Wohoo..

For the time being, this is how I get satisfaction.

*Thanks for Snow, Aimi Luv*

Mailed!

Guess what arrived in the mail about two weeks ago?? NME2 through the not-so snail mail! In your face, Kuantan!

Here's what happened: The whole school was anxiously waiting for the announcement of whether our school would be granted with a week break due to H1N1 outbreak so I notified Nina of the issue. She let out a shriek, I was surprised!

Nina: Ana, you kena tunggu sampai posmen datang tomorrow tau!
Ana : Haaa... why??
Nina: Because I sent something through the mail... You KENA tunggu!
Ana : (being smart as I always am) Did you sent in NME2?
Nina: Yeaaaaaaaa... I couldn't bear to think that you akan read the book two weeks lagi
Ana : Kaaaaan??? But Oh My God! You sangat sayang kat I, I sayang you juga *tears*
Nina: Awwwwhhh.. Durra yang beli, I postkan
Ana : I sayang jugaklah kat Durra... But you, you... *speechless*

My Girls are the best.. Who can top this?

*by now, I have finished reading the book and I can't wait for NME3.. hats off to Amir Sharipudin, Ann Lee and Shanon Shah for opening the curious can of the unknown for me*

The Best Way

What is the best way of giving some constructive feedback to your students? You know, without sounding harsh and pushing some wrong buttons?

I guess for any new or beginning teachers, we all face the same problem. Feedback is essential for every work, be it marks or remarks yet you just don't know what will the response to the feedback be. You just want to be honest for everyone's sake but how to put it in the most intellectual and encouraging way, that's the quest.

I wish I could pat everyone at the back and say "Good Job" but the standard is raised as the time passes by. I want to see imrpovement, from good to better to best. Most of people haven't really reached good yet being at better shouldn't leave you too comfortable.

Okay, so you have tried writing about lands in Europe and homes of sausages... For other essays, try to tell me something I don't already know. Instead of focusing on the narrative or the plot, you can have a little more emphasis on the characters' soul. Not from the surface, but dwell into its inner thoughts. What do people in certain situation, sometimes compromising ones, think of when they do it?

Also, pick a setting that's beyond here and now. The groovy 60s, for example, is one of the best example. Yes, have some readings on music of the time, the cultural practices. Talk about Malaysia of yesteryears, when students were rulers, for example. What difference can be highlighted that rings truth to the mind?

I have always wanted my continuous essay homeworks to be a punchbag of emotions and conflicts. But more often than not, the essay becomes one of telling an event. A recount.

So, no... You haven't lost it. It's tucked neatly under a layer of doubts, so let's find that exclusively-yours magic. That's a challenge and it's for all of us.

Sudah Cuti

My school has been granted 7 days of leave due to some positive H1N1 case. I get to go back but I feel bad.

Drop Dead Me

This new series aired in Lifetime Channel, USA is currently being aired in Aussie too so I went on to google it and it got raving reviews. It's called "Drop Dead Diva" *ahem.. me* and I can't wait for it to reach our shores.

It's about a gorgeous bimbo-ish woman who falls dead but gets replaced into a new body, a size 16 woman who works as a lawyer. Hence, it's a stark contrast. Sort of reminds me of that Chris Rock movie, Down To Earth.



Or maybe I can watch online. The question is when? blaarggghhh...

Cubicle

This is how my cubicle looks like almost all working days, an organised chaos which Hafiz Hazim once cleverly referred to as an aftermath of a horrendous typhoon. There are too many things to do, notice the hills of books waiting for me to peek in and later, have a severe headache over it (owwh, the constant perfectionist is annoying!)

Thus, I am in office at 7.30am on a beautiful Saturday morning, having Nesvita+Weetbix for breakfast while simultaneously correcting grammar and sentence structure in essays albeit my own concurrent mistakes in the same areas are still apparent.

I miss my other Saturday mornings back home, the ones either spent gobbling down The Mother's thosai or having a chai latte+wholegrain muffin at my favourite coffee spot, Marmalade over a good book and the newspaper.


Shit, I just realised that I just might be a workaholic.