81st Academy Awards: Angie Graces The Oscar 2009.

Like usual, I didn’t have the opportunity to witness the coveted Mother of All Hollywood Events, the 81st Academy Awards 2009, live at the legendary Kodak Theatre. I only manage to catch the glitz of the red carpet event on E!712 – hosted by Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic.

Angie with lattitude tattoos – coordination of Maddox’s, Z’s, Shiloh’s, Pax & Knox-Vivien’s birthplaces.

Although Angie didn’t win the Oscar (the coveted Best Actress was granted to Kate Winslet; I guess she deserved an Oscar after 6 nominations!), she certainly created buzz over her Elie Saab’s mysterious black dress and of course the drama between her and Aniston (it was said that the camera shifted the live telecast to Angie when Aniston appeared doing her presenting gig with Jack Black; I cannot give any testament since I did not watch the live telecast!).

Even admist the Hollywood community, they are star-strucked with Angie’s presence. She remains effortlessly emotionless, of course =)

All in all, congratulation to the underdog “Slumdog Millionaire”  for being crowned as Best Picture 2009 and other accolades as well!.

Joie De Vivre. School-Based Experience @ SK Tunjang, Jitra.

The French always say “Joie de Vivre”; which means live the life. I guess there’s more to live than simply cooped in the cocoon of old wound. Anyway, I am actually in the 2 weeks School-Based Experience at SK Tunjang and I have to say so far; after a week had passed, I’m enjoying ever moment immensely.

Organizing the game kelas Darjah 2.

Initially, my group which consists of me, Raymond and Kord is supposed to be allocated to SK Titi Gajah which is situated at Alor Setar. Goodness knows what happens that when we got the Letter of Introductory to the respective school, we were assigned to SK Tunjang. I have to say I was kinda freaked out because Tunjang is small provincial town up north to Jitra and is known as a black area where most of notorious social illnesses are nesting overthere. You name it – drug addicts, AIDS, thieves, dll. And somemore I was having doubt that to teach pupils from small provincial town will be a hard task, right? Besides that, our lecturers had already reminded us that teachers at school usually LOATHE teacher-trainees of KPLI like us because of the political and economical stigma (us being the Bachelor holder are probably getting more money in comparison to the veterans who are mostly Maktab holder).

On the 15th February 2009, we arrived there (which is merely a 5 minutes drive from my house). We were welcomed by the Penolong Kanan (I guess kot) Cikgu Yusop who was ever so friendly and cooperative. After a few general brief upon the atmosphere of the school by him and the Headmaster (who is also very friendly and welcoming) , we were given our own space to explore the school. We were given few relief classes and I have to say the expereinces are worthwhile; I can gunakan these experiences dalam kelas sebagai asas untuk menjalani praktikal nanti.

Kelas pertama saya ialah relief kelas Darjah 4. Kelas ini adalah kelas pembacaan di makmal pusat sumber. Saya sebenarnya boleh sahaja membiarkan para pelajar do whatever they want, let them read the books but themselves; but I feel it was a waste jika saya tak manfaatkan peluang itu untuk mempertajamkan teknik pengajaran saya. Therefore, I organized aktiviti Pertandingan Bercerita- I segregated the classes dalam 5 kumpulan dan setiap kumpulan mesti mencari nama kumpulan yg paling ’sempoi’ (extravagant) dan menghantar seorang wakil untuk bercerita di hadapan. Aktiviti tu saya kira berjaya menarik perhatian mereka dan pada setiap penceritaan, saya akan selitkan moral values yg dapat dipelajari and also the sense of appreciating the creation of God.

Me and Kord.

Me and Raymond.

 Selepas itu, saya juga berpeluang mengajar kelas Darjah 2. Kelas darjah 2 agak mencabar kerana pelajarnya aktif and seperti Teori Pembelajaran Piaget yg mengatakan yang most of the students are egocentric and always beg for our attention; saya sendiri telah mengalami situasi bagaimana untuk handle these kinda students. Untuk kelas ini, saya memperkenalkan games “teka aksi” dan “kambing-singa’. Semua pelajar mahu menjadi watak utama dan pada masa inilah kita perlu terapkan disiplin pada mereka. Walaupun badan saya kecil, tapi suara saya kuat bila saya menjerit; senyap terus (hehee); tapi tak sampai 5 minit riuh la plak! (Hhahaa). Memang saya rasa suatu kepuasan bila dapat melihat pelajar-pelajar were having great time.

Secara keseluruhannya, saya sebenarnya bersimpati kepada pelajar-pelajar di luar bandar ni. Mereka sebenarnya mempunyai nilai yg cukup tinggi seperti ingin tahu dan menghormati guru (I don’t know how many “Selamat pagi Cikgu” and “Assalamualaikum” I get whenever I walk along the coriddor!). It’s just that the usage of English is quite low here and in addition to that, the introduction of Science and Maths in English is making it harder gor the them to master full grasp on the subjects. As for me, I felt bertuah kerana belajar di bandar dan it’s sad to see that these students are not having the same opportunities that like I used to have back in my schooling days.

During Sports Day rehearsal.

Dan menjadi cabaran pada saya juga untuk simplify atau meringkaskan penggunaan Bahsa Inggeris saya kerana penguasaan mereka yg agak rapuh. Pernah seorang pelajar bertanya pada saya :

“Cikgu ni beranak kat USA ka???”

Saya agak terkesima. Mungkin pelajar di sini tak pernah mendengar slang sebegitu dan ia menyedarkan saya yang saya perlu me-localized English saya supaya mudah difahami.

“Eh tak..Cikgu oghang Melesia.. Awat cakap macam tu?”

Above all, these are experiences yg dapat saya timba. Ada lagi masa satu minggu untuk saya di sekolah itu. Selain daripada tu, kami pelajar IPDA juga ditugaskan menemuramah 10 cikgu Sains dan Matematik dan membuat analisis terhadap persekitaran sekolah (untuk subjek Ilmu Pendidikan), memerhatikan cara cikgu Sains mengajar dalam kelas dan mengambil tahu cara-cara pelupusan bahan kimia, pengendalian bilik makmal, contoh bank soalan sekolah, mengenalpasti teknik pengajaran diguna pakai (untuk subjek Sains) dan juga mencari rekod penjagaan alam sekitar (untuk subjek Environment).

The school’s pavillion – where assembly takes place.

Profession saya kini memang berbeza dgn profession saya yang terdahulu. Dunia sebagai eksekutif bank jauh berbeza dengan dunia sebagai seorang pendidik. Tapi yang pasti, kedua-duanya punyai cabaran berbeza. Bagi saya, dunia bank dari segi mental manakala dunia pendidikan dari segi psikologi. Saya rasa bertuah kerana punya pengalaman berkerja dalam dua dunia profesion yg berbeza ini kerana ia mengajar saya untuk memperkukuhkan karakter diri dan membentuk pergaulan yang fleksibel dengan semua orang. Dunia korporat dengan the way you approach your established clientele whereas dunia pendidik teaches how to assimilate with pupils from meagre surroundings.

Cikgu-cikgu SK Tunjang juga sangat baik dan very friendly. Saya rasa konsepnya apabila kita datang ke ‘rumah orang lain’ kita kena humble-kan diri dan jangan sombong. Insya Allah, mereka juga akan terbuka membantu kita dgn pengalaman mereka. Mungkin saya akan melakukan praktikal di sekolah itu. Apapun, jadual sangat padat! =).

Haunted By The Past (Let Me Forget).

I guess this is the first time I am going to say something that is vivid like this. I am sad now. It is hard to explain. I just found out that she is going to be married on the 28th February. I was shocked when I opened my Friendster account today. It’s hard to explain what I am feeling now. But I need to siphon out this emotion. No one else to turn to. Except for my blog, that is. Sad. Angry. Jealousy. Outraged. But I wish her the best in her life. No, I will not be attending that nor will I ever want to think about it. Amin.

Godsis/Next Cousin Sharifah Darweena Al-Idrus’s Akad Nikah @ Masjid Al-Bukhary.

The schedule is so hectic that I can never make it to my Godsister/ Next-Cousin’s wedding on the 14th February which is tomorrow! But of course, I really wanna witness her on her special day *sniff*. Therefore, I decided to see her akad nikah (solemnization of marriage) today at the Al-Bukhary Mosque, Alor Setar. At least I was there to witness part of her special day.

It was overall a smooth-flowing occasion without any major glitches. It’s so funny how me and my godsis bonded; we were in the same course- Biological Sciences; back in USM. During our sophomore year, we were in the same English class and that was where we were tight; in addition to that we coincendently took Spanish classes together as well. In instance we clicked! Ad who could thought that on our third year in USM, my cousin, Kak Niah married her cousin, Abg Syed Zaki !! We were like so enthralled by that FATE that we are now legalized COUSINS! And of course around 2 weeks, we couldn’t stop talking about it. Hhehe..

Ween, Me & Kak Aiza.

Sham and Uncle Chol – Akad Nikah.

To her, I wish the best in her life! It’s so nice to see her growing up; we share a lot of things together with she’s being my guidance and godsister. And also Sham is the nicest person that I could ever imagine being with her. Congratulation mi prima hermana! =)

The hantaran and the dais.

Sham, Me & Ween. Newly-weds!

From Left : A Cousin, Dek Qah, Sham, Fara, Ween & Watifh.

10,000 Hit! “Halo” Dedication To Y’all.

The blog is officially 10,000 times hit!; since I first used the WordPress blog on the 27th May 2008. Wow,it’s already around 8 months since I first used this new blog; before that I rely on Friendster blog (but Kakak helped me to transfer all those old entries from Friendster into WordPress blog). Much had happen within that period; professionally and personally. But of course every experience is a great teacher for me; the highs and the lows; I always keep them in my mind. Nostalgic memory is to be reminisced; if not to live in it.

Angie visited the Myanmar refugess in Thailand – February 2009.

Blog ini juga menjadi medan bagi saya berhubung dengan rakan-rakan yg jauh di mata tetapi dekat di hati; juga dengan rakan-rakan pembaca yg tak pernah dikenali mukanya tetapi komentar yg menggeletek hati. Terima kasih saya ucapkan atas segala komen.

 Wearing Armani Prive at BAFTA Awards; 8th February 2009.

For the record, jadual hidup terlampau padat; the envelope is being pushed. Setakat ini ada lebih 20 projek bertulis dan presentation yg mesti dilaksanakan; apart from School Based Experience yg bakal dialami pada 15th Februari 2008 (My Godsis Sharifah Darweena is getting married on the 14th!). Walaupun memenatkan secara mental dan fizikal, tetapi so far I’m loving what I’m experiencing now. Doakan saya sejahtera. Di sini, saya dedikasikan single terbaru Beyonce Giselle Knowles (erk???) entitled “Halo” to all those who have been supporting me through my highs and lows; menjadi tempat saya mengadu kesukaran atau kesulitan, yg setia bersama saya di kala hati tak berteman, yang menongkat saya di kala saya bertatih. Liriknya adalah universal. Amati liriknya. Itu adalah untuk anda; yang setia.

Remember those walls I built?
Well, baby they are tumbling down
And they didn´t even put up a fight
They didn´t even make a sound
I found a way to let you in
But, I never really had a doubt
Standing in the light of your halo
I got my angel now

It´s like I´ve been awakened
Every rule I had you breaking
it´s the risk that I´m taking
I ain´t never gonna shut you out!

 

NOTIFICATION UPDATES :

It’s so packed! I don’t know how many times am I to lament that. But the routine is definitely great  coz you are surrounded with great bunch of people! Me and my classmates; we definitely bonded with each other; with me being the youngest and ‘pampered’ of all la (LOL). But really, all of us are comfortable with each other. So far, I’m appointed as the class’s representatives for English class, Red Crescent, and Yellow Sport House. And last Wednesday, I  was selected to represent Yellow House for Sukan Tara in Lari Pecut 100 meter (Sprint Run 100 meter); but I declined. Life is so packed; but it is also exciting =)

Gambar handphone Kak Yus. Hhee. Masa minggu orientasi PJK so semua sengal-sengal sakit sikit. Kelas KPLI Sains 1 2009 IPDA. Heheh =)

Flaws.

I was tossing and turning on my bed just now; trying so hard to sleep as tomorrow my classes are already slated to begin! I guess the routine of sleeping late for the whole 9 days holiday is still very much seeped in. While I was trying so hard to get myself dozed off, kaledeiscope of reminscences and memories suddenly swirled in the mind of this childlike. And I know that the moment that emotion struck me, I have to write that in my blog- it ain’t oftenly arises, I’m tellin’ y’all~

Life is so crazy and full of surprises. Like the blank pages of an open book, it awaits the person to color them with adventures, stories and discoveries to be etched on them and let them live. But of course, it also full of challenges that one must go through; overcome the odds and barriers; rising from the plunges to the abysses. Whatever that happens, they all are to make us a better human, I guess personally.

As a child and even teenager, I used to be embarrassed of myself. I hate the way I look, I loathe my character; I never thought myself as a good-looking person although some people thought I was cute; given my childlike body frame and face. Although I have the most supportive family ever; a sense of retaliate-back-when-feeling repressed or under oppression; and a considerably smart brain (in comparison to the other children in neighborhood);  there was an ugly impression that I was not the superficially-perfect person. And of course, kids could be mean. Names-calling and harsh teasing were not helping that much.

But as time passes by, when you become an adult; when you go through thicks and thins of life; you started to go through metamorphosis of changes. Your confidence is leveled up; you learnt a lil’ bit about grooming yourself to look good; you built up your interpersonal skills; your mind become more relevant to the global community rather than to succumb on the hanky-panky shenanigans of your cocoon – and that’s where people realize your presence. It’s so cliche to say that but it isn’t all about how you look or your face. It’s about being able to feel comfortable in your skin; not to shun yourself but to embrace it irregardless what others might thought about it; it’s about empowering your mind and love yourself- not to let others mistreat you or persecute you. They have their right to judge you in whatever manner they want, but it is up to you to fight for your own rights and dignity.

As the creme de la creme of this entry; I would like to share the story of Kimora Lee Simmons. She was being treated harshly due to the racism- she’s Asian- Afro American; and growing up in area of mostly were of black people, she was constantly being ridiculed about her slit eyes chinese looks. But when she was 14, the Head of Designer of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld picked her as the child bride in his haute couture runway, everything was changed. I like her statement as (more or less) depicted in E! True Hollywood Stories :

“Everything that everyone thought was gawky and geeky and weird about me is what Karl thought is perfect and extravagant. So that was kinda nice to be embraced in such a way when you were so used to rejection.”

P/s : This is sort of a letter written from me to me. Killing time. It’s 2.12 A.M. now. I have PJK Asas tomorrow. Hope I won’t fall asleep or exhausted for tomorrow’s strenuous physical routine!