When there's no Better Idea for a Restaurant Name

The best thing working overtime, is I can skip a boring meal from my mum.




It’s always full of work in PageOne so today out of nothing I volunteered myself to work OT until 9pm. You know, I’m always curious that why they have 3 shifts where the fact is we have only 5-6 of us working. Today I start with morning shift and I go back together with the last shift.

Unlike Kinokuniya which is support by staff from various divisions, here we have to one-leg-kicking everything from collecting shipment till housekeeping and customer service. If there’s no chore to do, sun must be rising from the west that day.

But it’s pure fun. I’m loving it.

Oh ya, today I bump into Elaine while I during my lunch break. She have returned from Sabah for 3 weeks before she go back to her University.

She’s such a pleasant girl to talk with.



Back to the topic, I am entertained by a menu when I’m having my dinner in a Malay Restaurant.

“Cik, Mek TomYam ni mee ke ape?”

“Itu name kedai lah~!”


I was like, oh.. alright..

Shhhhh~!

Have been promise to send the kids photos, and I’m awfully late.



Send already lah, no more complains okay?

A Dreadful Breifing

Back to the corporate world again. This time is with Kinokuniya bookstore, PageOne the upper floor to be exact.



My first day of working starts with a serious briefing. Every staff is standing still in horizontal lines like boyscouts waiting for order. I even ask Grace whether we need to sing Negaraku in occation like this.

But she gives me a stern face instead. Haha.. Alright la, relax…



The person-in-charge talks a lot about the internal operation of the bookstore, what-to-do and what-shouldn’t that kind of stuff, which I can’t understand at all. All I understand is every staff of Kinokuniya needs to take turn to do a public speaking in front of others, because it’s the only thing which is less complicated.

Wei, say is say “retail assistant” jeh.. Actually is bookkeeper lor. Need or not oh? Lucky me is under PageOne, no need to embarrassed in front of other people :P

The briefing ends with an awkward talking practice: Good morning sir; How do you do; Can I help you; Thank you; Please come again…

They speak so fast, I couldn’t even keep up!

Relationship and Love

I glad that I didn’t waste the rest of my life wondering around things I wouldn’t even need.

Today I went to MidValley to collect my commission for my previous job, met my ex-colleague and we talk for a while. It’s been some time since we meet. He’s been doing well.

My dad was with me and we went for a dad-and-son movie session. In my memory I have only been twice to cinema with my family. For the rest, cinema is just a usual place to hang out with friends during our leisure time. My family always says that there are better things to do rather than spend a day’s time for an overpriced ticket.

I’m from a typical conservative Chinese family.



People say that I should laid back and enjoy my life with intimate relationships during my age, which I really should, normally.

Maybe I should quite being abnormal blogging my single yet boring life out. There’s a lot chicks out there to be dated.

Sorry, it’s not my way of defining life.

Relationship and love. It goes together, but it’s not equally the same.

I will be back

Officially leaving the school on 17th November.



Today I hang at school office to finish up those paper work which the headmaster asked last minute in the teachers’ meeting. Sasaran Prestasi Pelajar. Geez, those nonsense teacher’s teaching plans.

Basically it’s a teaching concept that separates the students into Pelajar Cemerlang, Pelajar Sederhana and Pelajar Lemah. Then we have to set the target to covert the students to better category, reevaluate it after every exam and stat down the successfulness of your teachings. Best thing is, you have to stat down the reason why it success or fail.

If you ask me, it’s a good idea actually. But to ask the teachers to do it two days before the school holiday, it already lose its initial point essentially. This is something I would tell in my blog or if someone ask me directly in the face. I’m a temporary teacher anyway.

It’s just a pile of pointless paper work.

“Nampaknya sasaran kita su-dah-lah tersasar...” We rant on it light-heartedly.





I interact with the fellow teachers there more this two days, especially today. They come to school to settle the unsettled job to end the school’s 2nd semester, before they can fully enjoy the school holiday ahead. However for me, I end up my job to leave the school.





After two weeks spending my days in the school, I found that primary teacher is slightly different from what I think they are. At first, I thought that teachers are saints that would bug you with lotsa conservative rules and philosophy. But in fact, they are no different with other humans, just slightly more talkative, friendly, polite, self-contented and yes.. childish.

Childish as in having younger thoughts.






I have worked in various areas of career, but this is first time I have worked in such a pleasurable environment. The reason is simple: Everyone is contributing willingly to the school.

Just a question that I couldn’t comprehend: Teachers are just simply a bunch of cheap professional labors. Why I said so? You see, every profession which salary is below RM 2k is considered as cheap labors. Teachers who teach for 18 years as a ketua panitia is paid RM 1.8k. Not Cheap professional labors is what ah?

18 years of work paid RM1.8k, geez.

I say, if the school office turns into a departmental store, then the teacher would be the best knowledgeable sales person offering the friendliest and best quality service to its customer, at the same time doing clerical job and customer service for the company.

One phrase to describe – one leg kicking.

Really, teachers are underrated. The only reason to stay is they love the job.




There is a phrase where it’s habitually used by the teachers when they are doing something. It doesn’t take me long time to figure where it’s come from – the Penolong Kanan’s room.

静思。
Tenangkan fikiran.
Calm your mind.

There is a deep philosophy behind it.




A beautiful quote: Speak less is better than speak more; speak nicely is better than speak less.

Turns out to be pointless if translated into English :P




Officially left the school on 3:30pm.

Wherever I go, I know will be missing those children's voice.
"Lao shi.. See.. He pull my hair!"
"Lao shi.. She hit me first de!"


4B




4H




3B




3H


I will be back.

Take care.

No more classes

One more day to spend with the kids before I leave the school.



Today it’s already the 13th day of my school days as a teacher, and everyday I'm counting down the days.

I feel like I have just started, but it has already close to an end, too soon.



I just cannot express how much I will be missing these little ghost. I’m running out of words.



I always think that it’s not right to force those children into rules set by the adult. Every time this thought come to my mind, I feel awful to carry a cane around, although it’s a mandatory to do so.

Hey, I never feel any better for caning you all. If I have enough time to be with you all, I would choose to listen to you more,

before I asked you to listen to me.



The children just like to play with me, I think perhaps due to the age factor. You see, I’m the youngest teacher in the school, and seriously, sometimes I feel I can communicate better with the children than the teachers there.

There’s a lot teachers who came to me and said: “OMG you are so young, how old are you?”

Sometimes it’s a headache to talk to teachers also. I mean, you have to think twice before you let the words spill out from your mouth. Well, it’s not much of a cultural shock to me, just need some time to settle down, polish my language a bit :P



Honestly, I have never been smiling so much in my life. If time goes back and I have the chance to choose again, I would still be a temporary teacher again.

Yeep, definitely.




One more day left.

Goodbye. Keep smiling.

Super Very Very Important Person

Sometime it’s pretty scary to have friends on the psychology field you know. They could just psycho(whatever in hell they call it) your thoughts and behavior and GOD KNOWS when they do that.


More autography books and present from kids.

I wouldn’t mess with them if I were you.

*dropping kexiou & hoi hoi in my SVVIP list*




Madaam', this way please.

Autography Book

Remember those autography books you used to do in primary?



Remember those times when you yet to know the existence of Friendster, Multiply etc.. And you want to keep track of your friends’ contacts and whereabouts?

Yea, I’m sure every one of you had the experience of owning an autography books. You write nice wishes and funny quote that you find somewhere, ctrl – C ctrl-V and forward it to your friends, like what you did to email, sms, friendster testimonial and such. Of course, back in that time it’s not called “forward”. It’s called “I-write-autography-to-you”.

I sure you had, once upon a time. :P




Two days ago a children pushed her autography book and asked me to sign. As it’s impossible for me to do it at class for her, I bring it back home in return I promised I would write a better one for her.




Today I finished up my workload and get back home according to time. Finally! I take the book out and digest it, and I can’t help it but chuckle over it as I turn from page to page.

Not soon enough I found the favorite quote among the children.



Yeah, the good-horses and the bad-horses thingy. Hey comm’on, it’s soooOOo irrelevant okay? I can’t have the slightest idea of why the idiom should appear in your wishes. Eh, you want to be a horse is it?

Lantak-lah~ Salin je..




Besides that, there are few children who are creative enough to come out with their totally pointless wishes. And it’s funny!




Hmm.. this is a better one. Normal abit.




I wonder who created these idiom hor.. Last time the silly us also follow this kind of trend. Apparently primary students have yet to have the skill to write their own meaningful wishes, so they just copy it from somewhere else.

Actually it’s kinda cool also this wishes. Eh, view it from a 10-year-old child perspective okay?




Then the real problem arrives. I've written to friend; I've written to pen-pal; I've written to strangers; but I've never written to students! What exactly should a teacher write for his student?

I had no idea, really.

I flipped the whole book, there’s only one teacher who have done the autography. All she does is just signed the book. Well, I don’t want to disappoint the child.

So, I really crack my head up.



Part which censored is my handheld number

At last, I come out with a simple bookmark. It is last minute that I decided to stamp it inside the book so that she won’t lose it.

Hope she will like it.

A Hectic Day

13 teachers are not around today.



I’ve been entering classes from 8:45am until 1:05pm non-stop. Even the prostitute has time to take break in between lor. I don’t.

Now you know what I mean by HECTIC.



Definition of school today: children’s playground.

Once, there are people who held your hand and walked your path

Buying stickers in bulk to get a discount.



I accompany my colleague Pei Ju wondering around places after work. We stopped at this wholesale store to get stuff for the upcoming graduation ceremony.

Instead, she ended up buying extra stuff. Everything is for the children.

I salute her for treating her job more than a job.

Perhaps teaching children is in fact more than a job. They live the life for it.



Hey,

Still remember the cute stickers and cops in your exercises?

Another Shinigami-based Anime

I’m always a big fan of Bleach ever since it’s released. Even until now, I’m still reluctant to delete any of its episodes in my hardisk, from episode 1 till 101.

Almost 20GB of my hardisk is already eaten up by my favorite anime series. :)


Dragon-Ball age has passed. Now bleach rules!

Until recently I discovered I new anime series based on shinigami background too, but this time it’s heavily emphasized on logical puzzle solving rather than conventional fighting comedy as the bleach and most of the mainstream anime proposed. It’s a very fresh idea in Japanese Artwork and I’m loving it.

It’s more a Conan detective story fused with shinigami elements.

The anime is called Death Note.

Excerpt from wikipedia:

Plotline of Death Note

Light Yagami is a brilliant, but bored, high school student who resents the crime and corruption in the world. His life undergoes a drastic change when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the "Death Note", lying on the ground in the year 2003.

The Death Note's instructions claim that, if a human's name is written within it, that person shall die. Light is initially skeptical of the Death Note's genuineness, believing it is just a prank. However, after experimenting with it and killing two criminals, Light is forced to admit the Death Note is real. After meeting with the true owner of the Death Note, a shinigami named Ryuk, Light seeks to become the "God of new world" by passing his judgment on criminals.

Soon, the number of inexplicable deaths of reported criminals catches the attention of the International Police Organization and a mysterious detective known only as "L". L quickly learns that the serial killer, dubbed by the public as "Kira"(In Engrish, "Kira "sounds like "Killer"), is located in Japan. L also concludes that Kira can kill a person just by knowing their face and name.

Light realizes that L will be his greatest nemesis, and a race to prove mental superiority between the two begins.

More

Today I browsed through the magazines only to find Death Note is already made into movie and released in Japan two days ago. It kinda shock me too when I get to know that Death Note is already a completed anime with 108 chapters in total.

Oh my.. The storyline is only bounded on a Japan top student Light and his Death Note, and they made it into 100+ chapters? It really interests me. Until now Japanese TV release until the 5th episode only.

And Death Note the movie! I must watch it!

Gah.. Compulsory

Today is a Saturday, yet I still have to attend a school function organized by MCA.

Yeah, the so-called diwajibkan activity. The headmaster constantly worried if the activity won’t achieve expected number of visitors.

Imagine. It will look really REALLY swuey if nobody attends.

The WhyBie-whybies (YB) might ask why-why-why like that and make a U-turn back to their office. Oh no!


A day before the talk

Unfortunately, I’m in-charge of the arrangement of the talk. Fortunately, I don’t have to do anything. Thanks to those hyper-active student.

Now here’s a better word to replace ‘naughty’ in this occasion. Hyper-active stereotypes.

:)


The actual day. Today.


The event is okay-lah, number of visitor is somewhat close to the target. The headmaster is very good in estimating number of seat we should prepare. Almost all the seats is filled with people. Only two possibilities lor,

Either he is brilliant, or… kahem..

*cough**cough* did I say anything *cough* ?


Oh my.. Confucius comes to LIVE.. The actual person with his portrait


As the headmaster ordered us teachers to sit in the front roll, I join the rebellious teachers sitting at the last roll. What a good teacher I am.

Me: “Eh? Headmaster just said we should sit in front.”

Them: “Ya, it only applied to newcomer. Go and sit in front!”

Me: “I see.” *sits down*

Me: “Who’s the newcomer? I never see anyone new.”


Someone is dead.. *sob*

As soon as I sit down I realized the PK is sitting right beside me. PK PK.. Hmm.. kanan or kiri already? I’m right about to ask her if there’s a PT (Penolong Tengah) or not. There’s three penolong you know?

In the office they are sitting horizontally in front of the headmaster’s office. I think the title is for them to sit according to place? I wonder.

Okay la, it’s a joke. Laugh okay?

Thanks.


*swinging his hand* Do this.. Do that.. Don’t do this.. Don’t do that..


While most of the people give responds like “Wow, nice digicam.. Lend me see!” “Wei, si beh wu liao arhh?! What also want to take photo..”

My school’s PK responds, “Eh this photo you take is nice. Let’s print out and put it in school magazine.”

At last people recognize my photo more than my god-damn-DIGI-CAM! *wipe tears*

Finally!

(to be continue...)

刮目相看 Prove to You

歌手：曹格

告诉你我不是一个会认输的人
但我不得不承认
从跌倒失败
也曾经守在阴霾

不看不听不说傻傻的发呆
难道我就被打败
多幸运有你
使我的生命充满希望

从今之后不在垂头丧气走开
所有人的期待让我站起来
甩掉了阻碍
从今全打开
我终于明白

FLY 尽全力在飞起来
没有后悔不后退
我让你刮目相看
JUST FLY
向世界证明我存在
努力过的汗水不断灌溉
美好未来
CAUSE I CAN FLY
YES I CAN FLY

不看不听不说傻傻的发呆
难道我就被打败
多幸运有你
使我的生命充满希望

从今之后不在垂头丧气走开
所有人的期待让我站起来
甩掉了主败
从今全打开
我终于明白

FLY 尽全力在飞起来
没有后悔不后退
我让你刮目相看

JUST FLY
向世界证明我存在
努力过的汗水不断灌溉
美好未来
CAUSE I CAN FLY
YES I CAN FLY

FLY尽全力在飞起来
没有后悔不后退
我让你刮目相看
JUST FLY
向世界证明我存在
努力过的汗水不断灌溉
美好未来
CAUSE I CAN FLY

YES I CAN FLY

OH I BELIEVE I CAN FLY

Not a Racist Post

Stayed back to mark the children’s book, yet it’s still a lot to go.



I yawn and rest a while.

I look at my watch. It’s already 3 in the evening and thunder is hammering outside, but it’s nothing compared to the things that a teacher told me before she went back home. The things that she told me are still echoing loud inside my mind.

This teacher that I mentioned just now is the only Chinese BM teacher around besides me, and she is an experienced one. She has a daughter in my class, so apparently she knows how the progress of my classes going. She commented that the classes that I’m teaching are in a very VERY bad condition, after suffering from 3 months without BM teacher.

It’s true. Most students can’t even understand the textbook also.

Then she told me an open secret. She told me how the Malay teacher before me teaches the class, in a sarcastic manner.

When he entered the class, he will first ask a child to punch his back.

The child who volunteers to do so will be exempted from passing up his homework.

The karangan he will never teach. The children just have to copy the sample essay from reference book.

If the children get a full mark in Ejaan, he will ask their parents to put down their signature; if the children get zero, he will just leave it.

Etc..

“They sure die one like this” She added. “Later next year they standard 5 standard 6 they sure in big trouble, CONFIRMED”

“My daughter is lucky to have a mum as teacher, so I’m okay with it lah. But how is other student? Not every parent is able to teach their children BM you know?”

“You say die or not like this? Sure die one..”

You are feeling what I feel at the moment.

This morning I have just issue a simple note for two children parent and asked them to put down their signature.

Reason:

They don’t even understand the word ‘Bahasa’.

Not even ‘Kamu’.

The saddest thing is, they had tried their best to do the exercise for me. But I can only see pages of alphabets in a disordered manner, which brings no meaning at all.

I never blame them.

I just feel sad.

For my children

Oh gosh.. Take a look on my workload!

Ever since I came to this school I’m assigned to replace Cikgu Farikh’s post as a BM teacher, I have to handle 4 classes which is equivalent to 30 periods of BM class and 2 periods of Art class.

Imagine.

My timetable is like.. oh SHIT! Everyday I’ll be seeing my 200 children everyday and every single of them.

Not to mention the children hadn’t been attending BM class since Cikgu Farikh had gone for 3 months. They are way WAY behind the syllabus already.

Don’t ask why they hadn’t been a teacher to replace Cikgu Farikh before I came. I don’t think I want to go in detail. I can only say that some political issues are involved.

Sabar.. sabar..

My main concern now is my children’s syllabus. 12 more days to End Semester Break. 12 more days…

I will do whatever I could.