CELEBRATING MY LAST BIRTHDAY IN SCHOOL - PART TWO

A collection of photos, taken 3 weeks ago.

    10th OCTOBER 2023     ~ The very first person to knock on my door to wish me "Happy Birthday" with a present was Mr. Michael of Form 3 Sinus.

I was presented with "Pulut Kuning" [yellow sticky rice] by the teachers and staff [of SMK Dato' Jaafar] so it was time to share it with others.

Mr. Alan of Form 5 SNB got me a box of literally sweet surprise, specially delivered by her mother to school.

A friend from Changlun ordered McD breakfast for me and got it delivered to school.

A few people wanted to get a photo with the birthday boy in class.

A fruit was delivered to me and it was from a friend from Jitra.

    11th OCTOBER 2023    ~ More Yellow Sticky Rice to be shared with colleagues, and this time I bought a cake for myself but to be eaten with friends.

The birthday presents delivered to my house - the first one from Labuan, and the second one from Kajang.

That should sum up how my birthday was celebrated this year. It would definitely not be the same for next year anymore - with no friends, colleagues or students.

THE POST-COFFEE SESSION AFTER THE HALF-DAY COURSE

A course was held for the Senior Assistants of Administration of Johor Bahru Education Office. It was then followed by the regular post-coffee session with the regular coffee mate, an ex-colleague of SMK Dato' Jaafar, Mr. Amirulhakim.

There was a newly opened branch of Richiamo Coffee at Taman Merdeka, which was near to the place where the course was held, and we decided to stop by.

We were actually full as lunch was served for the participants for the course, but we couldn't just resist the temptation of the Salted Yolk Croissant.

It was just a short coffee session and I wonder if I could still go for coffee with Mr. Amirul next year.

THE BREAKFAST DATE WITH AN EX-COLLEAGUE IN BATU PAHAT

   28TH OCTOBER 2023    ~ I had to attend a wedding reception at 11:00 a.m. but decided to start my journey earlier. An ex-colleague [of SMK Dato' Jaafar] agreed to meet up for breakfast in Batu Pahat town at 9:00 a.m.

His initial plan was to meet up at this one Asam Pedas restaurant but the place was closed. We went to another one but we would have to take rice which would be too heavy for me as I would be eating more rice at the reception. So we just walked around this recreational park by the river named Taman Tepian Penggaram.

I had never been to this part of the town before. Too bad, the river water was murky and there was a lot of rubbish floating. The authority needs to do something if they want to make people appreciate the river more.

To carry out the main agenda of the meeting, we adjourned to this place called Selera Benteng @Peserai. The old buildings of the food court which was famous for its Nasi Briyani Mat Shah had been demolished and a new complex would be replacing it. All the food stalls were relocated to another building nearby.

We were lucky to find a stall selling Roti Canai [a.k.a Paratha].

Surprise! Surprise! There was a lady who was with her family waving at me at the food court when they arrived. It was Puan Yuli Salaswati, an ex-colleague of SMK Taman Universiti, who had moved to Batu Pahat.

I had to make my move by 10:15 a.m. and bid farewell to my dear friend. Thank you Mr. Salleh for the time and company and it was great to do some catching up. Hopefully we can do this again when I visit Batu Pahat again.

ATTENDING THE WEDDING RECEPTION OF THE SON OF AN EX-SCHOOLMATE IN BATU PAHAT

When Dr. Kamalruzaman Mohd. Ali, an ex-schoolmate of SMS Muar, Whatsapp-ed me personally to invite to the wedding reception of his son in Batu Pahat, I had no reason not to go. So this morning I drove 115 kilometres [one way] to Zul Homestay in Lorong Parit Haji Ali to attend the event.

I was one of the early birds. I actually arrived at the wedding venue 15 minutes before 11.00 a.m.

The only ex-schoolmate/classmate I met was Dr. Md. Som Seeron as I was leaving the place.

Thank you Dr. Kamalruzaman for the kind thought. Hopefully I would be invited again to similar events in the future.