the girls and gang, that was the thing that added to the festive mood. loud, noisy and full of fun!

a young male teacher (hmm, did i hear it right? young? MALE? in an all-girls school? i thought that was just a myth!) was the top attraction of the day when he went 'centre stage' to grab the karaoke mike singing 'jai ho'. amboi menjerit-jerit le anak murid cikgu bagaikan menonton konsert!


it was - different - from the hari kantin i was used to. less crowd, less madening students screaming for customers at the top of their voice - but it was still an entertaining day.

i think yong was very proud of her hari koko. what more since she won the best club award for her english club. congratulations yong! she is indeed one of those rare individuals who genuinely enjoy teaching and is passionate about the profession. i'm saying this not because she's my eldest sister, but i've seen and heard so, so, so many teachers who do nothing much but complain, sneer at the 'extra' work they're expected to do and gossip at the teachers' room. yes, NOT ALL teachers are like this but admit - you definitely must have encountered some.

before this yong devoted years of her life in the corporate world. i wonder how she compared both experience. so i asked her, yong, kamu suka tak jadi cikgu?

without a flinch, she answered, 'suka! not just the teaching, but the concept of being a teacher.' yes! the problem with teachers - yes, THE PROBLEM with teachers these days is they only want to TEACH. full stop. no bigger picture. in fact, THE PROBLEM with some teachers is they went into the profession because they have nothing else to do. not by choice. that is why the passion is lost.

run a club - no time. take kids to field trip - malas. organize an event - banyak kerja la. but gossip time at the teachers' lounge - boleh aje! the PROBLEM with teachers these days are excuses. no, i may not be a SCHOOL teacher, but i do teach, and i do more than just teach. teachers should understand that with the role comes other responsibilities that may not be written in the job scope.

how can you inspire young minds when you're not willing to go the extra mile? are you a teacher? brickbats are welcome!

Cracked Up By Office Nuts

man, i should be blind-folded and maimed with a bazooka for still not meeting up with yong! but fret not my eldest sis - after mr. khairul starts up his bizz viz (business visits glamor-fied) you have me all to yourself! kang sampai boring kami lepak kat umah kamu ok! hoho.

* * *

mr. khairul had plans with some ex-mba classmates and koleq dudes so i took the chance to plan things out with a group of nutty peeps i missed so much - my ex-officemates.

coming back here i felt i just left yesterday - we hugged, i nearly cried, we laughed, we teased, we lunched and munched - it was exactly like as if i'd never left. even as i casually rumaged the pantry drawers for fork and spoon, i knew what and where to look for - i felt like i was just returning to one of my homes. i miss my working life here so, so much!

getting paid doing what you love? with people you genuinely like? with a great boss who can be firm and wacky, and knows where to draw the line? isn't that the dream? i got that here! read about my work and the wonderful people i work with here.

khaleef with his 'aunties' - mohana, jennifer, jo and dora

i often brought khaleef here especially when mr. khairul picked him up first from the nursery before meeting me here. so when we came here the other day, he immediately made himself at home as usual, running around and golek-golek.


they kept my old work station just as it was - lat's 'kampung boy' comic plastered on the wall and all - for sentimental reason and they miss me so much too (actually sebab there was so much junk!!!) haha.

this was kahfi's first visit to my ex-office and as usual he put his charm on the girls!


before going back dora measured khaleef! dah tinggi anak mak ni!

i didn't meet and greet the kids this time as i know i'd be seeing them before i leave for dubai. see you soon, kids. and yes, i'll bore you to tears with my dubai tales of camels and sandstorms!

Tidbits III

here, there and all around...

* * *

abah and umi are back from korea. lepas ni gi mane pulak? they bought matching t-shirts for cucu-cucu podin; haiqal, haqeem, khaleef, sufya, husna and kahfi.

this july they can all wear the t's at the same time...

* * *

@ shina's wedding : my cousin amin with his lil sister naya, me and his mom, my auntyna

my cousin amin is a year away from leaving his teen years. he is 19 today! my advice is get up, get going and get rockin'! happy birthday, bro!

oh, this july i'm coming back so can you make those apam kelapa that i like so much?

* * *

had a skype session with my ex-officemates and my cool boss a.k.a the lady in the aquarium. i miss them so much! read about the coolest office in my world here.

yapped about mohana's soon-to-get notebook, getting envious of jo goin on her usual 'movie date' with hubby henry, dora updating me on the kids and a cameron highland holiday with the girls, and sharing with jennifer my experience as a parent looking at schools for khaleef.

mohana is getting a notebook! yay! everybody's got one now! when she skype from home i can borak with her beau ramesh yang macam hero filem tamil tu. and i can't wait to introduce kahfi to the kids! (what about khaleef? hmmph! they see khaleef all the time already!) read about the kids' most endearing gesture here.

haida said we're leaving her out but i'll say you're the busy bee, missy! clear your tight schedule this july, haida coz we're hanging out at the office eating ikan keli...

* * *

found this vending machine at ibn batutta mall on our usual jalan-jalan recently. 'rent movies and games here' it said. that was the first time i had seen such a vending machine. drinks yeah, tissues a-ha, prepaid yup - even condoms i've heard off - but not dvds and xbox games!

this is pretty cool.

however, just so you know - i don't really trust vending machines. but that's just me.

From 50 Kids

i've got mail!

mr. khairul came home from work, bringing this exceptionally fat parcel.

for me?
and i saw the sender:

mohana.
from malaysia.
from my old working place.

hmm.

i ripped it open.
and my mouth dropped.
my eyes buldged.
my heart flutters.
my smile, just.

it was a parcel filled with no less than 50 little letters from my kids back at work!


i was speechless.
this was a really thoughtful gesture from my colleagues.
and a really really cute effort from the kids.

these are individual enveloped letters, made from recycled magazine pages, assembled and put in one pos laju pack to be sent all the way to dubai. in this kids' centre, each week they do a new theme and this week they're doing recycling, so in the words of one of the kids,

"..we decided to recycle the magazine to make an envelope. this can help save money and papers. it is also colourful!"

these are letters from 5 year old to 13 year old. simply wonderful, they take your breath away. i was "awww..." "waaa.." "hihihi.." all way through.

it seemed that mr. khairul had known about this 'surprise' for quite awhile, since mohana needed his office address to send the parcel. thanks, honey. never knew you had it in you too keep surprises from me! (he used to suck at keeping surprises)

the kids amused me with their anecdotes on chinese new year holiday activities, they share their new year's resolution and even enlightened me on the 3R - reduce, reuse, recycle!

a cute drawing of what will happen if we do not take care of our beloved earth by KL

• "do not use too much electricity or the earth will be sick and the ozone layer will be thinner."
• "trees have lives, so if we reuse paper we can save the trees."
• "remember to switch off your computer when you don't want to use it, but not throw it."
• "don't buy too many toys you can take old toys for kahfi."
• "we need good earth, not dirty earth."

apart from the anecdotes and stories they share, they posted a few questions for me:

1. kahfi looks like chinese boy, does he? yes, mata sepet maa..
   
2. where did you get kahfi's name? click here
   
3. has khaleef been a good boy? one word : naughty! but he's been a great brother
   
4. what is the most expensive thing in dubai? my guess is the properties?
   
5. how big are the islands? BIG! huge!
   
6. can you buy shawarma for me? sure. it'll be basi by the time it gets to you, though.
   
7. can you come back and teach us? i'd love to!
   
8. what food do you miss the most in malaysia? right now? char kuey teow!
   

..and share their 2-cents on life in dubai after reading my account in a letter to them.

• "i like the dessert of dubai because i can see a lot of dinosaur bones."
• "i like the bus-stops in dubai because it has aircone."
• "..most interesting are....spinning (spinneys) and lulu.."

..and of course, well-wishes and hopes (haha) - i miss you too, kiddos!

• "we have read your letter, until our tears has come out."
• "i miss your fake spider."
• "i wish for you to be healthy forever and ever."

it took quite awhile to read all the letters, and yet i did not want it to end. reading their handwritten letters are a sight for sore eyes - weird loops, smudgy handwriting and all. it stopped time for that one brief moment, for me to go back to days where there's a thin line between patience and going totally berserk - and loving it!

there was this one little poem that is too cute not to be shared with you guys penned by one of the kids.

your days in malaysia are not over,
you can still visit us sooner or later,

having a wonderful time in dubai?
there are many places to visit, maybe too many, oh my!

we are delighted to have you around,
i wish you can come back to malaysia safe and sound!

~RL

the packing
i took these pictures from mohana's facebook. taken while they were preparing the wonderful parcel for me. somehow i can't take my eyes off mohana's socks...


god willing, i will be back middle of the year - hope to see all you then. thanks for everything, girls. and millions more thanks to the kids. this has made my day. from dubai with love!

Joys in a Job

are you one of those people who hates your job?
do you wonder why you are doing this mundane work day in day out that gives no satisfaction and joy?
do you hate mondays just because it's back to work?

get out while you can! the perfect job for you is out there.
i found mine.

in my last job, i look forward to work - every single day. i simply love my job. i have to read books in my job. stories. articles. i can wear my spongebob squarepants t with my levi's to work. i listened to the darnest things kids say everyday. i love it. i'm not kidding. i wake up, and i can't wait to start working. heck, the final weeks before leaving to dubai, i had already resigned - but where did i go? - back to work. just for kicks.

no kidding.

currently, i'm a full time housewife. homemaker. stay-home mom. orang rumah. suri rumah. permaisuri dapur. call it whatever you want. i mean, i'm not complaining - i'm enjoying my l-o-n-g holiday, being able to watch my sons grow without maids or having to drop them off to a nursery, try out new recipes and catch up on my reading and writing.

however, i miss my job. i really, really do. i've lectured before doing my masters, did some magazine editing and reporting after that - but none compared to the last job i had, the one i had to leave to go to dubai. when i received news from a very very exuberant mr. khairul about going to dubai, of all the things i really hate leaving (apart from my family of course) is this job, and the people who colored my life there.


i love what i do. what i did. running classes, brainstorming for weekly themes, preparing lesson plans, drawing out mind-maps for the week's theme - and did i mention the classes i handled comprise of kids as young as 5, with the eldest group being around 13? the fun i had for the past years i was there was more than words can say. so as the experience gathered and the lessons learned.

having a great team behind it all really helps. mohana, dora, jo, jennifer and haida - we're a great bunch. let me just say that even mr. khairul envied the dynamics of our team. he admired the fact that we were able to become so close in understanding each other, respecting one another and everyone just - can masuk-masuk la. we just - belong.

• mohana the gossip girl - keeps the team together. she's the youngest yet age is not a factor to this spunky don't-mess-with-me girl. her determination to reach for her dreams is an inspiration to us all
  
• jo teaches me that laughter is the best medicine - i miss teasing her! i remember she joined us as someone with more experience in this job - yet her humility humbles me
  
• jennifer is the definition of 'silence is golden' - if 2 words will do, don't give 5! i will always remember her as my *senior* - the one who teaches me all the ropes in the nicest way
  
• haida's character screams out "live life and seize the day!" even in her cool composure - we're both adventurous - in very different way! i miss our heart-to-heart talks
  
• dora seemed gullible and naive - but i think she's stronger than she looks. firm in her views and i admire her zest to do anything to uphold what she believe is right - "..maybeeeee.."

oh, and how i miss our makan-makan. missing so many visits to mcd, kfc and domino's. remembering tons of lepak session at the mamak in the morning, chatting over roti canai and iced milo. or banana leaf rice for lunch while borak-borak with the ane from india. reminiscing the 'classy' luncheons we had at italian restaurants and indon makan place.

and my ikan keli! how i miss my must-have ikan keli! walking with dora and jo to the malay restaurant and dropping by at 7-11 for a slurpee. it was the best. on a malas day, just ask mohana or jennifer to tapau mushroom fried rice from the thai restaurant next door. on a lagi malas day, just cook maggi mee ramai-ramai!

the best days were those when mohana would bring her home-cooked nasi lemak, or when dora made her highly-acclaimed kangkung belacan, or when i baked my cheese cake. when someone buys breakfast, there's almost always extras for everyone. (man, i miss the nasi lemak near giant!)

mr khairul said, our office has a homely feel. he can come after work to pick me up and be welcomed as one of the gang. heck, he can even casually stroll into the boss' lair and have a chat while waiting for me. the office is like a home. well all of us almost always tapau and eat in the office, sprawling all over the carpet around the - using our own container, mind you. we go green and shun the use of polystyrene to pack food. read my article to the star newspaper here.

i think i left my tupperwares in the office, right girls?

man, even taking the tupperware during lunch was a hoot - the noise we make as we take orders. the noise we make while deciding whether to eat kfc or mcd. the noise i make when i don't get mcd. the noise!

the crazy bunch

the holidays and birthdays were a lot of hoopla too. i'm sure like many working place, birthdays are celebrated and it's no different here. the best memories were dressing up with a theme - it was saris and punjabi suits for deepavali and all red for chinese new year. we did this many, many times - color coordinate our tops, or plan to wear the same blue jeans or an all-skirt day. there was one saturday where we had a 'beach day' where the rest wore little tight tops with beach sarongs. haha. *beach* day indeed.

and who could forget the buka puasa dos that we had? we brought the bazaar ramadhan right there on the table with all the satay, nasi tomato, ayam percik, air bandung, cempedak goreng and lots more! i remember going to bazaar ramadhan with the girls on a super scorching afternoon, armed with a list of yummies to buy. i remember jo, jennifer, mohana and dora also fasted on that day just to get the feel of it, and when berbuka puasa time came, it was more anticipating and meaningful.

haida was not in the picture - she was taking the shot using one of those awesome big big camera

this is one of the many crazy poses i have of us over the years. i love this particular one as it speaks volume of our relationship as great friends and our cooperation and commitment as a working team.

it was not a long time but it was the best of my working experience. coming back from dubai one fine day, i do hope i could rejoin the team and continue to do what i like most - the pursuit of education through educating and mentoring young minds.

i leave my final words of this piece to my boss - the one who puts this team together and mould us into the awesome team that we are. for making the office very homely where we are able to stretch our legs on the carpet while brainstorming an idea. we can laugh together like mad, yet go straight to a level of seriousness when needed. for the breakthrough ideas that inspires. for the interesting writing assignments. for the trust to handle the holiday programs. for the encouragements, criticism and praises. for being a good listener. i thank you, ms. e.

here's something silly i found in the net...just for my gal pals at work :


ha ha. missing you guys so much here. love always!