What were you thinking?

Seriously.

In my honest opinion, there are a lot of things to be considered when writing a book, especially when it is meant for children. Specifically, ABC picture books.

Here's what happened. I was reading one of the books (but this one is the Bahasa and English version) with my cousin's son, Isyraf (4 y.o). Approaching the letter Y, Isyraf spontaneously said "Eeee, tak malu, kencing berdiri". So I was like "what?". Then only I noticed THIS.

If the overall content of the book is about/describing human body parts, then by all means, it is totally fine. But I guess the word Penis is guised in so many terms, the same goes as Zakar in Bahasa. It's never wrong to expose them to the actual word, but what Isyraf said (eee, tak malu kencing berdiri) is a proof that the intended objective has not been met. Instead of identifying the picture as penis/zakar, he focused on the action. Which is not wrong, I would say. Really, I did not know how to respond. But eventually I said "Ini Zakar *while pointing at the arrow*". And I can't believe it myself, how I sounded like a pervert Aunt. Haha. And I quickly asked him to give me another book to read.

Den asked me to take a picture of the publisher but somehow it's not in the camera. Too bad. I would advise them to revise the contents. The thing is that, ABC books are not only for children to learn the letters but also help them to read. Thematic books (books with theme) which may accommodate all alphabets including (q,x,z) would be more desirable. Contents should also be more engaging. The items included should be those which children can relate to and easily available so that the letters and words can be reinforced. That way, they'll learn better.

Moral of the story: Take your time to really look at the contents of the book before buying them.

Honesty is the best policy

I was flipping through Dad's students' assignments. Some of their works are good. As in really good. They were supposed to write a 15 pages essay on a quote of their choice, related to volunteerism. The medium of instruction is in Bahasa, but Dad encourages them to use English if they were to have any class presentation. So they were given the freedom to write the paper using the language they prefer, or feel more comfortable with.

Some papers were good. As in real good. And that surprised me. Not being sceptical or anything, but what's written in some of the essays were exceptionally flawless. I was like 'Dayumm! This student is really good'. But being a critical person (NOT), I noticed that (in this particular [unlucky] paper), the font colors in some paragraphs are not the same with the rest. Some parts are black (the automatic font color in MSWord) but some others are greyish black. Dan ada macam bintik2 (on the letters with the grey fonts) as compared to the black ones which are solid lah kan, without the tiny dots. Tak guna magnifying glass pun boleh nampak kot. -_-" So there you go. Apparently not everything in the paper is genuine.

Personally, it upsets me that uni students are very prone to 'copy and paste'. It's like they're taking the easy way to complete the assignments when other people are going through the hassle of doing it (honestly). I'd appreciate a genuine work,with acceptable grammatical errors rather than a 'flawless' paper (done with zero effort, of course!). If you don't feel comfortable writing in English you can resort to writing in Bahasa. And there's a writing technique called paraphrasing. Always, always paraphrase when you want to report someone else's works. And there's a proper way of citing or quoting information obtained from other people. And logically you need to have a page with the heading Reference at the end, right? Because in order to come up with a good piece of work, you'll have to do some readings. Unless if you're really smart to the extent that you can become a theorizer.

This is a serious problem I would say. And again, I'm upset. First is that they're not even doing it right. You want to cheat, please do it the right way. C'mon, takkan lah font color tak sama boleh tak perasan? Second, if they do not feel guilty about it, it'll create problem in the long run. Not being honest, get away with it and get good grades, and feeling good about it. Yes, that kind of problem. And what if they're the kind of person who hold on to the quote 'Buat jahat jangan sekali, buatlah berkali2'. Then what happens to keberkatan dalam menuntut ilmu? :( Kecewa.

Double whammy T.T

Today is just not my day. Tsk tsk.

I was really busy working on something very important. And I was preoccupied. I glanced at my watch after some time and noticed that its DEAD. T_T. The time had been 7.15 (a.m./p.m.) since I-don't know when.

I also noticed that I did not receive any call(s) or SMS. A blessing in disguise, I said at first. Macam tahu2 je aku ni busy. But I started to feel that something is not right. So I decided to have a look at my phone. And there you go. On top of the screen it says "No access to network". So I switched off the phone, restart it but nothing happened. Long story cut short, the SIM card cannot be used. T_T. So I bought a new SIM to be used temporarily.

I head back to my car. And it couldn't start! T_T. Kifarah ni, banyak sangat dosa. Haizzzzz. And I left the car kit at home, as well as the Jumper. Great. Cried for help and Uncle Michael came to the rescue. :) Moral of the story, even if you send your car for regular service, never trust them 100%. They might check everything BUT the battery.

Don't judge a book by its cover.2

This is a true story, which happened to a deeply sadden bride to be.

(Retold with 'extra spices' to create the dramatic effect. :P)

It seems like it's going to rain, but I insisted that I need to get my wedding cake booked today. I had a lot in mind but I didn't want to burden any one at this point of time. And considering that I realize that it is my fault.. and it's kind of last minute. So I want to get this done myself.

I couldn't borrow anyone's car since all of them are in use. So I decided to ride my bike. A few minutes later I started to feel raindrops. Next thing I know it's already raining cats and dogs! Already halfway to my destination, I decided to carry on. So there I was, riding my bike in the heavy downpour just to get myself a wedding cake.

I finally reached my destination. I took off my helmet, and entered the 'bakery'. My clothes are wet of course I was drenched in the rain. I noticed that there are eyes looking as I entered, but who cares. I was waiting for my turn to be entertained because there was a lady paying her bill at the counter. As soon as she left, I come a bit closer to the counter. But I was ignored! A few girls who came later than me were given the attention.

I waited patiently. Until they left. I asked straight away if I can order my cake. The girl at the counter looked at me in 'such a way'. And she tells me that there is no way that they can provide me with a 2kg cake if the function is tomorrow. That was actually my first time to order cakes from that 'bakery'. So I don't really know the names of the cake. So I asked for the catalogue and she pulled a face. I was so angry but I realize that I look like someone who cannot afford to buy ANYTHING from them, so I kept quiet. I am a degree holder but it is just not my nature to speak my thought especially in a situation like this.

I ended up being ignored once again because new customers are coming. So I left, broken hearted. And I did not place the order. I went back. Luckily, the rain has stopped. I reached home, told the story to my sisters and cried my heart out. I was being judged for the way I appear to look that day.

*****

Can we stop people from looking down on us? I'd say the answer is No. But for a start, maybe we can stop ourselves from looking down on someone else. That way we may create a better environment for everyone. Peace, no war!

One pathetic soul

I'm happy but not that happy.

Roadtax costs me RM30.

Can I not think about the part where I need to pay for the insurance?

Haih.

See the leg, lah!

This was not being told by Mum until she brought up the issue of 'race discrimination' while we were having dinner. T'was kind of a small-talk which (apparently) got me thinking. To begin the story, I need to provide you with some background infos. He he. My brother was offered a scholarship to pursue his studies. But first he has to complete a two year foundation. So the parents sent him to register. As usual, some documents need to be submitted during the registration process, in particular, the parents' birth certificates. What caught Mrs. Discriminator's attention was the race of the father of both my parents. What's stated there was; Bangsa/Race - Jawa/ Java.

So she started to make comments about that. i.e.- "

Eh, sepatutnya kalau keturunan Jawa ni tak boleh dapat biasiswa".

My mother was shocked with that kind of remark. I don't think that my brother will be offered with the scholarship if he is not a qualified applicant in the first place. With all due respect, I believe that he deserves to get the scholarship based on his achievements and for doing well during the interview and I don't think that the race of the father of the parents matters, here. So this was what my mother said to her.

"Oh yeke Puan, tapi Ayah dia dah pernah dapat pun biasiswa yang sama. Dah sampai pun ke US. Alhamdulillah, dah jadi Professor pun sekarang. Kakak dia pun dapat biasiswa ni juga. Nak masuk tahun akhir dah di IPTA."

And Mrs. D decided to hold her tongue. *Smug* Mama, you rock! But honestly, sometimes I just can't tolerate this kind of stupidity. Aren't we living in a multi-racial country? Being a Malay herself, I think that she's supposed to be aware of the fact that Malay people in our country have ancestors who originated from countries near Malaysia for example Java, Sumatra, Thailand or Myanmar. And I think that we are too, Malays, but usually referred as Orang Jawa because our community (in the case of our family, the third generation) still speak fluent Javanese. You can have a Malay from Kelantan who speaks Thai because her grandmother is a Siamese, and like myself, I speak moderate Javanese because it is the first language in our community!

Maybe the reason that my grandfather's race is being stated as Java/Jawa in my parents birth certs was because we call ourselves Orang Jawa. (Does this make sense? :P) Well, I am a proud Javanese, and I think that I'm proud that at least I have a third language which comes in handy when dealing with m*r*ns like Mrs. D. I said to my mum that if I were there, we should start using our mother tongue just to spite her. And my mum said thank God you weren't there. Tahu cari gaduh je. He he. To Mrs. D, you can try Google or Wiki and you'll find a list of successful Javanese Malaysian in various fields.

That's NOT a joke!

I've just got back from Melaka Bandar Warisan Dunia. :) Well, it felt good, revisiting Bandar Melaka after like ummm 13 years? But it wasn't really a visit. I've got a paper to present in a conference. Tight schedule. Great speakers. Inspired.

So the title of this post actually refers to an incident which happened during my stay there. The second night, our lecturer said that she wanted all of us (her students) to dine out. Her treat. So we agreed. (Who wouldn't?) Before we went out from the car park, I had to pass the parking ticket to the person in-charged. I parked at the basement, so the 'roaring' engines somehow disturbed my hearing.

#P - P*rv**t
#I - Your's truly

P : Boleh beritahu nombor......(I can't hear what he was saying)
I : Sorry, nombor kereta ke?
P : Room number. Nombor bilik.
I : Oh, xxxx. Sorry, saya tak dengar tadi.
P: (He was saying something else, but I heard this) Balik sini balik (semula) ke?
I : (So I answered,) Ha'ah.
P: BUKAN.
I : (And I was like) What? Saya tak berapa dengar lah.
P: NANTI ABANG NAIK BILIK YE?
I : What the hell?????????? (And I quickly drove away)

Talk about verbal sexual harassment. And what kind of lady he thinks I am? My friends and I were totally freaking out. What if he actually meant what he said? For all we know he can get access to our room if he really wants to. And after dinner, we met the manager and lodged a report. The charming handsome cute Manager named Vincent called P and these were what he said -

- Did you say something to a guest? Room xxxx. (We were worried. He shouldn't mention our room number, right?)

- What do you mean by that? Gurau? (P still remembers what he said to us, obviously)

- What kind of place you think you're working at?

- I'll let the management know about this!

And V changed our room keys and thank God nothing happened that night. I don't think that it is appropriate to say something like that to a hotel guest. We asked V to erase our personal info from their record. Hopefully P learns his lesson.

UFO - Read: Unpleasant (GROSS) Floating Object

Y'know sometimes my brain thinks a lot when I'm in a public toilet. Why? You see, most of the time you could see people doing stupid things there. Since the name is public toilet, it literally means that everyone is entitled to the 'job' to keep the toilet clean. 'Kebersihan tanggungjawab bersama'. Ring a bell?

Well something really undesirable happened to me when I was about to enter a public toilet, or more politely washroom/ ladies which ever you prefer, I immediately saw this UFO in the toilet bowl and I almost puked! Almost almost almost. The BEST part is, I'd just finished my breakfast! So inconsiderate lah that moron who didn't know how to flush. Haish.

I decided to come out with a list of unethical manners some people normally do in public toilets in general.

1. Use the toilet and don't flush. (This is when you get to see UFO's inside the toilet bowls. *puke*. Please check whether or not the flush is usable and most importantly if there's water supply)
2. Not able to differentiate sitting and squatting toilet bowls (Hence, the lids will be covered with dirt from shoes/slippers. Eyewwwww)
3. Cover the toilet bowl lid with loads and loads of tissues but don't remove them when they're done. (Hygiene freak la konon but pengotor jugak)
   
4. Don't return the bidet to the hook (If the hook don't exist maybe you can try to simpul the hose or whatever as long as it's not on the floor please)
5. Use tissues but end up throwing them all over the place. (Disgusting. Especially when you can't tell if they have been used to wipe any related body parts. *puke*)
6. .... I'm sure there are more. Right?
   

I have no clue why I'm writing this disgusting entry. I just hope that public toilet users will be more 'wise' and to prove it by being more responsible.

Mimie_t; in support of CLEAN PUBLIC TOILETS.

P.S I know this is crap. But thank u for reading. :P