WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "THE DIG''

When Edith Pretty wanted to find out what was hidden under the small on her land, she hired an experienced excavator Basil Brown to do the job. People were quite pessimist about the whole idea but when Basil Brown started to discover a ship buried underneath the soil, people of higher authority started to show deep interest, including the British Museum. As usual, there are other interesting subplots and dramas intertwined but everything was beautifully done. The movie is based on a true story [READ HERE] and I know if I have the chance to go to the UK again, I must make sure I will visit the British Museum.

Another great movie not to be missed but I need to watch a comedy after this. Too much serious drama is not good for me.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "ROCK MY HEART"

Jana, a 19-year old girl, who was tired of life as she had a congenital heart defect and she was like waiting for the time to die. She, however, had this gift of taming a wild race horse which anyone else could not do. She embarked on a new adventure, training and taking part in a race with the horse she bonded with: Rock My Heart, with the support of his boyfriend, Samy - who sadly died before the race because of similar health problem. To her, the horse carried the strong and healthy heart that she did not have and kept her alive. A few parts of the movie might make you shed some tears.

Highly recommended if you are looking for some dramas - happiness and sorrow, love and the beautiful relationship between a human and a horse. I didn't expect the German movie would be a wonderful watch and it was worth every single minute of the 2 hours [almost] sitting in front of my PC.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "ALI'S WEDDING"

 Ali, was born in Iraq but living in Melbourne, had to live up to the society's and family's expectation. His father who was the respected cleric and imam of the Muslim community, set a high hope that Ali would study medicine in university and become a doctor. It had forced Ali to tell the biggest lie ever in order to make everyone happy to know that he had achieved the goal just like what people wanted. At the same time, he fell in love with an intelligent Lebanese girl but was forced to marry a girl of the family's choice. There are just too many conflicts in this drama, especially when the immigrants' effort to still preserve and practice their traditional culture and religious beliefs in Australia. However, the whole story was not heavy though and you could still enjoy watching as there were quite a number of funny scenes throughout, not to forget the romance between Ali and Dianne.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "ALI & RATU RATU QUEENS"

 Ali's mother left him and his father when Ali was still 5 years old, to chase after her dream in New York. She never returned until her son had become a teenager and her husband died. Ali then decided to search for his long lost mom in New York and with the help of a group of Indonesian ladies, they managed to track her down. THE QUESTION IS: will Ali's mother accept the son she had once abandoned many years ago?

An Indonesian movie about love, family relationship and friendship. Something you could easily enjoy without any inner conflicts or complicated story line. And you get to see New York from the eyes of other South East Asians. 😀

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "SILVER SKATES"

This is a classic love story between two people of different social hierarchies. Matvey, the pickpocket-expert on the streets of St. Petersburg who then met Alisa, the intelligent and beautiful daughter of a Russian minister. As love conquered all, these two young lovers fled to Paris so Alisa could get into university, something that women could not do in Russia back in 1900's. If you are looking for a light, romantic drama with the beautiful scenes of St. Petersburg in winter in the background AND a happy ending, then this is one movie you could opt for. This should be my first Russian film but would definitely not be the last.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "PAPER LIVES"

A 6-year old boy popped out of the sack containing recyclable boxes while Mehmet was doing his work in the warehouse of a recycling centre. Ali, the small kid, claimed he was put in the sack by his mother to be taken away so that his abusive stepfather could not hit him anymore. Mehmet gave Ali food and shelter and was trying very hard to make the boy happy. THE BIGGEST PLOT TWIST: Ali did not exist. Ali was the image of himself, the persona of Mehmet when he was a child. It was just his dark past that kept haunting and hurting him psychologically, something that he just could not let go.

A heavy Turkish drama, telling us how one's future could be greatly affected by the events that wounded him emotionally when he was small.

I need to find a happy and funny movie after this.

DRIVING OUT OF THE 10KM PARAMETER TO GET THE SNAKESKIN FRUIT

I drove out of the 10 kilometre boundary to Taman Mutiara Rini today to get the snakeskin fruit from the husband-and-wife ex-colleagues[of SMK Taman Universiti], Mr. Hisham Abdullah and Puan Nor Hafizah. I was invited inside the house which is a common courtesy gesture and it would be inappropriate to say "no". A few minutes later, two more people arrived, the recently wedded couple, Mr. Reynullah and Pn. Wan Nor Azrin, to share the food served by the hosts.

I just miss the moment when we can simply our friends a visit and gossip over coffee - without being worried people would find out you have done something taboo during the pandemic. Let's just pray that things will get better real soon so we could have our old lives back.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY"

Craig Gilner was a 16 year old teen who had undergone depression and was suicidal because of all the pressure he could not cope. He went to seek professional help at the hospital and was sent to the psychiatric ward for observation and treatment. The 5-day stay had changed his perspective towards life and how he had developed friendship. The most important thing, he had reflected on the life he had had and went out of the hospital as a new person.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "CARRIE PILBY"

 

A story centralizing on the character Carrie Pilby who was a genius girl, graduated from Harvard at the age of 18, but had no life at all. As she was a contrarion, as her psychiatrist [appointed by her father] found her to be, he advised Carrie "to stop pontificating and rubbing her exceptionally high IQ in people's noses", and "to give humanity a chance". She was assigned by Dr. Petrov to achieve a list of things-to-do just to be a normal person again.

A light comedy drama with a little romance thrown in should be a good watch if you want something that requires a lot of thinking.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "MY HAPPY FAMILY"

Manana was a middle age woman who stayed with her elderly parents, husband, a daughter with her husband, a and a teen boy. Then one day, she felt that she just needed to be alone as she was tired of her life and decided to move out. The family and other relatives were trying hard to make her come back. Then Manana met her old classmate, attended a class reunion together and learned more secrets about her husbands from her friends. While at the same time, things got more complicated [and messier] at home, yet there was still attempt to reunite Manana with her husband and family, but the audience was left hanging - you would have to guess will she get back to her old life.

My first Georgian movie [there is a country called Georgia] but the movie carries a universal theme. SO if one day when you suddenly feel you have had enough of your life and there is no more love, then what will you do?

An interesting film which I first taught was a Turkish production.

THE PARCEL THAT TRAVELED ALL THE WAY FROM KUCHING

15th JUNE 2021 ~ There was a parcel awaiting for me beside the front door as I arrived home. Luckily, it was not wet as it had rained heavily in the afternoon. Let's see what was put inside the box and I found the unboxing, as people nowadays call it, quite thrilling.

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Tadaaa.....

It was a multi-layer cake wrapped inside a multi-layer packaging. The cake was delicious - the original and authentic Sarawak Layer Cake. By observing the fine, colourful layers, the cake itself was a masterpiece. It had traveled from Kuching to Johor Bahru for 6 days and yet, it was still in a good condition.

Guess one doesn't have to wait only for Ramadan or Syawal to do good deeds. Thank you Puan Azwan Shaiza Nizam , [and she is actually residing in Seremban, not Kuching] another friend of TESL class of 1993, for your kind thought. Only Allah may repay your kindness.

"A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees."

~ AMELIA EARHART ~

THE JOHOR BAHRU DISTRICT CHESS TEACHERS VIRTUAL MEETING

14th JUNE 2021 ~ We used to have meetings at KFC Restaurants to discuss chess-related matters. However, living in the time of the pandemic, we have no choice but to practice the new normal. Ten chess teachers of Johor Bahru district were gathered virtually at 9:00 p.m. on Google Meet to discuss the possible online chess activity that could be carried out in the near future. Guess we will all miss the thrill of organizing chess tournaments as well as bringing the students to state level competitions - and the fun time we spent as a team. On the other hand, we are now preparing to conduct an online chess competition real soon and if the first project is a success, then we might be able to get the chess players together again.

Do wait for the announcement/advertisement!

 

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "SKATER GIRL"

Prema - a young girl who was denied education and happiness as a teenager because of poverty, and to be married off at a very young age.

Jessica - the Indian woman who was born in London and traveled to Rajasthan, India, to learn about his father's childhood.

Then their paths crossed, and came Erick, Jessica's friend, with a skateboard. And evolution started.

Could Prema go against the social norm i.e. if you are girl, then you cannot skate?

An Indian movie where you can see the lives of the common people of India, and where traditions and customs are still practiced. Unfortunately, segregation is still a way of life and women do not have the equal rights to live like men. I guess feminism is still an existing issue in this part of the world.

One thing for sure, after watching the drama, I am always grateful for the life  I have here.

DOING ASSIGNMENTS DURING THE MID YEAR SCHOOL BREAK

If you think I am enjoying myself to the fullest throughout the 2-week school holidays, then you are wrong. VERY! And I thought this would be something I would not have to do after teaching/working for 28 years.

The Principal and I had been working extra hard to complete all the modules and toolkits in Google Classroom and then to submit a few other assignments. Because of the pandemic, all the training, coaching and tutorial sessions had to be done online and it was a self-access session all the way which had made things more difficult for the participants.

I had to act in two simulation videos for coaching and mentoring. Video number one, the Principal was the coach and I was the coachee done face-to-face while in the second one, I had to be the coach and one Head of Department played the role as the coachee, done via Google Meet.

There are five more modules to go for this TS [Transformational School] which means I am  Transformer robot in the making. This kind has made me firmer and more determined to sign out for early retirement. Please God give me strength.

SPOT THE ERROR 160

THE CORRECTED VERSION:

2. Each customer will be given 30 minutes to make his/her purchases.

3. Children below 12 y/o are not allowed.

SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR DESSERT TODAY

Someone was kind enough to give me a special dessert today - Seri Kaya Labu. Even though this should be a traditional local cuisine, but I think this should be my very first time having it, or I had had it before, a very long time ago, I could not even remember when. It was actually a pumpkin steamed with caramel [formed by the coconut milk, eggs and sugar content]. It was not easy to get this dessert now so this should be something to remember. Thank you Puan Rafidah Ismail and pray to Allah, you may be rewarded with more pumpkins in your garden at home.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "DANCING QUEENS"

Dylan, a 23 year old Swedish girl, had to leave her hometown on an island to stay in the city in order to pursue her dream to be a dancer. First she needed to work as a cleaner in a bar and then only she needed to act as a boy who had to get into drag - just to be accepted to perform on stage in the same bar. She had put herself in a more complicated situation as conflicts arose among the other drag queens there and her life became a mess. So would Dylan make her dream come true in the end?

You might enjoy the light drama and the beautiful landscape of Sweden. This is actually my first Swedish movie and the different setting has made it more interesting to watch. However, some people might find the content of this movie not suitable as it has to do with the transgender/cross dresser community.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "THE FUNDAMENTALS OF CARING"

When Ben's son died in an accident, his life was in a mess. While going through the process of divorce, he opted out to be a full time caregiver and was hired to offer his service to a disabled teen, Trevor. Trevor was a difficult kid, growing up in a broken family and taking care of him was a big challenge, physically and emotionally. Ben suggested that Trevor go on a one week road trip so as to make his dream to see the biggest cow and the deepest pit on earth come through, instead of being imprisoned by the walls of his house. The bond between them grew stronger and they developed a relationship more than both of them expected.

Another moving story with a serious theme but told in a relaxed and comical manner. I am now thinking of getting the original novel entitled "The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving". Watch the movie on Netflix, it is now or never.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "SEVENTEEN"

Hector was a rebellious and troubled 17 year old teen but very intelligent. He ran away from the juvenile deliquency centre just to get back the dog that he had trained and loved which had been adopted by someone else. His brother, Ismael, had to go along with all his plans so as to make sure he would not get into deeper trouble before Hector turned 18 or else he would have already been convicted as an adult. Both the brothers did not see eye to eye and the journey in the camper in search of the dog had opened up a new horizon for their relationship.

A funny but heart-touching kind of movie which you should watch. The theme could be serious but the way how the story was told has made it somehow a pleasant pleasant movie to watch.

This is a movie made in Spain and the original title in Spanish is "Diecisiete". I have been watching many foreign movies by now already and it is a way to learn more about people and their culture.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "PENGUIN BLOOM"

When Sam fell off the roof of a building while vacationing in Thailand with her family, she became paralyzed and wheelchair bound. She started to distance away from her husband, kids, and other family members and friends as well. Then came a bird named Penguin, which was not a penguin at all, into their house and this animal had given her the strength and courage to start anew - and it had become the element that bonded the family back together.

Based on a true story in Australia, this is a family drama that tells the viewers there is always hope if one believes. Serious content but not a heavy kind of drama which you would enjoy watching.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "EKSI ELMALAR"

A rich and politically ambitious father but very traditional and conservative who had three daughters. They were not educated, and he only allowed marriage to the families of the same status. Young men still wanted to court the three beautiful ladies, one of them even trying his luck to get the father's approval but was rejected. Things did not turn up the way the father wanted so the whole family had to migrate from the remote village to Ankara. The final part was quite sad except that particular moment before the story ended.

Another Turkish movie that you should enjoy watching. Despite all the conflicts, there are still many funny moments that make the movie not a heavy drama kind of genre. There are also picturesque scenery and lifestyle of the local people to be seen, and the touching and beautiful love story as well.