Utusan Malaysia Online - Timur

Hats off to all of you

Utusan Malaysia Online - Timur

Office madness

Things at the office have been rather chaotic lately. Everybody seems to be on the run trying hard some out of compulsion to get things done on time or risk themselves of all the expected clichés of the what-have-you-done, when-can –you –get-everything- done and  did-I-tell -you -so third degree from the one in that   big cosy chair. I’m doing just the same. With deadlines to meet I’m working to the best of my ability to satisfy everybody I’m dealing with especially the ones pertaining to INTEC. An English course designed to help those who are still with MUET bands 1 & 2 to graduate. This 1 month course is scheduled to be held early next month. I think that one has always been a major concern not only for people in my department but also the top management, apprehensive actually of the students’ performance in MUET that would definitely cost them their graduation. It’s been made a policy that those who fail to get a good grade in MUET will not be allowed to graduate. That worries the living daylight out of the students themselves and I personally feel sorry for the them as many of them have actually taken the exam many time but to no avail. I hope with the crash course which we are going to offer will be of great help to at least make them improve their communication skill before they jump into the real working world.

Another programme that is going to happen which is slated to take place next week is ICELT. The 1^st International Colloquium on the teaching and learning of English. This event is a joint collaboration with Prince of Songkla University in Pattani.  8 lectures from both universities will present their papers on that day. Everybody in the office is starting to get into the swing of it with the designated tasks to finish before Monday. I could see that everybody seems to be intensely rushing to complete their share of work with me having to prepare the MC script with my friends Tia and Kvl. But I guess both of them do no really need me as I believe they can execute the task by themselves with flying colours. :P

The one thing that is making me work so hard to get all this done with is  the fact that these two major events of the year will be my last assignments before I leave for my MA’s.  The excitement has all taken over me already. It leaves me with another 3 months to serve PPBPI to the best of my ability before the enrolment. The prospect of the learning pursuits has started me to get myself prepared for the next two years to win this pitched battle. Now I have started to get myself familiar with research, journals and all that jazz so that I can perform well in my studies. I do hope everything will go as planned.

A Dedication To My Parents

It really makes me swoon with delight to be home again for the umpteenth time already to see my one and only precious source of strength whose love for me as far as I can remember has never withered away. My beloved parents. People say parents’ love is one of the strongest forces on earth. Distinctive on its own. I totally concur with that nicely put powerful statement as I have witnessed and felt myself the gush of my parents’ love. I must say that It doesn’t bear any comparison at all with other loves. It’s so pure and sincere. It is Godsend. It is divine.

I cannot help but take pity on them as they have done a lot to bring up their 11 children this far. Though not all have been able to become what they always wanted us to be, I can however sense and see that satisfying look they compose out of perhaps a celebration of their triumph as parents. I’m really really proud of these two heroes of mine. The patience exuded throughout those years of ups and downs has never seized to amaze me in every sense. Their endurance over incessant obstacles in life is unbeatable. I can only smile and cherish their continuous effort in trying on top form to create a picture of a happy family albeit a bit of a flaw in the noble effort. Hats off to both of them for having tried the best of their ability to become truly responsible parents for us.

True to form, as parents should be, they without fail will always be there for me apart from being the typically industrious bread winners to support this poor family. My father  used to be a teacher but was later laid off by his boss who happened to be his good friend to my surprise for not sharing the same political ideology with him. It left my father jobless but it was not too long before he stood on his feet again doing odd jobs and later joined the political force of a party on a full time basis to fend for the whole family. My Mother helped him support the family with rubber taping, bottle cleaning and brick molding . Life back then was very difficult. I can still recall those days when I had to talk sense into my own self to brace for what God was giving us. Earning our crest and then having to share food was the common picture of what was going on with us. If the memory serves me right, I can still remember having to wear worn-out hand- me-downs for the whole year because my father could not afford to buy new ones for me. Things became a lot worse when they had to bear with one of their recalcitrant sons who had always created problems at the cost of my parents’ right to have the same comfort and well-being like everybody else did. Scenes of the unpleasant past will always be etched in my memory.

But now things have turned out well with this family. I am always a great believer of divine intervention in human’s passage of time. It speaks volumes with most of their children have, by the grace of God managed to secure a good job and live happily with their family now. All their effort has already paid off I believe. 

To my parents Abdullah Ali and Nik Hasmah Nik Ibrahim I love both of you so much and to my mother especially I, from the bottom of my heart would like to wish you a HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY.

My all-time favourite poem

I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud- William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed---and gazed---but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Mr Lonely

Have you ever felt like retreating to a solitary confinement away from this human’s never-ending search for immortality for good? When you feel that you’ve had enough of what the world has to offer and you can’t help but succumb to its incessant temptations, that would be the best avenue to turn to. I have done just as that for the past few months in trying to comprehend the fact of life which is way beyond my ken. I have been so much in despair to think of when would be the end of this spiritual predicament. I’m lost and bewildered and in constant effort to try to step out and make meaning out of my life. What a wretch I am. As much as you when reading this entry are sick of my seemingly endless laments over my own life I feel the worse. I hate this feeling preying on my mind. I hate it when I have to pretend that everything is fine with me. I hate it even more when I have to keep up appearances for the sake of others’ happiness and I hate it when I have to pen this down ....I think this confinement is all I need the most at the moment.

New Semester

The new semester has just started. My first class commenced on Sunday despite a bit of a problem with the timetable. Although there are a few clashes yet to be solved all the same the class have to resume. I teach 3 English for Business classes and 1 English 1 class this semester and am looking forward to those classes that I’ve promised to myself to give the best I could to help my beloved students improve their English.

Teaching to me is not only a career that I do to keep my body and soul together rather I take is as a vocation, something that I revere and defines me as an individual. The passion that I have for the noble profession is beyond description that I believe being one commands a great deal of respects though that’s not what I wish for. obviously The profession speaks for itself . Other professions are equally important yet I believe teaching is distinctive in its own way as to compare with its counterpart. Only those in the profession could tell them apart.

Blessed with the best job the world could offer I always make myself aware of the amanah God is testing me with and put myself together to strive for the very best to deliver it accordingly. For every heartbeat I devote to teaching I wish a big reward from the One up there. Handling my students is every bit the reminiscence of how during the good old days in my school years when my teachers had to do the same. I now could readily connect myself to their conscientious efforts in dealing with students of different characteristics albeit perhaps a totally different approach we subscribe, yet the objective is the same. To educate them or at least for some that think it is big a word, to show them ways, good ones of course for them to opt for what they think best fits them for their lives. I always tell my students regardless of anything that might hinder them from achieving their dreams that they have to believe in themselves and put their best foot forward to make them a reality.

One and half year of teaching has tremendously given me fascinating and thought-provoking insights into education though I believe I still leave a lot to be desired. Thus I will take whatever ways and means I could to better myself in that regard. Undoubtedly, I have a long way to go and I will keep going till I reach the ultimate satisfaction; students who are morally and academically commendable being produced who will be of great significance to the society and posses the same wish as I do or ever better. It’s no bed of roses but I’ll do my part to the best of my ability and keep my words to that. To all my students out there, Happy learning!!!

UMK-PSU English Camp

3 weeks of hiatus and now I’m back again. Hats off s to those involved in the recently held International English camp collaborated with PSU for the hard work and dedication exuded throughout the 3 day program.

It was indeed a sheer success not only to UMK as a whole but also to the working committee who had slogged their guts out to make it a reality and delivered accordingly as planned. The preparation was a bit uncertain at the outset as we had encountered a bit of a problem with the procedures, but we, by the grace of God, managed to sail through all the same safe in the knowledge that this first ever international collaboration would go down the treat. I could see throughout the 3 day program that all participants took part in all the activities in great relish. Their participation was indeed commendable. It really met the objectives to help students to at least get them to speak a word or two since most of them were weak in their command of the language.

The programme indeed served as a platform for them to polish and improve themselves in a fun way different from the conventional methods of teaching that they undergo in classroom. I always believe that learning languages should be made fun and interesting so as to trigger the students’ interest in the language. All in all, the programme was a success and it’s been decided that this English camp will be done on a yearly basis to the benefit of both UMK and PSU’s students.