MOVIE REVIEW 7 - NEW MOON

This movie is the sequel to Twilight. Everybody goes to the cinema to find out what happens to the love between a human being and a vampire. I personally feel that this movie is better than the first one because the conflict is bigger. There is another man who is falling for the girl, making it a kind of a love triangle. First there are Bella and Edward but now, Jacob enters the scene. Well, two is a company, three is a crowd. Anyway, the moral of the story is: if you are a human and is in love with a vampire, never ever has another relationship with a werewolf because werewolf kills vampire. You can see the scary vampires and heart-stopping actions only towards the end so if you cannot stand movie with lengthy dialogues, this is definitely not for you.

People say that the books are good. I will get them once I have finished reading those in the waiting list.

ATTENDING A COLLEAGUE'S WEDDING

Today I went to attend a wedding reception of one of my colleagues, Mr. Sanusi in Benut, Pontian. Actually that was the invitation from the wife's family but it was much nearer to go than the one that would be held in Kelantan. Wish both of them eternal happiness like of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan.

The bride and groom with Mr. Masrizal, Mr. Syazarul Shahrir and me

lost in the world of crispies and munchies

As usual we (Mr. Masrizal and I) went roaming around to get snacks from Azhar Food in Rengit, Batu Pahat, lemang from Pekan Nanas and flower pots from Ulu Choh. We could always kill many birds with one stone.

BOYS' DAY OUT

Right after the function at Zul's house, I rushed to Tebrau City because there Azeze and Hazizul, two ex-students from SPM batch 2001 were waiting for a boys' day out. So first we went to watch New Moon and after that had dinner at Kenny Roger's. It was quite a short meeting but not to worry, there will be some other time, hopefully.

So thanks Azeze and Hazizul for the treat and also the time spent. Being a teacher might not make a person rich, but this is the best reward one can get for being one. And I must say, I am lucky to have many thoughtful students all these years of my teaching life.

"In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work.
It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years".

~ Jacques Barzun ~

ATTENDING AN EX-STUDENT'S ENGAGEMENT

I was invited by Zulfadzelie (and his father) to attend his sister's engagement. So I had actually sat through the whole session, even though I was thinking of going for the food only at first and I had another appointment right after that. Luckily everything was over in a short time and the food was really good, and with the door gift and take away home packed food, there was nothing to complain. Thanks abound to Zul and his family for the invitation.

I met another ex-student, Hamim (SPM batch 2007), who is now studying in UIA, doing architecture course. He is Zul's neighbour and that is the reason why he was there. I taught him when he was in form 1 and form 2.

So this is the lucky girl, Norazimah, from SPM batch 2001. I taught her when she was in form 1EK2 and 2EK2. So congratulations Azimah, and will see you again for a bigger event in about one year from now.

HAPPY EID UL-ADHA EVERYBODY

Today, another occasion celebrated by Muslims worldwide, Eid ul-Adha. However, generally in Johor, this event is just a one-day celebration, unlike Eid ul-Fitr. The usual activities, at least for me, were performing the Eid prayer at a nearby surau, visiting graves and reciting Yassin, a verse from the qur'an and tahlil there, and going to my sister's house. And that was all. The most important thing, there were special dishes prepared on this day. Anyway, happy Eid ul-Adha everybody, have you sacrificed anything so far?

BOOK REVIEW 6 - KHALLED HOSSEINI'S "THE KITE RUNNER"

The story of friendship and brotherhood. Two characters growing up together in the city of Kabul, Amir and Hassan, one the son of a rich man and the other, of a servant, respectively. But being innocent children, there is no line drawn between the two until society sees their relationship as inappropriate especially when Hassan comes from a race of a lower class. This leads to an incident which in the end has made Amir succeeded in making Hassan go away from his home. Nevertheless, at one point of the plot, it is revealed that Hassan is actually Amir's half brother and that has caused Amir to have the biggest regret of his life after all the things he has done.

A book which full of emotion and if you are looking for something to read, this is the one you should get hold of. Highly recommended, I am giving this book 10/10 rating. In fact, I have one more Hosseini's book waiting to be picked. And will be watching the movie version based on the same book very soon. Talking about enthusiasm...

MOVIE REVIEW 6 - PLANET 51

Aliens are supposed to be mean creatures. When they come to our planet, they will kill us, tear our bodies apart and eat our kidneys and brains. However, in this movie, the astronaut becomes the alien. He lands on a planet, meeting human-like creatures which are luckily not that ugly and speak English. So he befriends a few of the inhabitants there and they help him to get back into his spaceship so he can go back to planet earth. You should learn many values from this movie and the light comedy should be good for you. Isn't laughter the best medicine?

MOVIE REVIEW 5 - 2012

Have you ever played this counseling game where you are given a situation that the earth is going to explode. Miraculously, there is this one rocket that can transport you and a few other people to the moon to escape destruction. Nevertheless, you can only choose a few to bring along from a list given. So, who will the lucky people be?

That is the conflict featured in the movie 2012. Not really a doomsday because in the end there are still people alive and kicking on planet earth. Superb graphic effect, you can see things which are larger than life. High entertainment value for those who like explosion and people dying everywhere. Quite stressful to watch actually because in the end, the lesson you can learn is, if you want to escape terrible things in life you have to be (1) very clever (2) powerful and rich (3) be someone related to number 2 OR (4) do it the dirty way e.g. sneaking your way into the spaceship. Go watch a comedy, you are too young for this kind of thing.

MEETING ANOTHER EX-STUDENT

This is Zabidi who is now studying in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn in Batu Pahat. The last time we met was last year, if I am not mistaken. So we went out to watch a movie and had supper after that.

I had the pleasure to receive a small gift from Zabidi, a bottle of First Grade Perfume. It actually comes in many different scents for male and female. Anyone interested to buy perfume, you can contact him through me for further business transaction.

(NOTE for ZABIDI: this is a free advertisement so don't forget the commission later)

BOOK REVIEW 5 - JODI PICOULT'S "CHANGE OF HEART"

[ATTENTION MISS VEE WEN: At last, I finished reading this book]

Yes, at last. This is my first attempt in reading Picoult. The book started off quite slow as each chapter of the book is narrated by different characters. You have to take your time understanding how the characters are related to each other, and that took a lot of time until I reached the middle part of the novel to understand their relationship.

The novel focuses on Shay Bourne, a convict who is accused of murdering a cop and his daughter. One interesting thing about him is that he could perform miracles in his cell like turning pipe water into wine, curing sick people from AIDS, bringing dead bird alive - that some people have considered him as a messiah. To repent his past sins, Shay decides to donate his heart to a girl who needs a donor and that girl is actually the younger daughter of the cop whom he had killed earlier. The question is, if you are the mother or the girl herself, will you accept a heart from someone who has killed your beloved husband and father, respectively? Then come in all the characters in their effort to assist Shay to carry out the impossible mission, a lawyer, a priest, a doctor who then fell in love with the lawyer, his cell mates etc. Complicated but interesting. And in the end, from his confession to the priest, Shay is not actually the murderer, he is just trying to protect the girl from his cop father who has been abusing her sexually and has accidentally him. He just refuses to tell his version of the story in court because he knows no one will believe him. So, will Shay be executed? Will he be able to give his heart to Elizabeth, the cop's other daughter? You go and read the book yourself.

I have two more Picoult's novels in my list waiting but I am reading something else first now.

MOVIE REVIEW 4 - PISAU CUKUR

I seldom watch Malay movies but this time the urge was there. Most probably I was enticed by the beautiful trailer that I saw before. Well, as expected, the story is something about how two young women on a cruise ship, characters played by Maya Karin and Fazura, going after very rich men around. Then, to make the story more complicated, one of the old rich men (Rahim Razali), is dead and suspected of being murdered. He is there with his three wives and two children, so Fazura is trying to help this one private investigator (Aaron Aziz) to solve the mystery. On the other hand, Maya who has fallen for one of the available widowers (Eizlan Yusof) has this other admirer (must be a newcomer because I don't know his name) who never ever gives up.

It is actually a comedy and my comment: it is not that bad for a Malay movie. There are hilarious moments and I can say that it will not put you to sleep. No regrets. My last word: support our local film industry if the film is good, that is.

A SHORT TRIP TO KL

I went to the same place in KL for the final stage of the official task. But when everything was over, it was time to let the steam off. In the evening, I managed to watch a movie and get a bagful of novels (which were actually three of them) from Kinokuniya in KLCC.

On the second day, in the morning, I walked to Sogo (again) which was a stone's throw away from the hotel. In the afternoon, I went to Midvalley Megamall with Mr. Asrol to watch another movie and this had been planned much earlier, like two weeks before. That was all the time that I had in KL but I was a contented man after all the one month of hard work.

with Mr. Asrol, at DeliFrance in Midvalley

So, happy holidays to all my students and my colleagues, as well as other students and teachers out there. Enjoy yourself while you can. There are no holidays for me actually, but I will always try to squeeze in some fun in between work.

OUT OF SIGHT, BUT NOT OUT OF MIND

I had to strain my eyes real hard trying to recognize the person who was calling me at the school corridor and it was Zaidi, a student from SPM 2002 batch. The last time I saw him was like after he was form five and I could not even figure out how long that was. As he came to school for other reason, we did not have the chance to chat. Just hope we can catch up some other time later.

This is Nuruddin. He moved to Bangi after the PMR examination. He called me in the morning, informing his whereabout and decided to come to school to meet. Since I had to go out for official thing (with the Principal's consent), so I had the chance to take him out for lunch at a fast food restaurant nearby. Really glad to meet him again after almost a year. So I guess until now, this is not the case of out of sight, out of mind. Maybe next time we can spend more time when we see each other.

KAA'S END OF YEAR GATHERING

Pn. Nilam (the school Principal), Pn. Rahmah and Pn. Raja Ainurraziyah

Yes, another gathering and this time organized by the Special Religious Classes Unit. It was held in the surau (a smaller version of a mosque) and it was semi-formal in a way because our Principal was also invited. As usual there were speeches and prize-giving ceremony, and eating food like chicken chop, spaghetti, pudding, coconut milk shake etc. I seriously need to lose a lot of weight.

with the students of KAA classes

the honourable guest giving away prizes

JB - BATU PAHAT - AIR HITAM - JB

I had to go to Batu Pahat for an official assignment. I asked Zahari, an ex-student, to tag along as he was having his semester break and had nothing to do at home. After the mission was accomplished, off we went to a few places along the way home.

stopped for lunch at a nasi beriyani shop in Peserai

outside and inside Pacific Mall Batu Pahat

After lunch, we went to the newest shopping complex in Batu Pahat. Tried to catch a movie, but we were not allowed entry because there were no other people watching that particular film. We tried again for another movie, and we got the same answer. There should be at least five people watching then only they would show.

at Clay Tan factory outlet in Air Hitam

Then, we stopped at the small town of Air Hitam because I needed to buy a few things. Air Hitam is well-known for its pottery and ceramic products as well as traditional home-made food prepared by the villagers. Before the completion of the North-South Highway, it was a lively place. Express buses, lorries and travelling people would stop here as the town was located in the middle of the route. Back then, there were not that many eating places operating 24-hours so people did not have much choice.

flowers, flowers, all around...

And before heading home, we stopped at Machap R&R. We had the Big Apple Donuts bought earlier at the mall, which was my first time. MY REVIEW: the doughnuts were too soft, it was almost like a piece of bread, unlike Dunkin Donut or Krispy Kreme. I guess it was not my cup of tea. However, the the toppings and fillings come in variety of colours and flavours , so the temptation is quite strong. The look can be deceiving though. Oh now I am even doing food review in my blog.

enjoying Big Apple Donut at Machap R&R

Thanks to Zahari for being a good company, and a good navigator cum photographer indeed. I did not feel asleep at all while driving all the way to and fro. Maybe we will go and catch another movie another time.

HAVING A WILD TIME AT KFC

the invitation and the programme

Eating KFC had never been more fun. The students (as well as the teachers) of 2KP1 had really brought the house down. People ordering food downstairs might wonder what was going on with all the continuous noises, screams and laughter. They were having the class party outside the school, thank god, and I hope I had played my role to make them come to this decision. I guessed we had conquered the restaurant for a short two hours but I think this memory would always stay in the minds of the people who had come to celebrate a year of being together. They will go to the morning session next year and I am going to miss you all.

CLICK ON THE PICS TO ENLARGE

prize-giving and prize-exchanging session

fun people

and more fun people

the teachers: Pn. Siti Adaniyah (form teacher), Pn. Suhana and Pn. Noraliza Mazni

thanks for the gifts

AFTERNOON SESSION'S PREFECTS' YEAR-END PARTY

the invitation card

I was invited to another event, this time organized by the afternoon sessions' prefects at the school canteen. Besides eating, there were other activities like a mini football match among the boys and this was the first time I had encountered such activity in this kind of function. And there were lucky draws as well. The food was good, seriously, and there were a lot of fun and laughter too. Perhaps they should prepare something in a bigger scale next year.

the teachers at the dining table

Mr. Nasir, Mr. Sin and Puan Yusidah

with the prefects, boys and girls, Malay, Chinese and Indians