It's school holiday. D just finished his SPM yesterday but he's still in Johor. I guess he's trying to get things straighten out at school, then meet with friends before coming back to Kuantan. Y is waiting for her PMR results to come out, which I was told sometime after Christmas. Before the holiday started I was so worried if the kids were just going to stay home and watch the idiot box or just play with computer games. Alhamdulillah I managed to arrange a Quran camp for them. All in all, there are 11 of them attending the camp - 4 of my kids plus 7 others from around here. It started on 28 November and insya Allah will end on 29 December. So far, the kids are enjoying the program which starts at 8am and ends at 4pm with a 2-hour break from 12noon to 2pm. They said muallim Shafie is a great facilitator and he's definitely not a boring teacher :)

I am very happy with the program although it brings extra responsibilities for me. Normally I would go to the office around 8am and stay there until 5pm regardless of whether I have classes or otherwise. Ever since the program has started, I have to be back between 12 and 2 to take care of the kids when they come back for lunch. Four of them live quite far from here so I offered them to come eat and rest at my house. So, instead of feeding 4 kids, I have to feed 8! Most of the time I try to cook but once in a while (like today), I think I will just go to the nearby restaurant to get some food for them. Feeding them is not a problem because they are not fussy about food. Most are just too happy to eat rice and eggs. They are big enough to feed themselves if they are left alone but I just want to be there during that 2 hour break to ensure that they are not making too much mess :) I don't mind if papers, books or toys are thrown all over the place but I simply can not stand food remnants all over the floor. Ooops, it's almost time for them to be home, I better start moving...

I love teaching but I dislike marking exams with a passion. Never in a million years that I thought I would end up teaching for a living. I still remember the second day I came back from the US after I graduated. I was in a deep sleep (from a jet-lag) when suddenly my late father came running upstairs and excitedly asked me if I wanted to replace a teacher who was on a maternity leave at the school near my house. I remember telling him that I did not want to teach ever! But more than 2 decades later, I found myself in a classroom talking to very eager youths who would probably believe 95% of what I say. So I learn to never say never. Like I said I love teaching. However, marking exam scripts is a totally different experience. Why can't we just give them bunches and bunches of multiple guess questions? That would be a breeze wouldn't it? Unfortunately, life is not like that. As you may have guessed, I am in the middle of marking midterm exam scripts and I need to take a break before I become stressed and give poor marks to some unfortunate kids. I must be very good to my students with the hope that God will inspire my children's teachers to be good to them, ameen. I think my mood to mark is back so I better continue so that I can finish all of them before attending a meeting at 5pm. See you folks soon. Take care...

Special Day

There is one special date which occurs every year since 2001 and today is one of them, 111111. I heard many couples plan to tie the knot today and some pregnant ladies have even made appointments to have Caesarian section! What a crazy world we live in. As a practicing Muslim I do not believe in any day or date to be special because each moment is special for as long as God allows me to breathe the air and live a healthy life. This morning was special because we had to get up at 4.30 to send Harris to his school. He needed to be there by 5.00 am in order to join a leadership camp trip to Kelantan. I guess by now he has already arrived at wherever that camp is supposed to be held. The schedule for the camp is quite packed and I really hope that he will learn something that will benefit him for a long time to come.Yesterday was special because I took Najla, Hannah, Yasmin, and Balqis to IIUM swimming pool. Yasmin learned how to swim when she was 4 years old and she could still float and perform some breast strokes. She told me that she has forgotten other styles. Hannah was excited because she managed to float after being taught by a few ladies who were there in the pool. Najla had a hard time learning but if we go often enough she might be able to do it soon. She has been bugging me to send her to a swimming class. I talked to the life guard and was told that her class will only start in March next year. I think Najla swallowed a lot of water from the pool because she had stomach upset at 2am. She woke up crying and said she needed to vomit. After several attempts, nothing happened. Luckily she felt better half an hour later. There are 2 things that she really would like to learn: swimming and riding a bicycle. Well she shouldn't feel so bad because I learned how to ride a bike at the age of 24 and only knew how to swim in my 40s :)

Danial came home for Eid Adha celebration last Friday (Nov. 4) and stayed until Wednesday. As usual we celebrated our Eid in my mom's village. It was a nice family-get-together time. All the other kids were at school on Wednesday and Steve was at work. Since I was on leave, I managed to bake 2 batches of my wonderful chocolate chip cookies. I was so engrossed baking that Danial almost missed his bus! Alhamdulillah we got to the bus station just in time.

Eid Mubarak

Salam and hello to all my fellow readers. I know I have been neglecting this blog for over a month! How and when am I going to be consistent with my writing? Well, only time will tell. Since tomorrow is going to be another big spiritual celebration for Muslims (Eid al-Adha - please forgive me if I spell it wrong), I would like to take this opportunity to wish Eid Mubarak to all Muslims around the world. Every year around this time, it brings back memory when I was in Mecca performing hajj in 2006. I really miss the place and would really love to go there again. Unfortunately I have other commitments which requires lots of $$, such as kid's school, family visits, etc, etc, I have to put that wish on hold indefinitely:( Anyway, for those who are driving long distance to visit family members please be patient and drive defensively. Selamat Hari Raya Aidi Adha, maaf zahir bathin.

Road Safety

While driving to work yesterday, I turned on my favorite radio station, Radio IKIM. The topic of the day was about road safety/Malaysian drivers. Frankly, I am tired of this topic because it has been discussed by so many people in so many programs but the problem remains the same. The most popular question asked is "why are there so many accidents? Are they caused by the road condition or the poor driving habits?" I think any Malaysians regardless of age, race, background, and academic qualifications can answer this one in a second. Of course their poor driving habits. In my opinion, there are two major ugly Malaysian characters that contribute to road accidents: lack of patience and lack of tolerance. No matter how bad the road condition is, if the drivers are patient and tolerant, accidents can be prevented. Many drivers just ignore stop signs whenever they are at any junctions. Those who stop completely (trying to follow rules) are frowned upon as if they are committing the biggest sin! Many drivers also like to drive on the shoulder of the road, which makes it difficult for emergency vehicles to pass through at critical moments. Malaysians are proud of being friendly and hospitable, but the moment they sit behind the wheel, they transform into monsters!