more fruits

Here are more passion fruits from the garden. I'm so proud of this patch of fruits but we have yet to taste them as they are still pretty green. There are more than twenty fruits now. I hope the stick frame is able to hold the weight of the fruits.

a good deed

I've blogged twice about the ugly malaysian. Today I met a beautiful Malaysian and how my heart soar to see he still exists!!

I was at a junction turning into the General Hospital. A car turned from the opposite junction but stopped in a rather awkward position blocking half of the road to its left. Cars horned and passed it impatiently.

The driver and his wife came down to push the car. Then I saw two Chinese gentlemen coming out of a van to help push the car. What a sight....two Chinese and two Malays pushing a car. I was too far away or else I would have taken a picture. Now, this is what Malaysia should be like but it is such a rare sight...

a reminder....

It's a ritual every night that one of us will go in to the room to turn off the air-cond before we go to bed. Can't set the timer as the original remote control has gone missing. A note like this helps a lot....

election results???

It's the day after the SPM results was announced. Of course I am still over the moon about the excellent Sejarah results. Two classes that I taught last year had all As in that particular subject.

There are 559 straight A+ students nationwide this year compared to 300+ last year. A great jump. Just like the Sejarah results in my school....44+% A in 2010 compared to 66+% A in 2011.

A few questions came to my mind:

1. Did the students suddenly become smarter or all along this batch of students are that excellent?

2. Does it mean that whatever the MOE thinks has been implemented in school is really showing its fruits now...therefore whatever it is....is a great success?

3. Last year's Sejarah question was easier compared to other years. Factual application in Paper Two was lesser and more room was given to critical thinking style questions where any answer as long as it is rational is acceptable. Was this done on purpose?

4. By churning out so many As each year, does it mean our society is getting smarter? That means the coming work-force will be filled with think-tanks?

5. What does As mean to students now? Without As they are no good? Is this producing a healthy society? (I apologize that I am one of the people in charge of churning out As and I confess to putting great pressure on the students).

My view:

1. Comparing my school with many other schools, my students definitely have great thinking and learning skills; thanks to the drilling from the teachers from day 1 in school. So many of the excellent results are genuinely excellent.

2. Being with the students for at least a year...most of the time two years, I know a goat from a sheep. I know a mediocre from an excellent student. As much as I am pleased for the students, I do worry also about the quality of their academic ability.

3. I think the mediocre students may suffer in college especially if they are enrolled in professional courses that require brain work. They will graduate eventually in the field they study but will they be excellent workers or mediocre?

My wish:

I wish I am not pressured to produce A students. I wish I can spend more time with the students to explore History as it should be instead of just touching the tip of the iceberg. I wish we focus more on fun in learning instead of learning for excellence. I wish all of us are less kiasu...SIGH ...dream on...

My worry:

What if this is election results? It means that putting the same amount of effort and the same amount of drilling .... I may not get the same type of result because next year is not election year!!!!!

This means I will be questioned and grilled as to why the students couldn't perform as well as the previous year. A decrease in percentage would mean that I have not put enough effort in; therefore I will be made to stay back to give extra classes, more exercises etc etc...in other words I will be punished to ensure that the percentage goes up again. PANIC!!!!!

Hahaha...I'm being over-dramatic but it can happen. So please wipe that grin off your face.

As KC advises, CELEBRATE the victory now! YES!!!! I will not think ahead but celebrate the good results now.

i had a dream..

....I was on a plane to Bangkok. I had the front seat and it was just behind the cockpit; so I had the frontal view. Soon I saw the road coming up the plane...it was landing on a busy road. (just like in the movies). There was a commotion at the back; the captain had just kicked a man and his chimpanzee off the plane because they were causing trouble. I looked out and saw a man walking hand in hand with his chimpanzee....

Weird dream...I think it was triggered by the news I read about a two year old toddler who was kicked off the plane for throwing a tantrum!!!!

Now, not all my dreams are like that. Some of my dreams do come true. I dreamt that J got engaged and the engagement party was held in Justine's house. Justine cooked a big couldron of rice. She was the match-maker and she was busy setting the date of the wedding with the two families.

About two weeks after the dream, Justine phoned me that J is getting married this year end!!! See? Some of my dreams do come true!

one true thing and lost in austen

Sometimes it's hard to find good movies on youtube...but this past week I've seen two great movies worth reviewing. Just finished watching One True Thing acted by two of my favourite actresses : Renee Zelwegger and Meryl Streep. It's pretty long....13 parts in all but worth sitting through and watching.

I guess I'm able to identify with the show because I am a daughter just like the role played by Renee and caring for my ailing mother (though my ma is not as dramatically ill as the role played by Meryl Streep).

Very touching and true. Thought provoking....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnqh7Am7wtE&feature=related

The other movie which I've thoroughly enjoyed was Lost in Austen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtMGODiaS7U . I've read, watched Pride and Prejudice many times and fallen in love with Mr Darcy over and over. When I saw this movie...oh my...it really feeds my imagination. Imagine being transported to Austen world and being one of the characters in the story. I love this movie....and what an ending!!!

This is a movie where one should not use the brain to rationalise. Just watch, don't think...and enjoy it.

playboy

Dan : What's a playboy?

Me : Where you learn the word?

Dan : My friend says he's a playboy.

All of us burst out laughing!!!!!

Lyn : It's a boy who sleeps around with many girls.

Me : NO!!! Don't teach him rubbish. He's still innocent.

Lyn : No he's not.

Me : A playboy is a boy who flirts around with many girls and has many girl friends. Don't you dare be one or I'll beat you.

Notable quote

It's not stress dat kills us, it's our reaction to it.
Hans Selye

the ugly Malaysian 2 .....

I was coming out of the school gate. It was jammed as usual. A colleague's car was in front of me and she couldn't move as no cars were moving up ahead. She was in the yellow box and thus blocked the other cars from going forward.

After quite a few minutes, the driver of the car that she blocked came out and started shouting. Don't know what transpired but it ended with the man shouting, 'Go to ....!!'

Totally disturbing.....1. The child of the man (a student from our school) was seated in front and watched the whole scene. What does it say to her? If the teacher (or anybody) is at the wrong, just march up and shout foul words at the person. Afterall the father is showing the example. How wrong can the father be?

2. What can my colleague do? She was stuck herself (her fault) but she can't move front or back or left as she is hemmed in on all sides. Is there no grace or mercy for a person who has made a mistake?

3. Students were watching....no wonder there is no respect for teachers nowadays because parents themselves think teachers are not worth respecting. Is this what we want to teach our young people nowadays? Not respecting the teachers, which may eventually turn into not respecting the elderly which will eventually turn to not respecting the parents themselves....

Well, human race of the Earth...what have we become? Is there anymore decent fellow humans around who practice tolerance, forgiveness, kindness, patience etc etc etc???

I had an encounter myself with an ugly Malaysian last holiday. I parked my car into a narrow parking lot at Tesco. Got out of the car...it was real narrow, I had to squeeze myself out of the car. Immediately I heard somebody shouting at me in Cantonese as to how terrible I was to knock her car. I was stunned...I didn't even realised I knocked her car. It was narrow; of course my door would have knocked against her door...otherwise how on earth am I going to get out.

I apologised to her but she didn't let up. She went on and on and on to scold me that I was inconsiderate of other people and how when she gets out of her car she would be real careful not to knock other cars. I was like.....what did I do wrong to deserve this from a stranger (then again she's not really a stranger...she's a church member who decided not to recognise me).

I gave up trying to explain....I apologised to her again and told her that I'm probably very rough and it's my style to open the doors roughly and bang into other people's car.

Ok....I may be in the wrong though I think it would happen to anybody getting out of the car like that...but I apologized immediately.

1. Is it very difficult to accept an apology and be gracious to the party that is wrong?

2. Is there another approach to this matter? Must one shout, make a scene and degrade another human being to show how superior one is?

You know what? I am sick and tired of the human race that is petty, selfish, unkind....But I have learnt not to allow such people to spoil my day ....

Anyways........the issue I am trying to bring up is...what kind of society are we creating? We referring to us adults....parents, teachers, aunts, uncles, grandparents....Who are we to blame if the next generations have no morals and values? TEACHERS????

the ugly Malaysian...

Attended a buffet dinner in a friend's house today. It was raining heavily. A steady stream of people were coming in and soon all the seats were taken up. There was still more people coming in and hanging around waiting for empty seats.

My family and I ate our share and quickly excused ourselves so that others can have our seats. I was quite sad to see that those who came in the earliest continued to linger and gave no consideration to the other guests standing.

What makes me sadder is...they are my church members. This dear friends are very generous and big-hearted people. I think it will be really considerate if the earlier guests could be kind to the hosts and allow room for others especially as it was raining and the place was getting a bit cramped.

Why do we not walk the talk? If we preach the fruits of the spirit....isn't this one situation where we can show the fruits?

garden again....

I thought I'll put in more pictures of the plants in the garden ... so here's one of the passion fruit taken from the bottom.

This is the other fruit. We're still keeping a close watch for new fruits. Still remaining at two...
Here's a larger picture of the patch where the passion fruit is. The bottom there is serai, pineapple, pandan, basil, mint... The dragon fruit is also trying to survive here...think it will give up soon as the passion fruit plant is dominant now.
Some of the flowers that I have. This pot of hydrangea came from the old house...given by Ing. Must be more than 10years old. Of course we've repotted it. I've started another two pots of it....it's growing. Need to keep it away from the sun and give it lots of water.
Sister gave this to me last year when Nelda and Ma went home to Sitiawan for a while. I almost threw them out but Nelda was very determined to grow them. Now it is below the passion fruit patch and I have a pot of it too. Lovely red flowers.
The bougainvillea is always my favourite. The root has gone to the bottom. That's why the tree is so healthy and the flowers so beautiful. After the flowers have dropped, KC will have to cut off the roots again to prevent it from going deeper and spoiling the wall. These pots have been with us for almost 15 years now.
Two pots of this. From Aunty Lim...the lady who took care of Lyn when she was a babe. So they are also 15years old. Read somewhere that the plant is not good...think I've quite a few of such plants in the garden. I still want to keep them. The flowers are so beautiful.

Sigh....I thought I had more pictures than this...where have the rest gone to??? Anyway another blog to remind me next time of the plants in the garden.