Be back by the 4th

of June. Kot. Sebab kerja tiba-tiba menimbun naik ke langit. Hehe.

* * *

"Teacher bagitau kamu ni, bukan sebab Teacher nak buat kamu kecik hati. Kamu nak rasa Teacher ni tak best dan tak sporting pun Teacher tak boleh cakap apa. Teacher takut nanti Tuhan tanya, Teacher tak reti jawab. Tu saja," said my teacher to them, back then-lah. Tapi kan, mungkin budak-budak yang macam ini lebih suka orang tak peduli. Mungkin mereka sudah biasa tidak dipeduli, jadi bila ada orang care sikit sudah masuk kategori cari pasal. Mungkinlah.

Apa benda yang seronok sangat mengabis duit mak bapak beli benda bukan-bukan menjahanam jantung dan paru-paru ni?

SEVEN WORDS.

There is a kitten in my jeans.

* * *

A challenge to my readers :

Come up with your own sentence of seven words.

The sentence must make sense.

It can be about ANYTHING under and over the sun.

You can submit as many sentences as you want.

Go ahead.

p/s: Yes, Bahasa Melayu sentences are allowed. XD

Sebenarnya,

kamu emosional bila aku tegur orang lain sebab kamu pun buat juga silap yang serupa, kan? Kamu lagi emosional sebab kamu tahu kamu buat silap itu dengan sengaja. Tak pernah lagi aku jumpa orang yang hangin satu badan sebab orang lain kena tegur - melainkan dia itu makan cili yang sama. Tapi bila pedas kamu menolak time aku offer minuman, kan? So kalau terbakar seorangan jangan kecoh seluruh pekan. Tidak cool langsung.

Dude, adik bongsu aku kata, 'Freedom of choice bukan freedom untuk kita pilih nak smoking atau tidak, nak bertutup atau tidak, nak minum atau tidak. Freedom of choice itu freedom untuk kita pilih mahu pulang ke mana kelak. Pilihan ada dua.'

Adik aku memang cool. Dan hensem.

MJSC Balik Pulau: May 7-9 2010

The night before the journey, I almost cried when I broke the news to my kids, 'Teacher tak dapat pergi sebab Maak teacher kerja esok.' My mum was supposed to not work on that day, so she planned to send me there. Turns out that she had to work and the news really broke my heart. Half the contingent went crazy over the it; they really hoped that I could go. Smart kids.

'Saya nak bawak handphone, Teacher! Teacher kena bersedia tepi phone nanti saya call nak menangis ke ape,' said Hanim, my Upper Secondary Open public speaker, looking devastated. Who wouldn't be? It's Teacher Nani I'm talking about, here.

Nadiah, my Lower Secondary Girl public speaker didn't say much. There was a quiet 'Yeah' once or twice. Always the silent type. Also the biggest reader in her batch. But it was all over her face;Teacher, you have to come. You just have to.

Then Alif, my thirteen-year-old Lower Secondary Boy public speaker said something that made everyone smile. 'Teacher, nanti saya call tanya, piala ni nak letak kat mana?' The smile on his face wasn't that much of a hopeful one. It was more to lighten everyone's mood. Success. People were smiling again, although it wasn't much.

'I like the sound of that,' I said, smiling.

My Ketua Jabatan then suggested that I ask the Pengetua himself, if I could go with the team. I must have looked like I was losing it. So that's what I did. And he said yes, with a hint of a laugh. I must have sounded desperate. 'Saya akan ganti kelas hari Jumaat tu nanti. Boleh ya, Pengetua?'

Man. The thing that brought tears to my eyes wasn't really the fact that I could go. It was the kids. Led by Alif, the storytellers and the public speakers actually, openly prayed to God to soften the Pengetua's heart and grant me the permission to go with, as I was making the call. Adorable kids.

The journey took around four hours. Right upon arrival, I got myself a bed in the dorm with the girls, after a personal request made to the Pengetua of MJSC Balik Pulau himself, who have been fond of me ever since I was born. But that's a story for later, maybe. I got a bed. That was great. So the rest of the day was filled with aggressive coaching. The night, too. And my sleep was dreamless.

The first day almost dried my blood. I rushed to Ibnu Sina Hall to watch Nadiah's speech and rushed to the Lecture Hall to see Alif's. Nadiah's was a perfect ten. I was so proud. So, so proud. Too bad I didn't get to see Alif's from the beginning. It was halfway done when I arrived. Dahlah pintu depan hall tak dapat bukak. Jenuh Teacher Nani dengan Storyteller Elmie mencari jalan masuk. The back door wasn't locked. Phew. So we did get to see Alif. He skipped a point. Too passionate. But he covered it up professionally. The judges? They were in love with him. And that's an understatement.

The dooming stage of spontaneity came up next. Nadiah ran out of ideas, but to God I swear, she was the bravest girl I've ever seen, up-close and personal. She didn’t make it to the top three, although the head of the judges said she would have been the runner-up. We'll bounce back next year, then. Worry not, kid.

Alif's? The judges just fell in love with him over and over again.

'Honourable judges, may I bring this up there?' he asked, showing his scribbled notes for the impromptu speech, his face innocent. My Dream, was the topic. Man. That would have melted even rocks. And his, 'We meet again, this time on the stage of spontaneity,' sent the judges to the seventh heaven, I think. Glad that he decided to use it. Glad that the size of the word was immeasurably amplified by the diminutive stature of his. Glad.

And so begin the series of sentences we've ran through several times in our coaching hours. He stuck a few times. Sidetracked here and there. Almost rambled at some places. But he fought his way to the bell, bravely. He really did. And his, 'Oh, looks like the bell is sending me right back to my seat' would definitely have murdered the judges had they been allergic to cuteness, LOL.

Too late to shorten the story – Alif championed his category. His challenge trophy moment was epic. It's bigger than he is. I thought I'd cry, but I didn’t. Which was a little poyo. I wished I had, haha.

Hanim made me proud, too. There she was, endearing and the warmest of them all. Very likeable, I must say, if I were to compare her to the rest who went up there aggressively speaking of stuff they shouldn’t be aggressive about. She was just right. No frills and no spills. The right cupcake with the right icing and cherry on top. But I guess she was too stunned by the fact that she had to promptly speak on 'Why should we learn English?' so she had to stop halfway and cried.

That was OK with me. I was not angry. Not at all. Ada orang sampai tua pun tak boleh speak in public lagi. And for a teenager to go up there and do her prepared speech, it was more than just heroic. It was majestic. All my public speakers were. They will always be. =D

The three days were the best. I came back so much learnt and stronger.

Phew. I guess that was already too lengthy for a comeback. And I wasn't even gone for long. So ah. Pictures, everyone.

MRSM BALIK PULAU: MAY 7-9 2010

Well. That's a mouthful. Glad that everything's up.

So.

How's everyone doing?

Chapter: Random Satu

'Habis tu, Nani sanggup hidup dengan duit banyak tanpa kasih sayang? Macam mana nak bahagia?' she asked. Man, I thought I'm annoying. And why do you think I can't be happy without love? What makes you think I don't have love? Does 'kasih suami' the only love you could think of? Did your brain just stop functioning? Or were you born like that?


'I think you shouldn't be too materialistic,' she added, a moment after that. Oh. Yeah. I really, really thought I'm annoying. 'Money doesn't buy happiness.' Maybe you just don't know where to shop, then. Drop the first four letters of the word materialistic, and change the letter 'i' which comes after 'r' to 'e', you get realistic. That's what I'm trying to be, and succeeding at being. I'm not just materialistic. I am realistic. Love does not feed you, that's for sure. And love doesn't buy you books when you crave for some Pattersons or Browns of maybe Rowlings. Yeah I'm not in your shoes. I don't wanna be. You don't get anywhere without money these days. When are you going to accept that?


'Come on Nani, Nik Madihah wasn't even rich, and look where she is now,' she said, looking like she believes she had just said something really smart. Which was pathetic. Babe, the expenses she furthers her studies in, IS money, only not her own. Without exactly THAT, her brains would have gone nowhere. Couldn't you have at least TRIED to think before you say anything? Jeez.


*


I have always been fascinated by power, position and money, ever since I was small. I just adore power. I desire power. I'm happy when I have power and control over things. I feel alive when I get to make big decisions. And I don't mind being called 'gila kuasa' behind my back. I don't mind being called 'perempuan peng-control' behind my back. I even enjoy being called those to my face. Dude, I'm not power crazy. Three days of talking to me shouldn't make me 'gila kuasa' in your eyes. But what do you know? And I guess your ego has never been bruised before, by a female who decides what's best for the group because you three males just can't get your brains working. That's just sad.


I didn't commit any power abuse. And even if I did, don't blame me. Blame yourselves for not having power. Blame yourselves for giving me the position you didn't realize earlier that you'd want it.