Give me my 20 minutes!

Yes! Give me my 20 minutes out of the boredom of my surrounding. Why? Simply;
I am not used to be bored
I am an extrovert & out-going person
I'm suffocated being in a square box
I need to see the world for at least 20 minutes daily
I need to talk
Basically, it's all humans needs.
Thank u for that 20 minutes

\






\

can't wait to be back

I can't wait to be back for Christmas...
I'm having my own countdown...
Few more days to go...
Yeppi

Christmas & Xmas

December is always an awaited month for Christians. It brings along Christmas. Joyous and merrier...I like this month because of holidays...whereby I can go back to my family and enjoy my moments there... I am not a religious person nor a preacher to talk about this issue. Christmas and Xmas..Personally I don't like when people say Xmas instead of Christmas. For me, Xmas indicates that Christ is not present. And that is what is happening nowadays. We enjoy discounted prices, year-end sale, any types of sale, we enjoy the holidays but not the message. It is on Christmas day that we are able to gather with family members and share the pain and joy we've been through all these year. In fact, Christ wants us to build love in the family First. Therefore, Christmas should be spell out as CHRISTMAS and NOT xmas. To have Christ in our life is no short cut which also implied there should be no short cut in spelling.

Do read others' experiences of Christmas!

English in the outdoors

Handling and organizing a camp is never that easy. It's a pain in the neck. Yet once it's all done we will feel very satisfied though the sweat is uncountable. I've been wanting to share my experiences on this but I don't have the time. On 2 - 4 July 2010 English Panel of SMT Likas had organized a Language Camp with the theme English in the Outdoors at Malangang Camp, Kiulu Tamparuli. Many activities had been held such as flying fox, haiku (Japanese poems), Ham radio and night walk. There was another plan activity (Starry Night) that was unable to be held since the teacher in charge did not want to miss the match between Argentina and German (which was indeed a disaster, and a proof that Paul was right).

Students said they enjoyed the camp since it was quite relaxing plus the delicious food that they had.

Happiness

Happiness is achieved everywhere, anytime, all the time and along the path of life. Negativity is the only barrier and that is what I feel lately. Looking around me I know answers for every life's question is there. We only have to dig a little bit. Most importantly, be grateful of whatever happens in your life.

Pounds again.....

Since being at KK I gained 4 kg. That is within 4 months of staying here. I examined my diet and found out that I took lots of meats. Well, being lazy to go to the market is one of the reasons for this gain. When I look at my tummy I can see a bulging tummy. So does hubby's. Now both of us have to be aware of our food intake. So far my BMI is ok. If I gain 1 more kg then I'll be rounder and heavier. Hubby is now in the process of decreasing 10 kg. Which is a lot! I've been counting his Body Mass Index (BMI). Quite simple. You just have to know your weight and your height. Divide your weight (kg) with height (meter2). Then refer to a chart that you could easily find from the net. Good luck and all the best!

I am everything

I figure out lately that being me is being everything.
I mean being a teacher is about being everything.
Not only that you have to teach but you have to be what your students want you to do to let yourself be A person and at the same time allowing yourself (for no charge) to be a role model.
I am not only an English teacher who teaches ENGLISH but a teacher cum

walking-talking dictionary
*answering every question & translating everything

first-aid kit
* be ready for panadol & pads

helper
*cleaning the classroom

etc....etc.....

Enough of these...

It's a shared responsibility....

Getting married means we are going to have a shared responsibility. To marry means to share and not to burden. If it is burdening might as well don't get married initially.

These are some to share with..
The position of the husband in the home and his related responsibilities are quite clearly defined in principle in Ephesians 5:22, 28-31. "Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, even as Christ is head of the church; and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject to Christ, so let wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wife as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it . . . So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church . . . For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shal.1 be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh".
To love alone is not enough...to love thus means to be held responsible together for all acts..

Now let us consider some other responsibilities. The husband is to love his wife above all other human beings. Eph. 5:25 and 28; and Col. 3:19. These passages teach that the husband is to be considerate and tender. The verses in Ephesians 5 teach that the husband is to cherish his wife.

This means that she is to be treated with tenderness and affection. This would mean that since love must be fed, there is to be a warm demonstrative love relationship. The husband has the responsibility of not only demonstrating his love and concern, but telling her. He should not sit in such self-absorption that he does not talk with her and communicate with her socially, mentally, verbally and physically. The husband will demonstrate his love for his wife in other ways, rather than just at the time of sexual relationship. If this is the only time that affection and consideration is shown, then a wife will get the idea that all a husband is interested in is her body and that she is merely a sex object.

Anyway, these are only some few instances of shared responsibility in life. In fact, there are loads.... analyze ourselves and we will know it. Kudos guys...

Health Screen...

Millions of thanks to SMC KK, HQE & Hospital wanita dan kanak-kanak KK for their free health screen on the 13-14 Mac 2010 at City Mall. This is in line with World Kidney Day. Hubby and I didn't want to miss this opportunity since it's FREE so we went there directly after church mass yesterday. We thought we were some of the early birds, but we were wrong. There were already lines of people queueing to be screened. Mostly Chinese. They are really particular about their health I guess. Some even come far away from Tawau... (They didn't tell but I peeped on their data ;-p)

The health screen checked on blood sugar level, blood pressure level, urine test for protein, red blood cells and glucose as well as body mass index (BMI) and body fat..

So far I am on the healthy side... very happy to look at the result. I also gained weight. Now I'm 46 kg. It's great!. Hubby is overall healthy as well except for his blood sugar level which is quite low and his BMI. Anyway, he only has to lose few kg. Not even up to 10.

Hopefully there will be more health screen in the future. I don't mind the queue as long as it's free... ;-)

modern fairy tale story

How a Secretary Made and Gave Away $7 Million
by Robert Frank
Monday, March 8, 2010

She lived in a tiny one-bedroom cottage in Lake Forest, Ill.
She bought her clothes at rummage sales, didn't own a car and worked most of her life as a secretary for a pharmaceutical company.
Yet after her death at age 100, Grace Groner left Lake Forest College a gift of $7 million to be used for scholarships. The money came from three shares of stock she bought -- and held on to -- in 1935.
"She did not have the (material) needs that other people have," William Marlatt, her attorney and longtime friend told the Chicago Tribune. "She could have lived in any house in Lake Forest but she chose not to....She enjoyed other people, and every friend she had was a friend for who she was. They weren't friends for what she had."
Ms. Groner's story might seem like a classic Millionaire Next Door fairy tale -- the thrifty, conservative, hard-working saver who hoards pennies over a lifetime to accumulate vast wealth. And that is certainly part of the story. Aside from occasional trips, Ms. Groner was rigorously frugal due to her Depression-era upbringing. (Not having a husband or children may have also helped her savings rate.)

Yet the way Ms. Groner garnered her wealth was, in fact, more like one big, lucky gamble than a lifetime of scrimping and saving.
Ms. Groner worked for 43 years as a secretary for Abbott Laboratories. In 1935, she bought three specially issued shares of Abbott for $180. She never sold a share, even after repeated stock splits. She also kept reinvesting the dividends. By the time of her death, she owned more than 100,000 shares valued at about $7 million.
As David Roeder of the Chicago Sun-Times points out: "It is a grave error to put your nest egg behind a single company, and it is worse when the company is your employer. Groner had a winner, but others have done this with Enron, General Motors or Bear Stearns."
The all-in-one basket strategy was, of course, a grave error for employees of Enron and others. And financial advisers love to herald diversification, which didn't turn out so well for many investors during the financial crisis.
But Ms. Groner's story shows that savings alone probably doesn't get you to $7 million. It seems that loading up on a one single investment and getting tremendously lucky over a long period of time can get you there. But don't count on it.

Down with flu

I sense that I am not as healthy as before. I am easily affected by the weather. Since the heat is attacking terribly I am deeply affected by it. I am coughing for almost two weeks and now developing horrendous flu for days. Hope to recover soon. Kids are teasing me and jokingly said that I am sad because I didn't win my lottery... hehehe.. jokes accepted as it helps me cure.

Vaginal odour (VO)

Developing unpleasant smell from deep down there is really a disturbance. I am in the midst of it. I don't like antibiotics therefore I refuse to go to the clinic. I know this is what will be given to me. I am not embarrassed to share this to all out there because I believe there are some 'out-patients' of VO out there. I go on surfing the net and discover there are many reasons that caused VO to happen. This site might be helpful to some of you there and could help you in decreasing your adrenaline of anxiety. Again... doctor's advise is crucial before deciding on anything...
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Get-Rid-of-Vagina-Odor-Fast&id=2525898

In The Midst of Hardship

I surf the internet and got this stuff... dedicated to all English teachers

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

In The Midst of Hardship

View more presentations from Nor Fadzleen.

Chinese New Year 2010

I'm counting the days to Chinese New Year because I want to go back by that time. Back to Lahad Datu. I'm homesick. Missing each and everyone at home. Miss Jolie badly till I keep on dreaming abour her. Been browsing on my luck on the year of the tiger to avoid my boredom. Here are some of my findings(though I'm not Chinese at all, but mummy said we do have that blood.. errrr....)

Chinese New Year (according to the lunar calendar) starts on the 14th February 2010 and is celebrated by the Chinese all over the world. It heralds new beginnings and a fresh start. At a social level, it is very much a family affair, a time of reunion, forgiveness, sharing and thanksgiving. In 2010 Chinese New Year falls on Sunday February 14th 2010 at 10.51 (am) China (Lunar calendar), Sunday 14th 02.51 United Kingdom, Saturday 13th 18.51 California USA, and Sunday 14th 03.51 Barcelona Spain. Due to time differences around the world Chinese New Year will fall what appears to be a day early in some countries. I have done a Chinese New Year world time converter 2010 table to assist you. This is the date you celebrate the Chinese New Year with Ang Pow, fireworks etc and not the date you use to place your cures and enhancers 2010 in Feng Shui (February 4th 2010).

The Lunar Chinese New Year Day is very different from the Solar (Hsia) New Year Day (February 4th 2010). The Lunar Calendar formulates the days of the month according to the cycle of the moon whereas the solar year is governed by the sun. Although the Chinese solar year starts on a different date from the western year, the theory whereby the year is calculated on how long it takes the earth to go round the sun is the same. The lunar cycle lasts approximately 29.5 days and in order that the start of the Lunar New Year is not too far removed from the Solar New Year, the Chinese insert an extra month, this being called an intercalary month, once every few years. This is why Chinese New Year Day falls on a different date in each of the two calendars.


Whilst the solar (Hsia) calendar starts the New Year at the beginning of Spring, which falls normally between the 4th and 5th of February, the lunar (yueh) calendar marks the new year on the second New moon after the winter solstice. In 2010, Lunar Chinese New Year also called the 'Spring Festival', falls on 14th February 2010 which is the New Year that is celebrated by all ethnic Chinese. The solar New Year (4th February 2010) is not celebrated at all and only used for Feng Shui placement.

You may have come across a few websites stating that 2010 is the 4708th Chinese New Year, if you cannot find the reason, here is an answer for you:

The Yellow King's appointment was held in the spring of 2697 B.C. But they used the winter solstice day as the first day of the year. So the first winter solstice took place on around December 23rd, 2698 B.C. Today's January 1st means nothing to the Yellow King. If we count that extra eight days in 2698 B.C. for a year, then year 2010 is the 4707th Chinese year.

The weeks running up to New Year's Day are very important because we must be very well prepared for the New Year as it sets the example for the year's luck ahead. For one, all debts have to be repaid before the beginning of the New Year or else you will be in debt to others throughout the year. By the same token, anything lent out to family and friends must be collected before the beginning of the New Year or else one will be lending for the rest of the year.


Making sure that the house is thoroughly cleaned and dusted is important as this ensures that the old stagnant Qi Is swept away so that new, fresh auspicious Qi can enter the home. The whole house must be cleaned before New Year's Day. Cobwebs must be cleared out and any old and broken items should be thrown away. Following cleaning, all brooms, brushes, dusters, dustpans and other cleaning equipment are put away out of sight. To do otherwise would be to threaten the new qi that is arriving and this is something that everyone wishes to avoid. For our home and office it is a bit of a pain as we treat the western New Year the same as the eastern and we end up doing all these rituals twice every year with such a short space in between.


This is also a time to renew protective talismans that are used to expel evil. To achieve this, people will decorate the home with auspicious couplets and emblems with the additional aim to summon good fortune. These appear on paper printed in red or with a red background. To the Chinese, red is a life giving colour, associated with summer, the south and the vermilion bird, which is similar to a phoenix (oddly enough symbolic of rebirth in the west too) and represents the fire element. Red to the Chinese also represents good fortune, fame and riches. Be very careful when using red inside your home though, I see many homes and businesses that use very bright reds thinking it will give them good luck, in traditional Feng Shui this is the most potent colour and if used correctly can give good results, if used in a wrong location it can cause many problems, so a good tip is to keep colours neutral unless you are confidant of the elements and their associated colours and usage.







In readiness for the New Year, the house must be decorated with live blooming plants as these symbolise rebirth and new growth.

Flowers such as pussy willow, azalea, peony, water lily or narcissus symbolise wealth and high position in one's career.

If there are no flowers, the result would be a lack of fruit later in the year. It is considered very lucky for the household if a plant blooms on New Year's Day as they can expect the year ahead to be full of prosperity. Plum blossoms and bamboo are also displayed to symbolise perseverance, reliability and longevity.




After you have placed the flowers, then comes the fruit. Oranges and tangerines are two very symbolic fruits in the celebration of Chinese New Year. They are symbols for abundant happiness.

The colour of oranges and tangerines represents gold and, together with a 'hung bao' ang pow, (red packet containing money), they are offered to friends and family as gifts symbolising gold ingots.

About a week before Lunar New Year, traditional families will be busy preparing the religious ceremony performed with tributes and offerings in honour of Heaven (Tien Shen) and Earth (Ti Tu), and of the various deities of the household together with family ancestors. One of the most well know deities is the Kitchen God who resides over the stove and is said to keep an eye on the interactions of the household, making an annual report on what the family has done in the past year to the Jade Emperor in Heaven around about a week before Chinese New Year Day. Rites and offerings are made to the Kitchen God (Zhou Khun) on this day with hopes that he will speak well of the deeds of the family.


Traditionally, the run up to the celebration of Chinese New Year is the 'Reunion Dinner'. An extravagant banquet is laid out to mark the onset of the New Year where young and old gather for a reunion dinner to symbolise family unity. Family members try to get home from different places before or on New Year's Eve to celebrate this special occasion in the family home. Married daughters will traditionally spend their reunion dinner in the husband's family home.


This is a family banquet that is full of special dishes and delicacies artistically named with auspicious symbolic meanings. The dinner will start with a prayer of tribute and offerings to the ancestors and deities at the family altar. It is a very colourful and lively affair when every light is supposed to be kept on in the house throughout the whole night.


Some of the dishes that are laid on the banquet table have superstitious attributes such as: Ginkgo nuts; these represent gold ingots and are full of auspicious luck for fertility. Black moss seaweed is a symbolic food of prosperity. This is also true in the case of a whole chicken which is a desirable addition to the feast. Dried bean curd is placed on the banquet table to symbolise happiness and luck. Lotus seed is seen as another fertility symbol and signifies having many offspring. Nian Gao is a traditional sweet steamed glutinous rice pudding, when you eat this dish you will aid growth and abundance. When you translate bamboo shoots into Chinese, the words sound similar to the Chinese for "hoping that all turns out for the best". A whole fish with its head and tail intact will represent togetherness.

Reunion Dinner

The Reunion Dinner is a very busy event. The women buzz around the kitchen with the dinner preparation whilst the men either watch TV or (guess what?) play mah-jong. Mah-jong is an extremely important part of Chinese culture and is played by men and women alike, often in halls exclusively dedicated to the game.

Mah-jong is linked with gambling with huge sums of money being won and lost by the players. An excellent memory is required to remember which tiles have been laid down and which remain. Once a certain point in a hand has been passed, you need to pay special attention as if you are the one to put down the tile that enables another player to win that hand, you not only have to pay your own losses on the hand but those of the other two losing players as well. This can mean serious amounts of money.

Children are bathed and dressed in their new pyjamas and promised the arrival of "Tsai Shen Yeh" (Chai Shen Yeh) (the Wealth God). Whilst they sleep; the parents will slip an ang pow (a red envelope with money) under their pillow signifying a visit from 'Chai Shen Yeh'. Children can also expect to receive red envelopes from uncles and aunts with the amount that is given being dictated by the closeness of the family relationship and also the age of the child. Older children can usually expect to receive more than younger ones. Someone who has a large family and who has taken a hammering on the mah-jong tables is in for trouble!


At midnight, at the turn of the old and New Year, people let off fire-crackers which serve to scare away the evil spirits and old qi of the past year and to greet the arrival of the New Year. In the UK, sadly it is legal to set off fireworks on Chinese New Year as with our normal New Year and Guy Fawkes Night.


In your finest and newest clothes, New Years Day itself starts with the exchange of good wishes amongst the family. Married couples present the young ones, children and unmarried adults alike with a Hung-Bao. In Chinese culture, instead of giving a wrapped up present as we do at Christmas in the UK, it is a customary to give this red envelope containing money. The amount of money contained in the envelope has to be in even numbers. Even numbers are auspicious unless it is a single Chinese i-ching coin on its own. For example, it could be two dollars, ten or twenty dollars. It is amazing how much a person can accumulate in a single day. If you follow this link you will find an article on red envelopes and how they used for Chinese New Year; if you follow this link you will find more details angpow2010.htm


You will also find an article on Chinese talismans, this really is a superb article and you must read it; follow this link after you have finished this article. talismans2010.htm


The day continues with visits to relatives. The visiting rota has its unspoken hierarchy arrangement. The oldest get to sit at home and wait for the younger relatives to visit them to exchange good wishes to each other. This is a very exciting time for the children because nearly every 'Kung Xee Fa Chai' (it means Congratulations and May you be Prosperous) we recite, we get an ang pow (red envelope containing money) for it.


The second day of Chinese New Year is named 'Kai Nien' meaning "Year Beginning" which starts with a very early morning breakfast. Special dishes with symbolic names will be served. The special dish of this day is long noodles which are served with everyone competing to toss the noodles as high as possible with their chopsticks. The tossing of noodles is a symbolic activity done to promote longevity. This means that, unless you are unable to do so, you stand up and raise your arms full stretch in the air holding the noodles aloft. In order to get extra lift off, some people use super long chopsticks and stand on chairs so you should probably make sure the ceiling fan is turned off.


Unlike in the west, Chinese New Year is not a time for drinking a lot of alcohol. In fact, alcohol is generally not drunk as people save space for themselves to drink enormous amounts of Chinese tea. Some people will have a Chinese wine with their meal but, particularly as the emphasis is so much on the family nature of the celebrations, nobody goes over the top.


Two days of overeating and general fun and games are quite a lot as the Chinese do not hold back on these occasions. The Chinese relationship with food is close all the year but at no time more than at New Year. Many dishes have particular significance, especially at this time. Even everyday dishes like fish and turnips have special meanings and none more so than fish balls and meat balls both of which suggest reunion, which is a most important element at this time. However, after two days of festivities and fun, even the Chinese can have enough and recognise that energy levels need to be restored. The third day is therefore a day of calm. Traditionally, it is not a day for risks or adventure. The young ones will venture out to see friends but it is a quiet day. No offices or businesses will be open on this day.

Normal procedures return with businesses as usual on the fourth day. Many businesses will choose a specific day to start business with the assistance of their Feng Shui Practitioner and initiate the new trading year with a spectacular display of Lion Dance and fire crackers. It is a very noisy and exciting event.


Greetings and an air of festivity remain for another eleven days through to the full moon of the first lunar month when another celebration follows but this time it is to mark the closing of the Spring Festival. Day 15 is also called the 'Spring Lantern Festival' (Yuan Xiao Jie). This wonderfully romantic celebration takes place under a full moon on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month of the year.








On this day, the old and young carry a colourful lantern and gather in a neighbouring public place. They gather to admire and appreciate the first full moon of the year (very similar to the Mid Autumn Festival). In China, there are still villages that hold a big Tang Yuan (rice dumplings) cooking and eating session. The dumplings are round and symbolise family unity and completeness. The mid-month Lantern Festival traditionally brings the seasonal passage of the New Year to a conclusion.

End of sport training

I'm glad sport's day is over. Can't stand going back late almost everyday. I'm too exhausted and stressed. Heard that KAT (Kejohanan Antara Teknik) is on this year and to top it up, my name is on debate trainee list. Again. I thought that I can have a rest this year. Well, have to have enough rest in February then. Hopefully, no afternoon class at all. Crossing my fingers tight.

SMTL sport training

This year i am in charge of marching.... Just like years before, yet this year is different because i have to be fully involved in it. Previously, my task is only on paper (got what i mean) now, I have to train the kids everyday. Including thinking of accessorising them.... hehehhehe.. a better task than last year I guess. i enjoy it though because everyday after marching training I would be able to go for a jog... yeppi

Handbag & Name tag

I never had a new year resolution in my life, simply I can't dedicate myself to it. However, this year I found myself dragging along my name tag and handbag wherever I go. New me. Yet, I still look great! Hahahaha. Might be this is my new year resolution. Great 2010. Yesteryears, I never wear my name tag, except for few special occassion as not to embarrased myself, let alone bringing my handbag here and there. I only brought enough money to school canteen. That's it. The new school does change me gradually. Not that because everyone is wearing name tag or tagging their handbags along cause me to do so but because it's not safe for me to leave my valuable stuff here. Reason being my table is very near to the door. Who knows people get tempted to S...L kan.... Better be careful. As for the name tag... Ala.... malu la juga if I am the only one not wearing it kan... Better wear la.

Time is gold

It never crosses my mind that indeed time is gold until I was transferred to a city. For some it might sound cliche, yet for me it's a new experience. Growing up in a small town does not make me realize how important it is to deal with time. I'm damn good in knowing about deadlines but never good in managing time. And this is a lesson worth learning here. Everyday, I have to be out from home at 6.00 a.m. SHARP. A minute late means I'll be 7 minutes late to school. Now, I don't have the pleasure of ignoring my alarm clock shouting. Once it starts to shout, I'll jump out of bed and prepare everything. I used to go to work at 6.30 a.m. (the latest since school starts at 6.45 a.m.), now.. errmmmm... sorry lah... no more....hmmmm... how I wish I still have that luxury....Nevertheless, I learnt a lesson here... Time management.