70:19 (Picktall) Lo! man was created anxious,

70:20 (Picktall) Fretful when evil befalleth him

70:21 (Picktall) And, when good befalleth him, grudging;

70:22 (Picktall) Save worshippers

70:23 (Picktall) Who are constant at their worship

70:24 (Picktall) And in whose wealth there is a right acknowledged

70:25 (Picktall) For the beggar and the destitute;

waiting waiting

*Invisible title*

Nothing is forever

Waverlord

1 December 2008 - 13 January 2011

A loving companion, 

a funny follower,

a fun playmate,

a manja family member,

an onion that added spice to life, 

but brought tears to eyes 

as each layer peels away. :'(

Talking cats

Acceptance

For a friend:

Hidup ini seperti roda.

Kadang-kadang kita di atas, dan ada kalanya, 

dibawah,

Tapi roda tak akan bergerak kehadapan jika 

kita tidak mahu menerima kenyataan bahawa

kita perlu berputar ke bawah

 untuk bergerak ke hadapan...

It's okay to be down :)




Being happy doesn't mean you can't be sad.
after all, you're just human.

Play by ear

I love to sing... but i had to shout for 18 hours a week.. eventually my vocal cord was damaged.

But like Napoleon Hill said, "Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit."

 And true enough, now i understood why some people failed at Akademi Fantasia/ Malaysian Idol's auditions. Some were rejected ...not because they didn't know how to sing, but they couldn't. It's similar to break-dancing without muscles.

And best of all, I found great delight in piano.

I am like
a crippled man
who just
discovered wings.




Imagine yourself playing Pirates Of The Caribbean,




or creating your own composition..





The fun part? The fun part is learning to play by ear... step by step. :) enjoy this tutorial hehe.

May be i should post this in front of me, in the mentors' room...as a reminded to myself:

49:11 O ye who believe! Let not some men among you laugh at others: It may be that the (latter) are better than the (former): Nor let some women laugh at others: It may be that the (latter are better than the (former): Nor defame nor be sarcastic to each other, nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames: Ill-seeming is a name connoting wickedness, (to be used of one) after he has believed: And those who do not desist are (indeed) doing wrong.


49:12 O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it...But fear Allah. For Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.

Loved.

Loved -
when i'm in need,
and had no one to turn to.

Loved,
when I asked not for more,
but more is given nonetheless.

Loved,
when I decide to really see,
and not take things for granted.

Cared,
even when I'm blind
and deaf,
and ungrateful.



It is He Who has created hearing, sight and minds for you. What little thanks you show! (Qur'an, 23:78)

Gratitude

"If i would be able to turn back time, i would like to be the youngest child. Then i'll have everything... she has everything...." 

That familiar, dusty, bitter emotion came back.

But I refused to let it stay, so i dug further into my memory box... finding anything worthy to slide into the folder known as "Why am i lucky to  be the eldest child." 

And unexpectedly that memory came tagging with Gladness.

The memory of my dad tossing the Quran across on the floor, to an ustaz... as if the gesture was saying, "Read it!" 

---------------

All this while i had been thinking of the weaknesses i inherited from my mum...those that made it harder for me to climb the career ladder, but today, I found a trait from her that i love best : a (playful) sense of humor -- it's what has been helping me to bond and have fun with the young souls. TYG.   

------------

Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. -- Mildred Barthel. 

Telling the truth cleans the heart

39:32 (Y. Ali) Who, then, doth more wrong than one who utters a lie concerning Allah, and rejects the Truth when it comes to him; is there not in Hell an abode for blasphemers?

39:33 (Y. Ali) And he who brings the Truth and he who confirms (and supports) it - such are the men who do right.

39:34 (Y. Ali) They shall have all that they wish for, in the presence of their Lord: such is the reward of those who do good:

39:35 (Y. Ali) So that Allah will remove from them the worst in their deeds and give them their reward according to the best of what they have done.

Right under our noses

Years ago, i was looking for a picture of a beautiful shaped tree... i searched the internet for hours and still i couldn't find one... until my dad drove past the big field near our house, and there, in the early morning, amid the crowd of elderly and youths, stood a beautiful tree, just the way i imagined one to be.

--------

I need a Teacher's Day!

Growth comes from strength -- the strength to overcome weaknesses.

But when we are constantly reminded of what we are lacking,
we began to forget our strengths...

Twitter-blog

Motivation: Fun first, study second. =.=

Kuhen is a boy who used to just walk out of the class without permission.
To Kuhen, the naughty kid, i said,
"I'll give you your ang pau (red packet) at the end of this month"
(credit goes to Fz for the game plan)

"No, auntie~~ Today."
"hmm.. If you behave well, you'll get it this Thursday"
"Today, auntie.."


At the end of the class :
"Auntie, where's my ang pau?"
"This Thursday."
"Noo, today, auntie.. you promised."
"Huh, Thursday. When did i say it's today?"
"You said it just now.."
"No, I didn't. Let's go, it's time to go home"
"No no no auntie, where's my ang pau...~!"

I hesitated.
"How about, i'll give you two this Thursday?"
"No~~ You promised. One ang pau today~"

He turned with his back facing me and a gloomy cloud surrounded us. :P
I hesitated again. "Let's go now, you need to go home"
"My ang pau, auntie..."
There was a short period of silence.
"Let's go into the class, i'll give...."

Quickly he turned back and said with a sweet voice,
"It's okay, Auntie," he smiled, "this Thursday, auntie."


=.=*

------------

Kuhen said, "Auntie, the other boys disturb me, I want to beat them, Auntie"
"MinJie! JiangMyn!"
"They keep saying about me, Auntie"
"Just ignore them, be patient. They have nothing better to do."
"How long i have to be patient? I want to beat them"
"Don't! Just tell me, i'll take away their pokemon balls, ok?"
"Okay."

This went on for several days. Clearly the other boys dislike Kuhen for some reason.

"Kuhen, come here," i called him while updating the R2D2 form in the class.
"What, auntie?"
"Did you watch Spiderman, batman,.. superman movies?"
"Yes,"
"What do the superheroes do when the bad guys behave badly?"
Soon that sentence came out, i regretted. Sheez! Superheroes...setting bad examples for kids! I thought. In the past, kids tended to give up doing their written work and i would remind them that superheroes never give up. But this, time, superheroes were not an examplary for Kuhen.

"What do the superheroes do when the bad guys behave badly?"
"They fight back," he said.
"Ehm, ya, but only if the bad guys kill people, then you can beat them up.." i half mumbled to him and then continued, "but if they didn't, you'll just call the cops, and put them in jail, ok?"

"ok." ..that sweet smile, again.


--------

My morning class has 10 playful boys and 4 girls.
To keep their focus in class, i drew a pokemon on the whiteboard (credit goes to one of the mentor for the brilliant idea).
"Let's see who will catch this Pikachu!" I said after writing their initials underneath the drawing.


It worked. Several boys' hands started to move around catching imaginary pokemons. lol.

"I haven't tell you how to catch the pikachu. If you write neatly, copied the sentences properly and write quietly, you'll get poke-balls for catching this big pikachu. Auntie will walk around to check on your work."

"Like this, only boys can play," MinJie said.
"Why?"
"Because it's a boy game! Girls cannot play..."
"Who said? Auntie watched pokemon cartoon, too. Auntie liked pokemon."

He was surprised.
"Really? You really watched Pokemon?"
"Yes, I did."
"ah, auntie you got watch... superman?"
lol. "yes"

We were on the island. It was night. All we heard were waves crashing on the sandy beach and the crush crush crush sound as we walked towards a jetty. From the small clouds above us, the shadows hung down onto the jetty's planks. As they hug the planks and peeped through the gaps, the sea whispered to them  tales of the dark creatures below. There was nothing on the pier except a wooden bench.  Nothing but a wooden bench, engineered by a clumsy carpenter. Other than that, darkness greeted our gazes.

There we sat with the breeze caressing our cheeks.
"Look at the stars," he said.
We looked up, silently capturing the sight.
Millions of them. Twinkled and shined.

"All those were created by God," his mum replied.
 And the souls praised and the praises were soothing.



That moment would not had happened if the pier was as bright as day -- well-lit on all sides, and it had a solid built roof  and the whispers of our hearts were erased by the blaring music from the blasting stereos from resorts.

“When it is darkest, men see the stars.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of Snakes and Men

Ada satu cerita yangg aku beritahu murid-murid aku...
Ceritanya begini...


Suatu hari di suatu pulau, tinggal seseorang.

"Orang ini lelaki atau perempuan?"
"lelaki."
"Mungkinkah stickman ini perempuan?"
"boleh"


Dia kesunyian.
"Nak bagi dia kawan tak?"



"Nak."
"Kawan yang macam mana?"
"...."

"Bagi seekor ular untuk dijadikan kawan dier, ok?"
"ok"



 Maka, sekarang dia dah ada kawan. :)








Jauh dari pulau itu, ada satu kampung.

"Berapa orang di kampung itu? Satu atau ramai?"
"Ramai."


"Mereka ada kawan-kawan, kan?"
"Ya."

                              "Nak bagi mereka seekor ular, tak?"

"Nak."

"Alamak! Mereka makan ular itu!"

"Bbq!"

"Ya, mereka bbq ular itu, sebab mereka sudah ada kawan-kawan, mereka tak perlukan ular itu!"

She like / likes to eat rice.

He dance / dances like a monkey.

Zi Hao is / are a clever boy.

My mother sings / sing to me.

They kick / kicks the car.

"yang mana satu? 'Dance' atau 'dances'?"

"Dances"

"Ohh~! Ular itu 'S'! "

"Apa akan jadi kalau awak pilih 'they kicks' ?"


"Tak payah S"


"Kenapa?"


"Sebab mereka ramai"


"apa akan jadi kalau bagi S ... ular itu?


"Mereka bbq ular itu!"

"  Bagus. :-) "

She has / have a cat

"Yang mana satu? Has atau have?".

( This one is for you to solve. )

"Bagaimana pula dengan You dan I?"

I sings / sing like a bird.

You are / is a superhero.

You has / have a big car.

" I sings atau I sing?"

"hmm 'sing'."

"Kenapa?"

"...."

"Sebab, YOU AND I, WE ARE SPECIAL  tak perlukan ular."

Happy learning :)

The best way to understand something is to...

"What about anger, love and pain?
And all the things you're feeling,

can you touch them with your hands?
So are they really there?" 

- Maher Zain, "open your eyes"

....experience it.

Gift

Since it's February -- a commercialized month-- here's a website for your reading pleasure :)

And what inspired me to blog about this was the discovery of a man who puts God first in his life, a woman's beauty secondary to her personality and values. Amazing! His name is Terence, Deborah's hero. :)


To lelek and Angeline, put your "Faith" in God's will.


-----------

Dear D,

27/2/2019

Titiwangsa

   Conversing with Mun reminded me that even beauty and number of admirers won't able to over rule jodoh. Truely, love is given by its Creator.

yours.

The S word

Today we played "in my bag..." game.

In this game, a kid has to repeat countables/uncountables said by the kids who sat in front of him/her.

Example: if i say "In my bag, i have pencils," and pass the bag to the next person, that next person will have to repeat what i've just said and add in another countable/ uncountable thing. So the sentence would be "In my bag, i have pencils and erasers." Since fun is Motots' way to guide the kids in their learning, I told them that they cannot use common words such as "tables" or "rulers."

So, i started the game with "In my bag, I have chickens."
And then it was the Clown's turn, he said "In my bag, I have chickens and shits"
KHau repeated the sentence and added one more countable thing.
When it was YenQi's turn, she hesitated to say "shits."


"You don't have to say it, ..just say 'sheep'" .

She did.

Then it was ReiShen's turn.

He couldn't remember the countables and hence could not repeat them in order.


"Ah, you're out (of the game)!"  I said.

With both hands pushing the table for dramatic effect, and a realistic angry expression, he shouted,




"SHEEP !!!!"

Usually,  it's this type of children that brings headaches and joy. :)

Look, ma. No marker!

Who needs a pair of gloves....besides a dishwasher?

A mentor.



Why?


To strangle kids without leaving finger prints.




Just kidding.
A pair of gloves keep my hands clean and they can be used as an eraser for the whiteboard. 
AMAZING!