Proud to be Iban

Let me be absolutely honest here, what this kid said regarding Iban people is insulting. He's insulting the intelligence and capability of us Ibans. What he assumes is:
Rural Sarawakian = Iban = duduk dlm hutan = ulu-ulu = buta IT.

* BTW, he's from Miri and he's involved with Red Crescent Miri Chapter... Hmm... Tak layak sungguh jadi Belia Red Crescent.

What he wrote:
After reading the Borneo Post, only the front page, I found out an interesting topic to deliberate. Its not supposed to be funny, and I hope you won't read it. I'm not being a racist towards the rural people, I am telling the true facts of everything regarding this post, which is, SARAWAK RURAL STUDENTS TO SURF INTERNET WITHIN NEXT TWO YEARS. And the mission starts next week, RM 2 billion sponsored by the Ministry of Communication.

Wow! Everything gonna change. Mark my words. Try you imagine. If the org2 Iban have Streamyx in their rural areas, and wireless LAN gaming in the rumah panjang, so, its like one whole Gunz clan room consists of 500 players. Walao.

Then, they will ofcourse sign up for a Friendster account, since that is the only website they know. Or maybe Facebook. Mati lo. Those websites will be crowded again. Thirdly, Youtube. I refer them as Kampung ucak. They surely use the opportunity to learn shuffle, cause this is what they call as cool. And you can see them doing running man in the middle of the jungle. Futuristic.

Lastly, they start blogging. Apparently, you know I'll die in blogging, even you can see it now. So, don't be surprised if they defeat me in blogging one day later.

Aduh, ada juga warganegara Malaysia yang berfikiran (ada berfikir ke?) sempit sebegini. Salah siapa? Ibu bapa, masyarakat setempat, atau sistem pendidikan? Of course a lot of people will point their fingers, toes, whateveritmaybe at the education system. How about the parents or even the type of society one lives in? Surely that counts as one of the major influence. If the parents practise respect and did not discriminate or exhibit racist behaviour, for sure the kids will grow up to be 'colour-blind' (non-racist). Otherwise, it will just result in (yet) another narrow-minded spoilt brat who thinks that everyone else must worship the ground he steps upon. Just maybe this kid will grow up to be a protege of namewee???

Talking about discrimination, sometimes, what is interesting is that, orang Sarawak tahu dan peka mengenai our Malaysian counterparts (negeri-negeri lain) but they know next-to-nothing about East Malaysia (I'm referring to Sarawak and Sabah here). Buku teks dan sukatan matapelajaran sama sahaja (cuma ya lah, berapa bab sangat lah yang menyentuh mengenai EM?)
Sepanjang hidup saya, beberapa kali saya telah bertemu dengan spesies manusia yang 'dungu tahap infiniti' ini...
Antaranya;

a) 1997
A lady asked my Dad when we visited my relatives in KL:
Makcik:
"Where are you from?"
Dad:
"Sarawak"
Makcik:
"Is this your first time coming to Malaysia?"
~ Adui la makcik bangang, sah-sah makcik ni suka ponteng kelas Geografi dia dulu. Tak pun sijil MCE dia fail.

b) 1997 (yup, met a lot of this species during this year)
Bright girl:
"Eh, ko duduk Sarawak kan? Org Sarawak duduk kat pokok eh? Korang potong-potong kepala kan?"
Me (with a straight face):
"Eh, tak de lah potong kepala. Mana boleh suka hati ja potong kepala. Orang kurang ajar je sah-sah kena potong kepala. Macam kau ni la. Gerenti jadi hiasan dinding."
(Dalam hati: F$^$$T&KKK!!! you Idiot!)
Bright girl:
o.O' (sweating)

c) One thing that I can't forget was when a 'friend' asked me,
"Macam mana lu boleh dapat A?!"
when he found out that I scored an A for our ICT subject (he was a Science Com graduate).
Eh brother, is it so weird that I managed to beat you? I am competitive. Never underestimate me.

d) My coursemates' reaction when they found out that I got the top result (CGPA : 3.85) among all the Dip.Ed students.
They:
"Wa, dahsyat nya result ko? Apa rahsia ko ek?"
(padahal dalam hati dah buat plan mau buruk/sabotaj aku. Ada aku kisah?)
Me (straight but smug face):
"Ala, senang je. Kitaorg kan duduk atas pokok. So banyak udara segar I guess."
Again. I am competitive. Don't mess with me. I may look harmless but I'll whack you 'pera-pera' bontot...Hahaha *evil*

Muahahahaha...
I sometimes hate them for their ignorance but there's no denying that their stupidity makes great conversation material. Haha... Also can't help but to pity them for their ignorance/stupidity. Kalau di dunia utopia/ideal, spesis ni lama dah kena 'terminate'..

Which is why I told my students to do their absolute best and open the eyes of those ignoramus. Biar mereka buka mata seluas-luasnya dan mengetahui, sesungguhnya, WE ARE THE BEST!

Anang ka alah gasak ke orang wai. Pajak ke diak. Agi Idup Agi Ngelaban!

p/s: He apologized and he removed his post. Sorry kiddo, the damage is done. Let this be a reminder for you to think before you open that 'sial' mouth of yours. Never mess around and discriminate others. Are you REALLY that good?
(Telih sunat bedau gerai ngenemu ka diri ~ nya pen sema nti ia besunat. Kada enda agi kulup)

Equation of Life : March

image taken from here

Hidup + Kerja + (10 x Marking Paper) + AJK Staf + AJK Majalah + AJK ApaNtahLagi + Jurulatih = Busy Tahap Infiniti

Dengan ini tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekalian, secara sahnya saya tiada 'social life' langsung bulan ini. Waktu bekerja saya (di sekolah sahaja, yang siapkan kerja di rumah not included) bermula seawal 6.20 pagi... Paling awal saya tercongok depan gate rumah saya adalah pada pukul 5 petang setiap hari. Saya cuma ada waktu untuk duduk ketika saya:
a) breakfast/minum
b) mesyuarat
c) di Staff Room (paling lama 15 minit sahaja)

Perkara yang harus saya lakukan adalah:
a) Keceriaan Staff Room (terutamanya papan2 notis). Deadline sebelum cuti ini katanya...
b) Marking (kata Bos mesti kadar segera)
c) Latih budak2 utk Pertandingan Kawat Kaki Peringkat Bahagian (4 Hari selepas cuti berakhir. Semua jurulatih sungguh stress, tambahan pula sekolah jadi Tuan Rumah)
d) Selaku emcee (tetap dan berpencen), saya ada tiga event utk diacarakan, salah satunya seperti pada (c)
e) Update status kewangan AJK Majalah. Saya baru sahaja dilantik sebagai Bendahari, satu perkara yg tidak pernah saya lakukan dalam hidup saya. Satu lagi AJK bermakna makin bertambah list kerja saya.
f) AJK Staf. Selaku VP, nama saya lah yang sering terpampang di dalam Pelan Kualiti Tindakan. Berkali-kali dan di tambah pula dengan remark *tugasan sepanjang tahun*...
g) Mesyuarat mesyuarat mesyuarat. Punggung makin lebar sebab banyak sgt mesyuarat.

Kerana kesibukan ini juga, saya berura-ura akan bermalam sahaja di sekolah. Bukan lah di Staff Room (tapi kalau dah terdesak sangat apa nak buat lah), tetapi di rumah rakan sekerja. Ini bagi membolehkan saya membuat kerja (a) pada waktu malam. Nak driving malam2 balik rumah takut lah pulak sebab ada kes samun di jalan raya.

Semalam sebaik sahaja saya tamat mengajar, saya terus menghadiri mesyuarat (bukan satu tetapi dua mesyuarat berturut-turut). Akibatnya, saya terus tiada selera makan kerana terlalu lapar dan letih (no lunch + dinner). Oleh sebab itu, hari ini saya hampir2 termuntah di dalam kelas gara2 gastrik. Nasib baik la sempat berkejar ke tandas. Kalau tak, kecoh eh...

Kesibukan ini belum lagi ditambah dengan parliamentary-syle debate yang mana merupakan salah satu projek gemilang sekolah. Sebagai jurulatih bagi debate ini, harapan besar tersandar di bahu saya dan teman seperjuangan saya. Aduh, 'indah'nya hidup.

Bukannya saya mengeluh, sekadar berkongsi 'part and parcel' kehidupan seorang warga pendidik. Siapa kata jadi cikgu kerja senang?

Nak cuba?

Footprints in the Sand - Leona Lewis

- Got this link via STP's site (Thanks STP! It's a beautiful song!)

I've read the poem "footprints" before and I loved it. This song must've drawn its inspiration from the same poem. Been listening to this song again and again.

Dear God, thank you for carrying me in the times of deepest despair and not letting me go, every single time. Amen.

I *heart* this song.
Here's the lyrics

You walked with me
Footprints in the sand
And helped me understand
Where I’m going
You walked with me
When I was all alone
With so much I know
Along the way
Then I heard You say

I promise you
I’m always there
When your heart is filled
With sorrow and despair
I’ll carry you
When you need a friend
You’ll find My footprints in the sand

I see my life
Flash across the sky
So many times
Have I been so afraid
And just when I have thought
I’ve lost my way
You give me strength to carry on
That’s when I heard You say

I promise you
I’m always there
When your heart is filled
With sorrow and despair
I’ll carry you
When you need a friend
You’ll find My footprints in the sand

When I’m weary
Well, I know You’ll be there
And I can feel You when You say

I promise you
I’m always there
When your heart is full
Of sadness and despair
I’ll carry you
When you need a friend
You’ll find My footprints in the sand

Sukan Karnival 2009

Another working Saturday for me. Actually today is another replacement Saturday for the school but I have to accompany my students to attend the 'Sukan Carnival 2009' held at the sports complex.
It's co-organized by PBSMM Sarikei Chapter and Kelab Rakan Muda (KRM). Overall I think the event could have been done better, I've given my comments to the organizers. Hope they will take note of it so that the next time they organize similar events, things will improve.
Some of my comments included the 'pengacara majlis'/emcee. Being a regular emcee myself, I do know some of the do's and dont's of emceeing. The emcee for the day was from KRM, and boy, she f**ked things up BIG time. Not only was her voice of an irritating pitch, she was unprepared AND she didn't adhere to the protocol. Imagine adressing a member of parliament by his name o.O Not only that. She messed up with the gelaran as well (even after being corrected by the guys from Jabatan Penerangan) and many times she had to correct herself many times. Sah sah la you people will kena sound by the D.O. My God, girl, berapa lama baru u mau sedar? And for goodness sake, STOP allowing your friends to play 'syok sendiri' music. THEY MAY LIKE IT, YOU MAY LIKE IT, WE DON'T!!
(The other teachers also mentioned the same thing so I know I'm not wrong)
That was the most irritating part of the day.
Other than that, things are fine.

Some of today's pics

Group pic after the Closing Ceremony

The loveliest bunch of students...

... working together as a team...

... I will hold your hands if you falter...

... we may fall, but still we will laugh, get up and get going again... ;-)

My ex-students from SMKBB... Bising kali juak..haha... I missed u guys tooMe in my PBSM Officer's uniform. Haha.. Had to wear this every Monday

"Have a great day. Smile, Laugh and be Merry!" ~ Saran

My Sunday

was spent chilling at home.
Woke up.
Did my laundry.
Ate breakfast while laughing my head off watching Spongebob. Gosh, I heart Spongebob especially today's episode. Spongehenge. Hahaha...
Breakfast was fried rice with kasam ikan keli. Yummy! Thanks mak cmanggang for bringing some for me.
Showered. It rained. Took a nap.
Woke up at 12.30 noon. Watched TV3's Melodi (watching those artistes' airing their's and others' dirt can be fun).
Lunch was upa apong, kasam ikan keli and fried pumba. Yummy.
By now the heat was really going on strong.
Went to the grocery shop nearby to buy ice creams and chocolate. Lepak at my Sis' place. Nothing beats enjoying ice cream on a hot day.
Spent my day surfing the blogosphere and chatting with my Dearie (I mish u 2 Dear!)

Aaahhhh... A relaxing Sunday to recharge my energy.

Before a VERY long and busy week ahead. Bring it on.

Flashbacks of a De-cluttered Mind

I don't know why or how this scene 'resurfaced' from the deepest recesses of my mind. Maybe it's because I've de-cluttered my mind. For some reasons I remembered this scene from my year 4 in primary school. Back then I was studying in a mission school in Kapit.

I had a classmate. I think it was during our Moral Ed class, when our teacher (for the love of me, I can't recall who), asked us about religion. So all of us stated our religion (Christian, Catholic, Methodist, SIB, Buddhist, Muslim, etc) when this classmate of mine stated matter of factly:

"I don't believe in God. I am an atheist".

Our teacher almost frothed in his mouth. He tried to convince my friend that it is wrong/blasphemous to NOT have a religion but he sputtered and stammered when my friend asked what/who is God, how do we know God exists, etc. He sure didn't do a good job at trying to 'reform' my friend. At least that's what I thought at that time.

I don't even know if my friend is still an unbeliever (in God).

Now I don't believe in judging others by their ethnicity, religion. All that matters to me is how a person treats others, or in other words, the 'person' within them. How often have you met a church-going person who behaves just the opposite? I mean I've met these people who are filled with jealousy, prejudice and hypocrisy. Keluar saja dari gate gereja terus maki dan mengumpat.

IMHO, the tension sparked by religion is just plain stupid and serves no purpose at all. You have a great God? Good, so do I. (I believe that) Every religion teaches its followers to love and live in peace. I believe that GOD IS LOVE. But where is the love when people kill each other in the name of their God? Where is the love when we label each other as infidels? Where is the love when we allow our perception to be clouded by prejudice?

It's about time for people to stop this "My God is greater than your God" thingy.

-------------------------------------------------------
p/s: I've de-cluttered most of the mess in my head (and life). Work is great so far. New boss in charge now so everything's improving. Even if that means I've got my hands full, I'm loving it. Hehe