THE PARCEL THAT ARRIVED AT HOME TODAY

    I was expecting a parcel from a friend of UPM TESL class of 1993 as she had asked me for my home address. However, I had no idea what the contents were.

These should be the door gifts of her first son's wedding recently. That was really thoughtful of her to send me the package all the way from Terengganu.

Thanks Puan Martina Mokhtar for the kind thought. I really appreciate all the trouble to get all these delivered to me.

TRAINEE TEACHERS COME AND GO

 

Today was the last day for Miss Choo Zi Luan, a trainee teacher of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris [UPSI] who came to do her practical teaching in SMK Dato' Jaafar for 10 weeks. She came just at the right time as one English teacher was on her maternity leave so she just took that teacher's two English classes. She got to experience teaching English classes online this time - throughout her stay.

Miss Choo was also an alumnus of the school.

Thank you Miss Choo for teaching in SDJ and wishing you all the best of luck in your studies and the journey ahead to become an English teacher.

 

GETTING MY STAPLE FOOD FOR TEA FROM RIMBUN CHERRY

Malaysians favourite staple food for tea could be fried banana and there are also other fried food items like sweet potato, tapioca, yam and even mushroom. When the fruit is in season, we will have fried cempedak, a local fruit which belongs to the same family of jackfruit.

One place I would go once in a while for my staple food is Rimbun Cherry in Kampung Melayu. I used to eat there with friends but since the movement restriction order has been imposed, everything was taken away.

I saw fresh cempedak fruit on sale but I just bought one a few days ago somewhere else.

The person selling at the counter was an ex-student of SMK Taman Universiti, Ms. Humaira. but only today we took a selfie together at the stall.

I am looking forward to having teh tarik and all things fried again there real soon.

 

DOING MY BIT FOR SOCIETY

The initial plan was to get fruits from the supermarket at Plaza Pelangi. Then I saw a Blood Donation Drive taking place at the open area of the mall and decided to contribute something to the society.

As I was about to get into my reclining seat, one of the nurses asked whether I am a teacher. So I asked her, how did she know? She told me that one of the nurses on duty is my ex-student of SMK Taman Universiti. I was fortunate enough as I suddenly had someone who had to become a photographer and this time, the whole thing could be documented.

Thanks Ms. Azlina Salam, from SPM batch 2003, for introducing yourself as my ex-student. It is always a pleasure to meet an ex-student after all these years. And thank you for helping me take photographs and she even recorded a video for me.

And there was a bagful of gifts for the donors this time, with all sorts of items inside - mostly food like biscuits, a bun, a cupcake, a mooncake, a bottle of mineral water, 100 Plus in a can and a Milo box drink. Then there were also face masks and a beauty facial mask, a small bottle of hand sanitizer and a red pen. Try to spot the odd one out. 😀

This was the first time I went home with a goodie bag filled with a lot of things inside. I guess if the organizers of Blood Donation Drive could offer something like this all the time, there would be more people coming to participate.

AN EX-COLLEAGUE CAME VISITING

An ex-colleague of SMK Taman Universiti, Mr. Hisham Abdullah, was in the house. He actually was sending his care for regular service at a nearby service centre so while waiting, I picked him up and took home. One reason: dining in at restaurant was still not an option yet.

It was just a short visit but it was fun like old time. Now that the situation has been upgraded from pandemic to endemic, we just hope for things to get better real soon so people could start socializing like we use to do.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "VIZONTELE"

Another Turkish movie which narrates the life of people in a small town back in the early 70's. Everyone seemed to live a simple life until the moment the first television set arrived from Ankara for the villagers. Hence the title "vizontele" which I think means "television" in English. The mayor, with the help with the strange but genius person, tried very hard to install the transmitter and to get the television set working so that people could enjoy the technology. It was successful eventually, people were happy that they could get the latest news live on air but there is a twist in the tale. It all ended in sadness, and the comedic movie turned into somewhat an unexpected tragedy to the mayor's family.

Another surprising brilliant Turkish movie you have to watch. There is a price to pay for the new technology that arrives and perhaps you can relate to what is happening to us now.

I just found out there is another movie which is entitled "Vizontele Tuubaz" which is the sequel to this one. I must now find the continuation of the story after this.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "LORENA LIGHT-FOOTED WOMAN"

The documentary which records the life of Lorena, a Mexican woman of the Tarahumahar clan. She was an extraordinary person as she ran the ultramarathon [extreme long distance cross country race] in her long skirt and sandal - yes, there was no proper running shoes. And yet, she had won many international competitions.

She is a living proof that one just needs a strong body and determination, and nothing else to succeed.

And here is another documentary of Lorena. She is in fact an inspiring individual - the one who still sticks to what she believes is the best for her and there is no need to even change.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "THE CLIMB"

The story of Samy, who climbed Mount Everest, to win the heart of the girl she loved, Nadia.

This French movie makes mountaineering for the protagonist who had neither training no experience so easy but surprisingly, it was based on a true story.

I just hope I could visit Kathmandu one day.

AN EARLY DINNER SESSION WITH AN EX-SCHOOLMATE AT HOME

 The dine in session at home with an ex-schoolmate [of SMS Muar], Mr. Mohd. Razib Noordin, continued and it was my turn to host. This time it was Nasi Hujan Panas [a kind of rice dish], Ayam Masak Merah [chicken in red gravy, Pajeri Nanas [pineapple dish] and acar [salad]. There was also Murtabak [flatbread with meat filling] but I forgot to take the photo.

With the rising number of C-19 cases daily, it is safer to eat at home. Eating out can still wait, I supposed but the company of friend once in a while would make us feel that we are still living a normal life.

WHAT DID I WATCH ON NETFLIX: "NOTES FOR MY SON"

The story of Maria, a mother who was dying because of ovarian cancer. While she was warded in the hospital, many of her friends came visiting - showing their love and compassion. Maria realized that she would soon be gone began writing lines and words of wisdom for her son Tony so he could remember his mother when he grew up. Based on a true story, Maria had to be sedated in the end and put to sleep to end her suffering. Instead of a sad movie, I saw how the story depicted love, friendship and one's determination to fight and stay positive. 

Another Argentinian movie for me in Spanish. I think I could now learn Spanish on my own on Youtube as I found the structure and many words similar to the English language.

MY COLLECTIBLES: STAMPS [ALBUM 4]

I am cataloguing my stamps collection from the third stamp album this time.

I have a number of stamps from Brunei and that was because there was a friend who came from Bandar Sri Begawan to study in UPM and she was staying at the same residential college. Ms. Mardina Hj. Mahadi was kind enough to give me the stamps she got from home and she is now holding a big post in a university in Brunei the last time I checked.

I even took the effort to collect the letters from the office and send them to the room of the male foreign students, just to get the stamps from them. 

There are six more stamp albums to be documented here later.

STAMPS ALBUM 1 AND 2

STAMPS ALBUM 3

MY COLLECTIBLES: STARBUCKS MINI MUGS

This is one hobby I started late. So how did it all begin? A friend asked me to buy her a bigger mug during one of my travels and I bought a set of mini ones for myself.

Just cannot wait to travel again and expand my collection.