Teachers

Today I read a post on my friend's FB about teachers, where there is this one lady who quit her job in the corporate world to become a teacher and she is teaching the difficult, problematic kids and from what I read, she is one tough cookie. She is promoting the teaching malaysia program, i think. (Not really sure what that is, need to google more after this!). From what I understand, she is trying to get more people to teach as there are a LOT of kids that really need help and there are various issues that need to be addressed and vastly improved in our education system. For example, in her article she explained that some kids in Form Four still can't read and most of them don't really know how to process what they have learned. I think most of them do not know the importance of education, and even if they do, some of them are in such surroundings that are not conducive in nurturing their thirst of learning, may it be the lack of help from school or lack of family support or financial difficulties. There are so many things that can be done to overcome the problems and improved our education system. And I know the government is taking some steps in the right direction. And we, as a community, need to help in anyway we can. For example, too many times I have heard the statement" oh! He/She is just a teacher!" Or "I do not have a glamorous job, I am just a teacher". Why the word "just" have to be in the same sentence as "teacher"?, may I ask? I think most of it has to be the fact that teachers, compared to other "glamorous" professions, earn peanuts. So teachers are often seen as the lower middle class, in my opinion. So that kind of mentality is surprisingly not very helpful in promoting people to become teachers or the already existing teachers to be a much more greater educator. I admit that there are many, many teachers that are doing this not solely for money and of course, as the jaded saying goes, money is not everything but I am pretty sure teachers could do with a higher pay. The structure and state of some schools are so bad that I think I wouldn't want to be coming to the school everyday too, much less coming to teach the kids who are problematic. Some teachers are sent to schools with really bad cases and with the headache and heartache they have to face each day dealing with troubling kids, it would take a very, very dedicated teacher to march on, and the rest would march out of the school. So, maybe if the schools look nicer amd more inviting, it could lift the spirits of the teachers, and also the students! People can say that your surroundings doesn't matter if you really love your job but happy place does produce happy people, I believe! More importantly, kids with problematic behaviour need to be dealt by specially trained teachers (counselling, psychology) and not just by someone that they think are strict enough to deal with these kids. Maybe this has been done, as I have not done any research whatsoever on this, and if it has, kudos to them! Long story short, teachers are the gems of the community and while we do celebrate them by having a day dedicated especially for them, we need to change our way of thinking about teachers and also have to help them in every way we can, to help them educate our future generation.

Berlari-larian

After admiting to myself that I have indeed gained weight, have made the effort to draaagggggg myself to the gym. So for the past three weeks, treadmill had been my new best friend. Trying to go at least four times a week, 30 mins per session. Lari plus jalan and kayuh basikal sikit..so far so good, still dalam mood rajin. Hari ni lari lama sikit, 40 mins..fuh!! Bangga jap...(oklah, ada selit jalan sikit, letih wei). well, for me, that is great achievement, considering I am such a couch potato at times. And yesterday, the treadmills at the gym had some updated software, so now can watch tv or music videos!! Yeay!!! Today was extra excited to go and try the new software, and song selection is good, maybe that is why today I ran longer..some songs can definitely make you run, like stronger by kelly clarkson, that fire song by adele and hhmmm...malu nak cakap..and one direction song!!( I blame my daughter for this hahaha!!). Thought of running at the park but then, makin gelap pulak nanti..heheh..never mind, gym first..thiking of entering a race, no, not marathon or even half marathon, maybe a fun run or 5K..In syaa Allah. Since my son is in a running club, we can run together. Speaking of together, last week, my husband was telling me to wait for him so that we could walk togeder-geder. My daughter yang first time dengar that word, found it to be funny and fascinating so now that is her new favourite word! Ok, back to my exercise and gaining weight, was trying on some clothes because next week have an event at a friend's house and we can't wear jeans. So tried on some slacks...arghh!!!! Tak muat!!! My perut so buncit now!!! Wwaaaaaaa!!!!!! This one particular pants used to be so loose, I had to cerut the tali..yeah! The operative word here is USED!!!! Hhmmm... i know it is the lack of exercise but can I blame it on aging as well? Metabolism rate decreases as you age right? Anyway, after feeling so frustated coz seluar tak muat, went to the kitchen and found the kids eating tiramisu and cheesecake, ishh..sedap la pulak..had a few spoonfuls (small spoon, I have to say) while the image of me in that pants still lingering. Oh well, kelly clarkson can help me burn off those calories..:)) (hopefully!!!).

Winter is finally gone...:)))))

After having two weeks of winter-like weather in spring, finally the real spring weather is here and I do hope it is here to stay. In fact, for the past three days, it was above normal, dah macam summer la pulak...no complains there, as long as I don't have to deal with sub zero temperature and punishing winds, I am a happy woman. But spring/ summer come with a new set of problems i.e no more can I hide my bulges sana sini with winter jackets! And no more excuses to hibernate at home, to be in front of the tv munching away food, with the reason to warm myself up!! So kena la exercise..argh!!!! Kalau nak lari-lari kat park, kena pegi awal coz the sun is so blazing cruel! The ray or whatever it is called is so menghitamkan kulit, for me lah! I know Malaysia panas but takdela my kulit jadi hangus tapi over here, it does. But then , come to think of it, kat Malaysia, naik kereta turun kereta, kat sini, I walk almost everywhere so maybe that is the case kut..hahaha...while writing this, it all makes sense to me. So, should I wear hat or bring an umbrella? Mesti la mat2 saleh kata I pelik, orang nak sun, kita nak lari from it..jadi macam makcik korea or jepun la macam ni..hahahaha..oklah, umbrella no, but hat yes! And lots of sunscreen. Anyway, back to exercising, so instead of running at the park, I started to go to the gym, yes, bangunan ada gym but boleh kira dengan jari how many times I have been there. Oh and also, I have started juicing..kale juice to be exact. Had it with different types of fruits, the taste is not that bad and I read it is good for the process of detoxifying the body. Plus the OCM that I have mentioned before, one would think I am heading in the right direction with this healthy living thing but then, once in while I do "need" that doughnut or cupcake.. Life is too short to be fussy...

Dont know what to do with myself

I am having more and more days of feeling so lazy and not wanting to do anything..unmotivated and feeling that nothing I do will do any good for myself..so malas!!!! Argh!!!! Hate feeling like this and trust me, am trying to fight it but as I said, not just "feeling" it! I am the typr of person that wants to see the end result straight away so patience is definitely not one of my virtues. And another thing is I keep on comparing myself with other people and always, always find myself way below par..why is that? No self confidence most of the time, all the while I am trying to instill all the important values in life in my kids..be yourself, be confident, dont think about what people would think and strive for the best and love yourself no matter what. Maybe I should be talking to myself in the mirror....

Media frenzy

Last week, something pretty crazy happened at the kids's school...it was on Friday when I ( and nearly half of the school's parents) went to a meeting. The day before, we received a rather cryptic email from the school asking the parents of 4th and 5th graders to attend the meeting. But no other information was given. I was really clueless of what was going on but decided to go and find out. Upon entering the school, a mom asked me whether my daughter got the homework yesterday. I said of course she got homework, they have homework all the time. Weird question, I thought. And then she said that this thing has been blown out of proportion. Ok, me, still being clueless, just agreed with her..duh!!! Maybe parents complaining too much homework? Because sometimes they do get waaayyy too much homework, even on weekends and holidays. Anyway, met another friend and she explained to me what happened. Ok, this is the story..it was about homework but it was a much bigger issue than having too much of it. Apparently, one teacher asked some of her students to make up some math questions based on what they have learned in social studies and the subject matter was slavery. So some kids came up with questions that included the words like whipped and killed. The questions went back in the kids' backpacks and none of the parents complained. Why? Because they knew that their kids ( my kids are not in the class involved, hence explaining my cluelessness) have been learning in depth about slavery and the children understood the subject matter. A few weeks later, another teacher wanted to use the same questions and asked her assistant, a student teacher we call it, to make photocopy. Now, that was when the whole trouble started. The student teacher, whom I will call A, was shocked by the questions and decided to show them to her mentor. And then, this mentor decided to go to the press!!! Not to the principal (which I think what A should have done in the first place) but straight to the press. So, the media frenzy began! A tv crew came to the school on Thursday, tried to interview parents, managed to get one parent and one caregiver to say something and they were against the teacher, saying that it was wrong. That was on tv Friday morning and on the same morning, as we were sending off the kids, more tv crews were there, with cameras and these tall poles for transmission or something like that. So, during the meeting, the principal explained what happened (and apparently, I wasn't the only one who was clueless so takder la rasa blur sangat kan?). The parents (I would say 99% of us) were in support of the teacher. later that day, during pick up, there were more reporters asking parents for comments. And it was all over the news that night and kat internet, tak payah cakap lah, macam macam cerita and yang ditokok tambah and twisted version pun banyak. Anyway, things seemed to have mellowed down over the weekend so things were back to normal and the teacher so far doesn't face any disciplinary actions, so far so good. Saw the teacher a few days after that, she seemed ok, knew from a friend that she wasnt in such good shape on the day that happened. Pity her.Imagine you are being in the middle of this craziness and your intention was just to teach the kids about history and math but your intention got twisted and misjudged and questioned. And it was all because one not very smart person decided not to investigate or ask somebody else but rather assumed the worst and reported it to the wrong party. Not sure what is happening to A now but she better be smart and not show her face at our school again, ada yang kena pelangkung nanti.

Was down and out

Demam!!!! Selsema!!!! Was sick since Saturday.. Now better, Alhamdulillah, cuma demam still on and off. Now it is the flu season, and me being so malas, didn't get the flu shot, so now paying the price for it. The kids got their jabs so Alhamdulillah, they are doing fine so far. So the weekend, duk rumah, can't do anything, well, it was too cold to go out anyway but had to miss out on a lunch invitation by a Malaysian friend of ours. I was looking forward to such gathering because we can meet up and catch up and the kids would always have fun playing sesama Malaysians (they are the only Malaysians in their school, so sekali sekala jumpa geng sekampung, mestilah happy) plus the food is always good and delicious! Oh well, what to do. But on Monday night, had to fight the sickness to go out jugak because we have bought tickets to see the Harlem Globe Trotters at Madison Square Garden..rugi ooo kalau tak pergi, so I had to pull out all the strength that I had, or rather what is left, in my body to go. Once we were there, rasa macam ok, ye la, excited punya pasal, siap jerit2 and once, we got up and danced..hmm... Bila balik, I just realised that I was still sick. The next day I was back again, lying on the couch with tissues in my hand and feeling like a zombie with all the medication. Hubby dearest took over in the kitchen for three days...:). Thank you darling! The kids supposed to be on their mid winter break for a week, but kena ganti three days of school because of Hurricane Sandy where they were off for a week. Nope, they are definitely not happy about it. Well...what to do....ok, time for my meds again...

Super duper lazy week

This week has been so unproductive..been feeling ssssoooo lazy to do anything, cook, exercise, clean the house, write or even go out to the shops! Well, I still cooked and cleaned the house..no choice in those department but the exerise was non-existent for this week..unless you can count five minutes of so-called sit ups, exercise. The excuses..well, "best-friend" time of the month plus migraine. Plus I have been missing home so much..feels like going home right now..blaming it on the cold weather and also am really hoping we can go back for good this year. It is not that I am not grateful getting the opportunity to stay in the big apple but three years are enough, to me, it is time we head home. But there is no news whatsoever yet, not knowing is so agonizing! So, that explains my non-productive week..hopefully next week would be better, In syas Allah. Better start exercising again, my jeans are 'shrinking'!!!!!!. A blizzard coming tonight, expecting at least 8 inches of snow..have stocked up on some basic essentials, hoping everything will be fine, In syaa Allah. The kids are complaining about the cold and missing the sun back home. And missing the food too..:( Trying to stay positive is not easy but I guess somebody has to do it!

A new thing to try

I have been battling with my face problem for the longest time. Have tried so many things, from the cheap ones to the not-so-cheap ones to no avail. Well, sometimes it would work for a few days but then, it was always back to square one. So three days ago as I was googling on natural face cleanser, I stumbled upon oil cleansing method. So decided to give it a try..the verdict? Well, it has only been three days but I think my face is a bit, teeny tiny bit clearer. Maybe it is working or maybe it is just my imagination...we shall see in a few days' time.. Hopefully this works for me. I really envy people with flawless skin. I am not talking about the 'fake' flawless natural makeup, this is pure flawless skin. I have a friend whose skin is so supple and soft ( it looks like it, no way I am touching somebody else's face, as obsessed as I am with it!), and of course I had to ask her what is her secret and of course I was green with envy when she said "Oh! I just wash my face with soap".. Soap??? If I were to wash with soap, and we are talking about a simple bar soap, my face would flare up like crazy the very next day! Anywho, with this new experiment of mine, I know I can't achieve the perfect, flawless skin but I hope at least my adult zits would vanish or at least, won't decide to visit me every so often. Once my son asked me, "mommy, are you still a teenager?" I was thinking was it because I look young for my age 😉. But, my son quickly zapped me back to reality by saying "because you always have pimples like a teenager" 😩😩😩😩😩. Always hope for the best and keep marching on!

Thoughts for today....

It is a gloomy and dreary saturday, not so cold according to the forecast but not sunny, that is for sure. Definitely not a day to be out and about. Was flicking through the channels and there was nothing interesting to watch. With hundreds of channels that we have, there is still nothing to watch! Well, actually there are movies I want to watch but over here, if it is rated R, it is a definite no no for the kids. Langsung takde penapisan, it being violence or nudity or language, so that is out of the question! So settled for a very very old movie, wayyyyy back in 1980.. Superman II! Since the new superman movie is coming out soon, maybe should get the kids acquainted with this classic movie and mommy also needs to refresh some memory, I was 6 when this movie came out. Gosh! It was THAT long ago... What amazes me is the technology that the west had way back then in the 80s, the special effects, the imagination, and even the script and the acting. And they have progressed in so many ways and has conquered the movie world. Compared to what Malaysia has now, it is sad to say that we have gone backwards in some ways. We had the P Ramlee's movies before and they were very entertaining and quite educational but now we rarely see good quality movies. Safe for a few great Malaysian movies such as Bunohan, some Yasmin Ahmad's movies and ....hhmmmm..what else? (Maybe there are a few more that I haven't seen), our movies are mostly about orang kaya rebut harta, rebut laki, dengki sana sini, mak2 datin rambut oren karat and tinggi macam bee hives, and lots and lots of love stories.. I mean, the west pun ada love stories too but they way they translate it into movies are way more interesting and less annoying. The screenplay is not the same all the time like most cerita melayu and the acting is of course, way much better. I know some might disagree with me but come on, you have to admit most Malaysian actors and actresses are selected based on their looks and not their skills. Don't get me wrong. I do watch some malay movies but as I mentioned before, so much improvement is needed. Okay, this is not a movie but this came to my mind as I am typing this. Adam dan Hawa.. Confessed that I was not going to watch it anymore but could't resist watching the last few episodes.. 😉. Anyway, the last episode where they had their first baby.. The baby shown was at least three months old!! Padahal baru je Ain tu bersalin. Siap boleh main cak cak with baby...did the director think that we, the watchers are stupid??? We can see that the baby is definitely not a day old. So tidak logic okay??? And there was one scene where they went for honeymoon, and Ain said something like this, "hmmm..it is so privacy here". Seriously??? Editor..tidur ke? And then, Adam said something and he said the word spoil and 'sEpoil'.. Memang la sEpoil muka hensem cakap macam tu...😫. Malay movies and dramas really really need to improve! Hehe..kutuk kutuk tapi tengok jugak kan? Ye la, kalau tak tengok, macam mana nak kutuk..actually nak komen bukan kutuk.. Anyway, nak tengok superman now...

Twenty 13

So, it is twenty 13 now..three days into the new year and this year I have two resolutions..hmm...will see how long it will last...the two are to exercise more ie swimming, running and whatever that i feel like doing in order to achieve a healthier self ( oh and that also includes a healthier spiritual self too) and also, again like a broken record, to write more. So, went swimming yesterday, didnt get many laps done btw, got so out of breath and also spent quite some time talking to Alex, the lifeguard. He was telling me about his cat and I was telling him about our cold freezing trip to Philly. I think I swam for about ten laps and I was so tired last night, my legs ached a bit. So out of stamina I tell you! Need to get moving more..☺. And now to writing, well, this is my first entry for twenty 13 and I hope, really hope, there will be more entries for this year..here in my blog or in my notebook which I like to call the writer's notebook where I have all my ideas, story lines, rage writing 😠 and what not. Also this year I hope we will be heading home for good..really miss my family and also the food!!! Been here for three years and I think it is time to feel the hot Malaysian sun again. However, before heading home, I hope that we can travel as much as possible in the USA because once wee're back, I dont think we have the money to come back here for a holiday and it is too far too!!! The west coast is still alien to us so California, vegas here we come, In syaa Allah. Ready to go!!!!

I am one worried mom

My son is now in the process of applying for middle school and of course I want him to go to the best school for him. The middle school process in new york city is comparable to college application process. You have to fill in a form and put your five choices and depending on the schools that you have selected, you might be called for interviews and tests. It is so stressful not only for the kids but also for the parents. It is highly competitive as there are only a certain numbers of seats in the top schools and the applicants are getting more and more by the year. Ok, that is for the public school application. Now, we have also been trying to get him into the international school and that is a another process that is giving us headache. he had to sit for this Independent School Entrance Examination for two and a half hours, comprising of Math and English. We had some practice done on the sample questions and even though he didn't get everything right, he managed to answer most of the questions. Come the real thing, he said he didn't get to finish quite a number of questions as he was spending too mich time double checking his answers because he was really scared he might answered them wrong. I was so upset because he was supposed to answer all and then checked the answers! He is a bit of an overthinker so he would always take longer time going over things and that has caused him some marks. I have been reminding him time and again about his time management, that he should know how to time himself in tests and he had sat for his state exams twice and he had done really well. I guess he got freaked out about this test and he was being too careful. Well, he got most of the questions that he answered right, that is good but the fact that he could have gotten more marks if only he tried to answer the remaining questions. Anyway, we got the results and it is not as good as what he had gotten on the practice test (I think). A few days after the test, we went for the interview and it was a family interview. While he did conduct himself well, he was so nervous in the beginning that he kept looking at me for answers when the director of admission was asking him questions. Anyway, the process had passed and all we can do know is wait and hope and pray for the best. Tawakkal is what we do now. I keep on reminding myself that whatever happens, it is for the best. But still, until we get the results, I am going to be one worried mom.

Bread making

For the past two weekends, I have been learning to make homemade bread and it had been fun. Kids got involved, they love punching down the dough and kneading..well, actually more of playing with the dough. The outcome was better the second time,"practice makes perfect". It is a nice feeling to be smelling the bread baking in the oven and to know that something simple yet delicious is about to be done in a few minutes. The best feeling of all is when my hubby and kids enjoyed the warm bread and nearly the whole loaf was attacked within minutes.. For me, that is a huge achievement! Am not a huge fan of cooking, i mean i dont hate it but i dont love it either but there are times when i want to try new things and when it comes out great, I am a happy bunny!! So far I have made the basic white loaf so next project, at the request of husband dearest, is the dinner rolls and cinnamon raisin bun (well, the second one is my request to myself). So maybe soon we will not be buying bread from the stores anymore, maybe just maybe...:)). Nothing is impossible. Who ever thought I would be making my own bread? Not me, for sure. Cooking used to be so foreign to me before! Everything related to making food was and sometimes is still scary to me but I have to say I have come a long way. Last week, I made fish curry and hubby said that it was delicious! Yeay! Then we told our daughter the story of the very first fish curry I made, it was when we were still dating and oh my, it was a disaster. It was sweet and the fish was all falling apart! I was living with my aunt at that time and well, she freaked out too. she wasnt a good cook either and both of us were trying to "fix" the curry by putting salt, then sugar, then salt again then sugar again because the taste was so weird! we didn't have tome to make a new one so by the time hubby came,we had no choice but to serve him the horrendous dish. my aunt and I were trying to read his face when he ate it. he was a good actor I guess because not only he ate as if it was okay (he didnt say it was delicious but he didnt say it was bad either), he also had a second helping of the unedible dish. I couldn't eat it myself. Yeap, it was THAT bad! Then I told my daughter that if your dad hadn't eaten it, maybe I wouldn't have married him. Hahaha.

Running day today

Yeay..at last today I went running at central park..for someone who lives fifteen minutes away from this iconic park of new york city, I am sure a late, very late addition to this popular sport at this popular park...hope that makes sense..hahaha..actually, it is not that I haven't been to central park before..been there tons of time..but not for running..only walking and strolling and people watching. So now since I am determined to start running and son dearest is also in his school running team and it was such a nice day today, we decided to go running. My daughter went as well and as usual she would be sprinting away, (running is her way of walking)and I was shouting from behind, asking her to slow down..it was a good run and I was sweating which is really hard to do in fall or winter...there was a lot of people running and was happy to finally be part of the "group". Hopefully this new hobby will last even though not sure when the next time I can go running at the park as the temperature will be dropping starting from tomorrow. Well, if there is a will, there is a way right? Talking about will, boy, did I have a lot of will power today..today is BLACK FRIDAY!!! And I didnt set foot in any store.!!!..walking to and from central park, we passed through so many shops and there were people everywhere with shopping bags and there were sale signs everywhere in every single corner!! Arghh!! Wish I could go but then was thinking that there wasn't anything that I REALLY want or need for now and don't really want to drag the kids and brave the crowd..they will be whining till my eardrums burst anyway plus the "banker" is at work today despite the thanksgiving holidays!! So no black friday for me then.. Hopefully tomorrow wil still ada some leftovers..:)).. Willpower for tomorrow lain cerita..:)) Smile and the world will smile with you!!!!

Knitting project

So I have decided to resume my knitting project after nearly three years hiatus..determined to make hubby his scarf which I have promised...hmm...almost three years ago 😉. A few days ago, I wanted to order some yarn from this online shop. And then I just realised that I don't have a clue of what type of yarn to get and how much of it needed to make a scarf. So kenala buat homework dulu..spent more than an hour doing that. It was a bit confusing because there were so many conflicting infos. So I took the leap of faith and followed this particular website, it looked reliable enough. Okay, done with the homework, off I went to the shop (in the virtual world that is) and found this craft shop that offered free shipping with a $40 purchase. So now pening with the decision to buy up to $40 la pulak. Eventually the yarn I wanted to buy to make the scarf came up to only $15. But nak free shipping punya pasal, I decided to get yarn for my self and my daughter..(my son not a fan of scarves). Dah siap pilih all the yarn, still tak cukup syarat..the yarns were cheap to start with and ada sales on top of that. So decided to buy some felt fabric that my daughter needs to make her dolls' t shirts. And then I made the $40 mark..phew, macam lari marathon..😊. So now eagerly waiting for it to be shipped, of course free shipping comes with its downside, 7-10 businees days!!! Jenuh le menunggu. So in the meantime, I am practicing my knitting skill or rather the lack of it. And after reading up on knitting, I discovered new stitches and techniques. And there are sssoooo many different types of stitches..well, the basic two are knit and purl, but the combination of those two can make the other many wonderful types of stitches. Last night while we were watching our Saturday night movie, I was busy practicing all these new discoveries, rasa seronok la pulak..as I am typing this pun, macam tak sabar nak start knitting..hahaha..new found love? We shall see..... Discovery is a wonderful thing...

The aftermath of sandy

After hurricane sandy..Alhamdulillah we are okay, no damage to our building, still got power and water. Other people not so lucky, some friends have to move to the office, no electricity in their building. Other people are even worse, lost their homes and everything, either burnt down by fire or destroyed by the rising water. They don't have anywhere to go, except for the shelters for a few days but how do they build their home and their life again? Saw one man who went to his mom's house or rather what is left of it, amd all he could salvage was his mom's corningware bowl. One, only one single thing had survived the fire. Some of the people interviewed on tv looked so clueless and overwhelmed by what had happened. They do not know what to do or where to start? They couldn't believe this had happened. Their life as they know it, has been turned upside down, inside out and they have a long road ahead of them to make it right agan, to make it normal again. My heart goes out to them, wish them all the best and hope they have the strength to get up and march on.

Sandy is coming...

Hurricane Sandy is coming to town. It is on its way now from down south. Schools are closed tomorrow..the kids are happy obviously. We have bought some water and milk and other basic supply, it was forecasted that there would be some electricity and water supply disruptions due to the high wind and rain. Low level areas in NYC are in the danger of being flooded so mandatory evacuation was ordered. Luckily we are not in that area but we still have to be vigilant. Need to fill up bathtub with water, just in case takde air. Have some candles on hand, and need to fully charge both iphone and ipad by tomorrow afternoon. So no mindless browsing for a while okay?:)) it is getting cloudier and cloudier by the hour now and it is said to be windy now..not sure of that since i dont dare to go out now. The last hurricane we had was last year, a few days before raya puasa. Even though we were spared a direct hit, the damage was still huge. It is said that this hurricane sandy is going to be much worse. It is dubbed the "Frakenstorm" as it is going to be a monster storm, slamming itself into mostly of the whole of America's northeastern region. Many states have declared state of emergency. New York's subway system is being closed down. The storm is said to last for two days, it is definitely going to take its own sweet time in leaving us, so I am praying that everything is going to be okay, Insya Allah. Stay safe!

Volunteering is fun and tiring..

Today, I started volunteering at the kids's school's book fair. Boy..it was tiring. Wth the setting up yesterday and the grand opening today, all the other colunteers and me had our hands full. But it was fun! And i have the whole week next week to do it too..:)). The book fair committee would get books from scholastic and will help sell them and some of the percentage of the sales will go to the school. Well, at least i think that's how it works. See, I wasn't at the meeting as i was asked to do something else that i don't like to do at some other place that i don't like to be at, by somebody that i don't like..no, not form the school, this person is from somewhere else..gosh..how i despise this person..anyway....back to the book fair...i love it when the kindergarten kids come to it.not only they look so cute and adorable, (well at least before they started screaming when they don't get to buy the books that they want, or rather the 'non-books' items is more like it, for example the colourful erasers, pointers, pens, pencils and what not), but they are funny too. There was this boy who came to the cash register with money in his hand and just gave it to me without having any books to buy. I told him that he needed to go and choose some books before paying and he gave me this blank and confused look! And he had quite a lot of money in his hand..😀. Someone took him to the books and at last he came back to pay for them witha big smile on his face!!!. And some kids would be bringing $10 and came to the cashier with books worth $40! Boy! That is quite hard explaining to them that they can't buy them all. Usually we would let the teachers do the explaining, we wouldn't want to be the cause of some kids wailing...!!! March on!!!!

tak nak tengok dah adam dan hawa....

ok..actually i didn't want to start watching the hottest drama in malaysia right now because i know, kalau dah start tengok, nanti i nak follow sampai habis plus ada abang AA, nak la tengok kan? sorry Yang..i still love you..:)). anyway, since some of my FB friends duk "promote" AH, thought of oklah, tengok la jugak..but my..selloooowwwwwwww nyer cerita dia...i was jumping from one episode to another. (tengok kat this website, takde tv malaysia kat NY kan..sob..sob..) duk fast forward, just to know the jalan cerita but lama2, it was getting annoying. don't get me wrong, i enjoy watching drama/movie melayu, well at least some of them, lagi2 bila dah duduk overseas, just to hilangkan rindu kat malaysia, but this drama to me, is just exploiting AA fans...some episodes tu, from start to finish, takde substance pun and they are draggggggiiinnnngggg it man, they really are..well that is just my opinion anyway. so now after episode 29, or is it 28, i decided no more..not going to watch it, maybe the last two episodes, heheh, just to know how it ends. Malay movies or dramas have so much room for improvement. the editing is just awful..they don't notice the small stuff. it is either that or they have this attitude of"takpelah, sikit jer, orang tak perasan pun". There was one scene where Dee was talking to her mom and there was a HUGE brown spot on her white bedroom door, macam cat pintu terkopak. come on la, you are this rich girl who drives a convertible BMW and bought your boyfriend rolex watch, anak orang kaya, takkan lah pintu macam tu kat rumah..and then some illogical things.like when ain and azie(boy, that girl is annoying) nak berlepas to Australia (BTW, boleh tak teach some of the actors to pronounce australia as AUStralia, and not OSTROlia?), they had one bag each..nak pergi for a few years and yet bawak satu beg jer? and si ain tu bawak the BIG HUGE teddy bear tu kan? where did she put it la? definitely not in the one small bag she was carrying. talking about the teddy bear, Ain is one confused, messed up girl..if you don't like the guy, do you keep the bear that the SAME guy gave to you? don't think so!! nampak sangat she is fickle minded, ok, ok, maybe the director meant it to be that way but ssssoooo tak masuk akal. again, that is just me. hmm.. what else? there are some scenes, not specifically in this drama, but in others as well, where in one scene, there are so many inconsistencies. for example, a guy was wearing a tie and it was loosened up, but as the scene progresses, you can see the tie elok pulak ikat..i know it takes a few takes to make scene, but the editor should keep an open eye for these small stuff. they matter ok? so, pendek cerita, no more AH for me, prefer to watch elementary or revolution and for my guilty pleasure, revenge.that one is a bit 'soap opera"ish but I LOVE IT!!!! love BUNOHAN!!!

Good to know that I am considered normal..

today I had breakfast with one of my good friends..haven't been going out with her for quite a while..everyine was busy with their own thing..so I called her up today and we decided to have breakfast at a cafe nearby..and she said she was glad to be able to hang out with someone normal..that was your truly. she has been dealing with some weird people for the past few weeks. one of her good friends whom she thought was nice suddenly showed her true colours which are not very flattering and my friend didnt know how to handle this weird abnormal lady. so by going out with me (the normal one according to her..)today, she feels better, being able to pour out her feelings and worries. I, too, have my share of dealing with weird people, people are really oblivious of the weird things they are doing that drive people nuts and who are so self centred. I would usually stay away from this kind of people. I would talk to them if needed but it stops there. If we linger around weird people, we might be weird too, soon enough..hahaha...

To work or to stay home?

Today, saw on tv an article about why women still cant have it all..that is have a career and still have quality time to spend with family..it is like women still have to choose between family or career. Read the article and the author said she used to be on the side where she felt superior to stay-at-home moms as she had a very high-flying career. But then she realized that her children were becoming rebels and she missed a lot of their milestones. So, if you are a SAHM, are you the lucky one? Well, from my experience, it has its pros and cons. And i dont want to elaborate it here because i have done it a few times and i am still questioning whether i am making the right choice. And i think doesn't matter which side you are on, you would always question and wonder whether the grass is greener on the other side.