Jottings

Holy Prophet Muhammad (salla allahu alayhi wa sallam) said: Musa (peace be upon him), the son of Imran once asked, “Oh my Lord! Who is the most honourable of Your servants? And He replied, the person who forgives even when he is in a position of power.” (Baihaqi)

Visited the blog of a friend, Senor Pablo, and he posted a link with explaining why Ramadan is the month of Forgiveness. (That’s where I got the above hadith!).

It was during the Ramadan period in 2005 when I had a big fight with a friend. We were suppose to buka puasa together until he decided to cancel at the very last minute. Just imagine my anger when I actually had to drive home to break my fast when we were supposed to eat at a restaurant near the campus.

Ok. fine. Then I invited him again to break fast with our “gang” and again, he decided not to show up at the last minute. I decided to post something sarcastic on Friendster (which was the IN thing back then), and I SMS him just to prove my point. At that point in time, I couldn’t forgive this friend of mine until he explained to my why he doesn’t like to socialize. It was a very personal reason, a reason that I am not supposed to write about it here to protect his privacy. I forgave him for his “no show” but more importantly I begged for forgiveness from him due to the way I acted to the situation. If I had known his reason, I might not be so harsh on him to begin with.

Let’s admit it - it’s human nature that we’ve hold some sort of grudge against someone. It might be over the little things or it might be over a major argument.

Yes, yes… we might think we are  right and we did not deserve to be treated in a the way that might have offended us. The only thing in our mind is to hurt that other person. No matter how much that person might have begged for forgiveness, our ego stand in the way by not allowing the forgiveness door to open.

Minutes, hours, days, weeks and months go by and we still can’t forgive that person that might have ‘hurt’ us…

Well guess what?  I always keep a mental note in my head that life is much better when we don’t hold any grudge against one another. Our friends might not be perfect and guess what? We’re not perfect as well. Nobody is.

I know for sure, based on several incidents in the past, Ramadan is a great month to forgive one another. Let any disputes, misunderstandings, or whatver GO! Just let it go.

Life’s too short to worry over the little things. Let’s forgive, forget (and I do mean it…let’s FORGET it) and move on!!!

“A friend is someone who is there for you when he/she’d rather be anywhere else” – Len Wein.

As today is the first Sunday in the month of August… it is officially Friendship Day! Although not as (in)famous as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Teacher’s Day, Father’s Day and Birthdays… it is still a day worth celebrating!

So I jotted a few things about friendship to commemorate this day apart from the usual “Friends Forever” type of thing, in no particular order. Also please feel free to add your own jotting on frienship in the comment box!!

1. Learn to forgive easily, if you want a long-term friendship
2. Keep it simple
3. Make sure you know each other’s ground rules, although rules are meant to be broken anyway
4. Avoid having expectations, just expect surprises
5. Be there for each other
6. Accept each other’s flaws
7. Random Hellos are better than “Can I ask you for a favor” type of text, especially if you have not contacted your friend for a while.
8. Communicate!
9. Never let a single bad incident ruin a friendship! Forget the bad days, and cherish the great moments together!
10. Everyone is busy, but a true friend will, sooner or later, make the effort

Happy Friendship Day, Folks!!!

I am at my best when:

• I am smiling
• I am positive and I can share the positive vibes with the people around me
• I can contribute something back to society
• I am clueless about doing something, yet unexpectedlyit  turns out to be a job well done
• I have a good and undisturbed sleep

I also asked my friends from Twitter and Facebook this same question and here are their answers:

Via Twitter [sic]:

@lotfiismail: when m not sleep deprived

@johnreydangilan: I am at my best when I am under pressure…

@FaraFauzi: Last minute work! When I’m under pressure and need to get things done ASAP, ill make sure its the BEST!

@niennessa: when I wake up in the morning after a real good uninterrupted sleep and / or a cool day.

@alibaizuri: Honestly, when i’m caught off guard

@FizaFalak: in the shower

@SheiAiman: One make decisions which creates one’s best moments.. With that, I don’t know if a single direct answer exist.

Via Facebook [sic]:

Kavita: wen im asleep

What about YOU… When are you at your best?

Image: Filomena Scalise / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Today’s NST Headline: Majority want UPSR, PMR scrapped but more views on exams sought.

Please correct me if I am wrong but kids nowadays are missing their childhood years (or should I say pre-teen-hood years) because they are too busy attending tuition in order to score well in yearly exams. In my humble opinion, I support the plan to scrap UPSR and PMR. Our education system should no longer be exam-oriented. Our education system needs to produce well-rounded individuals and can we achieve so by having an exam-oriented system? A system whereby students need to go through a year’s worth of material to score well in an exam?

 Of course, I have my own biasness because I wasn’t educated here in Malaysia and I have never sat for UPSR and PMR. I was educated in an International School, where it is not exam-oriented.

A couple of weeks ago, I watched Bernama TV and  they did a voxpop asking students what they think of the government’s proposal to do away with UPSR and PMR. Most of the students interviewed were not supportive of the idea and one person said something along the line of “I want my 7A!!”

Is this what our education system is all about? Obtaining the most number of As for UPSR, PMR and even SPM? Of course, someone might argue back and say, “Of course you need straight As! How can you apply for Sekolah Asrama penuh, scholarships, loans, etc?”

I am not making a point on which education system, local or international school, is better because I believe each has its own pros and cons. Where ever you go, education is still education. The method might be different, but it’s about spreading knowledge to the younger generation.

 Therefore, my knowledge of the local education system is limited to what I read in the newspapers and through the experiences of my friends.

What I can do is to share my personal experience as a student in an international school:

• The international school I attended was not exam-oriented (referring to Grade 6 – 12).
• Our grades were tabulated on a quarterly basis based on homework, tests, short quizzes, presentations and participation.
• Therefore, a lot of time are spent on making sure we do our homework, we do well in our tests and quizzes, we make sure our presentations are gempak and the more we talk and argue with our teachers, the better our participation mark.
• Semester grades were calculated based on the average of the previous two Quarters, and a semester test (if applicable).
• Report cards were personally given to parents on a dedicated day so that teachers are able to share the student’s performance with the parents.
• More importantly, there’s time to play after school.

One might argue that having an exam might reflect the student’s overall performance and to ‘throw out’ what he has learned over the past year. Even on the voxpop on Bernama TV, some of the students wanted an exam so that they know where they stand. Of course, that is a valid reason.

In my case, there are many other ways to measure a student’s performance. When it is exam-oriented, the students might merely memorize the facts, without really understanding what they are learning. Sure, they might need to go through a year’s worth of material in a single night for those that prefer doing last-minute studying, but what’s the point? In an international school, for instance, there’s a lot of emphasis on presentation and class participation so that the students really understand the subject.

Furthermore, this mentality of doing well in exams are taking so much personal time because these kids are expected to attend tuition after school. For some, this is followed by religious classes. Where is the time to play? Don’t tell me kids don’t play these days. When I was in my pre-teens, after school means 1) homework 2) play time 3) family time and 4) sleep. Quality time with the family is important especially when it is a norm today for both parents to be working. If parents are going back home late and students are stucked in some neighbour’s house with tuition, where’s the quality time?

At the end of the day, it is not easy to change an education system overnight. Look at the Science and Maths issue as a example. Should it be in BM or English? As stated by Education Minister Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, there will be a roundtable discussion before a decision is made.

Of course, such discussions will include important stakeholders such as parents and academicians, but perhaps students should also be part of the disucssion. Input from them is just as crucial as they are the ones that are going through the education system. The decisions that are being made today are for the benefits of Malaysia’s future generation.

Why produce straight As students, when we can produce well-rounded individuals. Kids should be kids. They should study hard, YES….but at the same time they need to play and enjoy their childhood. Along the way, they can be creative and acquire social skills, of which many are lacking nowadays.

Make sure it’s Malaysia Airlines (or AirAsia) and let it be a return ticket.

Today (27/6) I had to say goodbye to my friend Kavita. She is leaving Malaysia for good to take permanent residency in Australia. 

We’ve been friends since our first year at Monash University. We were both regular students with a dream of obtaining our Bachelor of Arts / Communications degree. We were part of a “gang” called KK Korner and in the morning, we would meet at this corner of Sunway U before attending our lectures and tutorials. She completed her degree in Australia while the majority of the gang stayed in Malaysia.

We were journalists for our campus magazine, MonGa. The first step towards realizing a bigger dream?

She came back in late 2008 and at that time, I was working as a journalist for ntv7 (it was just days before I resigned!!) At that time we were hanging out in Subang Parade and she told Feeza and myself, “Weiiii…. I do not think I am going to back to Malaysia due to my PR application. This is our last meet up.”

With Kavita in 2006 when we were still university students

Two weeks ago, I received a Facebook message saying that she is back in town for a short visit. A wonderful surprise? Most definitely.

We went back and forth trying to find a suitable time for all of us to meet and we managed to meet only once at Sunway Pyramid and just like the good old days, we kinda talked nonsense the whole night. I can’t mention what we talked about otherwise my “reputation” is at stake. LOL!

I know for sure that I am going to miss Kavita. This time it’s for REAL as she is DEFINITELY not coming back. There are many memories to hold on to, thinking about it just makes me want to laugh. We did so many stuff at Monash University Sunway. Remember the corner? Remember the last-minute panicking over an assignment? Remember the chit-chat we had at the library? Remember the body odour experience? I can just go on and on, but there are now memories.

“We’ve been friends for five years,” we all sighed at Sunway Pyramid recently.

Last merepek session with Kavita @ Sunway Pyramid

Kavita, you may have to fly away but I’m not going to ever let our friendship go away. The distance may separate us, but I’m still holding on to our bond. When I’m bored, I know I can think of something from the past that will put a smile on my face! Peace out, Kavita.

Dah, tak nak jiwang-jiwang sangat. Jom merepek on Yahoo Messenger!