Hey fellas, I have moved to new site:

http://stevescribbles.wordpress.com/

See y'all there! :)

In the previous post, I did say about my anticipation for a good news regarding the placement to school. I was - or should I say 'am' because I'm still hoping at the moment - hoping that the good news will come soon. In January to be exact. 

And today, while doing my current daily routine of browsing through my twitter page, something caught my attention. Is this a good omen?

Forget about the first few sentences. This particular one caught my attention: "B.Ed Tesl graduates (both graduated in June & Nov 2012 *typo?*, DPLI & IPTA graduates who passed the SPP interview recently will get be posted in Jan 2012"

Whatever it is, I hope what everyone's being hoping/praying for all these while will soon become reality. And yes, I also hope I pass the SPP interview. It's the prerequisite requirement before I get to be posted to school. 

And as for now, I'm just hoping for the best. Just wait and see. The time will come. Sooner or later.

I've lost count on how many times I've been apologizing for not updating this blog. I mean, are there even people who bother to wait for me to update my blog? :)

Anyway, today I feel like updating this blog although I have nothing special in particular to be posted here. Just an update of my current being at the moment; I am still unemployed and that also means I am financially broke. There's no good news regarding the placement to school as of yet but I know sooner or later the time will come. It's almost a surreal feeling that I (together with the other C4 peeps) have been holding this unemployed status for 8 months! 

I would be lying if I am not feeling devastated to the fact that I've yet to be posted to the school and start earning money. I did feel so frustrated before but I think I have so-called 'moved on' and after all I do not have any other options, do I? I would also be lying if I say I am not anticipating any great news every now and then. Whenever I go to my Facebook page, I would expect some good news shared by fellow C4 in the group's page. Nevertheless, as for now, I am just going to wait for the official announcement and I am crossing my fingers that it is going to be real soon. Say, January perhaps? God speed. 

I believe there are reasons on why all of the C4 graduates (that includes me, of course) being dragged into this predicament - be it good or potentially-stupid reasons! Be nice to say, I believe there's blessing in disguise although that means I have to go through this long period of waiting.

As for now, one of the things that I am currently excited for now is definitely the coming of Christmas Day! It is definitely the time of the year where families gather together and share the joyful moments. We are literally 7 more days till Christmas Day. In terms of preparation, there's nothing much from my side. I decided not to buy new clothes or whatnot for this coming festive season. Not to say that I can't buy it. I can always ask my parents for 'favour' but I just decided not to. I still have almost-looked-like-new clothes in my closet. 

I guess that's it for now friends. Till my next post (and yes, I do not know when!). Have a great day!

This supposedly to be posted here days ago but anyway here it goes...

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The title of this post speaks it all - I'm going to share with you my experience during that important interview. Well, it all started on that one particular fine day when I logged on to Facebook and I saw a tiny red box on that notifications button on the top left hand corner of the page. So, I clicked on it and was then directed to a group's page - a group page that belongs to the at-the-moment-unemployed creatures of the earth a.k.a TESL graduates of 2011.  There, I saw a post saying that the status for the interview can be accessed by us starting on that day onwards. Yours truly then clicked the link provided in the post and a page popped out. The page required me to fill in my IC number. So, after filling my IC number, the page appeared and it didn't show me the expected result. Yeah. My name was not in the record. I didn't feel bad about because I was confident enough that the information will be updated sooner or later and my name will appear in the system. On the next day, I checked the page again and as expected, my name's already in the system. The interview date for me was set on the 23rd November 2011 at SPP (Wisma BSN, Kota Kinabalu). Call time was stated as 7.30 am. From that day onwards, the group page was filled with so-called notes for all of us to read as preparation for the upcoming interview and all of a sudden, life (for most of us who are still jobless) became 'meaningful' again. LMAO! People started discussing on various topics mostly on the so-called hot topics (i.e. MBMMBI, NKRA etc). I consulted one of my friends who had attended the interview earlier this year and asked him to share his experience. He told me that his interview session was more like a 'sharing' session and of course he was asked about theoretical items, policies and whatnot. 

As the day's approaching, I get a little bit nervous as I knew I couldn't 'digest' all those fact into my memory. I'm not really good at memorizing things but exceptions should be given to song lyrics though! :) Anyway, I did prepare myself by forcing myself to read the notes that I got from the Internet. 

Finally, the most awaited day arrived. I woke up as early as 5 in the morning. Before leaving for the interview, I checked all my documents for the very last time just to make sure everything's ready in that file and well-sorted. I left the house at about 6.30 am and drove mom to work first before heading to Wisma BSN. Once I reached there, I saw few people smartly dressed waiting at the entrance. So, after I parked my car, I walked towards the entrance and met few familiar faces. Had a little chit-chat with them. It was probably about 7 in the morning, a lady asked to go upstairs. To cut the story short, before the interview started, everyone had to consult the lady the counter for a brief documents check-up. It was just to make sure that all the documents are ready for the interview. Everyone was also divided into few groups: five persons per session. I was in the 2nd group. The four of us were all from TESL background and the other one was from the Arts option (DPLI). 

The interview in a nutshell:

  SELF-INTRODUCTION: 

The five of us all introduced ourselves in BM. It was kind of awkward because it was very rare for me to introduce myself formally with few extra details about myself. So, made it short and simple: "Selamat pagi datuk. Nama saya Steve George, berasal dari Kota Kinabalu dan berbangsa Kadazandusun. Saya mengambil opsyen TESL dari program berkembar antara Institut Perguruan Batu Lintang, Kuching, Sarawak dengan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Saya menjalani praktikum di SMK Jugra, Banting Selangor pada tahun lepas." That's it. I didn't know what else to say after the last sentence. :)

THE 1ST QUESTION:

The five of us were extremely nervous and waited for the question. Suddenly, the interviewer took a newspaper from the table and showed us the health section. The article was about SMOKING and then the interviewer asked us 'How to EDUCATE students on curbing the smoking habit'. All of us smiled. So, the Q&A began and I decided to be the last person person to answer. Reason? I was buying myself time to think about the so-called good answer for that particular question. Pfft! My colleagues gave various good answers and when it was my turn I remembered mentioning about the importance of the teacher to be a role model to students and the 'education' should start from the early level of education; pre-school level. I also mentioned about the relevance of showing the 'graphic' causes of smoking to the students and let the students make inference based on their observation and at the end of the day, it's up to the students to decide; to smoke or not to smoke. Most importantly, teachers should impart good moral values. I did elaborated my answer but I couldn't really recall everything that I said. I was extremely satisfied with my answer though. 

2ND QUESTION:

The question was about fun learning - how to make a fun lesson in the classroom. This one was certainly not a problem for all of us. I mentioned about making the lesson interesting in accordance to the national education policy (JERI). I also mentioned about the usage of ICT - which is common nowadays. Other than that, I did mention the relevance of language lab and even utilizing the social networking sites as part of teaching material - if possible. The elaboration went on and on. I got so carried away and I think I spoke non-stop for more than 5 minutes when suddenly I remembered I was not the only one being interviewed in that room! Erk! Anyway, I also remembered saying, 'teaching is a combination of science and arts; science comes from the pedagogical aspect and arts from the teachers' creativity'. That was my closing statement. *wink*

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There were only TWO questions and no questions related to policies or whatnot were asked at all! The interview took us exactly ONE hour. Nevertheless, I felt good about the interview and I believe my other counterparts felt the same way too. We walked out the room with glowing smile! :) And yes, instantly, we were swarmed by the remaining candidates and were asked about what questions were asked. :) To so-called celebrate the 'freedom' from the interview, we all went to treat ourselves a good meal at McD Center Point. 

That's all folks! 

Sorry for the delay. Again. Yours truly was preoccupied with so many important matters lately. Anyway, in this post, like I promised before, I'll summarize my visit to Thailand recently.

Here we go.

The journey:
On the day we embarked our journey from KK (Kota Kinabalu International Airport) to Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi International Airport), it took us approximately 6 hours to reach Bangkok. Our flight first stopped at Brunei for about an hour before continuing the journey to our destination - Bangkok. Everybody was excited (including yours truly) when the captain announced that the plane was currently entering Thailand's air territory. Yes. So sakai. Lol! There were several incidents of turbulence during the flight but it was not that bad as the pilot managed to maneuver the plane professionally. Kudos to the pilot! On the other hand, the journey from the airport to the hotel was kinda an eye-opening for us. I mean, that was the time when we really had the opportunity to witness the destruction brought by the massive flood. Houses, business premises, factories and of course the road/highway were submerged. Luckily, the taxi driver knew the route well and took the alternative road (i.e. not affected by the flood) although it was a tad bit far from the usual highway; according to the driver.   

The hotel:

We didn't stayed at a 5-star hotel simply because we can't afford it. Yes. The trip was strictly limited by our already limited budget. Sigh. Nevertheless, we managed to find a budget hotel and it was located right in the heart of Bangkok. Most importantly, it was NOT affected by the flood! Although it was a budget hotel but it didn't looked like one. It was fancy! If I were to compare it with a hotel here in KK, I would compare it with Tang Dynasty hotel. Like seriously. The service was superb! A 5-star service I would describe it. The room was just fine; nothing extremely fancy or extravagant. Nevertheless, it was well-equipped with necessary things like high-pressure shower (with heater), clean toilet, hair dryer (not a common thing found in a budget hotel, mind you), 21 inch TV (with quite a generous number of channels although most of it are in Thai), phone (duh!), air-conditioner (a must!) and most importantly, FREE wi-fi. What more can I ask for? The hotel was super strategic. It's located only few blocks away from the famous night market and major shopping malls. 

The itinerary:

If you've read my previous post, you would noticed that I mentioned about a brochure I found at the hotel's lobby. It became our main source of information throughout our stay there! We wanted to go to the so-called must-visit places in Bangkok but unfortunately not all are accessible at that particular period of time due to the flood situation. Therefore, we narrowed down our options to few places - located near to our hotel and easily accessible by walking and public transportation. Somehow, after an impromptu plan, we ended up visiting Pattaya - located at southeast of Bangkok. Well, as some of you might know, Pattaya is famous with its nightlife and the must-visit place would definitely be the place called the Walking Street. It's more like Changkat area at Bukit Bintang; difference is - it's 'wilder'. Prostitution (no offense) is rampant but we didn't go there for that. We did some club hopping though. Here are some of the places that we visited in Pattaya: Walking Street (nightlife yo!), Pattaya Floating Market (love the foods!!), Outlet Mall Pattaya (you people should go here if you want to find reasonable branded items! Yours truly ended up buying 2 pairs of Adidas shoes!) and the bazaars (mostly for souvenirs). Back to Bangkok; we didn't get to visit many places in Bangkok though. We, however, spent most of our time there by food-hunting (street food in particular). Bangkok is blessed with so many hawkers selling mouth-watering street food. I got the chance to taste the authentic Tom Yam Khung (or Gung). There were many kinds of food we tasted and our tummies were well-taken care of - bloated/protruding all day long! We also visited the malls (duh!), and my favourite one would definitely be the Siam Paragon mall. It's huge! It somehow reminded me of Pavilion KL though. Watching movie at Siam Paragon was a totally different experience. I felt like watching movie at cinema for the first time (this might sound over-dramatic). The screen was huge!! And their 3D glasses were much funkier than the ones we had here in Malaysia. Oh yes. The cinema's called IMAX.   

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Bangkok (or Thailand in general) is definitely a place that I'll visit again someday. I hope the flood will subside soon so that I'll get the chance to visit other places. I'll come again for sure but I've to save money for that. Sigh. POSTING Y U NO COME?? Yours truly needs ka-ching for the next trip! 

Thailand, แล้ว จะ มา ใหม่ ครับ (I'll be back).

สวัสดี ครับ (Bye).

So, let me share with you more on our recent trip to Thailand.

We arrived at the hotel in the evening and all of us decided to take a quick rest since the journey from KK to Bangkok took us approximately 6 hours (including the journey from the airport to the hotel) therefore all of us were drained! I did take my nap. It was just about 30 minutes as I was extremely excited to explore the city. Pfft! Anyway, the others were still sleeping and I did not want to wake them up. So, I headed down to the lobby and wandered around the hotel - to gaze at the wonderful ambiance of the hotel. I sat down at lounging corner and read several brochures just to have some ideas on the interesting whereabouts in Thailand; particularly in Bangkok. There was a list of must-visit places in the brochures that caught my attention.

While I was going through the list, a tourist, a Caucasian dude - judging from his accent, I assumed he's an Aussie - greeted me and we started a brief conversation.

"You're not local, are you?" He asked.

"Nope. I'm Malaysian" I answered.

**Few introductory exchanges**

"So what brings you here?" He inquired.

"I'm here for a trip with my family" I told him and smiled.

"You do know about the current situation here right?" again he asked.

"Yeah, we didn't expect it's going to be this bad. Besides, we've planned this trip from early this year so here we are now. Hahahaha!"

"So, you're here for a vacation as well I supposed?" I tried to change the direction of the conversation. *Grin*

"Kinda. Well, actually I'm here to be part of the volunteer team to help the flood victim" He said.

**and the conversation went on**

I was impressed with him. He came all the way from Australia to help the Thai flood victims. A very good Samaritan indeed.

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After that brief conversation with Mr. Good Samaritan from Australia, I headed back to the room to wake the rest of the team because I was super hungry! And I wanted my doses of authentic Thai food. *Wink*
After all were ready, we went out for food hunting but before that, we went to the counter at the lobby to ask few suggestions from the receptionist. She was kind enough to provide us with ample suggestions. Oh, by the way, her name was Pia, the gorgeous and kind Pia. *wink*

To our surprise, the place suggested by Pia was only few minutes walk from the hotel. It was like a Pasar Malam area where you can find a vast choices of street food. There were so many stalls and the place actually reminded me of Gaya Street in KK and Jalan Alor in KL. So that night, I opted for the authentic Thai Tom Yam for dinner. That was the first time I ever tasted the original Tom Yam or better known as Tom Yam Khung. Super spicy but I loved it so much. My cousins ordered different type of food from the menu. Yes. They did prepare menu for tourists. Convenient eh?  

After dinner we went for a walk around that area to find something to munch to be brought back at the hotel. Once we got what we wanted we walked back to the hotel with our bloated tummy. :)

That night, I showed my cousins the brochure that I took frm the lobby and we then continued planning our trip. Talking about last minute planning. Luckily I found the brochure otherwise we would not have any clue about the places that we wanted to visit on that trip.

**My next post would be the summary of our visit in Thailand.**

Be right back!!

Hey! I'm back. You see, I am not an avid blogger and that is the reason why I rarely keep this blog updated. 

You want to ask about what am I up to these days, yes? Well, just so you know, I've graduated but unfortunately I have yet to be posted to the school as a qualified English teacher. Sad, isn't? By right, I should've started teaching and most probably I am invigilating the SPM exam at the moment. Most importantly, I should've enjoyed my first salary! I can list all the should've-s but that's not the main point here now. 

You might ask, am I working part-time while waiting for my posting? Yes. Used to though. I used to work as a part-time tutor at the nearest tuition center here in KK but I resigned couple of months before. The reason? I was so-called getting myself ready to be posted to school and I needed to give my boss the 1 week notice before leaving the tuition center. Again, like what I've mentioned beforehand, I'm not posted to any school yet. Jobless till this moment of typing this out. 

Anyway, I am just going to wait although the waiting is so 'torturing'. Besides, next week, on the 23rd to be exact, I will go for an important interview - 'Temu Duga Pelantikan ke Jawatan Tetap Pegawai Perkhidmatan Pendidikan Siswazah (PPPS) Gred DG41. Sounds fancy, eh? Being optimistic with the current situation, I think everything will be settled soon; posting is coming on its way. 

So, if you noticed, the title of this post is 'Hello' and next to the word is another word in Thai (characters) which connotes the same meaning. Why do I put the title in such a way? Just to share with you fellow readers, I visited Bangkok recently with my cousins. It was an impromptu plan. I mean, we bought the tickets earlier this year and almost forgot about it. We could've missed our flight if we didn't open the e-mail sent by the airlines company.  Didn't want to waste the tickets, we decided to fly to Bangkok despite the fact that Bangkok is now facing a terrible flood. After so much consideration and research (online), we packed our stuffs and off we went to the capital city of Thailand, Bangkok. 

Picture credit: Google image

  It was like a 'kamikaze' trip I would say. On the morning we left for Bangkok, we overheard from the radio about the flood situation in Bangkok and all of us looked at each other. One of my cousins said, "Let's do this. Hantam saja la. Sayang bah tu tikit!". We took the first flight of the day en route to Bangkok via Brunei. Yes. The flight stopped for a transit at Brunei and then continued the journey to Bangkok. 

After about 4 and a half hours flight, we touched down at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. It was like a surreal feeling. We were all super excited! We walked out of the aircraft and was greeted by the ground staff. Yes. The first word that all of us heard was the trademark word: 'sa-wa-dee-kha' accompanied by the hand gesture (placing the palms of their hands together as in prayer and raising them to the level of their face whilst bowing slightly). Apparently, the hand gesture is called the 'wai' (pronounced as 'why'). I love the warm, friendly and welcoming ambiance. I can say I felt like a tourist. A real tourist. 

Dedicated to the general of the house, none other than 

*drum rolls* 

The Double Six Tragedy, also known as the Double Six Crash, was a plane crash which took place on June 6, 1976 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The plane, operated by Sabah Air, coming from Labuan crashed in the sub-district of Sembulan in Kota Kinabalu upon approaching Kota Kinabalu International Airport. The crash killed everyone on board the flight, including Tun Fuad Stephens, the Chief Minister of Sabah at that time. The other passengers on the flight were State Ministers Datuk Salleh Sulong, Datuk Peter Mojuntin, Chong Thien Vun, and assistant minister Darius Binion. Others who perished were the then Secretary of State for the Ministry of Finance of Sabah Datuk Wahid Peter Andau, Director of Economic Planning Unit of Sabah Dr. Syed Hussein Wafa, Isak Atan (Private Secretary to Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah), Corporal Said Mohammad (bodyguard to Tun Fuad Stephens), Captain Gandhi Nathan (the pilot of the aircraft) and Tun Fuad's eldest son Johari Stephens.

The reason behind the crash is uncertain. Immediately after the accident there were allegations of foul play because of the death of the Chief Minister, but no evidence of such has ever been found.

There is a man with a nail in his heart
Who sits on the edge of darkness,
He sits all day staring at empty space,
His eyes filled with misery and madness,
A contorted look upon his face,
It's filled with red-eyed tears,
He sits very still, 'cept for a shudder or two
From the ever creeping cold fear.

He sits beneath a midnight moon,
Morning, noon and night,
Adrift on a melancholy ocean,
Conjuring visions of a long forgotten twilight,
Vague memories of happier times
When he felt he'd been smitten by Cupid's dart,
He gave her his life and pledged his soul,
And she hammered a nail into his heart.

Muttering words of rejected thought,
No one hears his wailing sermons
Of a passion, long burned to ash
In the cremation of a love left to mourn,
He clings, with clenched fists, to a memory,
To a dream of hope, and a phoenix,
But the nail in his heart is rusting fast
As his dream escapes into the mist.

As the cobwebs pile up in his mind
To veil his sight further still,
He hears whispering shadows try to talk to him,
Strange words about removing a nail
Is all he can recall.
And he wishes they'd just go away,
To vaporize with his dream,
So as he can catch up with his memory.

For memories are all that's left
Of a love that he once felt immortal,
But she didn't share the love that he gave,
But still she ran off with his soul,
For a pledge is a pledge is a contract,
A legally binding promise,
He pledged his soul, now it's hers to hold,
To leave him with his fear and his madness.

Oh why did you make a fool of me,
To leave me to cry and wail?
I gave you my heart, my life, my soul,
And all you returned was this nail,
This nail that will be the death of me,
For it is in my heart that it's wedged
And I'll keep it there as a memory.
For this nail is all I have left.

There is nothing worse than betrayal. The gnawing feeling that eats you up when you trusted someone so much and then finding out 'the ugly truth'. The moment I discovered the infidelity, everything seemed to be so surreal. A lot of questions came out of my mind. I mean like...a lot. 

I thought it would be easy for me to forget. I thought and optimistically believed that every thing will be back to normal, and so I thought.  I became suspicious with her every move. At first I tried to repress myself, and convincing my mind that everyone deserves another chance. But for the second time around...I don't know. 

Someone once told me, "Cheats have a biological disorder, they have no control over themselves they are emotionally redundant and they will always cheat lie and deceive for the rest of their lives." Noted that!

 Ain't gonna feel like a fool. Gotta believe that there are people out there can play a heart like a violin. I'll stick to believing in myself wholeheartedly. I'm gonna have myself guard up, as life can throw some painful things at me (and everybody else).

This may be an overused saying, but time really heals all wounds and sorrow. I think people have evolved to develop selective amnesia to forget painful things that keep them from being happy. And one thing for sure, recovering from the past will come out naturally if we just let ourselves move on, as we are gifted with a resilient heart.

I know everyone is talking about 'the wedding' - the Royal Wedding. Frankly speaking, this is my very first time watching a grandeur royal wedding (through satellite tv of course). I couldn't imagine myself to be standing outside Westminster Abbey and the Buckingham Palace together with the huge crowd. After all, it would cost me a fortune just to go to London. Thanks for the technology because I was able to watch the live coverage of the royal wedding via satellite tv. 

While watching the service, something caught my attention. It's not the wedding dress. It's not the fancy hats worn by guests. It's not Victoria's sky-high Louboutin heels (woman, you're a preggie and those heels are surely hazardous for the lil' one). It's not (well, admittedly yes at the beginning) Beckham's debonair hairdo. It's not even Princess Beatrice's hat (I personally think it looked hideous on her and it would be more appropriate for Lady Gaga *wink*). Anyhow, enough with the digressions. What caught my attention the most was the sermon given by the Bishop of London. It was so inspiring and I can't stop myself from listening to every single word uttered by that old chap. 

“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” So said St Catherine of Siena whose festival day it is today. Marriage is intended to be a way in which man and woman help each other to become what God meant each one to be, their deepest and truest selves.

Many are full of fear for the future of the prospects of our world but the message of the celebrations in this country and far beyond its shores is the right one – this is a joyful day! It is good that people in every continent are able to share in these celebrations because this is, as every wedding day should be, a day of hope.  

In a sense every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and the groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future.

William and Catherine, you have chosen to be married in the sight of a generous God who so loved the world that he gave himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

And in the Spirit of this generous God, husband and wife are to give themselves to each another.

A spiritual life grows as love finds its centre beyond ourselves. Faithful and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life in which we discover this; the more we give of self, the richer we become in soul; the more we go beyond ourselves in love, the more we become our true selves and our spiritual beauty is more fully revealed. In marriage we are seeking to bring one another into fuller life.

You have both made your decision today – “I will” – and by making this new relationship, you have aligned yourselves with what we believe is the way in which life is spiritually evolving, and which will lead to a creative future for the human race.

We stand looking forward to a century which is full of promise and full of peril. Human beings are confronting the question of how to use wisely a power that has been given to us through the discoveries of the last century. We shall not be converted to the promise of the future by more knowledge, but rather by an increase of loving wisdom and reverence, for life, for the earth and for one another.

Marriage should transform, as husband and wife make one another their work of art. It is possible to transform as long as we do not harbour ambitions to reform our partner. There must be no coercion if the Spirit is to flow; each must give the other space and freedom. Chaucer, the London poet, sums it up in a pithy phrase:

As the reality of God has faded from so many lives in the West, there has been a corresponding inflation of expectations that personal relations alone will supply meaning and happiness in life. This is to load our partner with too great a burden. We are all incomplete: we all need the love which is secure, rather than oppressive, we need mutual forgiveness, to thrive.

As we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is quickened within us and can increasingly fill our lives with light. This leads to a family life which offers the best conditions in which the next generation can practise and exchange those gifts which can overcome fear and division and incubate the coming world of the Spirit, whose fruits are love and joy and peace.

I pray that all of us present and the many millions watching this ceremony and sharing in your joy today, will do everything in our power to support and uphold you in your new life. And I pray that God will bless you in the way of life that you have chosen, that way which is expressed in the prayer that you have composed together in preparation for this day:

Strengthened by our union help us to serve and comfort those who suffer. We ask this in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Amen.

  

When it comes to legendary Sabahans, whose very name has entered the local vocabulary, it must be Gintak Gabui.

In 1990, perhaps even earlier, Gintak, then 70, was found guilty of raping a 15-year old girl.

That gained him instant infamy. Everybody talked about him, and his name came to mean the act of raping / worse, usually said with a snigger, often followed by maniacal laughter.

When he was on trial, many people reportedly congregrated in courtrooms to catch a glimpe of the infamous man, to which he once allegedly said the immortal words:

"Sabar peminat" (Please, my fans, be patient)

The only person whose time in the limelight is remotely comparable to him is Tausang @ Tingal Sagunting, a rubber tapper, who was on trial in 2007 for allegedly raping an 18-year old girl in August 2004, at a rubber plantation in Kampung Laputong, Tamparuli (hence, “the mattress” was not exhibited in court I suppose). As a result she got pregnant and gave birth to a boy. He was then 77. The late Tausang caused a stir when he refused lawyers and instead conducted his own defence, in Dusun language no less.

When the trial got underway he was about 80 years old, probably the oldest ever person in Malaysia ever to be charged with rape.

He uttered two immortal sentences, reported in the newspapers:

"Saya tidak akun rogol, sebab saya suka sama suka, sama dia, saya tidak dapat kacau sama dia, kalau bukan kerana sinta." (Meaning: I do not admit raping her, because the act was consensual. I would not be able to “disturb” her if we didn’t love each other.)

"Nokuro tu au dau pinoruput tontok do korogol, soira pod minontian om man nogi dau poruputo?" (Meaning: Why didn’t the woman make a police report when she was raped? Why did she make the report only when she found out she was pregnant?) 

He was eventually found not guilty, and died about a month after that in his sleep.

Even now, there are more google search results on “gintak gabui” as compared to “tausang sagunting.”

Source: http://bengodomon.com/2010/06/25/the-legend-of-gintak-gabui/ 

**The word "Gintak" has been coined by the locals and being used widely to denote the act of raping/sexual act. Wow! That's the legend of Gintak Gabui. He'll be remembered by all... *wink*

Last night's event was a huge success and there was a fantastic turnout! Thank you to everyone who filled the seats at  Panggung Seni UKM last night for the dramatization of "Rumpelstiltskin" and "The Fruitcake Special". Your full supports are very much appreciated. *takes a bow*

The last night's event also commemorates the final project of my colleagues and I as a group. It's the finale! Although there were lots of frictions inflicted during the preparations, everything went just fine towards the most anticipated night.

 

Kudos to all the production crews particularly my group. Everybody being so professional on the stage despite being mere amateur performers. Mistakes were covered up professionally and the dramatization finally went well till the end. One of the audience tweeted me after the show that the show was fantastic and there's not even a single moment of boredom throughout the show! What a great compliment don't you think? 

Anyway, everything was over and it's time to shift the focus to another important stuff - the final exam. The first paper will be on this coming Monday and the final one will be on the 20th. Yes. We only have two papers to sit for this semester and after that we're off to respective hometowns.

That's it for now. I just want to stay in the room today. Time to get myself a good rest.

 Introducing...P.O.P (Prince of Pop)!!

Formerly known as Da Prinz and P.R.Inc., they are now known as P.O.P (stands for Prince of Pop). The group has been in the music industry for quite some time now and they are mostly known by the Sabahan music lovers as all the group members hail from the Land Below the Wind and they have done many shows there. They even released their first single album entitled "Ada Hiivai Dandi Toh" - a Kadazan phrase which basically means "Don't forget our promises". The group members consist of Allen, Aegy, Melvin and the new member, Benny.

Allen a.k.a 'Aye' 

 Vin

They are taking another leap by putting their best foot forward to be recognized in the mainstream industry with the help of Cat Farish (The Fabolous Cat) under the record label of Cat Presents Productions Sdn. Bhd.  A single entitled "Buku Baru" has been released just recently. You can listen to it here.

By having a glimpse at their image, one can easily associate the group with K-Pop (Korean Pop) - especially the outfits! Stylo! Despite of their K-Pop-ish image, P.O.P actually are more into R&B and Soul genre of music. In terms of their appearance it is definitely K-Pop, however their music reminds me of Boyz II Men. Criticism is something that can't be avoided. People would judge their image and even their music. In my opinion, they've done nothing wrong by infusing some foreign elements to their music. After all, music is universal and music influence is something common happening all over the world. Take Hip Hop for example, you can listen to so many music injected with the element of Hip Hop - locally and internationally.  

Yours truly would like to wish all the best to P.O.P and hope you guys will come out with more great music! Dari kamu seja baitu! =) Make Sabah proud too!

Visit P.O.P facebook page here.

p/s: Just helping friend promoting their music...that's all! *wink*

This is actually an e-mail forwarded to me. So, I'm just spreading the words. 

Dear friends,

Thembi (name changed) was pulled from a taxi near her home, beaten and raped by a man who crowed that he was ‘curing’ her of her lesbianism.

Thembi is not alone -- this vicious crime is recurrent in South Africa, where lesbians live in terror of attack. But no one has ever been convicted of 'corrective rape'. Amazingly, from a tiny Cape Town safehouse a few brave activists are risking their lives to ensure that this heinous practice is stopped and their massive campaign has forced the government into talks.

P/S: Yours truly has no say about one's personal preference - "alternative lifestyle". After all, one has no right to judge other people's way of life. Being raised and inculcated with values from a conservative Catholic family, I have never been taught about discriminating people with "alternative lifestyle" because at the end of the day, it is a matter between that particular person with God. In this post, I would like to highlight the petition that I've signed to ramp up pressure for concrete action to curb 'corrective rape'. Just to remind you again, 'corrective rape' refers to a criminal action whereby men rape lesbian women, purportedly as a means of 'curing' the woman of her sexual orientation. Mere disgusting and absurd idea don't you think? I hope and pray for all mankind in the world, that there will be a swift shift in public attitudes towards rape and homophobia, not just in South Africa, but all around the world. 

  **Steve George has signed the petition to South African president Zuma and Minister Radebe to publicly condemn ‘corrective rape’, criminalise hate crimes and ensure immediate enforcement, public education and protection to the victims of this terrible crime. Pledge your support through Avaaz.org

The event was over. FYI, it was the final function for my coursemates and I as undergraduate students. Here are some of the pictures taken on that night. 

 Group picture with program coordinator Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nooreiny Maarof.

Partner in crime that night - Ain. ;-)

Roomie - Valentine Ambun

C4's dancer owning the stage...and the crowd as well! Proud of you people!

Again with Shafiq da' photographer! 

Nik: C4's self-proclaimed Maharaja! Lolz!

With Zainal a.k.a Jenal... 

With Menn da' choreographer...

Glad everything went well that night. I was trembling but eventually managed to gain composure and continue my job that night. Ain't easy but it's definitely a wonderful experience. For lighting purpose, I had to be made-up. Gosh! I felt like I had a facelift procedure or botox injected into my skin. Lol! Kinda difficult to smile (and I had to smile throughout the whole event)...

I didn't get to enjoy the tantalizing food *sigh*. Anyhow, I've expected that thing to happen as I experienced that before. That's the thing about being an emcee I guess. Well, never mind. The thought and experience that matter the most. 

It's a wrap! I finally have time to rest. I mean like seriously. I need enough time to recuperate from the exhaustion. I've been through a series of sleepless night. That clearly explained the eye-bags! Urgh! 

Aight. Till my next entry. Bye!

I received two phone calls today - from both mom and dad. This never happened before; I mean, the two of them called me on the same day at alternate times. Nevertheless, at moment like this I really appreciate those phone calls. It's as good as receiving hugs from both mom and dad. Though separated by the South China Sea, they somehow able to sense something's not right with their son lately.

Mom: Ko ok kaini? (Are you ok?)

Dad: Napa mcm lain ja ko ni ari ni? (You seemed different today) 

Thanks mom and dad for the concern but I'm just gonna be fine. No worries.

How should I start this? Let's see...

At the moment, my coursemates and I are busy with our upcoming dramatization and a dinner function for the final year students. Rehearsals/practices are getting more frequent as the D-days are getting closer. It's really stressful and tiring but we've got to go through everything eventually. So, there's no point of complaining.

Few weeks ago, a friend of mine approached and asked me whether I wanted to take the emcee job for the coming event (i.e. Malam Ambang Graduan). I was quite reluctant initially but decided to volunteer myself as the committee desperately needed persons for the slot. I took the offer as I would be working with my own coursemate. So, the chemistry is there. No sense of awkwardness.

There's nothing glamorous about being an emcee. That's my personal thought. As a matter of fact, it is quite a stressful job as it is part of the emcee's responsibility to ensure the smoothness of the event and even to make it lively - not mundane. Stressful eh? Anyhow, this time around I'll be emcee-ing in Bahasa Melayu in a major event. Wait a sec. This is going to be my first ever major event. An event with lots of VVIPs. *Stress level rises* 

The first rehearsal went not really well. I've been stopped so many times and mostly because of my stress and intonation! Little did I know my stress and intonation in Bahasa Melayu sucks! I was told I can't even read out the 'pantun' well. I was like...what the heck? That bad? I've got to work on this as the event is just around the corner. Next week to be exact. Oh-my! There'll be more rehearsals after this. So, I've got to polish up as much as possible within the little time frame.

All of the above have messed up my sleeping pattern. I mean like seriously. Recently, I've started the habit of taking nap at odd hours. It's like the whole system is messing up. I frequently feel tired and sleepy. It's not that I don't have enough sleep but I somehow feel the urge to nap/sleep and body feels weak.

I just can't wait to get this thing over. I need to be 'normal' again! I kinda miss those carefree times earlier this semester in which I've got the chance to hang out with friends at any place. It's like I've been sort of like 'abandoning' or should I say 'neglecting' my other friends for not being able to spend time with them. I even feel sorry to the girlfriend as I'm too busy with all sort of things till the extent that I've no time to even give her a call or even send text messages. Sorry babe. I'm really sorry. I love you. 

I know. It's been a while since I posted my last entry in this not-so-famous blog of mine. I don't know how many times I have repeated this: I just don't have anything interesting to be shared lately apart from being busy with my life as final year student. Well, not that busy actually. It's just that I'm currently busy with the upcoming major dramatization (requirement of a course) and of course, assignments.

Things are getting pretty intense these few days. I'm talking about the group's major production. The big day is approaching and everything needs to be put in the right place as soon as possible to ensure the smoothness of the performance. In the process of doing so, few "frictions" inflicted - drama within the drama itself. Arguments here and there, dissatisfaction arises, people smirk, some even bombard others with sarcastic remarks and the list goes on. I won't describe all the details here as it is not my utmost intention to make a big hoo-ha about the whole thing and let everybody in the cyberspace knows about it. I would say, let bygones be bygones. The focus should be on the actual drama itself and I personally think this whole drama within the drama would eventually become a source of laughter as it dredges up the memories years later.

It's already the 25th day of the month of March and that means, I only have approximately one more month here in this campus as undergrad student. I'll be leaving this place soon and going back to my hometown for good. As cliche as it sounds, time really flies and it's been 6 years I've been spending most of my time away from home for my studies. Yes, 6 years. Thanks to the extra 2 years of foundation program otherwise, I would have graduated by now. Most of my friends (of the same batch) have already started working and even settled down. Whenever I come back to my hometown and meeting up with friends, the common of topic of discussion would be about the lifestyle as working adult. Since I haven't started working yet, I usually become the one who just listen. I have nothing to share. My time will arrive soon and listening to their rants and ramblings about the daily lives makes me wanting to make full use of my time as student. It's going to be a whole different situation once I started working. So, the bottom line is: I ought to cherish every moment of my campus life. 

All in all, it's been 6 years and I can confidently say I've gone through many kind of experiences. I stumbled and fell but I got up right away as life has to move on. I shared laughter and some tears along the way but that what make me a person. I've made mistakes and I learned from it. Some people might feel comfortable to be with me and some don't. That's the truth. I can't afford to please each and every one in this world. The best thing I can do is try to be nice (with sincerity) with everyone and not become a two-faced person. 

Some people are meant to be part of our life for lifetime and some for only for certain period of time - friends come and go. Metaphorically, I would describe everyone that comes into my life as a tree. 

Some are like the leaves. When the wind blows, they will be scattered everywhere. As time goes by, they will wither and eventually die - gone. That's fine because most people are like that in such a way that they're not permanently there to do anything but to take from the tree and provide shade every now and then. That's all they can afford to do. We can't afford to be mad to such kind of people as we have no right to judge them. That's just them. 

Some even like a branch of a tree. We ought to be careful with those branches as well because we might not know when they will fool us. Such people will make us think they're good friend and strong up to the extent that we put our trust on them but eventually they'll break and leave us high and dry. 

Nevertheless, we are not that doomed. We're blessed with some people who are like the roots down at the bottom and provide support. These are the people that are not going anywhere. Just like the roots, they are not worried about being seen, nobody has to know that they know you, they don't have to know what they're doing for you but if those roots weren't there, a tree couldn't live. A tree can have lots of branches but it only takes few roots down at the bottom to make sure that tree gets everything it needs. 

When I think about this kind of analogy, it struck deep within me. As I mentioned earlier, there are people who come in and out of our life and some pain inflicted along the way. There are more people we are going to meet; some will only turn out to be leaves and branches but we all have to cherish the ones who are like the roots. These are the people who know us through and through; it could be anyone.

Thanks for reading today's random rant and rambling of mine *wink*

Here I am again. Still recuperating from extreme fatigue of the 6-hour journey from Penang. Wait a sec. I shall include the other 6 hours travel from Bangi to Penang. That makes it 12 hours! Ni kali la! 

Some of you might be wondering. What is this journey I speak of? Well, I'm talking about my journey to USM Penang to attend the annual event called Malam Citra Bayu. It was an event organised by Perkumpulan Siswa Siswi Sabah (PERSIS) of USM. In UKM, we called it Persatuan Mahasiswa Sabah (PERMIS). The main highlight of the event was the inter-varsity dance competition in which it showcased the variety of dances of the Sabahans.

I was not part of the dancing team even though I was asked to join the male dancers for several times *wink*. I was there to support them. Yes. As a supporter.

The journey to USM commenced on the 5th March around 12 midnight. We use the UKM bus and I was told that this time around we were lucky enough to get a bus from the university. Unlike the previous years, the team had to arrange their own transportation i.e. rent a bus from outside the campus. Sad but true. Anyway, since the journey was during midnight, there was nothing much to be seen throughout the journey. Most of the time, I slept, Facebook-ing and Tweeting through my iPhone. The bus stopped for half an hour at Tapah R&R and I went down and grab myself a cup of teh tarik. Then, the journey continued again.  

We finally arrived at USM around 6.30 in the morning. We could've arrived earlier but the bus driver took the wrong turn. The first thing the whole team did upon arrival was checking-in to the room. We stayed at a residential college called Desasiswa Tekun. I kinda like the concept of the residential college in USM. It looked like an apartment fully equipped with elevators. The room was also much more spacious than the ones in UKM *envy mode*.

I was extremely sleepy because I can't sleep well in the bus. I wasn't able to stretch my legs and the seat can't be reclined to my preferred position! As soon as I entered the room the first thing I did was to charge my phone's battery then I landed myself on the bed. At around 7-something, Carl went to the room and asked for a favour. I was still on sluggish mode at that time and I agreed upon the request. I forced myself to wake up at 8.30 because I was told that the team had to be at the hall for rehearsal. That was the time when I realized about the requested favour. I was asked to help the team with the technical part (i.e. lighting & sound)! Being a complete noob in that particular area, I was lucky enough to be able to collaborate with Chester.

The full rehearsal started around 11 in the morning and mind you, we just arrived approximately 4 hours ago. I was still sleepy but I had no choice than to force myself to focus on the technical aspect. Once the rehearsal session ended, the whole team went for lunch. It was not far. Just outside the campus. We opted for Nasi Kandar since we're in Penang! Then we rushed back to the room to get our stuff.

I won't describe the whole event in detail but one thing for sure, kudos should be given to the organising team as the program was truly a success! The hall was packed with people! Majority of the audience was Sabahan. Some were Sarawakians and people from the Peninsular. I saw few foreign students as well! I was amazed by how they managed to publicized the event. I wonder if UKM could some time in the future organise this kind of event...

Once the event ended and winners were announced, we hopped into the bus and left for UKM. Another 6-hour journey *sigh*. During the journey, everyone in the bus was complaining about the air-cond. Sometime in the middle of the journey, the bus' air-cond started to malfunction and loud noise was heard from the rear side of the bus. After a while, we continued the journey back to campus. This time around the loud noise was completely gone but the air-cond was still not functioning well. I was sweating like a pig! At last, at about 7.30 in the morning, we arrived at UKM. Once I arrived at the hostel, I rushed to shower room and scrub myself. Luckily, I had no class earlier today so I slept till noon. 

Nevertheless, I had so much fun in Penang with the whole team! I felt like home for a while.

Oh! Here's the overall result of MCB 2011:

Best costume: UM

Consolations: UUM, UiTM, UPSI, UKM

3rd place: USM

2nd place: UM

1st place: UPM

Team UKM

*photo grabbed from FB ^_^ *

p/s: To the dancers, although UKM didn't place this year, you guys had amazingly performed well on that night. Obviously, the audience was extremely ecstatic with the choreograph. You guys owned the stage and the audience as well!!

Just so you know, MEDiK has nothing to do with medical field and whatnot. It is an acronym for Malam Eksekutif Dinner Kajai. Wow! Mouthful don't you think? MEDiK is a dinner function organised by my residential college (Kolej Rahim Kajai).

Anyway, the function was held last night at DECTAR (Dewan Canselori Tun Abdul Razak UKM) and I decided to attend it together with my other 6 coursemates. Initially, I was not keen to attend the dinner due to the experience my friends and I had in the previous year. Last year, the food was insufficient for all of us seated at the table and to make it even worse, the drink was only served once! Yes. Throughout the dinner we had only a glass of cordial drink! That clearly explained my initial reluctance to attend the function. Such a spoiler eh?

However, I changed my mind. I attended the function anyway. All final students were seated at the front rows - behind the high table. Oh! I forgot to tell you. This year's theme was "Masquerade versus Rock Star Night". Since the word 'versus' was there, I guessed everyone had the chance to pick which theme to follow. It's either Masquerade or Rock Star. I opted for Rock Star because I was not really into Masquerade thingy. Besides, I didn't have the chance to look for a friggin' mask! So, Rock Star was chosen. When I opened my wardrobe, I realized one thing. I didn't have anything to wear to suit the theme. Dang! My last resort was to "recycle" my attire from the previous function I attended. 

Anyway, I attended the dinner and this time around the food was more than sufficient for all of us. We ate till our hearts content and we also had our drinks refilled for few times! =) Honestly, I didn't really pay much attention to the performance on the stage throughout the function. As far as I can recall, I only remembered the ballroom dance performances (they performed 3 times on that night! I was like...whatthe?), the beatbox showcase, performance by the Glee wannabies, and also performance by the guest artist (a band whom they called themselves PESAWAT). I went back to my room with protruding tummy! *burp*

The "recycled" attire...

Table mates! So boyband-ish...don't you think? LMAO!

Enough drink to quench the thirst this time around! Yeaa....

The tix and door gift!