Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Content-Aware Fill in Adobe Photoshop CS5

While I was watching the first video, I was thinking to myself, was this another april fool joke? Then it'd be mean. Really, really mean, for giving such a high hope to a photoshop amateur like me..huhu~


But i found out that it wasnt a hoax or something, it was the latest feature from the latest Adobe Photoshop CS5 - content-aware fill. Wow. 4 thumbs up, 2 hands down (is that possible)! Just when I thought that was brilliant enough,  then i found the following ....


PatchMatch: A Randomized Correspondence Algorithm for Structural Image Editing

Using one of my daughter's favorite phrase..."awesome, mama", then for me this is definitely

AWESOME!
AWESOME!
AWESOME! 

Too brilliant, it's not even funny. it's almost a miracle..as if you use magic wand..

"Behold! Fix this photo the way I want it, now!"

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

How to Write an Effective Conclusion

Tengah browse pasal peer review punya writing method, khas untuk encik suami yang tak habis2 bz sampai lupa isterinya nih dah tinggal berapa hari jer lagi... when i found this -->

Techniques for an Effective Conclusion, with Examples
When teaching students how to write a conclusion, try these techniques, complete with examples:
  • A lesson learned: I guess I should have listened to my Mom when she said, "don't smear blood on your legs and swim with sharks"
  • Action: As the shark came closer, I corralled the obese adolescent, shoved him in the predator's path, and swam like heck to safety!
  • Dialogue: The angry parent cornered me and yelled, "You killed my son." I responded, "no ma'am, that shark killed your son."
  • Emotion: The horrified parents looked on as the shark chewed their son's knee cartilage. I drove away, relieved that it wasn't me.
  • Drawstring: I glanced over and noticed Franklin had a smirk on his face. He had done the same thing during a shark attack in New Zealand. We have held a secret respect for each other ever since.
  • Surprise: I opened the newspaper and read "Mass murderer eaten by shark." I couldn't believe that 12-year-old was a mass murderer. It looks like I'm a hero.
  • Quotation: Remember, "You don't have to be faster than the shark; you just have to be faster than the person your swimming with."

Takutnya cikgu nih...bagi contoh shark pulak :P Tapi rasanya applicable jugak :D

Friday, February 26, 2010

Maulid Rasul and MSA 20th Annual Conference

The 20th Annual MSA (Muslim Students Association of the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg) Conference 2010 will be held on March 5th,6th & 7th. For more information, please click on the image to be directed to the UMMSA website. The venue is the Engineering Building of the University of Manitoba.

Aint we lucky that this time, that there would be 3 speakers  for the sessions:
1. Sheikh Abdur Raheem Green (London, England)
2. Sheikh Jamal Hammoud (Calgary, Canada)
3. Sheikh Ismael Mukhtar (Winnipeg, Canada)

We are very honored that finally Sheikh Abdur Raheem Green could make it for the day. The long-awaited event was postponed since the last few months due to his father's poor health condition. And it was worth the wait, in addition to his presence, there would be another two honored speakers from Canada as well, Sheikh Jamal Hammoud and Sheikh Ismael Mukhtar. And may Allah gives the best to every one of us.

And as for those who could arrange to come for the day, please join the MSA and other muslim brothers and sisters, since this event would only take place once a year. Childcare will be provided along the session as well as three heavy meals for each day/session :)

You can listen to Sheikh Abdurraheem Green amazing journey to Islam here:



His Short Biography:

Previous name: Anthony Green
POB: Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania.
Father: a colonial administrator in the then extant British Empire.
Mother: A devout Catholic believer
Early educations: Roman Catholic Monastic boarding school, Gilling Castle and then onto Ampleforth College.

Pesanan khidmat masyarakat :)  

Salam Maulid.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

KAUST -The Ultimate Art in the Public Realm

KAUST -The Ultimate Art in the Public Realm of a University. Do we need words when we have these pictures to ogle at?

1. The KAUST gateaway


2. The ‘Breakwater Beacon’ – a 60-metre-tall tower overlooking the Safaa harbour and the Red Sea.



3. KAUST Town Center


4. Conference Room

5. Pregrine, one of the world’s fastest supercomputers

6. Engineering science hall

7. North Office Research Lab

8. The Student Center

9. The Students :P

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) serve as a graduate-level research university, recently open in September 2009. These beautiful pieces of contemporary architectures were built on a 6.5 million sqf on a 9000 acres site along the Red Sea, and could accomodate up to 20,000 people once it is completed.

Gambar-gambar di atas tak termasuk facilities seperti kolam renang size olimpik, pelbagai jenis stadium dan halls, gardens, fountains etc..Khas untuk graduate studies aka master, phd and post-phd dalam bidang science dan technology sahaja, itupun kalau diorang sempat enjoy the view while doing their research la, kan? :P My hubby made me googled this. Err, abang nak wat double phd ker? Takper, ganbatte. Biar saya and the kids tolong enjoy the facilities.

Credits to: indesignlife, homehousedesign, KAUST etc. Please right click on the image for the pic credits

Monday, January 18, 2010

Semester Baru

So start 5 januari aritu university dah masuk sem baru. Kali nih banyak subjek n almost tetiap hari ada kelas, so dia tak mengajar apa2 sem nih.

Sem lepas ada subjek robotic jer yang ada exam, so dah kalau midterm, final, assignments semua full marks, dapatler A+.. Sini ada A+, so flat CGPA would be 4.5 instead of 4.0 flat macam kat mesia etc.. (Kat jerman terbalik pula, the best would be 1.0, paling teruk 5.0)

Walaupun saya rasa dia tanak saya letak pasal nih kat blog, tapi saya rasa benda2 macam nih sangat membuat saya semangat n boleh juga kasi inspiration kat budak-budak yang tak pandai bahasa orang putih, bahawa language memang penting, tapi bukanlah segala-galanya. Mungkin suatu hari our children ada yang macam dia, tak pandai bahasa, akan inspired dengan cerita ini. Yang penting ialah rajin, istiqamah (usaha berterusan) dan tak putus asa. Saya tanak elaborate, cuma yang kenal rapat atau yang berfikiran positif sahaja tau apa yang saya maksudkan.

Tapi bila dia dapat CGPA camtuh, sedikit sebanyak bagi pressure pulak kat saya, sebab ada satu subjek yang saya "tolong" mr z - sambung dari sem lepas. Sebabnya, subjek nih saya tak tau macamana penilaian pensyarah mr z tersebut. Dan sepanjang pengalaman saya, lecturer yang tak bagi "kijun" penilaian (macamana students akan diberi markah) selalunya akan bagi ikut student mana yang dia suka, atau standout dalam kelas.. which is sooo tak patut dan begitu bias. Harap-harap beliau tak macam tuh..huhu~

Untuk soalan pertama homework beliau,
Mr Z: Faham tak nih?
Me: Mmm...tak.

Mr Z: Macam ni, blablabla...
Me: Ok.
Mr Z: Boleh tulis kan?

Me: Boleh kut.
(Pastu dia buat draf sesiap untuk soalan first..legaa~ Alhamdulillah)

Untuk soalan kedua homework beliau,
Mr Z: Yang soalan nih boleh buat sendiri, kan?
Me: Errr....


Ehh, nih dah lepas tangan nih.. :P
Malam nih kena stay up..waa~ :((

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Studying Overseas (Undergraduate)

Well, this post might not last too long in my blog..since this was meant for my brother who suddenly has this dream of leaving Malaysia ("out of the blue"?) to study.

Master/ PhD studies
Ok. Let me get this straight. To study overseas is neither difficult nor it is easy. To continue your master or phd overseas might be much, much easier than to do undergraduate at the same place/university. The reason behind my rather bold statement is that, the requirements for the master or phd studies at overseas might be more or less, similar anywhere in the world - talking about entering a rather established university - not an unknown private college. Takder interview, takder entrance exam, takder exam essay. (While in some other ways, they are all difficult at certain points :P of course <-tambah sikit, nanti orang salah paham. Maksudnya phd n master nih kat mana-mana pun susah, ok? Bukan difficult, tapi tough :P)
=========================================
Undergraduate Studies

Whilst, as for the undergraduate studies, there are few criterias, entrance examinations, interviews and language tests that you must take.

But the basic things you might need to know are:
1. The universities are recognized by JPA and LAN
You can check via phone to JPA or visit them in Putrajaya

2. The course in the university is recognized by JPA and LAN
People misunderstood that once the university is recognized by the government, so do all the courses offered (automatically). Sometimes, this isnt always true.

3. The course is applicable in Malaysia.
For example, law students should know that Malaysia only allows the practice of laws, from certain country. And some courses offered might not offer that much work opportunity once u've graduated, if u intend (or not sure whether) to serve the government or to come back working in Malaysia one day.

4. Scholarship -
The house rental in Kantou province, Japan for bachelor apartment might cost u around Yen37000 or RM1200+-, per month. While in Canada, the same apartment would cost CAD$700 (RM2100 ++)... The electricity bills etc, might cost you another RM300 to RM1000 per month (depend on the weather and lifestyle etc).
Unless you are a Paris Hilton or the child of some business tycoons, APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP. Application fee that you have to pay while still living in Malaysia alone (including English tests, medical examinations etc) would cost more that RM1000.


===============================

Criteria to do undergraduate overseas.

1. Eat your Ego.
You should be ready to be humiliated and feel embarrassed and not worthy like a scum on an old well. Even if you were the best student in your high school, the first year might not guarantee you to be among the half top ranked students. You might even failed few subjects. Nobody would think you're capable of answering any questions that they might have. You might feel very, very stupid. I've seen a lot of those who were actually gifted and were cream of the cream, crumbled in this situation. This wasnt their fault. Nobody told them (us) that we might be left out since
- the syllabus of their high school are very much high,
- and there's also language barrier to overcome, and
- the thinking method should be change as well. You might want to know both the "top-to-down" or "bottom-up" study method.

If youre a person whose pride is everything (tak boleh nak merendah diri, cepat melenting etc), then forget your intention of furthering study overseas.

2. Ability to Blend In
Things became dangerous if you are either of these
a) - someone who always think that 'mat saleh' or orang jepun are the best
b) - someone who always think you and ur country are the best, menyampah betul mat saleh busuk ni

a) -->
You might not be able to blend with the culture, but u would ended up being a worshipper, mat saleh celup at the end of the day, a person without real identity

b) -->
you might not be able to blend with the culture, due to the inability to accept their ways and systems. Banyak benda yang rugi tak dapat nak belajar nanti

**The best state-of-mind that u should have before u decided to continue your study to a university in foreign land are that, these foreign people have their own laws, education systems and unique cultures. Some might awe us while certain things might annoy us. Bear in mind, mereka juga manusia, kadang2 they do things better than us, kadang-kadang mereka nih buat benda macam orang tak betul, tak boleh pakai langsung. So ambil yang terbaik.

3. Dont give up
There will be very harsh ups and downs in your life. Take it easy. Kalau masalah biasa (kat Malaysia atau kat mana-mana) pun tak boleh hadapi, macamana nak hadapi masalah ALONE kat oversea. Most of the time, walaupun ada orang Malaysia juga, you would still be alone in facing your problems. Everyone have theirs already. Setakat tolong sikit-sikit bolehla.

4. Istiqamah
Istiqamah or consistent dalam study, tak score (or fail) pun takper. Teruskan istiqamah.
Kat oversea, once kita tak study satu semester, jangan harap nak lulus. No, no. Kalau lulus pun takat atas leher. Kat Malaysia lainla, orang dah bagi lulus ada hati nak mintak naik GPA. Memang tak malu.. Kat oversea takder kuota lecturer nak failkan berapa orang pun, tak macam Malaysia.

So nak tau istiqamah, senang jer... Tengok cara kita solat, istiqamah tak? :P

5. Hardwork
You might need to triple ur works just to pass certain subjects, compared to the locals there.

==========================

So that's it. For my brother who asked me whether he qualified to study overseas or not, the answer is no and yes.
No, because you are not sure and you have to ask other person to think whether u are qualified or not.. You should know urself better than anyone else.

Yes, if you have all the criterias that Ive just mentioned then Insya-Allah. Allah will be with you if you want to be with Him. Show Him.

Honestly, in some ways, I think studying at local IPTA are way much better than studying at anywhere else (oversea), more life, more friends, more fun. Even some lecturers and students here exclaimed
"Ehh, why did u do phd here? I want to go to Malaysia to study one day. Malaysia is way better than here"
"I want to work in Malaysia, is there any vacancy in ur university?" ...etc

Hujan batu di negeri sendiri :)
Sometimes it's just a matter of perception. Unless you know why you "have" to study overseas, then you are ok to go.

==========================

Homepage berguna untuk reference:->
1. Malaysia Scholarship

2. Semakan akreditasi kos dan universiti

Ada juga beberapa scholar offered by many parties, MOSTI, NSF, Felda, Yayasan, NST, BNM, Chevening etc. Pandai2 la cari dan merapatkan diri dengan Finance Dept :)
==========================

Saya cuma berkongsi sedikit sebanyak yang saya tahu, so dipersilakan kalau ada nak tambah tolak.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

National Science Fellowship

Ada berita best! ---->

-Qualified Malaysian citizens are invited to apply for the National Science Fellowship (NSF) Research Scholarship under the auspices of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) to attend full time study on research basis at Master's and Doctorate levels in local and overseas institutions of higher learning.
-The NSF scholarships cover monthly allowances, tuition fees and examination fees.
-Beginning 2009, NSF scholarships will be
open throughout the year.
-All applications will be processed on the last day of the month of March, June, September and November.


Saya dah highlightkan part2 yang best...
1. Maksudnya dah ada peruntukan la tu, sebab opened untuk Master dan Doctorate
2. Local and overseas - dulu untuk local sahaja! Yummy.
3. Open throughout the year - Oh my! Dolu2 setahun sekali jer interview, kan?

Rasa macam nak try!! NSF scholarship punya competition memang tough, tapi why not give a shot :P Maklumat lanjut tengok -> sini

Ok, before umur 35tahun untuk phd...sempat ker nih? Kalau umur 35 tahun tapi kelihatan muda seperti 25 tahun, boleh tak?

Gedegang! (Bunyi kepala kena ketuk)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Sambung PhD?

"I've got mail!"
Hari ini baru dapat email, dari mrs H yang akan melanjutkan pelajaran ke peringkat phd dalam Undang2. Alhamdulillah. dan tahniah, semoga semuanya berjalan lancar, murah rezki, sihat selalu di sana..Sudi juga dia beremail dalam kesibukannya buat persiapan untuk berangkat ke Sidney lusa.

Sorang demi sorang dah berangkat untuk pengajian kedoktoran dalam bidang masing2.. diqma, hidayah, kak nani, sarah, aina...mmm, macam ramai lagi jer

And how about me? Although my other half sangat reluctant nak membenarkan saya kerja, dia sangat menggalakkan isterinya ini sambung belajar. Macamana tuh? Hmmm..pening. Ok, sapa nak sponsor kalau tak kerja?:D..

Sebelum ni, tak pernah bermimpi nak sambung dalam phd. Rasa macam tak mampu...Dan semakin bertangguh, semakin tebal rasa ketakmampuan itu
- tak mampu dari segi tiada sponsor yg sudi bagi tak perlu ikat/ bond (hehe, kecuali domestic)
- tak mampu dari segi kemampuan minda nak absorb semua ilmu dalam masa yang singkat, tak macam muda-muda dulu
- tak mampu nak tahan berjaga sepanjang malam, tanpa tidur 2,3 hari
- tak mampu nak menahan stress, due date conferences and presentation,
- tak mampu nak menahan sakit otak kalau data tak dapat seperti yang dharapkan, atau tak dapat langsung!
- tak mampu nk menahan tension kalau programme basi tak jalan
- tak mampu nak menahan marah kalau tak cukup peralatan
- tak mampu menahan tekanan dari kiri dan kanan

Alasann...
Berapa banyak pun boleh bagi.
Insya-Allah, saya akan buat. Sooner or later, kalau Dia izinkan.

lady in hijab

Dr. mama...cool eh? :D

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Pelajar Muda vs Pelajar Tua

Pelajar Muda.

My hubby told me about the difficulty he has in dealing with certain young students of his, who have no or very limited knowledge in the vital, basic subjects such as Math, Add Math, and Physic. And these are Mechanical Engineering students!

Few days ago, he returned the test paper (which was held in the previous week) to the students. The results were awesomely awful. The whole class failed in the test except for this one student who passed with merely 41 marks. (And passing mark in Japan is 60, lucky him)

Thus,he announced to the class

Him: In a football game, if a team failed to perform in an important game, the coach would normally resign on his own will. Thus, I gladly announce my resignation. And start from next week onwards, you would be meeting a new lecturer.


..
..
..
And then there was this drop dead silence situation!...
The students were all speechless and were looking at him with this guilty looks, and with 'sorry, really sorry' written all over their faces.

Him: I was just kidding. I would continue my phd soon thus i need to reduce some of my workload and distribute some of my classes to the other lecturer.

And then there were sighs of relief everywhere, and few students exclaimed:

Student A: It wasnt the coach, but it was the players who did not train well.
Student B: Our striker was good for nothing,kept scoring our own goal.
Student C: Midfielder was much more useless and unreliable..
Blablabla..


Hehe, so officially, he is less busy by 4hours. Which means, instead of being extremenly busy the whole week, he would just be very, very busy. Huh~

Pelajar Tua

He has been offered to teach one JV programme since few semesters ago but everytime, he kept turning down the offer, before he finally surrenders to the persistent wheedle... of his wife. Ngehehe...

To teach a group of people age between 30 to 50++ is quite a painstaking task. They were all very well mannered, of coz, but to return to school after 20 yrs plus plus?

Situation 1:
After a 3, 4hours lecture
Him: Ok, ada apa-apa yang tak faham? Ada soalan?
Them: Err... buat masa ni belum ada soalan lagi... rasanya.


Situation 2:
Him: Pernah tengok tak equation nih? Dulu2 waktu sekolah menengah ada kan?
v = u + at?
Them: Mmmmm... macam~mm.. pernaa~ah tee~ngok?!


Hehe, when mr hubby told me this , i laughed since it reminds me of one episode from bujang lapuk..
"alif, ba, ta, sa... lepas tu tak tau, tak sempat belajar cikgu dah mati..Innalillah"

BUT,
whatever the reasons they might have behind the motivation to return to school after few decades, they are all very determined and have made a huge sacrifice by agreeing to do so. Some came all the way from Terengganu to KL, just for one day lesson.This determination is nearly nowhere to be seen within the younger ones. And why is that?

And there is still one thing that keeps me wonder...
- What is this with the surge into engineering (in Malaysia) anyway?

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Watashi

Watashi?



Sono 1:
The word "watashi" refers to "I" or "me".. which I thought is somehow familiar to many, especially those anime/jdorama lovers
Descriptions: Can be used by anyone at any occasions, formal or not

However, do you know that there were a lot more words that we can used instead of "watashi"

Sono 2:
Boku..
Description: Means me, used by men/boys.
Example: Shin chan and L (in Death Note anime) used "boku"



Sono 3:
Ore..
(sounds like Oreo, minus the final 'o')
Description: Also refers to "I" or "me", but with a more masculine image.It differs to boku (see above) since ore has a more masculine and wilder image compared to boku. Boku has a more polite/softer impression.
Example: Naruto uses "ore".


Sono 4:
Watakushi
Descriptions: A very polite form of watashi, normally used by women from high ranked society/family.


Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Man Jadda Wa Jada

Marking dah habis untuk semua seksyen, well, actually dua seksyen saja.
Seksyen 7, ada 30 students
Seksyen 4, merupakan campuran pelbagai seksyen (panjang ceritanya). ada 59 students (asalnya 79 students tau!)

Predictably, kebanyakan students yang dapat A or A+ adalah student yang konsisten dari awal.
Semalam saya cuba check kertas pelajar, balik dari KL sampai2 jer di umah kt Parit raja tercinta nih, terus bukak laptop. Sampai lepas subuh! Punyalah check berkali2, cuba utk tidak strict sangat! Tetapi, sedih rasanya bila ada students yang dapat markah teruk. Teringat muka sorang2...Sebak ada geram pun ada...macam2 fikir.. klu ikutkan betapa senangnya subjek ni berbanding matapelajaran engineering lain, supposenya diorg bleh score B or B+ ke atas... Tetapi ruang utk tambah markah student sangat tiada, sebab pemarkahan saya sangat detail dan teliti. Up to each 1 mark! Just trying to be fair...
Mungkin sbb sy masih belum dapat melupakan perasaan sebagai seorang students dulu...jadi saya terfikir klu2 saya yg tak dapat memberi ilmu yang secukupnya

Tetapi bak kata seseorang, "kalau student yang malas tuh, tak payah kesian2. Student nih ada yang nampak kat depan kita jer rajin.."
Hubby saya plak memang takut klu isterinya nih dibuli oleh students.. hehe, dun worry. Looks can be deceiving :)

Doa terakhir saya untuk students, klu benarlah mereka rajin tetapi markah UMJ1312 nih tak memberangsangkan, bersebab atau tidak, saya doakan kejayaan mereka utk 'subjek' yang lebih 'penting'...

من جد وجد ومن زرع حصد
"Man Jadda Wa Jada wa Man Zaro3a Hasoda"
Siapa yang berusaha, dialah yang mendapat hasilnya

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

My English Teachers

Being born in a small and quite an isolated kampong, kesedaran untuk berbahasa Inggeris di kalangan penduduk kampung di situ sangat2 tiada. Hmm.. boleh dikatakan kesedaran utk menyekolahkan anak pun masih tidak begitu jelas. The nearest school was 9,10 kms away. Well, we're talking about a kampong with no electricity supply or tarred road here, and that was back in the early 80s. Orang kampung waktu tu lebih gemar anak lelakinya tolong mengangkut baja di sawah atau anak perempuannya belajar memasak di dapur. So, my father have made a brilliant decision by moving to another place where education and school can be accessed properly.

Kehidupan bertambah baik selepas itu. Bagaimanapun, untuk membeli sebuah buku cerita bukanlah sesuatu yang mudah bagi orang seperti kami. It was considered a luxury to be able to buy a story book back then. Tetapi ayah akan tetap membelikan saya sebuah buku bahasa Inggeris dan setiap kali pulang dari bekerja, he would read the book for me. But then, he didnt feed me with the fish though. He had always asked me to look for the meaning of few words in the dictionary (not all) and would kept the story hanging by reading one page for one day. Only one page! Dahla satu page tu separuhnya adalah gambar semata-mata. Being a curious cat, lama-kelamaan saya sudah cekap membuka kamus sendiri. Kebiasaannya, ayah akan menggariskan beberapa patah perkataan pada setiap muka surat, yang bermaksud, setiap kali sebelum dia mula membacakan saya cerita pada muka surat tersebut, saya harus terlebih dahulu mendapatkan maksud perkataan-perkataan tersebut terlebih dahulu.
So, the next few days, saya dah cari siap2 maksud perkataan dan sebagai bonusnya, ayah akan menambahkan bilangan muka surat yang dibacakan setiap hari.
Later, he bought me more and more books with a better dictionary. He had to put up with my speed but since he was getting busier, saya mula beralih arah dengan menconteng buku2 rujukan bahasa Inggeris sepupu2 dan mak sedara. At 8 yrs old..I was 'helping' my cousins and aunts with their 1322 already! How do I know...hehe..

When I was in Standard 3, our English teacher,Mr AHK, was the well known scout teacher. Dia telah menerapkan unsur2 'tentera' dalam pengajarannya. Kalau ada maksud bahasa Inggeris yg ditanyakan, kami harus menjawab dengan cepat or else, semua orang akan bangun berdiri dan dia akan menyoal one by one, on the meaning of certain words. Tak boleh jawab? Guys- tarik sideburn. Girls- 'pulas' tengah belakang...Most of the time, since I got all the answers correct, saya akan ditauliahkan utk tarik sideburn atau pinch bebudak kat belakang. Waktu tu habisla sapa yang wat musuh dengan saya! hahaha...*evil* As for my friends, esp the boys, kadang tak sempat denda lagi dah pretend sakit..Huhu, tak real langsung. Pastu sekali saya tak dapat jawab soalan Mr AHK...hahaha, i thought he'd show some mercy kat his 'fav student' (*uweek, sila muntah) nih...takdernyerrrr... he pinched me at the back sampai terangkat kaki...menitis tau air mata....rasa cam tanak kawan dah..

Pastu darjah 6, cikgu Suhaily, our English teacher, was the one who encouraged me to actually read the dictionary. And that was one brilliant idea.

Form 1 to 3...disaster disaster. This English teacher, Mr Ong, got me and my friend 'ketuk-ketampi' for 200 times! No kidding! Malu dowh...Maluu satu hal, habis jer ketuk ketampi, we werent able to walk! Sewiously. Since it was the last period of the day, kedua2 kami tak dapat nak pegi makan..camner nak pegi, berdiri pun tak mampu!
And that punishment was for 'not buying' newspaper...Well, we had to buy newspaper everyday! That costed fortune for us as students, dan dahla kami stay asrama, kat mana nak g beli paper? Crazy! Selalunya my friend borrowed from the teacher's room, tapi hari tu the vendor was a bit late...
Personally, I think Mr Ong just loved to punish people. And me myself, I could never find how the ideas of reading newspaper can help yor English! The newspapers are full of unrelated jargons and nonsense slanga...Books are much better! Huhu... if I can turn back the time, I would've cheated the squatting...My English didnt improve much during that period. We're more into exam oriented studies. What a waste!

Then came Mrs Rahanim. Graduated from the Uk, she's got the pronunciation and the personality. She tried to get us to go for the 1119 for the SPM but we were so afraid to be the pioneer. I guessed she was a bit frustated...but then she persuaded us to sit for the exam, not for SPM...bolehla... huhu, credit jer.
We could've done better if she came earlier...gantikan that Mr Ong...oh no, other than the fact that he made me do the 200 ketuk-ketampi, he was good to me. Ungrateful me...

Argghhh...

English kat uni?
Huhu..tak membantu langsung! I was the only one in my class, dapat A, score 96 or 98%! The gap was like...over 20 marks? Biar betul.. Exam English kat uni, paling susah pun, setakat buat ayat "I go to school everyday..." dan translate ayat... Yang bestnya waktu translate ayat tu, it wasnt an English translation for me, but rather a Japanese examination, since I had to answer all in Japanese! Kahaha...Btw,rasanya takder budak Malaysia yang tak dapat A utk subjek English (di Jepun)..

Balik Mesia semula, I lost half of my English vocab and one third of my Malay vocab.
Waktu kat tempat kija, tersekat2 and tersasul2 nak sebut satu2 perkataan...lupa arr.. Kengkadang tu kawan2 kt office gelak2 jer tengok kepelikan my language...Pernah during my lunch time, I've tried to order something in the cafe..

Me: Pakcik, nak ais kosong satu.
Pakcik: Ok
Me: Tapi tanak ais!
Pakcik: Bolehh..
Me: Pastu saya nak suam sikit...sikiiiiittt jer
Pakcik:....
Me: Kiranya macam tak panas langsung
Kawan2 dah start gelak dah...
Kengkawan: Tu air kosong la tuh..
Me: Owh..

Kt UIA, I've met few friends yang English diorang memang superb. Flawless! Ada yang macam kamus bergerak lagi. And my roommate, was a world debater! They were my teachers. Special thanks to R, the only human at that time yang faham my Malay without having them retranslated...Kadang2 tak perlu habiskan ayat pun dia dah faham... (We kinda concluded that Japanese grammar was a bit similar to Sarawak's...hehe, suka2 hati jerr)

This entry is meant as a tribute to my English teachers, directly or indirectly. Though my English is far from perfect, I am not giving up. And I would not. Learning English is neither easy nor difficult. All you need is a good teacher and some good books. I am blessed, my father was my best teacher!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Sukidesu!



Spelling: Sukidesu
Pronunciation: Skides! Pronunced lightly and quickly(Ski- there's)
How to use: ~ ga sukidesu (pronunciation: gak ski-there's), ga is a particle
Meaning: Like, love (verb) (BM: Sayang/suka)



Antonym: Kiraidesu Pronunced as "key-rai-des"
How to use: ~ ga kiraidesu (Same as if you use "sukidesu")

These were the few words I've taught my students during my last class. The first word is quite well known, and widely used in tv japanese dorama or animes. There is actually another word for love- Aishiteru or Aishiteimasu. Compared to 'sukides', the word Aishiteimasu itself contains a very heavy and deep meaning, and is an affectionate word. This might be the reason why 'sukidesu' is used more frequently compared to the latter, somehow comparable to the the word 'suka/sayang' while the latter might refers to 'cinta'. We are more likely to say "Saya suka/sayang dia" in many occasions compared to "Saya cinta dia."

For example:


Gohan ga sukidesu. (Go-hunk gak ski-there's)
Translation: (Saya) suka nasi.


Sakana ga sukidesu. (Sar-car-naa gak ski-there's)


Ringo ga sukidesu. (Ring-go gak ski-there's)


Japanese tends to drop the word "Watashi", or I, in the sentences. Japanese language is very easy to say, you dont have to say "I like to eat nasi/rice." Instead, saying "Like/love nasi" or "gohan ga sukidesu" is adequate and grammartically correct.

By the way, to say that you love someone, you can simply say:
"Anata ga sukidesu" --> I like/love you (Saya sayang awak)...
where, "anata" refers to "you"
or
"haha ga sukidesu" or --> I like/love mother (Saya sayang mak)

However, bear in mind that the more proper way to say that you love someone is by adding the word "no koto" after that person's names/referral names.
For example:
"Anatano koto ga sukidesu." (I like/love you)



"Anatano koto ga dai sukidesu." (I really like/love you)

Friday, October 24, 2008

Selected!

Persembahan kami tempoh hari rupa-rupanya menarik minat beberapa VIP malam tu. Last Monday, Halil sensei told me to get the 'tankou bushi', the traditional dance group to prepare for the next big event. Well, ingatkan tu persembahan biasa-biasa kat UTHM PBMA(Pesta Minggu Bahasa Asing) saja...rupa-rupanya, kumpulan Tankou Bushi kami telah terpilih untuk mewakili UTHM ke peringkat kebangsaan. Detailnya seperti berikut:

"International Cultural Evening 2008."
Date: 1 November 2008
Venue: Impiana Banquet Hall, Impiana KLCC Hotel & Spa, KL

Butir-butir lanjut tatau lagi...
Mmm...but this is really something.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Khalas!

Khalas!
Finish!
Today was the last day for me teaching Japanese. I think Ive carried out my amanah the best that I could. Every class, there would be fukushuu(revision) and renshuu (latihan). So, Ive done my best to make them understand the Japanese lesson. Now, it's up to them, boleh jawab ker tak.

After class, there was this student datang minta maaf, cam biasala, klu buat salah ker sebagainya. Tak kisahla, being a teacher, Ive tried my best not to dislike particular students or fond the others. Just like any other teacher. Tapi yang kelakarnya bila dia cakap, "Saya minta maafla kalau saya menyampah tengok sensei ker"
There, I was taken aback, but half laughing. During my student's days, I know how we would b*tch about some teachers, or make fun of the others, behind them. Now, it's my turn...hihi.
I wasnt angry coz I'd never been emotionally attached to any students...ihihi, but I was thinking... "Budak nih pernah cakap something ker about me, behind my back." Kelakarnya, if I was him, I wouldnt say that. If I b*tch something about my teacher, most of the time, it was for fun :P (Jahat kan?) Seumur hidup saya, there were only one teacher (lecturer) that I hated. Itupun sebab bagi saya dia tak amanah, tak datang kelas, 4 kali jer satu semester. Zalim pula tu. Bila bagi test, dia bagi bab yang tak belajar lagi, dia failkan 9orang satu semester tu (out of tak sampai 25 orang). Yang lulus midterm pun sebab meniru! Seminar presentation tak attend. Pastu he lectured me for half an hour about the importance of not to "copy and paste" anything for my assignment, because it's not good if I continue that habit after I graduate/work later, without even ask why did I came to see him, properly. When I told him I was a master student, baru dia tanya, "Eh, which assignment? What course did you say?"

Thus, yang penting for me, saya tanak jadi tak amanah cam lecturer tu. I cursed him all my life, he was being untrusted, dhalim, and biased.
While some of the students send me cards and nice, sweet messages etc, the other might not like me. So I simply told him "Well, saya pun student juga dulu, ada mood. Tak kisahla, awak takder salah apapun, tak ada sesiapa pun yang ada salah dengan saya."
Khalas!

I wanna get some rest. Minggu nih tiap malam cuma tido beberapa jam. Malam kelmarin dulu, tilam basah. Aisyah tuang susu, so terpaksa tido atas toto kt bilik my house assistant. Dahla kena stayed up check format thesis yg tetiba 'lari'. Malam kedua pun tido bilik assistant, pastu Aisyah nangis2, tak sihat. Kena ampu sebab dia tak boleh bernafas (selsema) infected dari assistant :D. My hubby was very2 helpful. Dipangkunya Aisyah more than one hour! Memang I can rely on him kalau waktu2 camtu. Malam seterusnya Aisyah nangis tak boleh tido, n demam. Pastu I was preparing slide, to make sure I've covered semua yang berkenaan. Semalam... Preparing some stuff n masak2. Esok ada jamuan PA, diorg datang nnti kut, marinate and siang2 barang. Malamnya PA nyer bbq. Minggu depan, silap2 kena g UIA amik sign.

Almost forgot, pagi sok kul 10, ada kelas for seksyen7. Ingat nak email latihan jer suh diorang buat sendiri, but instead, they requested for class. Which is very good and lagi senang nak pantau.

Huhu....
I wasnt that busy but the schedule is quite 'packed' these few days.
Rasa macam nak rehat...nak pegi...



Sabah bah!

Ermergency note:
My supervisor called me just few seconds ago.
SV: Z, do you want your master degree or not?!
Z: Yes, sure...
SV: Then why didnt you send me the thesis yet
Z: Im waiting for the formatting, is being checked by a sister now. Insya'Allah by next week
SV: Hurry up then. And what about the article?
Z: Err...
SV: Just copy from your thesis, the simulations, results, discussions..
Z: Err...
SV: Okay, I want you to bring me the article next week. Along with the thesis. ok?
Z: Ok.

Huhuhuh...Kena wat journal paper lagi....vunci vunciiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Japanese Teacher

Bila dapat kija jadik cikgu bahasa Jepun nih, I cant help but feeling strangely happy.. Since dapat melepaskan diri dari kebuhsanan + being 'nearer' to Japanese Language again... So I told everybody about that job offer...

Me: Kak* dah dapat keja... jadi cikgu Jepun.
Adik no 3: Hahaha... Sapa nak dengar?

Me: Cik dah dapat keja cikgu Jepun tuh..
Ayah: Ooo..

Me: La ni saya jadi cikgu bahasa Jepun.
Sepupus/ mak sedaras: Awat tak mintak pensyarah?

Me: Kak* jadi cikgu Jepun kat UTHM..
Adik no 2: Gaji berapa?

Me: Currently, I am teaching Japanese to UTHM students.
Supervisor: What? So you gonna leave all this engineering behind? No, no! You should continue to PhD...


Waktu viva...
Dean: What are you doing now?
Me: Well, Im teaching.... (tengok muka internal, external, dean, supervisor masing2, tak sampai hati nak teruskan cakap 'Japanese')... Im teachin in UTHM now...
Dean: Good, I have friends in UTHM. That's not a bad university.
Supervisor: You should continue to PhD
External: Are you?
Me: Well... err..I'Allah...
External/dean/internal: Where and when? Do you have anything ...blabla
Me: I'Allah, my husband would continue his phd in Canada, so I would find if there is an opportunity for me to further my studies as well..
(Dalam hati rasa nak nangis, tuh kira tipu ker tuh)
External: So, are you going to continue doing research in this area?
Me: I'Allah, I would continue in this area, and specifically, Digital Speech Processing.
Them: Angguk puas hati
(Dalam hati... rasa cam nak menjerit...saya tanak kija! tanak kija! saya cuma nak jadi cikgu bahasa! Itu saja)

Huhu...

Monday, October 13, 2008

Para-para vs Tankou Bushi


Getting prepared.


Priceless... 'Obi' buat sendiri nih :)


Modern dance--> The determined Para-para group :)


Modern dance--> Me with the girls


Modern dance--> Me with the boys (See how they towered over me)


Traditional dance--> The ganbatta Tankou Bushi group :)


Our emcees... thumbs up for the Japanese-like voices/pronunciations



-------------------AFTERMATH :D--------------------------

Selepas persembahan...





Our kimono girls memang ramai peminat..berkelip2 flash since b4 persembahan


Dengan traditional dance and fashion show groups



Their show (Sorry for the low video quality)



Dalam video ni tak dapat lak nak capture endingnya waktu ramai2 kuar nari and ucap "arigatoui gozaimasu".
Hopefully, diorang akan tunjuk video yg full nnti..

Pas habis persembahan, para-para group boys cakap
"Sensei, tak boleh concentrate wo.."
"Diorang panggil nama saya, jerit-jerit"
"Bersiul-siul...Maluu ooo"

Kehehe...Okeyla tu :P

How do I rate their performance?
Given that we have only one week to practice, I would say that they did very, very, very well. The show wasnt something that will shake the stage, but I would rather say, their performance was simple and sweet, and a very unique way to introduce Japanese culture (now and then), through dances and fashion show.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The not-so-intelligent Gates

Windows can be really annoying from times to times. While we can have a transparent and total control over our PC/system through Linux platform, Windows ni memang selalu pandai2 sendiri. Latest, it performed sort of disk scan on my memory stick. Worst, I could only find one bootex file inside.I lost almost 1GB of important files and pictures!
Though I've been really careful with netsurfing and downloading anything from the net and that my lappy has been virus-worm-adware-malware-free for more than a year (wow!), thumbdrives are another 'powerfool' resources of transversing those malicous contents. Tensennerr...
Thus,Ive been trying to find out whether this was caused by some sort of viruses or just caused by the not-so-intelligent Gates' windows' unnecessary actions. Did some research on the net...

1. Problem: Unable to read memory stick memory + only bootex file available
2. Solution: Bootex file is a log file, which means Windows has performed some scan on the memory stick. Go to:
http://www.sonydigital-link.com/memstick/downloads/downloads_ms.aspx?l=en&f=MS_Rescue
and login to access and recover data in memory stick again
3. File retrieved, but then all file extensions(MPEG, JPG, MOV) are 'suka-suka hati' converted to .CHK
4. Solution: Downloaded UnCHK (by Eric Phelps), Run and performed reconversion into the correct extensions/ type file
...

Done!
I'll upload the photos later, my students' pics ma..on 'that' night

Moral of the story:
1.Backup file cepat2,
2.Jangan sesekali benarkan Gates scan our computer again

***satu lagi cara, paling cepat dan pantas, ialah dengan menukarkan semula .chk itu kepada extension yg sebetulnya. Contohnya, jika fail asal itu adalah gambar (jpeg) tapi telah ditukar kepada "gambar1.chk".... so, tukar shj kepada "gambar1.jpeg"

klu fail asal adalah word document (.doc), tukarkan .chk tu kepada .doc...
contoh: dokumen1.chk ---> tukar kepada dokumen1.doc

terus boleh guna seperti sediakala, senang kan?

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Sneak Preview





Still practicing...
though we were facing few problems here and there, they were sporting enough to give all out.
----------------
Tankou bushi:
Tsuki ga deta deta
Tsuki ga deta, a yoi yoi
Miike Tankō no ue ni deta
Anmari entotsu ga takai no de
Sazoya otsukisan kemutakaro
Sa no yoi yoi

Rough Translation:

The moon, has come out,
Oh, the moon is out, heave ho (kakegoe)
Over Miike Coal Mine hath the moon come out.
The chimney is so high,
I wonder if the moon chokes on the smoke...
Heave ho!

Malam bahasa: The Selected?

Sebenarnya at the end, ada 8 kumpulan semuanya utk dipilih.

Nama kumpulan:
---------------------------------------------
Melewar Clan (Mohamad Asyraf)
Kump. Gaban (Shahril Effendi)
All for One (Nurul Farehah)
Kiseki (Lee Te Hsiang)
Tokyo Boyz (Mohd Afiq Aizudin)
Kawaii Group (Wan Nur Zawahir)
Mare-shia Jin (Mohammad Ramzui)
Fantasy (Teo Ting Fang)


Kumpulan melewar --> Lakonan mengenai pelancong Jepun yang datang ke Malaysia dan ditunjukkan tempat2 menarik

Kump. Gaban --> Lakonan lucu mengenai pelancong Malaysia yang ke Jepun, mereka kurang fasih berbahasa Jepun dan tersesat masuk ke disko haram. Sangat impressive especially the guys yg jadi wife sanggup pakai rambut palsu tuh

All for One --> Mempersembahkan lakonan yang cukup comel, budak cute yang nakkan hadiah birthday 'remote control car' tapi tak diizinkan. So make a wish upon a bamboo tree. Wish granted and the girl was happy before the car turned out of control

Kiseki --> Adapted the 'Para-para sakura' the HK movie. Ada lakonan n pertandingan tarian antara groups girls and boys..

Tokyo boyz --> Yakuza stories...mmm, lakonan ok la tapi dialognya tak fahamla... And later was informed that, waktu diorg wat translation tu, kanji banyak sgt dan diorg skip all the parts yg ada kanji.. ptutla... huhu~

Kawaii group --> Came full prepared with yukata dan baju2 4 musim. Memang kawaii.

Mareshia Jin --> Lakonan tentang kesombongan askar2 Jepun di Tanah Melayu. Sebenarnya idea cukup bagus utk diketengahkan dan sangat creative, but then preparation and time is obviously lacking...

Fantasy --> I like! Well prepared dengan sakura chiru, water sprinkler jadi hujan etc etc... The best preformance, I think...


So whom am I gonna select? Pening jugak sebenarnya, which is a good sign. Since this refers to the fact that I have a lot of choices.
There were 3 groups I were going to select, but then there were limitation of number of student allowed on stages.
OK!
I think I would leave out the acting part, since acting requires a whole bunch of good actors in play, kalau setakat sorang dua jer yang can act well,memang performance tu akan turn out to be 'syok sendiri'...
Minnasan yang tak terpilih tu bukan tak bagus though, but ... since Im the one who would be watching them in the malam bahasa, thus I am the only one, among us, whom still possess the so called 'the-outsider-eyes'.
 

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