my own

Gained from conversations in, around and about my new read:

equivocal (adj): may have two or more interpretations. can be misleading

anthropomorphic (adj): nonhuman things described as having human characteristics. eg - Mickey Mouse

hot fuzz

I've got it again

that warm fuzzy feeling.

ngee*

Only you know what it is.

coz it has happened once before in Feb.

Glad i got it back..

Happy holidays.

everybody else but me

Maybe, just maybe, I can make it.

I'm currently involved in a project everybody else deemed to be a failure.

I was hyper-excited about it even before i sniffed it coming my way (yes, even before that London-Paris trip). ..that is until yesterday when I went to a meeting that explains what the project entails.

I badly want it to work out but why is everybody being a drenched blanket?

They said it frustrates them.

They said its not gonna work well.

They said whatever you do you are going to end up miserable.

So here i am being excited about something everybody else hates.

Here's the catch:

Everybody else has been in the project for 3 years.

So, technically, they know what they're talking about, right?

I suppose they are right about how the project is going to turn out for me, right?

So why am i still an annoying bouncy bunny?

..Imma make it work!!

footnote: Thank you baby, for believing in me.

sniffing it out

http://www.gourmetgirlmagazine.com

Thanks to Asian Food Channel I am currently googling up truffles wondering how it smells and taste like. mmm

I have a penchant for trying out new food. Apparently truffle is pungent, has an intense taste, is rare and costs a bomb! All that really intrigues my palate.

Truffle is originally sniffed out by female pigs because the smell resembles the sexy smell of a boar. Hahah. imagine the girl getting all excited and in heat seeking out the underground tuber, thinking she's getting 'lucky'.. only to find an expensive culinary delight instead. She wouldn't know the difference though. The trouble with these sows is they can't help but gobble up the truffles they find (prolly deep in sexual fantasy while at it too). Sexy little biatch.

Trends achanging so sows are replaced with truffle-sniffing dogs instead. These canines have better self-control and can be trained to exchange the truffles they find with bread or other cheapo treats - while the trainer gets away with selling the fungi at a hefty price!

There are white or black varieties to these underground goodies. Apparently the taste and smell are more intense if harvested in the winter.

http://lizzieeatslondon.blogspot.com/2009/12/rest.html
Truffles are rarely cooked.
AFC showed that they are shaved thinly over a plate of hot, cheesy pasta. mmmmm. I love mushrooms...especially in pasta. I guess I can only imagine what its like. I might hate the pungent aroma and the taste is prolly horrible on my tongue but until I sample it for myself, I'm happy to imagine it's gonna be heaven...

ele-friend

In my quest to conduct lessons regarding animal cruelty, I found out that many 16 year-olds couldn't care less.

unrelated pic: animalsneedhelp.com

worrywort

ive got a lot of fears

insecurities

so how do i pacify myself?

i have a lot of questions

but i may not know how to ask

correctly

im sick of how

people think its ok

if you just smile and say flowery things

as if its all ok

to sweep everything

under the carpet

to abuse the word

LOVE

but not really showing it

i may not know a lot

secrets of the world

way of the norm

but i do know

when i stop asking altogether

thats when we all

should start to worry.

F is for Fun

Notice how in school things seem to become bleaker as you grow older. From easy-peasy UPSR you aim for PMR. Not long after you feel triumphant of the good results you get from shading the correct answer on the Objective answer sheets, teachers and parents began harping on the importance of doing well in SPM.

Notice how the hill gets steeper from there.

Questions are harder, tasks more difficult.

No more Big Books, not so much of drawing (except in PSV-Visual Art) or singing or play time. Story Telling is influenced by horror stories of career options went wrong.

Notice how fun is sucked out of these kids alive.

So, note-to-self:

Next time, at the beginning of the year, start with something enjoyable but stress on SOME tips to do well in the tasks. For example, instead of starting their Composition book with drab-y essays like Letters of Complaint, or describing a National Day celebration or heavy argumentative essays on topics they rather not deal with, get them to discuss matters from their own point of view or from their everyday life. Get them to tell you details about themselves (yes, we all like to yak about ourselves, what makes you think kids are any different?). Get them to write in an enjoyable way. Give them a lot of materials to read, pictures to ogle at, world-ly ideas to gape about.

I mean this is JUST FOR STARTERS. As the school term progresses, go back to the prescribed syllabus, making sure their needs for the exam is met. Because by the end of the Malaysian schooling day, their achievement in exam is what THEY are worried about. So help them see to it.

Every now and then, go back to some fun. Give them a chance to get heated in silly yet provoking topics. My boys love that. Especially if I give topics like "Girls are better than boys".

Makes little sense on the surface I know, but if helped through it they will come to the conclusion such as this: "Teacher, we are created equal, this is not even an argument!" or, of course, something similar expressed within their vocabulary level.

Here are some ESL ideas I would like to remind myself:

Instead of:

'Write about the dangers of smoking'

Do:

'Imagine you are a sufferer of a fugly mouth and throat cancer/gangrene/emphesyma, write a letter to your brother/mother/Persian cat while on your deathbed.'

or, if your students are good, (like mine) give them

'This house will ban cigarette smoking in public places because cancer is not for sharing'

Instead of:

'Read the long-winded, confusing text filled with words you have never seen before and would probably never-ever use in your entire life, and answer the 10 thousand comprehension questions that follow'

Do:

'Label the human anatomy below with examples of how tobacco smoking can affect the organs. Then, answer the questions that follow'

Instead of:

'Write an impossible speech about the importance of dam / Write why you oppose to dams'

Do:

'You are the leader of the Kenyah tribe in Sarawak. Write a speech about how the Bakun Dam has brought misery to your people'

or

'As the representative to the tiger/orang utan/phyton colony who live along Balui River, write a journal about your plight for being removed from the forest.

*if your kids are anything like mine, they'd be all smart-ass and said "Tok Batin cannot speak English la teacher!"

Fortunately, the secondary school English language syllabus is topical. So we can work on the themes suggested (im gonna heavily emphasize on the word 'suggested' here). Emphasis must be given to reading texts. So that they get ideas to talk/write about. I vow not to restrict myself to boring articles like the ones in the text books only. I shall get info from Wiki (sometimes i require them to wiki it themselves prior to the class), use videos from Youtube and show loads of pictures relevant to the topics.

Word of caution: Sometimes however, things don't really go as I plan. The above are just some of the successful ideas. It may or may not suit your students' level of proficiency.

A lot of my days are just trial and error. By the end of the day i like to believe that what matters is that i HAVE tried. Good luck future me!