On a KTM Commuter !
I got an invitation to attend a wedding luncheon of my old friend's eldest son at Klana Resort's Grand Ballroom in Seremban yesterday. Since we had a guest at home, I had to follow my other friend to attend this wedding. We left early at 10.30 am because my friend's son was the mcee for the wedding luncheon.
We were the first to arrive at the Grand Ballroom . The bride and groom were already there rehearsing for the walking in and going up the staircase.We settled at our Table No. 21 and then my old dormmate friend whom I had arranged to sit together came in with her friend. I could not recognise her because she had corrected her eyesight and she had a different hairstyle altogether! Anyway, her look is still the same but I too could not recognise her husband who has put on since I last met them when our children were attending their briefing to leave for Australia for studies.
All throughout the luncheon, we were non stopped chatting away and catching up with the missing tales about one another. It was really good to have met and my intentions were all fulfilled. We must really make an effort to meet our good old friends and I am happy that I had gone that far to attend this wedding.Seremban is now so near to us and to go anytime is not a fuss at all when I see the link with MidValley!
At 3.30pm ,the ceremony was over and as prearranged, my good friend and her husband sent me to the train station to take the commuter home.I was quite scared being travelling alone and being the first time on a commuter from Seremban.I hopped into the waiting commuter but it was so packed with people.I paid RM5.90 for a oneway journey from Seremban to MidValley.
The journey took me one hour and 10 minutes to arrive at MidValley station which is one floor down.The commuter stopped at every station and the first stop after Seremban is a very small town called Troli. I was glad to gain this experience on a commuter to get to know these small stops such as Labu, Nilai, Batang Benar,Bangi, UKM, Kajang, Serdang, Bandar Tasik Selatan, Salak Selatan , Siputeh before finally reaching MidValley station. I could only get my seat after three stops.
It was a comfortable journey compared to a bus journey. I have made to understand the difference between a commuter from a train. A commuter has a standing space whereas a train has available seat for everyone.All in all, I too got to see the rural sceneries along the route and have definitely become a more confident single traveller on a commuter !
Monday, December 8, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
My care and concern is backfired !
Recent encounters outside my workplace tell me that what we perceive as caring and concerned may not be interpreted as such by people whom we refer to. I like to share opportunities with close acqaintances but I was on two occasions shocked to receive rather cold and unappreciated responses! So when is nice really nice ? No wonder we have a Chinese saying which says "It never pays to do matching ! " There is so much truth in this well known saying which describes an instance which shows that good intention is often not appreciated and so advising us not to help others on other matters which do not concern us.
I sometimes wonder when educated adults behave this way, what examples are we refering to to show to our young ones who will be watching every action and move of ours ! Even if one does not appreciate the other's good intention, a return call or a wish of thanks should be offered to the caring person. May be, I am a person who likes to think or analyse human behaviour alot and this kind of gesture is too much to ask for ! Please analyse and I always feel that I am on a correct track of perception!
On the other hand, one can be always be thinking of the best for others at one's own expense. Some people will just go on doing nice things without announcing it ! This practice may be taken for granted and no matter what one has done , it may be irrelevant when some kind of expectation is not met with. We have people who does not appreciate all the mundane practices done and I would like to say that it will be too late to show appreciation when the person is not there! Appreciate all the good things everyday , show one's appreciation and be happy everyday.Treat everyday as if it is the last day of one's life! Happiness is the way and take all these unpleasant rebounces as trivial !
Recent encounters outside my workplace tell me that what we perceive as caring and concerned may not be interpreted as such by people whom we refer to. I like to share opportunities with close acqaintances but I was on two occasions shocked to receive rather cold and unappreciated responses! So when is nice really nice ? No wonder we have a Chinese saying which says "It never pays to do matching ! " There is so much truth in this well known saying which describes an instance which shows that good intention is often not appreciated and so advising us not to help others on other matters which do not concern us.
I sometimes wonder when educated adults behave this way, what examples are we refering to to show to our young ones who will be watching every action and move of ours ! Even if one does not appreciate the other's good intention, a return call or a wish of thanks should be offered to the caring person. May be, I am a person who likes to think or analyse human behaviour alot and this kind of gesture is too much to ask for ! Please analyse and I always feel that I am on a correct track of perception!
On the other hand, one can be always be thinking of the best for others at one's own expense. Some people will just go on doing nice things without announcing it ! This practice may be taken for granted and no matter what one has done , it may be irrelevant when some kind of expectation is not met with. We have people who does not appreciate all the mundane practices done and I would like to say that it will be too late to show appreciation when the person is not there! Appreciate all the good things everyday , show one's appreciation and be happy everyday.Treat everyday as if it is the last day of one's life! Happiness is the way and take all these unpleasant rebounces as trivial !
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Looking forward towards weekends!
Time really flies ! When Wednesday comes, the weekend will follow suit soon! My tagline is " starting everyday with great enthusiasm for a defined goal. " I enjoy my company during weekdays and my weekends are spent with my family or our close friends who stay in the same neighbourhood.We often go out for dinners together on a Saturday or Sunday night!
Last night, being the first day of Metrojaya's branded sale in Midvalley's exhibition centre, we drove up there to see whether we could pick up some offered items. It was raining and the road was jammed up with crawling cars. To my surprise, there were so many shoppers on a Friday night and parking too was a problem. After a week of hardwork, people do destress by going for a stinct in Midvalley.
At the exhibition centre, I saw Laura Ashley's clothes beside the Raoul's.They looked rather old and out of the season ones. I did not find any suitable ones for myself and soon it was announced that it would be closing at 9pm. Hurriedly, I went for another round to see the household items and had identified some of the items to buy if I were to go back again on Sunday.
Saturday morning is often a marketing day for fruits, eggs , dry stuffs and etc at the market place.My stock for fruits have to be replenished every week and today I learn that fruits have to be eaten when the stomach is empty!
On a Sunday morning, a good morning walk up the Kiara Hills would be very relaxing! The place has attracted so many people and I only discovered this place lately. I have really missed nature for so long and it takes my retirement to find out about it . Being early last Sunday , we had a second round up from the Taman side . The scenery is beautiful, with the lake, suspension bridge and colourful plants around the lake. This walking path is more gradual compared to the Kiara Hills's path. We can even pick up all the different dailies before going back home.
The rest of the afternoon is for resting and reading newspapers until dinner time. Another round of food hunting for dinner is another exciting time of a well-spent weekend! There is time for work and time for resting and enjoyment . This way of life suits me very well! Happiness is what we perceive and I seldom grumble because I always place appreciation before dissatisfaction !
Time really flies ! When Wednesday comes, the weekend will follow suit soon! My tagline is " starting everyday with great enthusiasm for a defined goal. " I enjoy my company during weekdays and my weekends are spent with my family or our close friends who stay in the same neighbourhood.We often go out for dinners together on a Saturday or Sunday night!
Last night, being the first day of Metrojaya's branded sale in Midvalley's exhibition centre, we drove up there to see whether we could pick up some offered items. It was raining and the road was jammed up with crawling cars. To my surprise, there were so many shoppers on a Friday night and parking too was a problem. After a week of hardwork, people do destress by going for a stinct in Midvalley.
At the exhibition centre, I saw Laura Ashley's clothes beside the Raoul's.They looked rather old and out of the season ones. I did not find any suitable ones for myself and soon it was announced that it would be closing at 9pm. Hurriedly, I went for another round to see the household items and had identified some of the items to buy if I were to go back again on Sunday.
Saturday morning is often a marketing day for fruits, eggs , dry stuffs and etc at the market place.My stock for fruits have to be replenished every week and today I learn that fruits have to be eaten when the stomach is empty!
On a Sunday morning, a good morning walk up the Kiara Hills would be very relaxing! The place has attracted so many people and I only discovered this place lately. I have really missed nature for so long and it takes my retirement to find out about it . Being early last Sunday , we had a second round up from the Taman side . The scenery is beautiful, with the lake, suspension bridge and colourful plants around the lake. This walking path is more gradual compared to the Kiara Hills's path. We can even pick up all the different dailies before going back home.
The rest of the afternoon is for resting and reading newspapers until dinner time. Another round of food hunting for dinner is another exciting time of a well-spent weekend! There is time for work and time for resting and enjoyment . This way of life suits me very well! Happiness is what we perceive and I seldom grumble because I always place appreciation before dissatisfaction !
Saturday, November 1, 2008
The joy of going back to the education world !
I happily returned to the education world two months ago and am glad that I had made this big step after my 20 months of retirement! There is always so much to learn about the technology and its new tools and also to share with a group of aspiring young teachers my experience. Today was our Open Day and I got to meet a very concerned group of parents. Again, I feel children of today are really lucky and parents really keep up with the advances in the education arena.
The school environment is really so conducive and I feel like being a student again! We have international staff over the International school at the moment and later on in January the rest of the Malaysian curriculum teachers will join in. We respect each other very much and the feeling of caring and concern is always in the air. The atmosphere is so different from my previous schools !
All the classrooms are air conditioned and new being a new purpose-built school.They are all equiped with LCD projectors, smart boards , metal cabinets,many shelves for books display and a computer for student's use besides one attached to the smart board. We have an air conditioned staff room, a cafeteria which serves tasty food , a large library and impressive buildings for the Science & Design Technology laboratories. The Science laboratories are so modern as well as well equiped.
I really look forward to more exciting weeks to come !
I happily returned to the education world two months ago and am glad that I had made this big step after my 20 months of retirement! There is always so much to learn about the technology and its new tools and also to share with a group of aspiring young teachers my experience. Today was our Open Day and I got to meet a very concerned group of parents. Again, I feel children of today are really lucky and parents really keep up with the advances in the education arena.
The school environment is really so conducive and I feel like being a student again! We have international staff over the International school at the moment and later on in January the rest of the Malaysian curriculum teachers will join in. We respect each other very much and the feeling of caring and concern is always in the air. The atmosphere is so different from my previous schools !
All the classrooms are air conditioned and new being a new purpose-built school.They are all equiped with LCD projectors, smart boards , metal cabinets,many shelves for books display and a computer for student's use besides one attached to the smart board. We have an air conditioned staff room, a cafeteria which serves tasty food , a large library and impressive buildings for the Science & Design Technology laboratories. The Science laboratories are so modern as well as well equiped.
I really look forward to more exciting weeks to come !
Monday, October 27, 2008
A Bulk Shopping Experience At Ikea !
It was Deepavali holiday and having no newspapers to read in the morning I decided to go to Ikea to do some bulk shopping which I had always postponed doing . After that I told myself that I will never do it again all by myself! It's a good experience and it's good to share with those who have not done it ! Nobody can tell me the exact procedures before I made that trip !
The most time consuming part is to source for the items which one wants. I cut short this by going through the catalogue book before I made the trip. I then began to wonder who will help me to get all these items on to the trolleys.How can I manage to get all these items on the trolley and then to push the two trolleys all by myself ? True enough, after checking with the staff, I found that I would have to get the item number and the location before I pick the items from the picking location. We have to make sure we get the staff at the computer base to print out the list of items and their locations before we picked them. Now, I understand why people push two or more trolleys at one go ! There is no staff to help us to push the trolleys to the payment counter.So it's good to go together with another friend.
After I had got the picking area 's staff to help me to get the heavier items, it was essential to have that item list for the cashier.Otherwise, I may not be able to make payment. Then only , I had to look for the trolley boys at the trolleys area to help me to push the additional trolleys to the home delivery counter further down left to arrange for delivery.
At the delivery counter, there are numbers to be picked up to wait for our turn. I showed my receipt for him to work out the printout and charges for assembly and delivery. For delivery the charge is RM65 for a load immaterial of the amount whereas the assembly charge is 5 % of the cost of the item. My delivery and then the assembly of the items will be the next day !
From this experience, I learn that I must never go for bulk item shopping alone. For a purchase amounting to RM1500, one must give allowance for about 4 hours ! When can we expect to do shopping there online without having to go through the fuss of looking and carting the items which are not small or light !
It was Deepavali holiday and having no newspapers to read in the morning I decided to go to Ikea to do some bulk shopping which I had always postponed doing . After that I told myself that I will never do it again all by myself! It's a good experience and it's good to share with those who have not done it ! Nobody can tell me the exact procedures before I made that trip !
The most time consuming part is to source for the items which one wants. I cut short this by going through the catalogue book before I made the trip. I then began to wonder who will help me to get all these items on to the trolleys.How can I manage to get all these items on the trolley and then to push the two trolleys all by myself ? True enough, after checking with the staff, I found that I would have to get the item number and the location before I pick the items from the picking location. We have to make sure we get the staff at the computer base to print out the list of items and their locations before we picked them. Now, I understand why people push two or more trolleys at one go ! There is no staff to help us to push the trolleys to the payment counter.So it's good to go together with another friend.
After I had got the picking area 's staff to help me to get the heavier items, it was essential to have that item list for the cashier.Otherwise, I may not be able to make payment. Then only , I had to look for the trolley boys at the trolleys area to help me to push the additional trolleys to the home delivery counter further down left to arrange for delivery.
At the delivery counter, there are numbers to be picked up to wait for our turn. I showed my receipt for him to work out the printout and charges for assembly and delivery. For delivery the charge is RM65 for a load immaterial of the amount whereas the assembly charge is 5 % of the cost of the item. My delivery and then the assembly of the items will be the next day !
From this experience, I learn that I must never go for bulk item shopping alone. For a purchase amounting to RM1500, one must give allowance for about 4 hours ! When can we expect to do shopping there online without having to go through the fuss of looking and carting the items which are not small or light !
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Why not incorporate Sejarah in the teaching of other subjects ?
Our Malaysian curriculum has good and extensive contents for most of the subjects and we are already tight with the time factor. Why is there this newly announced introduction of Sejarah as an additional subject in Primary Schools? The number of periods in school per week is fixed and we cannot possibly increase the number of periods to accommodate another new subject like Sejarah . Sivik and Kenegaraan at Standard 4 to 6 is already a new subject at the sacrifice of the other subjects.
There is already the thought of implementing school based assessment in primary schools soon to lessen the stress on our younger generation . So why pressurise young children at their tender age to study an additional subject and therefore an additional responsiblility to the new subject? Young children should perceive their early years of education as meaningful and enjoyable. If we keep on increasing the number of subjects , we are actually moving towards a state of no cognitive focus ! Let us have a generation of pupils with good basic foundation for the numerous subjects which are being taught now.
This does not mean that we are not teaching Sejarah to our young children. We can identify the keypoints in Sejarah and then to incorporate them across the curricular subjects. This approach has been very effective when we incorporate Science and Mathematics in the teaching of English ! The pupils learn English with the contents from Science and Mathematics. Similarly, we can incorporate Sejarah in the teaching of subjects like Sivik and Kenegaraan, Bahasa Inggeris , Bahasa Malaysia , Pendidikan Moral and all the rest.
This move will certainly meet the needs of everyone. The happy faces of the young children must be ensured for better success !
Our Malaysian curriculum has good and extensive contents for most of the subjects and we are already tight with the time factor. Why is there this newly announced introduction of Sejarah as an additional subject in Primary Schools? The number of periods in school per week is fixed and we cannot possibly increase the number of periods to accommodate another new subject like Sejarah . Sivik and Kenegaraan at Standard 4 to 6 is already a new subject at the sacrifice of the other subjects.
There is already the thought of implementing school based assessment in primary schools soon to lessen the stress on our younger generation . So why pressurise young children at their tender age to study an additional subject and therefore an additional responsiblility to the new subject? Young children should perceive their early years of education as meaningful and enjoyable. If we keep on increasing the number of subjects , we are actually moving towards a state of no cognitive focus ! Let us have a generation of pupils with good basic foundation for the numerous subjects which are being taught now.
This does not mean that we are not teaching Sejarah to our young children. We can identify the keypoints in Sejarah and then to incorporate them across the curricular subjects. This approach has been very effective when we incorporate Science and Mathematics in the teaching of English ! The pupils learn English with the contents from Science and Mathematics. Similarly, we can incorporate Sejarah in the teaching of subjects like Sivik and Kenegaraan, Bahasa Inggeris , Bahasa Malaysia , Pendidikan Moral and all the rest.
This move will certainly meet the needs of everyone. The happy faces of the young children must be ensured for better success !
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Feeling Good !
I like to reflect since my retirement over things which I encounter everyday. So far, I am blessed because so many nice things happen and by now I had left behind all those unthoughtful and unpleasant feelings which I had least expected to happen ! My happiness is to do many more happy things to make the world a better place ! A teacher is always a teacher to create effective teaching and learning environment and approaches to ensure pupils are nurtured holistically besides trying to help others . I like to think out of the ordinary and for most occasions it turns out to be very interesting . It gives me such a good feeling when innovation generates good actions for implementation.
This afternoon, I was really feeling good when a young girl who was promoting some food in the supermarket suddenly greeted me by calling me "Pn Lee ". She continued saying that it was a long time since she last saw me. 21 months is really a long time ! After a few exchanges of questions and answers I realised that she was a Form 2 student when I retired from the school. I am happy because my young student has attempted to acknowledge me inspite of the long separation and my only contact with her was only on assembly days in the school . Many adults would not have thought of that !
Another incidence was last year's Teachers' Day when I received a red paper rose with a note in my letter box from the 'naughty children of DJ ' as claimed by them. This note was to wish me Happy Teachers' Day and it came from a group of teenage boys ! Many more of these gestures from the young ones inspire me to nurture them further. Some of them are so lovely, innocent and genuine in reciprocating !
I like to reflect since my retirement over things which I encounter everyday. So far, I am blessed because so many nice things happen and by now I had left behind all those unthoughtful and unpleasant feelings which I had least expected to happen ! My happiness is to do many more happy things to make the world a better place ! A teacher is always a teacher to create effective teaching and learning environment and approaches to ensure pupils are nurtured holistically besides trying to help others . I like to think out of the ordinary and for most occasions it turns out to be very interesting . It gives me such a good feeling when innovation generates good actions for implementation.
This afternoon, I was really feeling good when a young girl who was promoting some food in the supermarket suddenly greeted me by calling me "Pn Lee ". She continued saying that it was a long time since she last saw me. 21 months is really a long time ! After a few exchanges of questions and answers I realised that she was a Form 2 student when I retired from the school. I am happy because my young student has attempted to acknowledge me inspite of the long separation and my only contact with her was only on assembly days in the school . Many adults would not have thought of that !
Another incidence was last year's Teachers' Day when I received a red paper rose with a note in my letter box from the 'naughty children of DJ ' as claimed by them. This note was to wish me Happy Teachers' Day and it came from a group of teenage boys ! Many more of these gestures from the young ones inspire me to nurture them further. Some of them are so lovely, innocent and genuine in reciprocating !
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