Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to revive this blog. But I didn't declare this blog dead, too, so I don't think "revival" is a suitable word.
The maestros of this blog would have already received an e-mail from our beloved Jared, whom we so adore, so love, so... OK, enough crap, I suppose. *wink* Let's just say that Jared's e-mail is like an indicator to me that he's missed us a lot.
Like him, I miss the days when we met up together at Albert's house, chit-chat, have fun, barbecues and steamboat! Things were so ideal at that moment that we quite forgot the fact that things go lead on to this kind of predicament.
All of us have now started to go on our own separate ways. One will never know when we can meet and remain like the way we took our picture previously.
All of us have our very own private blogs, and we do keep a mind to update them, but we seem to have lost commitment altogether in RANDTS. Sadly, it is as if that this blog is becoming a thing of the past, a thing where it was trendy at one moment, and just scrapped at the other.
We really ran out of ideas, so to speak. And rather than speaking about our private stuff in a public blog, we would rather stay silent, wouldn't we?
Anyway, silent or otherwise, I am longing to meet up with the old gang. I really miss you all, so if you guys are still in KL, I'll make it a point to meet up with you guys. What say you?
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Apart from the fact that this song is stuck in my head, it brings a pretty interesting political message.
AV7X owns.
(Lyrics)
Be quiet, you might piss somebody off
Like me motherfucker, you've been at it for too long
While you feed off all this insecurity
You stand in front of me and bite the hand that feeds
(Self-righteousness is wearing thin)
Lies inside your head your best friend
(I'll bleed but not for fellow man)
Broken glass, your fake reflection
Telling them its all for something real
Don't forsake the words you speak
You've gone too far, acclaim
So how does it feel to know that someones kid in the heart of America
Has blood on their hands, fighting to defend your rights
So you can maintain the lifestyle that insults this family's existence
Well, where I'm from we have a special salute we wave high in the air
Towards all those pompous asses who spend their days pointing fingers
Fuck you
Be quiet, you might piss somebody off
Like the heartbeat of this country when antagonized too long
I'll be damned if you count me in
As part of your generous hypocrisy collected in a maze
(Tabloid gossip, we want less real)
There's no need for us to bury you
(Selfish agenda, once again)
Right this way, deter your own grave
Telling them its all for something real
Don't forsake the words you speak
You've gone too far, acclaim
All the way from the east to the west
We've got this high society looking down on this very foundation
Constantly reminding us that our actions are the cause of all their problems
Pointing the fingers in every direction
Blaming their own nation for who wins elections
They've never contributed a fucking thing to the country they love to criticize
Excuse the obscene, ignore the untrue
Depictions we see, try and get through
And many mistakes cant hurt
I'm not the last but I sure ain't the first
Be quiet, you might piss somebody off
(Self-righteousness is wearing thin)
Lies inside your head your best friend
(I'll bleed but not for fellow man)
Broken glass, your fake reflection
Telling them its all for something real
Don't forsake the words you speak
You've gone too far, acclaim
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;;Degree or No Degree, It Don't Make a Difference
2 mad rant(s) » Add your own! RANDTed: Unknown at 5:20:00 PMNo, I am not discouraging you from furthering your studies to the highest level possible. I still harbour hopes of studying in the USA, thank you very much. A degree is not was it was in our parents' day - a privilege, limited to the elites who could afford to send their children to prestigious institutions of higher education in Britain, etc. Now, it is considered a must in order to even be considered for a job. No degree, no potential rice bowl. Possess a degree, and doors that were previously closed are opened to you.
However, this order does not seem to apply in the teaching profession in Malaysia. Read these: "Sacrifice of teachers that hasn't paid off" and "Upgraded in qualifications but losing out". These letters appeared in The Star 2 weeks ago, both voicing out the injustice faced, of which I'll explain of later.
Their case, as is with perhaps 50,000 other teachers, is as such: they were non-graduate teachers in the 1970's, just armed with their cert from the training colleges. They believed that in upgrading themselves by doing their degrees, they could do a better job with their newly-acquired skills, plus have better shots at higher salaries and promotions. Pretty much like the corporate world. However, to their dismay, when the pay revision was done by our Education Ministry, their salary was lower than of non-graduate teachers. Imagine!
Why I write this is because it is an issue close to my heart, involving my father, a teacher of 29 years already. My father joined the teaching profession in 1979 as a C2 teacher. He passed his STPM in 1986 and was subsequently placed in the C1 category two years later. In 1993, he attended a one-year specialist course for secondary school TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) teachers. He was awarded his first "Anugerah Perkidmatan Cemerlang" in 1994.
In 1995, he received half-pay leave to study for his 1st degree in Universiti Sain Malaysia. Life was hard then. My brother was barely a year old (he was born in late 1994), my mum was frail after the delivery yet had to care for us - I was barely above 5 years of age, and my sister, a mere 3 years old. My father only could return from Penang on weekends. One stark memory of those years I have of that period of time was when my mum and I were down with high fever. My mother was so weak that she could not muster the strength to go to the doctor; instead my grandmother called the doctor to the house. I remember my brother crying, myself not being able to eat, and my sister being bewildered most of the time. Thank God for my very formidable grandmother, who came over and took care of us. I also remember, on a separate occasion, my parents talking about how much costs they had to cut back, financial difficulties due to his pay being halved while on study leave. Being very attached to my parents, I used to cry when he wasn't around, because there was no daddy on the weekdays to read me Cinderella for the umpteenth time at night, or make icecreams out of Play-doh for my sister and I to play house.
Despite the hardship, my father graduated in 1999. During the 4 years of his study, he was not given any pay increment. This meant that upon his graduation, he had lost out FOUR increments to his peers who had stayed on as non-graduates. Three months after his graduation, there was a pay adjustment for non-graduate teachers. He discovered that his basic pay was RM1 less that of the non-graduate DGA6 teachers (the DG thing is their pay scheme coding). His request to be emplaced in the non-graduate DGA6 scheme before the graduate DG3 was rejected. That did not deter him. Instead, he went on to receive his second "Anugerah Perkhidmatan Cemerlang" in 2002. Being a man who believed in acquiring more knowledge in order to serve his God, King and Country better, my father applied and received a full scholarship to do his Masters programme in UM. And yet, despite his initiative, perseverance and hard work, his pay is still less than of my mum, who is a non-graduate.
My mother joined the teaching profession in 1981 two years after my dad became a teacher. Like my dad, she graduated from a teachers’ training college in KL as a C2 teacher. She has been a non-graduate teacher ever since. She decided not to pursue her studies so that she could look after her children and enable my dad to pursue his career. However, all their effort and sacrifice have in fact worked against them. Even thought my mom has never received the awards my dad did, she still earns more than my dad. She is in DGA32 and my Dad is in DG41. Both got 3&4 for their PTK. How can this be? It clearly shows that the salary revisions over the years have not taken into account of teachers like my dad. Although they are upgraded in qualifications, they lost out badly terms of seniority, increment in pay and opportunities for promotions to their peers and juniors in the profession. It is downright demoralizing, de-motivating and grossly unfair.
Obviously, something is very wrong with the current system. It is extremely cowardly for the Ministry concerned to sit quietly, instead of revising the ins and outs of the enforced pay scheme. Teachers like my father have given the best years of their lives, yet they have been left out in the cold when it comes to the benefits. These are experienced teachers - a definite asset to our nation. In the light of the upcoming election, I urge those in authority to rectify this huge oversight quickly. Give them back what is theirs before you begin wondering why less and less people want to be teachers in this country.
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;;You know how some song's just tend to stick in your head the first time you hear it, and stays there for a few weeks? Sometimes months?
This one got stuck in my head.
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This good man here had made the news,
For one of the best results the country has seen,
I knew this Albert was my great cue,
His report I highlighted in my old blog screen.
He found me and soon we were connected,
He was willing to share and opened his doors,
He gave me the awareness that the public lacked,
His strength, his will, they were not poor.
Soon we embarked on a new project here,
And he was so active we just went "Wow!"
When it comes to speaking up there was no fear,
He garners cheers from the big whole crowd.
We all then met up and had a wonderful time,
We admired his strength and his independence,
He knows he can contribute much in his prime,
For that he works hard, and he never said die.
He has a good friend who visits him always,
I bless his name for his caring touch,
Never complaining, kind in what he says,
Jaspreet, you are a true friend many can appreciate.
This friendship is not an ordinary one,
The bond that you have isn't because you're friends,
The love and passion for one another made you won,
This friendship is eternal; never breaks, never ends.
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;;January 13th:
Albert is in the hospital.
He suffered from some breathing difficulties around lunchtime yesterday. He has been suffering from some mild flu for the past couple of days. After an afternoon nap he told his dad to rush him to the nearest hospital. 10 minutes before reaching it he passed out.
He is currently in the CCU of University Hospital. 4th floor, Menara Utama.
He has regained consciousness and is aware of his surroundings and responds to stimuli. He cannot speak as he is with oral breathing tube.
I will update this post as any developments take place.
Pray for him. God knows he deserves it.
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Update 1 ; January 14th:
Visited him today. He is being sedated. Still on breath assister. Doc says theres nothing wrong with heart, lungs etc. according to a CT scan that was taken and he should be fine by the end of the week. They're just keeping him for awhile for observation.
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Update 2 ; January 15th:
First step on the road to recovery.
Albert is now on minimal sedation. Hes started to complain furiously about the tube down his throat (which is a good sign). His mouth and lips are cracked a littl e since he hasn't been actually drinking anything and his throat is sore form the plumbing in his throat but other than that hes as well as can be expected.
He should be shifted out of the CCU to a regular ward soon, which is also good news as then at least someone can stay with him the whole time. Currently the fucking nurses there only know how to complain about Albert.
For those of you who don't know; Albert has a steel rod in his spine to keep him sitting straight. Because of this it is VERY uncomfortable for him to sleep on his back (he usually sleeps on his stomach). However, due to the various tubes going into him and the fact that this problem he is admitted for seems to be respiratory in nature they have placed him (yeap you guessed it) on his back.
Now this would actually be tolerable if he was shifted every 20mins or so but Noooooo our UH nurses are such busy little she-bitches aren't they? They're so busy comparing their notes on who the most troublesome patient is that poor ol 'bert has to literally scream to get anything done.
BTW my dad just suffered a heart attack and is admitted to IJN. He's gonna undergo an Angio-Plasty tonight.
All this and its not even been a week since my cousin was murdered.
What a great year its turning out to be...
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Update 3 ; January 16th:
Nothing much new to update today really. Albert is now entirely off sedation. His breathing has normalized. The Docs are still keeping him in the CCU for observation purposes. He is still complaining of pain in his throat because of the tubes and back because of the position he has to sleep in.
My dad also has just underwent the two Angio-Plasties successfully. He is conscious and well. They are also still keeping him in the IJN CCU for observation although the doctors assure me that he will be allowed to go home within the next week or so at the most.
That is all.
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Update 4 ; January 19th:
Visited Albert today.
He seems much better than before. Much more active. Much more cheerful. He is still on the ventilator although they are slowly weening him off it.
Thats where the good news ends though.
The docs are worried. If they remove the tubes Albert might have breathing complications again. If they leave the tube in there is a very very large chance of an infection. The alternative is a tracheotomy. Which literally means boring a hole in his neck so he can breathe. Not pretty and itself has a whole host of complications.
As for my dad hes back home now. Life's almost back to normal at my house again. Docs orders to rest (which my dad is studiously ignoring btw). Tough-ass dads FTW!
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Update 5 ; January 23rd:
Albert has just undergone the tracheotomy. He is right now sedated but stable. He cannot speak. He shall never speak again. He lost the only true asset he had; force of word. I will miss the sound of it.
My dad has been re-admitted to IJN. More chest pains.
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Update 6 ; January 26th:
Albert is out of the CCU. He is doing well with the tracheotomy. He is still in the cardiac ward thou but docs say he'll be fine. They say that if all goes well within a few weeks they can undo the tracheotomy and he'll be back to screaming profanities and telling jokes.
My dad got out of the hospital today. Kena sounding from the docs for not listening to their advice. LOL! Farnee!
Anywys, he's back home. I've hidden the car keys. And the laptop. So all is well in the Kwatra Household. :P
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Update 7 ; February 4th:
ALBERT HAS FOUND HIS VOCAL CORDS!
Doctors have just replaced the tube in Comrades throat to now enable speech. He called me at around 10a.m. Monday morning.
Things are finally looking up. =)
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Update 8 (Hopefully Update Final) ; February 6th:
Albert is going to be discharged later today.
Right in time for the Chinese New Year Celebrations.
A well wished Gong Xi Fa Chai to all of you guys.
An my deepest thanks for all the love and support that you all have shown Albert.
This year is living up to its Zodiac sign no? The Rat; Notoriously hard to put down.
;)
Love, Peace and Chicken Grease ya'll!
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;;A 4-year-old girl came up to me and said, "You look like my teddy!" Well, you can read the rest in my blog. Looks like Santa's reindeers have been up to no good. Not to mention doing that in public! What would kids think about it?! If I'm not mistaken, I took this in MidValley before Christmas. It is really funny to see the "decorations" doing such decoration. I took this one in Sunway Pyramid, on 4th October. I was out on a movie with my friends when we spotted this! Actually, it is OPENING SOON, no PENING SOON. But because the so-called door was open, from the angle I was at, it looked like PENING SOON. Haha... This one was taken during the lecture, you know, the Undang lecture which we must all endure before sitting for the test? Yes, as you can see, I was bored...
Anyway, here are some random pictures...
In the end, I just randomly drew something. When everyone there thought I was so hardworking in taking down notes of something, you now know that I wasn't. ;) Let us keep this a secret between me and RANDTS or any people who drops by this blog, okay?
I will definitely try to post more pictures now that blogger has allow uploads from computers. I just don't like using Photobucket. It is so troublesome. Another secret that you ought know, I don't know how to use Photoshop. So, I don't know how to edit or do something special/magical like huiwen... (who by the way is someone who I admire for photography skills :B )
I sense some conflict in the Cbox...
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KK Mart vs. 7E
(Photo taken in Brickfields)
Quick & Easy to Copy! I bet that's their tagline!
(Photo taken in Chow Kit)
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;;Brace yourself, for what you see MAY cause side effects.
Now kids, how many of you know what this sign means? We see this on the highway sometimes and also when we go for basement parking in shopping malls. Imagine that there is a repetition of this arrow (because I couldn't find the exact image I wanted).
As most of you have been through the Undang test, I am still preparing for it. I was practising my theory using the book by Kurikulum Pendidikan Pemandu; and there was a question which asked the meaning of the sign.
142. Pilih kenyataan yang BETUL berkaitan tanda isyarat di sebelah kanan (or in this case, di atas):
A) Tanda halangan
B) Tanda arah ke kiri
C) Jalan melencong sisihan tajam
D) Tanda arah kiri dan kanan
My answer: C Correct :)
149. Pilih kenyataan yang BETUL mengenai tanda isyarat di sebelah kanan (as usual, referring to the one above):
A) Halangan
B) Rintangan
C) Jalan sehala
D) Jalan melencong sisihan tajam
My answer: D Wrong :( The correct answer as specified by the book is B) Rintangan
Obviously, I know that my answer is correct because I am familiar with this road sign. But, what about other road signs that I'm not familiar with?
Then, I'd be learning the wrong things and practising wrongly on the road. In the end, there'll be an extension of duration for learning how to drive because there is an increase in numbers of accidents when it is the book that is teaching the wrong thing.
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Spotted in Jaya Jusco Taman Maluri's female restroom on the 24th of November 2007. Thank goodness only the doors were funky!
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;;For once, I actually learnt that disguise may be something that get us tangled in the web when we are not alert of things. As my friend drove her car to a space which is not a parking lot but rather behind another car, two people wearing jackets on a motorcycle stopped by.
Well, I thought that he was just going to find fault because they might not be able to “park” (or leave) their motorcycle. And so they said:
Them: Boleh letak kereta di sini kah? (Are you allowed to leave your car here?)
Friend: Tak block mah, boleh lah.
Them: Tak block kah?
Then, they got down from the motorcycle and took off their jackets! They were policemen! Talk about stye... I was like -____-lll After that, all the cars started to take off (the ones that of course not parking in the parking lot. It was funny though. They didn’t give her any parking tickets but there were a lot of cars which did.
Oh well, we were all surprised after that and couldn’t afford to take chances if you know what I mean.
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;;I am depressed over the Graphic Calculator which I sold for only RM260 and that Indian man freakin’ took a book for “free” which was not even in the deal at all! The son is innocent but those people are who I hold grudges on, I guess. I admit that it was partially my fault because I was not being aware. However, I would never believed to be cheated by another Malaysian as such. He told me that there was going to be a Fair and calculators will be sold for RM200. Being afraid that I might not at all be able to sell the calculator, I just took his offer.
That was just plain idiotic of me and I regret it now. Malaysians…. Because one gives a bad impression, it stays like this for the rest of our lives. What happens if foreigners who travels to Malaysia experience such? Would you think that they would ever want to come to Malysia again? It is how the Malay proverb ’sebab nila setitik, rosak susu sebelanga’ describes this situation. Not only during this incident that I experience such dissapointment, but while watching Amazing Race Asia, the Malaysian mums were in my opinion, not playing fair. I know that I should be supporting the representatives from my country but sometimes, you just can’t agree to something that is morally wrong. In that episode, the Japanese team got eliminated.
What happened? Well, they were using tricks to have the Japanese team go the wrong way and what if that happens to you? Wouldn’t you feel frustrated to be cheated? That is just wrong, man… It is just a freakin game and to me, they have gone too low. As this programme will be telecasted world wide, what would other people think of them?
Anyway, I did sell my notes to this guy who’s brother studies in IMU as well. I binded it for him and it wasn’t as cheap as I thought it would be but heck, it could have been more expensive. I really hope that the notes would be of very good use to him. That would make me feel proud and happy as the owner. I know that right now, I sound mad to treat my notes like my “baby” but what the heck, I wouldn’t part with it unless I know it has a good owner or at least a decent looking owner.
Other than that, two new friends I made, Vivek and Shan helped me sell my books and I too, helped them sell theirs. It was a mutual thing. I have a bag of books reserved for a girl. I sure do hope that she turns up tomorrow, otherwise, I’d have a headache having to sell the books all over again. I guess I can’t complain much except for being conned by the Indian men.
They were even asking me to reserve my notes and I did in the beginning but in the end, they didn’t come. So, it’s a good thing that there has been an arrangement for someone else to get it from me. My classmate was suppose to sell his stuff with me but he sold everything for a much more cheaper price that I think was too good to be true! Another classmate of ming, Eu Jin was unbelievable too. He sold his original books for a very very cheap price. I think I should have bought from him and sold it for a way higher price. What the heck, it was initially RM20 only until he changed it to RM40. Selling it for RM60-80 would still be reasonable considering that it is an original.
Oh well, what has happened has already happened. So, tomorrow is a new day and I am going to help Shan sell his books. Now, I’m wondering if I should sell my assignments. Hehehe… Nah, that’d be unfair…. *I’m so tempted to do so though* I am just feeling disgusted at how parents, yes, and I mean PARENTS who lie to take advantage of pre-adults. It is not called preparation of the outside world although it is the outside world. Rather, I believe that in conducting business or sales, it is the parents' role to play in guiding us. Did I stressed on PARENTS? I'm not saying that all parents does this, but more like parents ought not to do this because not only does it set a bad example and pose negative effects on other teenagers but it is also them that ought to be civilised. Just because I can't understand tamil doesn't mean they can criticize me in tamil. (I was just lucky to have an Indian friend beside me who translated every thing they said.)
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;;I don't want to be called heartless, so Happy New Year =D. I just got back recently from New York.
What do you expect? More greetings?
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;;HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I'll be back very very soon! My 3 month hiatus is coming to an end, so yeah, photographs coming up! XD
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;;RANDTS is dead!
Or dying,
and so near death it no longer makes a difference.
My point? I am going to make like a dirty ol' sailor an' yell to the cap'n...
ABANDON SHIP!
But before i depart some apologies are in order...
Shine; sorry for dragging you into this in the first place. Hey at least you got to make fun of me to ppl you don't even know. :P
Albert; yea i know you intro-ed me to this place but heck it is getting boring.
Lastly Henry; I see you trying bro. I really do. And you are the better man for making this limp on as long as it will. It was indeed a pleasure my friend. Both to get to know you and write along side you.
Now that thats out of the way...
To Jared, Joe, HuiWen and all the other (ex)RANDTSters;
Jared; my fellow Poet and Sophist, and need i mention the Mr. Burns? but seriously and ~EeeExcelent~ individual.
friendly average Joe (who's a damn nice guy btw!), who i wish i got a chance to know better. ;)
and of cos
the lovely HuiWen; the only one of us who's artistry is unique to say the least and always an eye opener.
Dudes n dudettes; wish this turned out differently. See you around. It was tremendous fun.
Drop by my blog once in a while if you desire time wasting fiction. :P
http://thelifeofmebykwatra.blogspot.com
Ciouz.
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