Holiday Long Overdue

Star Q

i.  Laksa Sarawak Parte Dos

ii.  Port Dickson - Memory Building

iii.  Kunjungan Sulung

It's half way into the month of December and only two weeks before 2016 comes knocking at our doors.  It is a time for everyone to think about taking it easy, catching up with the things we want to do, like hobbies for example and thinking about going on holidays.

Port Dickson - Memory Building

Star Q

i.  Bengkel Memperkasa ICT

ii.  Flexible Grouping and I-Think Map

iii.  New York Hotel - Never Expect Too Much

I can't really recall the number of times I have come to Port Dickson for different courses and meetings held at the many resorts and three-star hotels that fringe the shore line of this quaint little town.  However the one I do remember distinctly would be the meetings and courses I had in Selesa Hotel.

New York Hotel : Never Expect Too Much

Star Q

i.  Kursus CPD SISC+ 2015

ii.  Kerabu Ayam

iii.  Solok Lada Berkeju

They say the first impression is the most important and most long lasting.  And so, when I stayed at new York Hotel, Johor Bharu for the first time early last year, I was really impressed.  In fact, It isn't too much if I say that I was flabbergasted and dumbfounded!

Eating Blind Salary

Star Q

i.  Kerabu Ayam / Chicken Salad

ii.  Revamping Innovations

iii.  Not My Mom's Macaroni

Today is the last day of school for this year and many are ecstatic about spending their month-long school holiday.  Many would have made plans to go overseas as their holiday destinations and just as many holidaymakers have also chosen local destinations.

When Life Gets Tough : What Not To Tell Your Kids To Do

Star Q

i.  Not My Mom's Baked Macaroni

ii.  Cendawan Portobello Sumbat Daging

iii.  Sliced Peach Cake

Image sourced from google

Some of my friends have been declaring in the social media that their children are complaining about the difficulties they are facing in their lives today.  They seem to feel they are working much harder but whatever they make from their concerted efforts is not enough to catch up with the continuous rise of the cost of living.

Misleading Advertisement

Star Q

i.  Cendawan Portobello Sumbat Daging

ii.  Mee Wantan Sizzling

iii.  Sliced Peach Cake

Much has been said about the above advertisement regarding a company providing financial credit to couples who plan to get married.  However most of the comments focused on the sheer ridiculousness of the idea of borrowing a huge amount of money for a wedding, only to end up in debt up to their noses for that once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Parents' Hazy About Responsibilities

Star Q

i.  Mee Wantan Sizzling

ii.  Sliced Peach Cake

iii.  Sandwich Bebola Daging Berkeju

When teachers talk about ways on how to improve pupils' English Language proficiency, nobody seems to really listen.  The powers that be seem to acknowledge the existence of this group of highly trained and experienced people merely as people who teach children and at the same time become nannies who take care of other people's children while their parents are away at work.

Dead Bored

Star Q

i.  Sandwich Bebola Daging Berkeju

ii.  Brussel Sprouts Kung Pao

iii. Pasta Makanan Laut

Image sourced from google

I have never been someone who can sit idly in the office (what more if it's a cubicle!) all cooped up like a chicken looking at the same four walls of the same small chicken coop, with nothing else to do but smelling it's own droppings! 

Days without Haze

Star Q

i.  Sandwich Bebola Daging Berkeju

ii.  PLC - Teacher Sharing Session

iii.  Close Only Schools

It was a cause for extreme excitement when after one whole year of having courses and workshops and government premises and old, run-down hotels, I finally got to attend a conference at one of the grandest hotels in this town.  The proverb 'icing on the cake' cannot be used in this context because there were many other situations that made me feel on cloud nine!

Native Speakers versus Non-native Speakers

Star Q

i.  Sandwich Bebola Daging Berkeju

ii.  Penataraan B. Inggeris PT3

iii.  SISC As I See It

There were a lot of grouses and dissatisfaction when the Education Ministry decided to implement the Native Speakers programme in selected rural schools to help improve the proficiency of English Language amongst the students here, a few years back.

SISC As I See It

Star Q 

i.  Brussel Sprouts Kung Pao

ii.  Penataraan Bahasa Inggeris PT3

iii.  PLC - Teacher Sharing Session

I have nothing against programmes and blueprints the government wants to come up with and then amidst chaos and reluctance from the community, all these things are thrown onto our faces expecting the best of results when they know full well that what they want us to do have not had a trial run yet.

Close Only Schools?

Star Q

i.  Haze : School Off, Shopping On

ii.  Cheesy Mango Floats

iii.  Writing Conclusions - A Starter

This haze that our neighbours so generously give to us is causing us more harm than we know.  We all know how it can adversely affect young children which resulted in the closing of schools by the Ministry of Education for almost five days.

Haze : School Off, Shopping On

Star Q

i.  Sri Rasa Baked Chicken Wings

ii.  PLC - Learning Walk

iii.  Chicken Pie Revisited

I was on leave on the 28th of September, 2015, because I had to send my daughter back to her campus and that was also the day when the Ministry of Education announced that all schools in Negeri Sembilan (a few other states included) be closed due to the crazy haze coming from Sumatera, which incidentally is getting to be a bit out of hand due to the complacency of the people there.

Haze Craze

Star Q

i.  My Minestrone

ii.  Heir Conditioning - Enrichment

iii.  Sri Rasa Baked Chicken Wings

People never learn from the mistakes they make, even when the mistakes they make implicate other people in a more  negative way.  And worse of all, these people claim ignorance for the mistakes they make and find it easier to put the blame on the people who suffer from their mistakes.

Empty Office

Star Q

i.  Bahang Aidil Adha

ii.  School Support for Writing Phase 2

iii.  Heir Conditioning - Enrichment

It is but a few days more to the eve of Idul Adha and many of us would have by now started to pack our clothes and other things neatly into our suitcases to make the long exodus back to our respective home towns; whether or not we are celebrating it.

Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Star Q

i.  What Group Ethos?

ii.  Parmesan Zucchini Chips

iii.  Writing - A Suggestion on Differentiation

The long and scathing content of the short message sent to me via my mobile phone was the work of a very dissatisfied and grumpy person, who obviously thinks that every thing that I am doing is adding more burden onto his already sagging shoulders.

What Group Ethos?

Star Q

i.  Gulai Nasi Dagang

ii.  Heir Conditioning - Enrichment

iii.  PLC - Learning Walk

Recently, I have been having this longing to become a teacher once again.  Yes, the work load in school was even only donkeys could bear.  Yes, the administrators existed just to achieve personal gains from the sufferings of their subordinates.  But I honestly feel like becoming a teacher all over again!

Non-Exemplary Teachers

Star Q

i.  Complaints of the Present Youngsters

ii.  Differentiated Learning Workshop

iii.  Gulai Nasi Dagang

Hari Raya Aidil Fitri celebrations are almost drawing to a close with a few more days of the month of Syawal left.  Be that as it may, many individual households and offices are taking this opportunity to have open houses for their friends.

Complaints of the Present Youngsters

Star Q

i.  Differentiated Learning Workshop

ii.  Majlis Ramah Mesra PPDT

iii.  Gulai Nasi Dagang

It seems like a very long time ago when all the baby boomers, just like the present generation, had to fight for their livelihood in an environment where one had to compete with one another for a good job (or any job for that matter) just to make sure that they can be self-supportive.

Three for One!

Star Q

i.  Chicken Pie Revisited

ii.  SISC As I See It

iii.  Lawatan Audit oleh JPNS

Intriguing topic this time around!  I am actually referring to the number of hours spent on a departmental meeting and the results that are obtained after spending that amount of time; which is merely one item!

Kluang : 22 Years Later

Star Q

i.  Time to Binge; Not!

ii.  Chicken Pie Revisited

iii.  SISC As I See It

It was a nostalgic trip down memory lane when I passed by Kluang town recently on my way to Bandar Tenggara to attend a course.  It was a long and tiring trip and I am really glad I wasn't the one who was doing the driving, which gave me a chance to really see what Kluang had become after 22 years since I left it.

Time to Binge; Not!

Star Q

i.  Chicken Pie Revisited

ii.  Writing A Conclusion

iii.  SISC As I See It

It's Eid Firtri again and for most of us it's time to make up for what we did not eat during the fasting month of Ramadhan.  For some of us, Eid is the time for us to make up for all the food that we did not eat!

SISC As I See It

Star Q

i.  Ayam Penyet Sambel Ijo

ii.  Trust School - SMK Semenchu

iii.  Smart Sharing at SMK Gemas

It has been one and a half years already and there is still nothing concrete about this position, be they with regards to the job specifications or with the appointments, even with the attention given by many quarters with regards to the successes these people are supposed to achieve.

Devil Bosses

Star Q

i.  Lawatan Audit oleh JPNS

ii.  Trust School - SMK Semenchu

iii.  Beautiful School Canteen

It's the out of the frying pan, into the fire moment.  You must be wondering what I'm talking about.  It's just a case of me running away from one bad boss, and now working under another equally bad one.

La Sorpresa

Star Q

i.  Cheesy Fried Bananas

ii.  Consistently Inconsistent

iii.  Kursus Kejurulatihan SISC+

Have you ever seen a curious domestic cat, silently stalking, say a butterfly.  If you sneak from behind and quickly tap the cat's back, it will get a shock and jump in surprise!  The butterfly would fly away and progress, but the domestic cat will still be confined to the four walls of it's owners house.  You see, the cat never learns its lesson!  It will become curious once again and when there is a sneak attack from behind it will jump in surprise! Yet again!

Of Floods and Quakes

Star Q

i.  While-Listening Activity

ii.  Conducting a Course

iii.  Sotong Goreng Cili Padi

I have seen floods in my lifetime but I have never seen one of such a huge proportion like the one that happened in Kelantan earlier this year.  I mean, I have read about the big flood that happened in Kuala Lumpur in the early seventies, but the emotional impact that it left inside me was nowhere similar to the one in Kelantan.

A Day at the Bus Terminal

Star Q

i.  Bridging the Continuity Gap

ii.  Conducting A Course

iii.  Mee Kari Rempah Wangi

The other day I sent my daughter to a bus terminal so that she could catch an express bus back to where she is studying.  We reached the ticket counter at about ten thirty in the morning.  We were early (and I always like to be early for almost anything) and so it didn't really matter when the guy selling the ticket told us that the bus would arrive half an hour later.

Where On Earth?

Star Q

i.  While-Reading Activity

ii.  Quiche Rendang Ayam

iii.  Kursus Profesional Reading & Writing

I have been to many courses throughout my service.  I have always managed to at least find out about the venue where the courses would be held either by searching through the internet or asking about them from friends.  But this time, the venue for this particular course really left me dumbfounded!

The Room at IAB

Star Q

i.  21st Century Classroom Setting

ii.  Cheesy Fried Bananas

iii.  Differentiating the Product

It has been a long time since I climbed six flight of stairs and the experience of going through it the other day made me puff and pant like never before.  The arduous endeavour finally ended when I reached room B302.  Even as I was opening the door, I was still gasping for air, nose flaring, sucking in as much oxygen my lungs could take in.

Monkey Business

Star Q

i.  Roti Arab Gemas

ii.  Differentiating the Product

iii.  Dialog Prestasi Pertama 2015

I have waited for quite some time to write about this matter but I have finally had it up to my eyeballs with anger with the people at the town council.  I know my dissatisfactions towards them will probably be left unread in this virtual world, but at least I get to let off some steam!

Coffee O License

Star Q

i.  Cheesy Fried Bananas

ii.  Kursus Kejurulatihan SISC+

iii.  Differentiating the Product

Time and again I have written about these idiotic road users who have no regards whatsoever for the safety of other road users.  It is as if their only purpose for existence is to cause distress and anger to other people whenever they are on the road.

Consistently Inconsistent

Star Q

i.  Cheesy Fried Bananas

ii.  Differentiating the Product

iii.  Dialog Prestasi Pertama

The town council is at it again.  Already famous for providing less than satisfactory services to the public who pay several maintenance taxes bi-annually to them, they are adding another horrible looking feather onto their equally horrible looking hat!

Feeling Pity For PT3

Star Q

i.  Banjir 2014

ii.  Cheese Tartlets

iii.  A Question of Queueing

First of all, let me just say that the recent revelation of the first ever PT3 result was short of a disaster in more ways than one.  Even though many were apprehensive about the outcome, people still had their fingers crossed that this examination or assessment would be the best thing to replace PMR.

A Question of Queueing

Star Q

i.  Selamat Pengantin Baru 2014

ii.  LDP Pertama 2015

iii.  Cheese Tartlets

I know grumbling is not a good way to start off the new year but when you come across people who are inconsiderate to the point of endangering other people's lives, one can't help but to grumble and complain at the same time.

Parenting In Public

Star Q

i.  Selamat Pengantin Baru 2014

ii.  Collaborative Learning

iii.  Cheese Tarts

It's the new year and there's much to look forward to!  I'm a bit enthusiastic and I hope that this enthusiasm does not only last for the first quarter of this year because there are lots of things to do during this time.  I hope I don't experience burn out!