Just Checking In

Ok, this is just a line to say no, I didn't abandon my blog. I promise, promise, promise I'm updating it tomorrow. Partly because I'm not actually at home and my parents will be coming to pick me up anytime now.

So if you see this, you're bearing witness and KEEPING ME ACCOUNTABLE.

Yes, Sarah... I'm talking bout you... =)

The Retiring Prefect Makes Peace

You know a prefect is going to retire when:

1. The once-bright-green uniform has faded so much it resembles the white school shirt.

2. The once-black shoes have turned dual tone. The canvas part is now grey and the PVC part still remains as black as ever.

3. The name tag is scratched and BROKEN.

4. The blazer worn with the skirt/pants are dual tone. (Reason being the blazer is washed less frequently than the skirt/pants. Ok well, for MOST prefects.)

5. The markings on the tie have faded (Again, only if the tie is actually washed).

6. The shoes have holes which lets water in during rainy days.

7. The skirt/pants tore.

AND...

8. The campaigning season for the incoming board is here.

So this is a little shoutout for those who will be campaigning.

It's going to be difficult with disappointments on the way but hey, what doesn't kill you only serves to make you stronger. And this will definitely grow you as a person if you wish to learn from experience. It's going to be difficult, no doubt, but enjoy the ride!

Enjoy the speeches, knowing that you'll probably only get this chance to speak to such a wide audience (and they'll actually listen).

Enjoy the campaigning, because it's not everyday you get to see your 'merchandise' on everybody's pencil cases.

Enjoy the encouraging words you'll receive, because you'll not be able to hear as many any time else in the year.

Enjoy even the criticisms you'll receive, because you'll not get the opportunity to listen to so many honest opinions about yourself.

Enjoy the process, regardless the outcome.

I'm very proud of all of you, for daring to stand in front of the school and offer yourself to serve. Check your motives first and make sure that you're running to be the Head Prefect for the right reasons. With all that said, run the race with full perseverance, so that at the end of the day, you can still stand tall and know that you've done your very best. I'm supporting each one of you, all the way.

With lots of love,

Tze Quan

Bite the Bullet!!!

True, I don’t normally blog about current events (correction, I don’t) mainly because I lived like a ‘katak bawah tempurung’ and never, ever opened the newspaper. However, I’ve been making conscious effort to do so after the recent debate competition.

And boy, oh boy am I mad.

After 6 years of teaching Maths and Science in English, they are reverting to Bahasa Melayu again. Yes, after just 6 short years, they decided that the teaching of Maths and Science was better conducted using the medium Bahasa Melayu. Not only that, while I was reading today’s paper just before going for my flute exam, I came across the most ludicrous statement.

In the Star paper 10/7/09, Najib says that ‘Increasing the time allocated to teaching English. Introducing English literature and language laboratories, among others, would be a better method in boosting proficiency in the language than using it to teach Mathematics and Science’.

Now, the dubious logic behind this presents two flaws. First, English lessons as it is merely serve as ‘homework-completion’ times and not many teachers actually teach English in a way that is interesting and more importantly, INFORMATIVE. Classes can end up being a drag. Imagine if they increase lesson times! I too don’t understand what our Prime Minister meant by ‘introducing English literature’. English Literature is already introduced into the SPM line-up of subjects. (I would know – I’m taking that subject). Not to mention the literature component of PMR and SPM English. Never mind the fact that literature component is a laughing stock (I think I just had an idea on another blog post). Fine, if we want to ‘introduce English literature’, can they assure us that the standard of English will be heightened? That it won’t be lowered just to enable passes? Let’s not talk about being on par with countries overseas, let’s just think about raising the dismal standard of Malaysian English.

Second, most of the English scientific terms are reused in Bahasa Melayu anyway! As someone told me before, ‘I don’t need to have a wide vocabulary in Bahasa Melayu to score in my ‘karangan’. I just need a good vocabulary in English’. Too that, I have to agree. Encyclopedias, journals, researches, they are all written in English. By switching to BM, students will have to double work during projects. Not only do they have to look up information, they have to translate it as well. And after learning for 11 years in BM, they are expected to revert back to English in time for Form 6. Doesn’t the government see how ridiculous their decision is?

No, they say that, ‘The lack of proficiency in English among the teachers had resulted in ineffective learning among students.’ (Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom). Knowing that is the case, why are the students being penalized? Shouldn’t steps be taken to increase proficiency among TEACHERS? Or, is reverting to BM an easy way out?

To that, I say, bite the bullet.

We’re going to have to bite the bullet and sweat it out. We want progress, there is a price. Why switch after just 6 years? It doesn’t take a genius to know that it would take a lot more time to accurately gauge the successfulness of a decision. Why, it hasn’t even touched a decade! True, it may be difficult but as the MALAY proverb goes, ‘Berakit-rakit ke hulu, berenang-renang ke tepian; bersusah-susah dahulu, bersenang-senang kemudian’. You say Bahasa Malaysia should be upholded, well, uphold your very own proverbs then.

It’s easy for the government of today to make this decision because the people who made the decision won’t be around to see its effects. It’s going to be the future generation who will see it. And this is why I am frustrated and disappointed. We always take 2 steps forwards and 5 steps backwards.

For our future generation, for progress…

BITE THE BULLET FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

P.S Note to self, don’t read the papers during a stressful situation i.e. just before flute exam. The next time, I’ll end up with a popped blood vessel.

Espionage

When I entered the room, I thought he would be very angry with me. But to my surprise, he beckoned me forward with a smile. He opened his arms wide and hesitantly, I went to him. I felt his warmth envelope me and relaxed a little in his embrace.

“Don’t you hate me?” I mumbled into his shirt.

The inevitable reply came.

“Absolutely”

I heard the gun click at my temple.

**********

I’m known by many names. It all depends on what my assignment is. For now, you can call me Harriet. I’m a pharmacist by day. I live in a modest condo with a good view of the city. I have a pet dog that has been with me for many years. But that does not explain why there is a gun to my head now.

Let me get to the point then.

I am an assassin.

Ever since I can remember, I have been trained to kill – swift and without a mess. Of course, I don’t come cheap. I auction my services to the highest bidder. And let me tell you, life is sweet for the likes of me. After all, money is power and with money, you can do anything.

Many would remember their first toy as a doll, a brightly coloured ball, a mini car… Mine was a handgun. Others get pats on the head for getting 5 stars for homework. I get pats for hitting the bulls-eye 5 times in a row. Girls grow up learning how to use makeup to enhance their beauty. I learned how to morph into anyone I like. Teenagers learn to lie from their parents. I lived a lie from the day I completed my first assignment.

Let’s get this straight. I don’t like what I do. It gets old after years of doing what I do. Try as I might, I just can’t seem to take pleasure at the number of successful missions I’ve accomplished. And there’s a reason why I am one of the highest paid in the field. The sense of purpose vanishes in time. I get a call, I carry it out, and I wait for the next call. I wanted to get out of this vicious cycle and put a halt to this downward spiral of my life.

Of course, this didn’t just happen overnight. Somewhere along the line, I dedicated my life to God and knew in my heart that I can’t continue to do what I’ve been doing. I realised I’ve been blind all this while to life – living it like it should be. All this while I’ve never dared to admit to my self that what I was doing was cold-blooded murder. I couldn’t, you understand? Doing so would make it seem personal – that I was robbing someone’s husband, someone’s wife, someone’s parent, someone’s child. In my line of work, there’s no such thing as emotions. You rub sentimentalities out of you because you need to remain objective – even in the very face of death. You can’t afford a single moment of hesitation because that will decide who walks away the victor.

However, just because you want to quit doesn’t necessarily mean you can. First, I was already involved with the man who regularly hires me. This was my first mistake because I needed to be neutral – free from any emotional holds. He was a dangerous man and being the reckless fool I was I fell for his charm hook, line and sinker. Telling him I had enough was equivalent to committing hara-kiri.

At the same time, many people were circulating rumours that I had a daughter. And that she was dying by the seconds with leukaemia. And that I would do whatever it takes to keep her with me. Even if it means to kill for the money. As to the question of whether or not I really had given birth to a daughter, I’d certainly be reluctant to talk too much about her, for fear that her identity might become publicly known. It would be in no one’s best interest for such a thing to happen. The best course, I feel, is for me to say nothing at all, especially when I’m still alive; I’m sure you will understand.

So I continued living my lie – doing what my heart screamed was wrong, wrong, wrong. Every person I killed now weighed heavily on my conscience. I was convicted, God kept tugging at my heartstring to stop. It went on and on until it came to the point where I knew I must take a stand.

The day came where the reason for doing what I did broke.

And I did the unforgivable – I let my target live.

It was utter chaos. I was tracking down this man for months and when I finally found him, he was in a room. Not alone, no. If he was, I would have been able to muster the guts to finish the job. No, he was playing with his daughter – laughing together as she hugged him tight. Tears welled up and I fled.

Naturally, my man found out. How he found out I will never know. And he was livid. The target I allowed to walk free was about to spill highly classified secrets to the government about my man. He was as good as dead.

I walked into my condo knowing full well that I may not leave alive.

**********

When I entered the room, I thought he would be very angry with me. But to my surprise, he beckoned me forward with a smile. He opened his arms wide and hesitantly, I went to him. I felt his warmth envelope me and relaxed a little in his embrace.

“Don’t you hate me?” I mumbled into his shirt.

The inevitable reply came.

“Absolutely”

I heard the gun click at my temple.

**********

Mama!!!

Oh my sweet child! You’re here! And you look beautiful!

I’ve been waiting for you mama…

And so have I my dear girl, so have I.

**********

When I entered heaven, I thought He would be very angry with me. But to my surprise, He beckoned me forward with a smile. He opened His arms wide and hesitantly, I went to Him. I felt His warmth envelope me and relaxed a little in His embrace.

“Do you still love me?” I mumbled through my tears.

The inevitable reply came.

“Absolutely”

Technology in Communication - Boon or Blessing?

Just a mini break from the whole thing about why left-handers die early not because I don’t have enough woes (I do, trust me, I just got back from a wedding where there were 3 left-handers in one table) but because… I got tired of the subject.

Don’t stone me! At least I’m being honest.

No worries, I’ll finish it, just not now and not immediately.

Anyway, I just finished reading another Jessica Darling book about an hour ago. (YES, THE BOOK I BLEW 50 BUCKS ON). Reading it reminded of something she wrote about technology.

‘You noted how no advance in technology can be a substitute for real interpersonal interaction. I was particularly touched by your admission that being able to get in touch with your long-distance friend twenty-four hours a day is sometimes more of a burden than a blessing because it just makes you wish she were here.’ – Sloppy Firsts, Megan Mccafferty

I hold technology guilty for the break-down of many of the basic living skills. Take for example, cooking. With so many instant dinner-in-a-bag packages, microwave food, INSTANT noodles, we find ourselves pampered and seduced by the mess-free, hassle-free, stress-free food sources. Of course, I really shouldn’t touch on cooking because that’s number 13950897203 on my post-SPM to-do list – TO LEARN HOW TO COOK.

But I digress.

I understand the need of technology for development, for progress. However, I can’t help but notice that it’s due to technology, we’re losing one of the most vital skill ever – face-to-face communication. Like when I was at the wedding lunch, I was listening to one of the guests telling a love story – that is tragic at its best and pathetic at its worst.

I shall briefly summarise.

Boy meets girl through Skype. The communication was mainly done via Skype. Boy and girl fell in love. The courtship was mainly done via Skype. Boy and girl get married after just a few months. Boy and girl are now stuck in unhappy marriage.

Well, I’m sorry but that is as romantic as rabbit droppings.

Unfortunately, that is what’s happening now. We’re losing the ability to carry out a meaningful conversation face to face. We prefer to hide behind emails, online messaging, SMSes, c-boxes spamming, facebook, Twitter, etc.

And you know you’ve got it bad when someone tells a joke and you say, ‘LOL.’

I’m not discrediting technology as a means of communication but sometimes I fear we have relied on it too much that we forget the person talking to actually have a face with his/her own personality and not just a username like ‘CookieMonster59’.

It’s true it’s difficult to imagine a world without the technology as we know it. At times, I do appreciate technology because in some cases, a little contact is better than no contact at all. To that I say, embrace technology but at the same time, remember that technology is a poor substitute to a face-to-face communication.

So keep your conversational skills, they’re a lot more important than the ability to type like a bullet train on MSN.

WHY LEFT-HANDERS DIE EARLY - Part 3

PART 3 - FOOD WOES

1. ChopsticksTo be precise, using chopsticks during those jam-packed wedding dinners Chinese are so famous for. Try sitting next to a right-hander (or vice-versa for right-handers). IT’S ARMAGEDDON.

2. Potato/Apple/Fruit/Skin Peeler

This is by far the worst one I’ve come across. And heartily agreed by almost all the left-handers I ask. Well, those that do know how to peel potatoes that is…

For right-handers who have no idea what I’m talking about, trying using a potato peeler with your left hand. Good luck!

3. Tin opener

This takes the award of ‘Most Un-leftie Friendly Item’ together with the potato peeler. At least for the potato peeler, I can either just eat the skin (for apples and papayas) or use a knife to cut the skin off. But for the tin opener, there’s absolutely no way around it. Maybe I’ll hack it off with a saw. Speaking of saws… Refer to future post on working woes.

Source? ALL PERSONAL EXPERIENCES. Cheers.

To be continued...

WHY LEFT HANDERS DIE EARLY - Part 2

PART 2 - CLASS WORK WOES

1.The Self-Smudging Effect

Now, remember what I mentioned in the spiral bound notebook case? In the same way, this curling of the hand results in the heel of the palm being placed behind the writing, forcing the writer to lift it off the paper and making the grip even more awkward. In addition, constantly lifting and replacing the hand over fresh ink often causes smudging, causing problems for many left-handed students, especially in exam situations.*

Tell me about it. My hand turns blue/black (depending on ink colour) after exams.

2. Those retarded table-cum-chair-sets

We used to have this in the APD room in my school library both in primary school and secondary school. Thank God my secondary school has replaced them with normal tables and chairs but it was torture in primary school. We lefties have to bend and curl our spine to the right which is uncomfortable and highly irritating.

Note to self: When school reopens, must tell Pn. Shanta that this is the reason why left-handers will be more prone to backaches. The table cum chair set promotes BAD SITTING POSTURE for left-handers. How are we going to rest our back against the back of the chair and maintain an upright position?!* (Those who know what I’m talking about, please remind me when school starts. Those who don’t know, please refer to Biology Form 5 textbook page 62, Photography 2.5. Those who still don’t get it, it’s ok….)

*Sources from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-handed#cite_note-40 and Biology Form 5 textbook

To be continued...