My First Year In Education

taken from pinkcakebox.com

First of all...
YAHOOO!!!!
YEEHAAA!!!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Yes, you guessed it...
It’s the holidays!!!
HOHOHOHOHHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!

Yes, being a teacher has not taken the joy out of holidays.
No, dear students, we do not enjoy prowling around in school.
Yes, teachers are also capable of fun & some really stupid things.
No, you may not do the same in our presence.

2009 will be remembered in history.
It’s my 1st year as an overseas graduate.
It’s my 1st year in the workforce.
It’s my 1st year as a full-fledged teacher.
It’s my 1st year making my own money & spending it anyhow or anywhere I like... YES!!

It has also been a really challenging year.
I was placed in a school in the middle of the jungle accessible only by water.
I suffered a year of lousy internet & no cell-phone coverage.
I worked with students who have little interest & ability in my subject matter.
I had to learn from scratch the mechanics of classroom management & the art of workplace politics.
I had to work my ass off as a new teacher aka slave in the school.
I had to cook, clean & iron... I feel like such a bitch.

It has also been a year of achievements.
I produced a high-quality school magazine.
I survived the worst class.
I made monkeys sit still, learn & do better in their examinations.
I made students speak English to me.
I was an excellent educator, motivator, amplifier, secretary, clerk, subordinate, manager, housemate, chef & photographer.

Despite all the difficulties faced, I’d say this has been a good year.
I’m looking forward to more.
But first… I need a break.
HOLIDAYSSSS!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Empurau Magazine 2009

It's finally out!
Here is a picture of the 2009 Empurau Magazine of SMK Katibas!

Those of you who are close to me would have heard my squeaks & creaks on how hard I worked on this magazine to make it work... ALONE!
The person who was supposed to give me the biggest support simply refused to give me any help!
Although I did most of the work myself, there were several other individuals who came up to me & offered their help. For these people, I am thankful.
Without them, this magazine wouldn't be as good as it is today.
Without them, I'd already be a burnout psycho teacher murdering 'bad' teachers.

Now that I finally have the magazine in my arms, I dare say that I am proud of my baby.
He has come out looking like a great piece of art.
All the months of slaving overtime unpaid just to get the information right & painstaking making sure that every page is exactly how it is supposed to be has paid off.
The people who have read magazines from previous years also commented on the leap of improvements made this year.

This is the best part...

I love the way the children's eyes light up with anticipation while lining up for the magazine.

And how they instantly flip to their class photo to see how they look.

Oh, how sweet their smiles.
And how even the hardest coldest student would look at me happily & thankfully after that.

That was when I knew that my self-imposed slavery was all worth it.

To summarise my whole experience in the production of this magazine, here is what I wrote in the editorial part of the magazine.

It is my greatest pleasure & honour to present to you this year's edition of the Empurau Magazine. This is my first year in the teaching service & I am truly amazed to have been empowered with the freedom to mold & cast in stone, as I see fit, such an important document. A school magazine can portray the school as a shady incompetent institution or one that's worthy of awe. This magazine is the fruit of many sleepless nights, unrelenting frustration & compounding fatigue. Therefore, it is my sincere desire that you will find it both attractive, informative & worthy of a school on the rise.

Working with the magazine committee as well as the school staff to complete this magazine has not been a piece of cake. Of course, the staff of SMK Katibas are extremely talented & willing to share. Little did I know, all their good things came in a combo together with certain flaws. Any human resource manager will be able to relate that some flaws are easy to overlook while others are, well... a little more of a pain. Whatever it is, a compromise has to be made to achieve a quality end product. Therefore, dear reader, let me share an adage I have coined from my experience: 'You can pick your friends but you can't pick your colleagues. So live with it!'

Although there were obstacles, the fact that you are holding a handsome magazine in your hands right now is a testament that every speed bump or mountain in the way of the magazine committee was ironed out & put behind us. I would therefore like to end by thanking the bulldozers & excavators who were a big help in the production of this magazine.

Firstly, I would like to thank the Principal, Mr Clement Chieng Sui Ung, for spending his own time & energy to help with finding sponsors & for putting his faith in me. I would also like to thank Mr Chieng Hop Sing for staying up until late for several nights editing pictures & text. Furthermore, thank you to Mr Gomez Das for taking time off to design graphics including the tribal design incorporated at the bottom of every page. Big thanks to Mr Mohd Shahrir Mustapa, Mr Victor Anthony Anom, Mr Johari Abdullan & Mr Richard Atong for helping me with digging through a haystack of files seeking a needle of information. Another thank you to Mr Nigel Ling Ting Shiuh for getting things started & taking me sponsor hunting in Sibu. Finally, I would like to thank everyone who contributed but was not specifically mentioned as well as the sponsors who invested & believed in this project. Your prayers & contributions are greatly appreciated!

Now, what are you waiting for? Flip the page! Every page is eagerly awaiting your arrival!

Photography Is Such A Lonely Affair

Ever since I got my SLR, I've been the designated photographer for my school.
I have been called upon to take photos of almost every person & literally every event.
It's as if a whole new world of imagery has opened up for the residents of my school.
Another probable motivating factor is... I snap for a zero fee!

Every time I look through the pictures taken after a photo-shoot or after an event, I cant help but notice that I do not exist in any of them.
Then, I'd pause & feel my heart break over the thought that I would never ever have a recorded memory of the event with my face in it.
Everybody would be exclaiming with glee & discussing excitedly how ridiculous they looked in the photos but they'd still copy the photos & cherish then.

As for me, I have nothing to cherish.
It's only me & the fleeting memories I have difficulty retaining.

Often I'd be having dinner or taking a nap & then a photograph would pop into my head...
or I might be thinking of my next blog post & an awesome idea for an accompanying picture appears.
More often that it should, most of these moments are forgotten because, for me, photography is such a lonely affair.

I wish that God would give me a buddy who shares a mutual love for all things beautiful.
Someone who desires to cause a reaction in the hearts & minds of every picture viewer.
Someone who would drop everything to brave rain or shine at a mind-boggling hour just to get the picture done 'perfectly'.

To every photographer living as an island...
Let us remember each other in our prayers.
Now that my buddies are far away... I miss their artful contributions to my expressions.
I miss you, Nas, Mien & Manan.

What Sets My Blog Apart

I've been seriously considering lately whether I should follow the blogger's cliche of blogging about every darn restaurant they've been to.
You know, the ones where they take insanely close-up pictures of the food to show how 'yummy' it looks & share their experiences with the world (be it good, bad or so-so).

I eat out quite often but I do not find a need to blog about every single shop or stall that I visit.
Mainly because I only blog about things that have touched or impacted me in some way.
I've written posts about a few priviledged establishments because they have something there that sets them apart from the others.

This doesn't mean that I wont write about food establishments.
I'm planning to blog about my favorite places for food in Kuching simply out of my overflowing love for them.
I want to expose my love affair with Kuching food to the whole wide world!
p/s: I've got really good taste (oh, I'm so vain) so be sure to check these places out when you're in town!

I write what I want to write.
But sometimes I am clueless as to what I should put in my next blog post...
And I'm tempted to imitate the recipe of the famous ones.
hmmm~~

Nah, I dont think I should put in half-hearted pirated posts.
I'll only post something on my blog because I really want it to be there.
Either that or someone has paid me to do it... **hint** **hint**

I think that is what sets my blog apart. I blog for love. I blog for me.
I don't care to much about attracting more readers or being popular.
I don't go around leaving out-of-context comments on random blogs.
I don't want to be the next KennySia.

I want to be me.
This blog is an extension of my psyche on display for those who care.

I think I've attracted a group of readers with a similar disposition.

I've attracted people who actually care instead of those who are blindly following a trend.

And I am thankful for them.

They... No, YOU motivate me to be a better writer / blogger.

I will do my best to be sincere & truthful on my blog for you.

In this day & age, where information is at one's fingertips & almost every tom dick & kumar has a blog, it's time people started blogging with a difference.

So It's A Small Bonus

The Budget for 2010 was just announced today & a bonus of RM500 will be given to all mid-level civil servants from the rank of 41 to 52. (I hear that even retirees are getting it.)
Previously a bonus of RM500 was given to lower level civil servants to help with festivity costs.

Only a few hours after the announcement of the new budget, some of my fellow civil servants are already complaining that the bonus is too little.
True enough. Compared to the yesteryears, this new bonus is a midget dwarf.
This really got me thinking...

The first question I asked myself was:
Do civil servants deserve a bonus?
In the private sector, employees are given a bonus based on individual performance as well as the organisation's performance as a whole.
I personally think that I deserve a bonus because I waded through a whole load of sheet this year.
I gave my school 100 & 10 percent.
However, I dare not make the same assurances for my fellow servants.
How much have you done this year to deserve a better bonus?

The next question on my mind was:
Can our country afford to give away large sums of money in exchange for nothing?
Do civil servants realise that there is currently a global economic crisis going on?
Malaysia is NOT excluded.
Just take a look at the numbers from the National Statistics Department (Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia).
The Malaysian budget has already been in a deficit for many many years...
but this year, we've got a super 7.6% deficit.
(A deficit is the excess of national expenditure over revenue. Our deficits were usually below 4%)
Civil servants already cost RM38 billion in salaries this year (& ever increasing each year!)
RM500 is already a lot of money to hand out to so many of us.

taken from qizinklaziva.wordpress.com

Does money fall from the sky or maybe they grow on trees?

Let me end with my last question:
What is a bonus?
A bonus is a gift.
Accept it with grace & carry on.
You'll still get your salary every month.
Plus you will never get fired even if you are a lazy worker!
Oh, the perks of being a servant of the people...
Sometimes you don't feel like a servant at all!
**HIGH FIVE**

p/s: I'm a proactive patriotic idealistic citizen. I'm gonna take my RM500 & I'm gonna put it back into the economy by spending it on something for my Datin. =)