Kaleidoscope Of Life

George Herbert is a poet known to write poems in the shape of the subject matter of his poems...such as the structure and shape of the poem "The Altar" is in the shape of an altar and this poem, The Pulley is in the shape of a pulley. Very interesting. *unfortunately no matter how i tried, i can't seem to post this poem here in its original arrangement...so it doesn't really look like a pulley here...*sigh*

When God at first made man,
Having a glasse of blessings standing by;
Let us (said he) poure on him all we can:
Let the worlds riches, which dispersed lie,
Contract into a span.

So strength first made a way;
Then beautie flow’d, then wisdome, honour, pleasure:
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that alone of all his treasure
Rest in the bottome lay.

For if I should (said he)
Bestow this jewell also on my creature,
He would adore my gifts in stead of me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature:
So both should losers be.

Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlesnesse:
Let him be rich and wearie, that at least,
If goodnesse leade him not, yet wearinesse
May tosse him to my breast.

Right so this time around i'm tagged by Gee, (dush dush)...so gee, here it goes...

1. 3 bad habits...phew...again being asked this
i. can be a perfectionist-drives my friends crazy hehehe
ii. keep forgetting things
iii. procrastinate...who doesn't;)

2. 3 dislikes
i. ppl who are not courteous
ii. ppl who likes to spit everywhere...euw...
iii. durian..hehehe

3. 3 fave songs...hmm this is not easy...i simply love too many songs and to narrow them down to 3 will be unfair...so 3 types yes..
i. hindi
ii. english
iii. now also into sami yusuf's nasheed

4. 3 nicknames...hmm...cant tell 2 of them..only my family knows;) so the ones i cud rem..
i. baby - don't know why but many seniors of mine used to call me tht...
ii. drama queen- again i don't hv a clue...i'm not THAT drama...hahaha
iii. nazzu- my cuzzin started this...lurve this cute nick zee!

5. 3 Favourite phrases- actually mine is more towards words...those that i tend to overuse...
i. Gosh!
ii. Fantabulous!
iii. Well

6. 3 words describing the person who tagged you...
i. mad...hahaha...that's for tagging me:P
ii. soft-spoken ;)
iii. surprises me from time to time...my assumptions always get confused...hahaha

7. 3 things you plan to do after you're done with this tagging...
i. tag some other people...obviously...wani, yeah it's you...sha, daya...and my other bloggers too....u've one more entry now...
ii. go to class...my 3pm class....sigh
iii. wait anxiously for gee to give her response on no.6(iii) hehe

so there gee, i'm done with this...:)

I've come across many works of Kahlil Gibran which are superb, and this is one of them...it's rather long, so i'm gonna summarise the story a little...

It's about a voilet who longs to be a rose just for a day as according to her... "Nature has fashioned me to be short and poor. I live very close to the earth and I cannot raise my head toward the blue Sky, or turn my face to the sun, as the roses do."

And so she did become a rose...unfortunately, there was great storm and wind which destroyed all the tall plants, including the rose...and while the other violets scorned the converted violet(the rose)...the dying rose quietly said..."I am happy now because I have probed outside my little world into the mystery of the Universe.. something which you have not yet done."

The rose became silent for a moment, and in a weakening voice, mingled with pride and achievement, she said, "I have lived one hour as a proud rose; I have existed for a time like a queen; I have looked at the Universe from behind the eyes of the rose; I have heard the whisper of the firmament through the ears of the rose and touched the folds of Light's garment with rose petals. Is there any here who can claim such honor?" Having this spoken, she lowered her head, and with a choking voice she gasped, "I shall die now, for my soul has attained its goal. I have finally extended my knowledge to a world beyond the narrow cavern of my birth. This is the design of Life....This is the secret of Existence." Then the rose quivered, slowly folded her petals, and breathed her last with a heavenly smile upon her lips... a smile of fulfillment of hope and purpose in Life... a smile of victory... a GOD'S SMILE.

You should read the whole story and i assure you it's worth the read...it is very meaningful and the language is beautiful...so enjoy!
you can read the whole story at http://www.hsuyun.org/Dharma/zbohy/Literature/Special/AmbitiousViolet.html

~Tagged by Adnin~

Like Gee, I am also gonna do the 2nd part of the the Tagged...so here it goes...

5 Bad Habits During School...

1. Daydream...hehe...i simply lurve to do that! and esp when it comes to subjects i loathed...like History and Physics...i was even caught many times doing so..;-)

2. a few times i had bets with my classmates on who will score higher for arab exam and won the bets after copying in the tests(very bad i know, but i swear that's the ONLY test in which i've cheated on...after all it's only Arab;)..so my students, pls pls pls never do this! )...oh did i mention i didnt pass those papers? well as long as i won the bet, i was happy enough...coz the bets include KFC, and in kluang at that time, KFC was considered a luxury food....pathetic huh!

3. i used to copy my friends' add maths homework coz i never did like doing it....can never solve the mathematical problems on my own...so i believe you guys know what kind of marks i got for my add maths...

4. i can never do well in the subject whereby the teachers were very nice and lenient...i dont take them seriously...but when it comes to teachers who had this no-nonsense attitude, i'd definitely excel in it...like geography...lurve cikgu marmining...

5. i didn't normally do my journal, but hehehe..since i happened to be my teacher's pet(i think so!) at that time, i managed to get away from 'kena rotan'...see, at those days, we don't go running to our parents when we get punished but these days....kids r just too pampered! i was just back home last weekend for first ramadhan and all my siblings were there, and zafeer(my nephew) told his nani(my mom) that he was pinched by his teacher and everyone got so worked up and since i'm the only teacher there, all eyes were on me asking me why is that so... hello people! stop being too protective of your kids....

3 Fave Subjects

The ultimate would definitely be ... English! Thanks to Ms. Asha Dass, Pn. Rahmah(who has done much researches on journal writing to improve English and her classes goes beyond the four walls), Mr. Ali Azizan( who asked(or rather forced) us to write journals). These were some interesting teachers...really had fun in the classes! oh how could i forget the dreaded 'news item' in Mr. Paul's class...but still...it made me read the newspaper!!!

No 2 goes to ... Education Psychology...it's intriguing...and very much applicable to my field...and the easiest for me to remember...

Hmmm...3rd would be Literature...and ONLY Shakespeare during those TESL days. Plays and short stories were much better than poems...however, there were some poets whom i particularly love...John Donne and George Herbert among others...

others include Drama, Methodology in Education, Grammar in English, English For Specific Purposes (ESP)

3 Subjects You dislike

wow, i believe this will have a long list, but i'm just gonna stick to 3...

1. HIStory, never liked this no matter what people say! too much things to remember....didn't like the teacher too...intimidating!

2. Chemistry....again when i went to upper secondary, the same teacher who taught me History was teaching me Chemistry...it was like revisiting the horrifying past...only now after being a die-hard fan of CSI did i discover the beauty of chemistry...why didnt they hv CSI then....*sigh*

3. Moral Education...went through 4 years learning this and yet failed to love it...gud enough i'm not teaching it any longer....



What's Interesting about You...

gosh...it's really difficult to write abt oneself...well for me at least...hmmm
i guess ability to compromise and tolerate ppl though sometimes it kills me...

What You like Most...

DIY stuff...and readinggggggggggg.............and coffee..........and above all...CHOCOLATES!!!

I Can't Live Without...

My Family,Chocolates, Coffee

Every Night Before You sleep, You Would Call...

The One and Only who knows my innermost thoughts and whispers of my heart...

I’ve just received really good news yesterday! It really made my day…The public-speaking team from our college came out first in their categories respectively! Yay! (okay this is the part where I need those cheerleaders’ super cheery cheer) ;-)
Yes, I was indeed very elated with the news as there was just so much commotion regarding this. I was simply sharing Wana’s joy and was happy for her as she had proven her capability in handling the team. Kudos Wana! And of course not forgetting the participants themselves, Kani and Shahira, who have done the college proud through their constant practices and endurances of our critics.
So this August, it’s KAKOM and it’s OLYMPICS. However, try as I might, I just couldn’t get all thrilled up about sports. Well perhaps only in some categories can I sit still and watch them, such as, track events, gymnastics(they are so graceful!) and hmmm….. and hmmmm… well only that. So as I was saying, I’m not into sports unless well it comes with hunks, then I’ll consider;-). Watching them yes, participating is a big NO-NO. Basically, I’m happy without the company of Mr. Sun and I don’t need more tan.
What do I do then? Basically, many things, according to my mood and interest at that particular time. I’m going to share one of my favourite activities, which is henna or mehndi, in my language. Well, almost every bride wears this on her wedding day and it would look incomplete without adoring her hands and feet with these beautiful intricate designs of mehndi.




Very beautiful, don’t you think? So let me just give some information about mehndi. So basically, there’re plenty designs, this being the more contemporary design, which is popular among brides these days and less intricate…yes my friends, this is not considered very intricate…the traditional Indian brides normally have those intricate designs and normally the designs are up to their elbows and mid calves.

And in a traditional Indian, Punjabi, Pakistani wedding, there’s the Mehndi ceremony whereby, in my opinion one of the best coz there’s gana(singing), nachna(dancing) and of course this mehndi application on the bride’s hands and feet.
If you’ve been watching hindi films, you might learn that the name of the groom is written among those intricate design. In the olden days where marriage was arranged, and when couples didn’t know anything about each other; I believe one of the ways of breaking the ice was for the groom to search his name on his bride’s hand. Rather cute right?
So basically, I have been trying to improve on my skill on applying mehndi, which is difficult considering that I am not good in drawing, and one has to have a steady and strong hand. So over the years, I think I have managed to do better with each application, thanks to the various mehndi sites, and thanks also to my family and friends who have lent their hands and feet for this purpose. So basically, these are some of my works. And I hope to improve more in future…!!!!

When it comes to fashion, I’ve tons of things to say, I simply lurve to see what new things I could get for my wardrobe…i.e. for MYSELF and for me, and I go mostly for accessories. So these are my fave list…
1. Bags ( a girl could never have enough bags…) so basically that’s THE must see item whenever I go out…a small one where I could take when I just need to bring along my purse and phone and keys, and there’s one which I could fit in everything, from my whiteboard markers to my money case for all the RD and newspapers’ payment, and that oversize bag where I could chuck in a few items for that weekend getaway at my sis’s place and some just simply coz they look fantabulous!
2. Bracelet…hmmm…I’ve boxes of them, that at one point my mom banned me from buying it until I’ve used all of them…you see I keep forgetting I’ve some items (sometimes on purpose;) ) and so I keep buying…hehehe..well..that ban lasted a month I guess then she gave up…J
3. Shoes (again a girl can never get enough of it) well, there’re slippers when I wear if I wanna go somewhere nearby, there’s flat sandals for the shopping time, there’s the glitter sandals to dress up that simple attire, there’s the comfy covered shoes when I need to go to the movies and it’s so excruciatingly cold and my toes would be freezing and begging for some warmth…and that heels to add to my vertically challenged built(sob sob), which at times killing due to all that flight of stairs to classes…and those flat shoes for those days where I’m just plain lazy to dress up for classes.
4. Oh oh oh wait how could I forget Earrings…now this I must have…and again my fave…. Loops … imagine JLo and her huge loop earrings…well she can carry it off no matter how huge it is…lucky her! So I’ve heaps of loops…all sizes…which of course all now belong to my sista!
5. Rings…another fave of mine which I can never resist buying…until now I can’t decide which is my favourite from the collection I have…oh that reminds me…I’ve yet to buy a red ring…hmmm…
Ok so that is basically the items I normally go for when I shop apart from necklaces, hair clips, bands etc. Lately, these few months ago, I started to wear ‘tudung’. So naturally I had to get myself a whole collection of ‘tudung’ (again SHOPPING!!! Yay…) and the place to go for choices and reasonable priced items…Jln TAR and Masjid India!!! It took me a few trips to get the collection I need so I’ve basically every colour..hehehe…yes I must have that, and BLACK had to be more than 1. So for the first trip, I went with my sis, Zareen and we had to drag along my nephew, Feer, who, dreaded Masjid India as much as I hated durian. So we hunted from one shop to another, and by the end of the half day shopping…I ended up with 7 pieces. Hmmm..not too bad…
Then the second trip I went with a friend, this time I spared my nephew the pain of accompanying me, and there I was walking ten miles and enduring the scorching heat and even bearing the sweat (I wish M’sia wasn’t this hot!) just to get the type of tudung I wanted…it was definitely not an easy task…but all in all, what is satisfying is when you get what you wanted…
Ok so let us just leave all that shopping and let me tell you my experience adorning the head scarf or ‘tudung’ or hijab(whichever you wanna call it) for the past few months. Well, I’ve had many reactions from people around me, be it from my family, relatives, friends, colleagues and even strangers on the road. Let’s begin to those closest to me. They had questions but they were supportive of my decision, and of course the adapting part….when I go out with them, the initial stages, they would at times not recognize me walking with them ha ha ha really funny to see their reactions sometimes when they turn around and suddenly they had this look on their faces ‘who are you?’ then in a second, the look changes when it dawned to them it’s ME after all…hahaha… Then, the relatives’ part, again plenty of questions, since most of my maternal side don’t wear it…so inevitably, it will take some time before they can digest it. And colleagues, hmmm….all very surprised…a good surprise though when the new semester started…and many compliments on top of it…oh how could I forget my ex-PDT students…also compliments from them…
Above all, very surprising to me was the reaction I get from the unfamiliar faces wherever I go. Most ‘makcik’s would smile at me and start talking to me … well all I’ve ever gotten before was stares…acknowledging that I am different from them (in terms of look, due to mix parentage)…but now suddenly I have become ‘them’…hmmm…very interesting don’t you think? And again these unfamiliar faces would smile at me whenever I look their way…a very nice gesture indeed…but again not the reaction I usually get. I have suddenly become more approachable and as I said earlier…one of ‘them’. I did discuss with my friends of my interesting observation and most of them agreed that I do look more approachable when I sport the ‘tudung’…or also in their words…less snobbish…hmmm…I don’t think I look snobbish…well perhaps I have been good at ignoring stares thrown my way and so I seem indifferent to everyone around. Hmmm…again, what has the ‘tudung’ got to do with it? What we wear on the outside doesn’t change who we are. But I guess to some people in the world that is how things work…sadly I must say.
However, this overall experience have taught me a little bit more about the world, about people’s perceptions towards one who starts to wear ‘tudung’ and about developing my own maturity in thinking.
We need change from time to time, in fact we have to change for the better for if we remain static and caught in our web of time and thinking, we shall never be a better person.
Let me end with one nice quote I came across…’’If we wait for the right time to do something, we might never do it.”

So…finally I have a blog!!!! A blog! OK I know…most may say…Big Deal! But I have been wanting to blog since like aeons, and my biggest achievement was JUST to create a blog spot account!!! I can never start to post any entries *sigh*; actually I have been delaying doing that…why if you asked? I can dish out a list of reasons to convince you (as well as myself);-) …one of it…I don’t have a flair for writing! Well, this is true…though most people would disagree since I’m an English teacher, but hey! You DON’T have to be good in writing JUST because you are good in the language. And some would ALSO say…what is SOOOOO difficult about writing a blog? Sure again, it seems simple enough for those who are expressive (another reason I always use;-) ) but I’m totally not that at all.
But since I’ve started this Blog project for the English Unit, I can’t be using all those reasons anymore…so it really scares me…I DON’T blog myself, how AM I to manage this project? It has been a month over now, and by the grace of Allah, and the help of my fellow colleagues, the result is what you see in the KMM Chatterbox site. It has been a learning experience for me, and I’m sure to many of those involved in this project, but it has been very interesting to create this blog site and start blogging! And not to mention to discover the many talents of the students! They write really really well!!!
So here, I’d like to thank my Head of Unit for her ideas, my fellow lecturers for their help in naming the students who have a flair for writing, my team members , K.Norridah, Ida, Cozaine, Chuda and Redza, for their tremendous commitment in this project(can’t do this without you guys!), and of course to all the bloggers for their contribution towards this site. It’s my hope that this blog project would open new doors and opportunities to those who want to try out blogging but had been delaying to do so(just like me;-) ) and also to those who want to improve their writing skills.
Hmmmm…This may be my 3rd? wait…4th? account I’ve created…ok so I’ve lost count on that…hehe…but hey! I’m finally writing! And hoping to continue penning down my thoughts which I was supposed to start years ago…Yey for myself!!!