Dear all,
Read the 'advice', never fall into the trap...
The happiest people in the world are not those who have no problems, but those who learn to live with things that are less than perfect.
'A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor.Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee, the professor said:
'If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the simple and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.
What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... Then you began eyeing each other's cups.
'Now consider this, said the professor, 'Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.
Sometimes, by concentrating on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us. Enjoy your coffee!
'The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Four things to take note of in life...
1. Live simply.
2. Love generously.
3. Care deeply.
4. Speak kindly.
Shine a light & enjoy your Coffee today!
Lotsa love,
Ma'am
Friday, August 22, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Double standards
In life, there has always been times when we wish that we had been somebody, all because we have been 'denied' some privilige or acknowledgement which we feel are due to us.
It happens and takes place everywhere, in every level of society, which sometimes frustrates and angers us. It just doesn't happen in offices, business premises, but all over the place, even at our local pasar malam. Imagine our displeasure if we've been waiting in line for some 5 minutes for our favorite popiah, along came this lady, who goes straight to the front of the line, and simply asks the guy to pack up some for her. Turns out, she's a friend of the popiah guy! Leaving with a smirk, the rest in line simply stared in disbelief at this special treatment she received, but then, even though irked by the incident, my other fellow Malaysians still continued to wait in line for the scrumptious 'rolls of vegetable-wrapped-in-crepes'. I, for one, would immediately stalk off in search of other delicacies. For me, in order to get the message across, you have to do something. But, sad to say, most people are not that bothered to do anything about it. And, that is the major reason why these kinds of things are prevailing in our society.
Like I said, it happens all over, in every nook and corner of our beloved nation, from the 'well-known' simply picking up the phone to get a place for their off-spring in a preferred public institution, to government officers giving the leeway to their relatives or friends, to teachers giving the double standard treatment to their students.
As a teacher myself, there have been times when I commit the act myself. Well, not because I like it, or that it's a daily dose in my classes, but there were times when I was resigned to the fact that there are students who are not that interested in learning the language. Thus, I would focus on the interested ones, and in the process, would be committing the act of dishing out preferential treatment to my 'pets'. Somehow, over the years, I have somewhat overcome this 'unbecoming' trait, and have learned to accept all the kids, warts and all, so that everyone would feel that I care for them. I care for everyone, the competent or the weak ones; the alert or sleepy ones; the talkative (like Asyraf, Bakri, Adam, Hafizree, Jeremy, Farid n Jason) to the quiet ones like Maslianeh, Iba, Fahmi n Tazul; for I believe that I everyone has potential.
So, darling kids, what say you???
It happens and takes place everywhere, in every level of society, which sometimes frustrates and angers us. It just doesn't happen in offices, business premises, but all over the place, even at our local pasar malam. Imagine our displeasure if we've been waiting in line for some 5 minutes for our favorite popiah, along came this lady, who goes straight to the front of the line, and simply asks the guy to pack up some for her. Turns out, she's a friend of the popiah guy! Leaving with a smirk, the rest in line simply stared in disbelief at this special treatment she received, but then, even though irked by the incident, my other fellow Malaysians still continued to wait in line for the scrumptious 'rolls of vegetable-wrapped-in-crepes'. I, for one, would immediately stalk off in search of other delicacies. For me, in order to get the message across, you have to do something. But, sad to say, most people are not that bothered to do anything about it. And, that is the major reason why these kinds of things are prevailing in our society.
Like I said, it happens all over, in every nook and corner of our beloved nation, from the 'well-known' simply picking up the phone to get a place for their off-spring in a preferred public institution, to government officers giving the leeway to their relatives or friends, to teachers giving the double standard treatment to their students.
As a teacher myself, there have been times when I commit the act myself. Well, not because I like it, or that it's a daily dose in my classes, but there were times when I was resigned to the fact that there are students who are not that interested in learning the language. Thus, I would focus on the interested ones, and in the process, would be committing the act of dishing out preferential treatment to my 'pets'. Somehow, over the years, I have somewhat overcome this 'unbecoming' trait, and have learned to accept all the kids, warts and all, so that everyone would feel that I care for them. I care for everyone, the competent or the weak ones; the alert or sleepy ones; the talkative (like Asyraf, Bakri, Adam, Hafizree, Jeremy, Farid n Jason) to the quiet ones like Maslianeh, Iba, Fahmi n Tazul; for I believe that I everyone has potential.
So, darling kids, what say you???
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Before Pak Lah came...
Hm, the office looks nice, even the ladies' was filled up with bouquets of flowers!!!
The news on Expo kemahiran
So, after the big do yesterday, there were some news published in major dailies today..
Utusan Malaysia
Abdullah tegur suasana suram di Adtec
SHAH ALAM 15 Ogos - Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi hari ini menegur suasana di Pusat Latihan Teknologi Tinggi (Adtec), tempat berlangsungnya majlis penyampaian anugerah pertandingan MySkills 2008 yang dilihatnya agak suram dan tidak begitu menceriakan.
Kata Perdana Menteri, tidak seperti di beberapa institut latihan yang pernah dikunjunginya sebelum ini, beliau melihat suasana di Adtec itu memerlukan perubahan agar nampak lebih ceria.
"Kalau suasana bekerja sentiasa ceria, ini akan menjadikan pekerja di situ berasa seronok, tetapi jika sebaliknya berlaku, semangat bekerja pun boleh hilang.
"Sikap kita terhadap pekerjaan penting dan keceriaan juga penting, begitu juga kemahiran amat penting, kalau tidak ada sudah tentu kita tidak akan dapat melaksanakan kerja yang diamanahkan," katanya.
Beliau berkata demikian ketika berucap pada majlis penyampaian Anugerah Pertandingan MySkills 2008 dan Pelancaran Pelan Operasi Pelan Induk Latihan dan Pembangunan Kemahiran Pekerjaan Kebangsaan 2008-2020 di sini hari ini.
Turut hadir Menteri Sumber Manusia, Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam dan timbalannya, Datuk Noraini Ahmad.
Dalam pada itu, Abdullah menyuarakan harapannya mahu melihat masyarakat luar mengenali Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara yang mempunyai pekerja tempatan berkebolehan dan berkemahiran tinggi.
''Sebelum ini mereka kagum rakyat Malaysia baik tetapi yang saya hendak sangat, mereka mesti akui kepandaian anak kita dan kemahiran tinggi yang dimiliki, pengiktirafan seperti ini yang kita mahu capai, seperti orang Jepun diakui kebolehannya dalam bidang teknologi tinggi.
''Mengapa tidak bagi rakyat Malaysia, kita boleh, malah semangat 'Malaysia Boleh' mesti ada pada diri kita yang mahu sentiasa maju," katanya yang berpendapat matlamat itu boleh dicapai melalui ilmu dan latihan.
Menurut Perdana Menteri, sebelum ini kerajaan memberikan latihan kemahiran kepada ramai lulusan Sijil Rendah Pelajaran (SRP) tetapi tidak lagi pada masa kini setelah Kementerian Pelajaran mengubah dasar dengan tidak menunjukkan 'pintu keluar' hanya selepas pelajar lulus peperiksaan itu.
Katanya, pelajar tidak boleh dibiarkan mencari pekerjaan hanya selepas lulus pengajian tingkatan tiga kerana umur mereka yang masih muda, kurang pengetahuan dan belum ada kemahiran.
"Bagaimana nanti mereka hendak bersaing dalam dunia pekerjaan yang memerlukan kemahiran yang tinggi. Kerana itu, mereka yang diambil menjalani latihan kemahiran kini ialah pelajar lepasan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) dan Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM).
"Dengan sukatan pelajaran yang berubah, kita membuat satu anjakan penting dengan memberi tekanan kepada kemahiran lebih tinggi kerana industri di negara kita semakin meningkat berbanding dulu.
"Sekarang kita sudah mampu menghasilkan produk yang lebih berkualiti dengan adanya peralatan komputer dan mesin canggih yang dikendalikan tenaga kerja berkemahiran," katanya.
Mengenai Pelan Operasi Pelan Induk Latihan dan Pembangunan Kemahiran Pekerjaan itu, Abdullah berkata, ia perlu dijadikan panduan dalam menentukan hala tuju latihan dan pembangunan kemahiran negara selaras usaha menghasilkan modal insan kelas pertama, berpengetahuan dan berkemahiran.
The Star
Saturday August 16, 2008
PM: Foreigners want our skilled workers and innovation
SHAH ALAM: A big flow of foreign investments into Malaysia, especially in Penang and Johor, is seen as reflecting a growing interest among investors to use the entrepreneurial and innovative skills available here.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said foreigners were looking at opportunities in the manufacturing sector in green technology and healthcare where the country has skilled workers.
“Our strength now is in skilled workers who are innovative. Foreign firms are watching us and are moving into our country to take advantage of this asset that will benefit us in foreign exchange and create job opportunities,” he said.
“Acquiring a skill is not enough, a person must keep on learning and improving. Methods must be improved and innovated until it attracts new foreign entrepreneurs to use our advancing technology,” he said.
Earlier Abdullah attended the My Skills 2008 skills award ceremony and launched the Skills Carnival organised at Advanced Technological Training Centre in Section 34 here.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said investors were keen to invest in Malaysia as the country could cater to their needs in providing skilled workers in the manufacturing sector and clean green technology.
Pak Lah came to town!
Yesterday, Pak Lah came to ADTEC Shah Alam to officiate the opening of Expo Kemahiran & Anugerah MySkill. Well, all of us were so excited (after more than one week of a non-stop flurry of activities to spruce up the place)... so, here are some pictures of what transpired that day...
Well, there aren't that many pictures, I'll try to get more from Nani soon...
The noble profession
Assalamualaikum. My first blog about my job - as an English teacher!
Well, there's a nasty saying out there that says "when you can't do, teach..."
Hm, most teachers get irked when they hear that... but truth be told, a minority of teachers are the culprits of the saying - the guilty ones, the ones that lead to society naming them such & such... well, the list's endless.
When I first started teaching, I wasn't as passionate myself. I stumbled here n there, even left the schooling system, but could never walk away from the profession. I was disillusioned a number of times, but somehow managed to pull myself now & then to be what I am today. It runs in me - both my parents were teachers!
We teachers don't earn much, but the best 'presents' come from my students who I sometimes refer to as 'my kids' (not the adult ones, of course - Mr. Lam, Serena and the likes of Suib, Nizam - they are more like friends to me). When a student remarked, "this lady is something!"; when my kids shouted behind my back "I love you ma'am!; when John called to greet me on teacher's day... or when Bug called to share his joy at finally graduating.... and when 22 students turned up at my doorstep on Hariraya and cleaned their plates off my home-cooked mihun goreng... Yes, those are my rewards...
This blog is set up to highlight the moments shared with students and colleagues alike.
Please feel free to leave comments. But, no foul language, please, or disparaging remarks that might offend anyone. And nothing political, k?
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