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...

Prof Kamil

Prof Kamil, an inspiration to many.

During the talk at IIUM on 6 May 2011

The first time I heard his name was when my friend lent me a book written by him titled "PhD Kecil Tapi Signifikan". I was not planning on doing my PhD (neither am I now) but for some small but significant reason, I started reading from lines to paragraphs to pages and before I knew it, I had finished the whole book! Then my friend suggested that I read his blog, which I did and still do until today. Then I heard him over the radio and occasionally watched him on TV. The style of his speech is very simple and down to earth. He always uses his own experiences as examples in his talks. Then I was told that he was coming to the mosque where I used to stay and of course I attended the session. Again, I attended his talk when he came for the second time. Since that night, I was determined to get to know him in person. Coincidentally, by that time I was already working at IIUM, so I told myself that I would invite him to my university. A few months after that I was contacted by Fatiyah who told me that Prof Kamil was coming to KPTM on three separate dates. I said to her, "You can count on me to be there", and I did on all three occasions because it was a good opportunity for me to approach him about coming to IIUM. Right after his session ended, I made sure that I stopped him on the way out of the mosque and I blurted the question, "Prof I am working at IIUM, would you come and give a talk if I invited you?" To my excitement he said, "Yes. Just write a short note to the Director of UiTM Johor (Segamat campus) to make things easier". I did, and the rest, as they say is history.

Some of the audience at IIUM session on 6 May 2011

Some of the KPTM students who were present at his April 19 Session

Having supper with Prof at KPTM Cafe on 29 March 2011 session

Four days ago I stopped by the entrance to IIUM to take the picture of the banner when Prof came to our university. Then, with the help of a very good officer from the IP department, I took the banner down and kept it with me. I will treasure the knowledge and experience he shared with us with the banner as a proof that he came to our campus!

Just after I finished writing this entry, I read his blog and there was the long awaited news of his early retirement from UiTM so that he can migrate to Taibah University in Medina. I wish you all the best in whatever you do Prof. Thank you so much for everything.

Breeze

Every day I pass by this breeze way. It really fits the name because it is always windy and breezy. I can definitely say that this is one of my favorite spots at work. Whenever I pass by, I feel like being at the beach rather than at work. There is one student who shares this feeling with me (I guess) because I often see him sits there with his laptop on. What could be better than surfing in a breezy afternoon?

Proposals

When the semester started, it felt like it was going to last forever. I was wondering if it ever was going to end! Suddenly, we are already in the 11th week, which means that the students have only one and a half weeks to write their proposals before they have to hand them in on the 11th of this month. Panic! Not me, but the students! Just take a look at the pictures above. They are very serious discussing the issues. I am really not looking forward to reading all the papers. But the good news is, we are going to have the longest semester break ever, nearly 5 months!

Taking a Break

Salam and hi. What? I haven't written any entries since August 2nd? Unbelievable! I should be marking term papers for my students but I need to get away from it just for a few minutes. There's so much to tell and let's see what to mention first. I went to KL yesterday to attend a departmental meeting. I promised myself not to spend so much but the moment I entered Kinokunia, I went berserk! Luckily I managed to control myself and just bought 2 books. One is for my class reference and the other is Love, Eat, Pray! It's a wonderful novel which has been made into a motion picture recently. I wonder if I could still catch it on the big screen or I just have to get a CD.
Anyway, I stopped by Auntie Annie's place and bought 12 huge pretzels. My kids just love them! I think if I really sit down and follow the recipe, I could actually make them or even sell them! Maybe I will try that after we move into our new home. Speaking of that, our new house is almost a 100 percent ready. We are just waiting for the electricity to be installed. After that we have to wash the floor and have a small feast or housewarming gathering. I can't wait.
Early this month my niece got married and the wedding was held in the kampung. It was a wonderful ceremony where I had a chance to meet many of my relatives and friends. I guess we have to wait for a long time to have another big gathering like that because my nephew (the Malaysian side that is) said he needs between 8 and 10 years to establish his career. My kids are also still too young.
Najla had another tooth pulled last night while I was in KL. Steve said she refused to have her 2 teeth filled. I asked her why this morning and she said, "I want to do it with Mak". Isn't that sweet? Speaking of Najla, she is no longer enrolled in a kinder garden because she said she knows everything that is being taught there already. In the beginning we sent her to the nursery just to play with the younger kids but at the beginning of this month she requested to go to Mak Bedah's hous. Kak Bedah is our good friend cum baby sitter for the rest of the kids before. I guess she's happy there helping Mak Bedah and watching TV whenever she pleases.

On Tuesday Steve brought home a lot of novels which we have ordered from the Scholastic Book Club. I think more than half of them are Yasmin's. She's really "wild" reading them now. Harris, Hannah and Najla also got a few books each. I wonder where we are going to put all the young adult novels we have. Since Danial is staying in the hostel, he didn't get to order any. I hope he'll find something he likes from Yasmin's selection.

Irsyad's Sports Day

Never in the history of Irsyad School having its annual sports day at the Kuantan football stadium. When I was told that this year's event was going to be held on Saturday (April 3rd) at the stadium I was ecstatic. It was a grand event for my kids Harris and Hannah who are still in the elementary school there. I don't know about other parents but to me and my husband, our kids' activities are very important and significant. No matter how busy we think we are they must be celebrated and enjoyed so that the kids feel that they are being appreciated.

Coincidentally on the same day our new Big Boss was scheduled to come and visit our campus in conjunction with the entrepreneurship day function. I went to see my boss to get an excuse not to attend because I wanted to go to my kids' sports day. As expected, the answer was no, and I was very disappointed. Since I am leaving this College real soon, I could have just ignored my boss' request. However, being a good employee as I am (though not many appreciate that!) I still attended the function but my heart was at the stadium. Everbody in my family was there except for Danial. I kept on looking at my watch and finally when the function was stopped for a break, I took off and joined my family. I missed all the games etc but I managed to watch the end of the award giving ceremony. Thank God Yasmin took some pictures.

Anyway, when it was over I went back to my College and continue attending the afternoon session which finally ended at 5 pm. It was a win-win situation because both family and career are important (though not equally important). That reminds me of the speech by Bryan Dyson, the former Coca-cola CEO who said that life is like a game in which we are juggling five balls in the air namely work, family, health, friends, and spirit. He said work is like a rubber ball because when you drop it, it will bounce back. However, the other four balls are made of glass. If we drop one or all of them they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same. Therefore, I do not feel too bad for leaving the function momentarily becausel it was a Saturday and we were not given any unrecorded leave or anything like that. Even if we were I was already decided to forfeit my share. Such an angel I am :)

Just look at their faces, how could I not want to celebrate together?

2010

We are already in the second month of the year 2010. This year certainly brings a few big changes to my family. The biggest change is not having Danial in the house anymore because he is now enrolled at a boarding school in Johore. We had a very hectic schedule on the weekend of 9 January because of sending him to that school. We hadn't even finished unpacking our mess from our month long vacation in the US then, and yet we had to pack again to go to Johore.

The second big change is that we have to move into another house. Our landlord informed us that he needed the house for his son who will be doing a practical training sometime in April. We have been renting his house for 14 years. Wow, it has been that long! Although we have bought a piece of land several years ago, Steve and I are never in the hurry to build our own home because the rent is very inexpensive. You would never get that price if you were renting in the Klang Valley area. We asked our friends around the neighborhood and we found another rental house which is a duplex. Since we are so used to staying in an old but comfortable bungalow-style house, it's going to be quite an adjustment to do in terms of space considering the amount of junk we have accumulated all these years. It's ok because it's only temporary until we build our own house. I haven't even started packing anything yet. It's so overwhelming and I have no clue where to start! I think I will begin this weekend because it's going to be a 3-day Maulidur Rasul holiday.

The next big change is of course the adventure of building our own home! I was informed that the plan which we submitted to MPK has just been approved. I have yet to see it. I believe it is with the person whom we hired to draw the plan. I am too busy at the moment and will only be able to see the draftsman when Steve is back from his trip to an international school in Bangkok.

The final big change is my career. I will not say much for now because it's still too overwhelming to say and broadcast it worldwide.

Marriage

During fasting month, all the workers at my College get to go home at 4.30pm which is half an hour earlier than our regular time. I bet some people are envious of that, especially those who never leave their office until the sun has completely set. Anyway, as soon as my watch turned 4.30pm, I switched off my computer, packed my bag, and walked out of my office. Then I saw two lecturers sitting in the room across from mine, so I asked them why they were still there. Apparently, they were waiting for their roommate who had to teach until 5pm. Since both of them are new comers, I decided to get to know them for a few minutes.

During our conversation, a topic of marriage came up. I said I was married a bit late (at the age of 28). Then they seemed worried and asked me whether 28 is really too late to get married. I told them that it is not late per say, but you will feel it when you see your friend’s kids are already in college while yours are still wearing diapers. However, if you are not concerned about things like that, it really doesn’t matter anyway. After all, getting married isn’t that simple. You have to have a partner whom you are going to marry. Hopefully, you meet someone who will go through thick and thin with you. Thank God I don’t have to go through the journey of finding Mr. Right anymore.