Surprise Farewell Party

I am utterly and completely shocked ...my students organised a surprise farewell party for me and I was not aware of it ...I thought I was attending a party to mark their end of the semester, a party to celebrate the end of classes and before the final exam ..liitle did I know, I was the guest of honour!

they have cakes, and speeches and all that - I am so honoured an touched by it all ..all the other lecturers from my programme knew about it, but no one let the cat out of the bag ...even the Dean was in the know ...

they even prepared a performance segment lol very entertaining ..these guys are so funny ...making jokes and all that, and their song choices are awesome ...said that they chose "I will survive" as one of the songs, just to let me know that they will survive till the end of their course no matter what, and so that I do not have to worry about them - how sweet!!! I am so touched by their kind words, wishes and determination ...

and I took my nephew with me to the party - he gets on well with the guys!

Actually, I have been teaching this class for two semester - one of the most interactive groups that I have taught in this uni ...they would argued their points relentlessly, and willing to debate the issues. These sort of interactions are very lively and I do hope that they will remain like this in their other classes ...i sincerely hope that I have given them some knowledge that would be useful for them ...sometime they tested my patience, but most of the time they are ok. just a typical undergraduates ...Just have to remind myself that I was young once, and I was one of those who often skipped class, mischiveous and what not ...

Guys & girls - thank you so much for the wonderful surprise. It is not something that I'll forget :-) and may all of you be successful in your chosen careers ..Thank you!

First day of class - hilarious events!

After 3 months break, today is my first day delivering my lecture for the new semester ...As I am going to "leave soon", I was given one one subject to teach - and I am co-teaching it with my mentor - none other than Dr M. So we (or rather I) made the arrangement - I would teach the first 7 weeks covering 7 learning units and he'll handle the rest of the LUs after the mid-term break ....so, I was keen to start today in the spirit of "cepat mula, cepat siap"

On top of that we had this one Raya feast at the uni today ..it is an annual event at the uni ...not wanting to miss out on the festivity, I went to the event at 10.30am and had decided to go back to my office by 11.45am ...but, one thing lead to another, and suddenly it was 11.50 hahaha so I was rushing for my class. I had the slides prepared already and my notes were already saved in the pendrive ...considering that I dont have time to rush to my office, I just walked quickly to the lecture theatre ...it was fill with students ...I am supposed to have 70-80 students, only 50++ showed up today ..a good turn outs actually compared to previous semesters....

so, there I was standing in front telling them about the regions ...and then I realised that I cannot see them clearly coz I did not have my glasses with me ..I assumed that the glasses was in my office ...and continue with my lecture ...a good session, if i may say so myself, when I suddenly saw something dangling around my necklace ....i look down and there was my glasses!!! Aiyooooo ...it was hilarious ..coz when I said, aikkk i have my glasses all these times ..and the students just laughed! Hilarious moments ...it completely put me out of my tempo ....had to re-group and get my focus on the notes after that ....and i had 3 students coming to see me afterwards saying that they saw the glasses but didn't know I was looking for the glasses hahaha ...

that puts a good laughing moment in my class today - at my expense! hopefully the class will remain joyful in the future - or at least till i finish my teaching :-)

Samarinda trip

I am trying to save my documents into a new portable hard disk since we are not that busy with teaching this week..Got the hard disk a while back but have yet to use it ...so, me being guilty of misplacing documents after documents recently, decided to copy all my files and folders into the hard disk for safe keeping ...for precaution ...and while doing so, I came across a folder of photographs from my maiden trip to Kalimantan Timur ....Samarinda to be exact ....brings back memories of the visit!

Went there for a conference and to present a paper back in 2008 ...my first oversea conference ...and my first conference attendance since joining the uni in 2007 ....went there with a couple of colleagues ..mind you, I was the only female lecturer from my uni to go there ...went there will a bunch of guys ..but one of my colleagues brought along his wife ...so, we just sort of stick together ...the trip was long and tiring ...Imagine we had to take a plane from Kuching to Jakarta, which arrived just after midnight at Jakarta ...then waited for a few hours for our connecting flight to Balikpapan ...and another 1-2 hour taxi ride to Samarinda ....by the time we reached the hotel, i can't really function all that well ...too tired!

in the early hours of the morning @ Jakarta Airport, waiting for the counter to be opened! Too tired but no place to sleep ....

Samarinda is actually the capital of East Kalimantan ..one of the richest provinces, according to the statistics, because of its timber and petroleum resources ...the most prominent landmark is the Mahakam River ...unfortunately I did not have a single photo of the said river LOL too tired throughout my short stay there ...

while waiting for the bus to bring us to Universitas Mulawarman, Samarinda where the conference took place

The schedule was a bit packed but we also have time to wander around at our own pace...we had a welcoming dinner hosted by the University ...which was fun with dance shows and food and karaoke ...you cant beat an Indonesian when it comes to singing ...seems like they can sing really beautifully!


Here, I spend a day wondering round the town with Neilson and his wife...they advised me not to venture out on my own after finding out that I went out to a nearby mall all by myself on the first night we were there ...it was a bit scary, especially walking back to the hotel - all alone on the sidewalk! I never did that again after that first day ...always went out with either Neilson & wife, or with my friend Naz ...went to a big market known as Citra Niaga selling clothing, telekung, batik and what nots ...very similar to Pasar Baru in Bandung ...not really my cup of tea ...but I got a few batiks for my mom and aunties here, plus some tees for my neice and nephews ....

Pasar Citra Niaga

and went to a few malls around town ...the most memorable is the Lembuswana mall ...one of the newer malls in the town ...with a huge water sculpture welcoming you at the entrance ...went here with Naz after my paper presentation. We took an angkutan kota here (a type of paratransit) which cost very little and pick us up in front of the uni ....the mall was ok ...lots of shops inside with familiar brand name ...and suffice to say, I did a little bit more shopping that i intended here ...as a result, it was very dark outside by the time we emerged from the mall ...and took a taxi back to the hotel ...

angkutan kota - a paratransit that is very much visible in Samarinda ...cheap and frequent, but the condition inside the angkutan is a bit off-putting to me ....and the driver looked fierce!!! If it weren't for Naz, I would not have gone inside one of these! But, an experience nonetheless ...

To me, Samarinda is a place that I would not have picked as a holiday destination ...i have not realised it existed before till it was announced in the conference booklet ...but I was glad that I went ...it was an adventure ...being a minority in a group dominated by men ...presenting in an environment which is familiar and yet different (the way the participants asked questions and the way it was organised is different from what I am used to!) ...and a long, tiring journey to a place which is on the same island as me ....definitely a great experience ...but going there again for holiday? perhaps not ...

Busy days ....

Had had a busy day today ...i planned to work from home coz I wanted to make headways in my marking ...if I mark at the office, there bounds to be interruptions ...so, markingvat home means I can start marking early in the morning, in my pyjamas ....and while having breakfast etc etc ....nowadays, working from home is convenient as everything can be checked via internet ....i checked my mails online, to see if there are urgent matters ...contacted students and advising them via sms or online interaction ... So, i can mark at home at ease ....

morning:
Apart from work, I also had to do some filial duties ...dad went for his check up early this morning ...since he was a bit drowsy, he didn't want to drive ...and asked me to send him to the hospital ....after a few hours he rang to say that he was ready ...and off I went to pick him up ....

Due to the same reason, dad did not feel like driving at all, and I ended up sending our helper home ....i don't mind coz it means i can take a break from my marking ....


Afternoon:
Spent the afternoon with the boys ....Al decided that he want to draw and write using my red pens ... In exchange he wanted me to use his crayons to mark the papers ...emmmm am wondering what the exam committee will think if they saw my comments in crayons!


Early Evening:
Decided to stop marking for the day ....my head was spinning by the time, after reading endless scripts ...and dechipering horrendous handwritings ...took dad to Giant for some grocery shopping ...he wanted to stock up some food items for us to bring to the cottage this coming friday ....ended up buying a table fan, to replace the old one which fell of the table a few nights ago ....and getting a dvd player for the boys ...i promised them that i will buy a dvd player for them (for the cottage) as their combined presents for adik's birthday ....it was longgggggg overdue coz I forgotten my promise ...hahahaa, i only remembered today while browsing the aisles ....

late night:
Now I am blogging to get a break from my marking, AGAIN!!! Yup, marking is my middle name till I completed the whole scripts ....and maybe, just maybe, after this, I will go to the kitchen for some coffee ...and am going to have some of the cinnamon rolls that i bought earlier ...hehehehehehe ...

Last day of exam

Yesterday was the last day of the exam for our faculty ...and so happens that my own paper was scheduled on this very last day ....so, I came to the office to see my students taking their exam .....they all looked busy ...too busy writing their answers hehehehe ....nobody was smiling, everybody had their head down ...

Now that the exam are over and done with, it is now our turn to mark the exam scripts ....i had 38 students this semester, and they are supposed to 3 essays each ...meaning I have a total of 114 essays to read and mark ...all in a space of less than 2 weeks .....sounds stressful? hehehe I had had worst than that ...when I first started  teaching, I made the mistakes of asking the students to do 4 essays ...choosing from a list of 6 titles ...for a group of 70++ students ...hahaha that was a stressful time ...trying to mark so many essays ....in a short time given ....and i also asked that same group of students to do online forum and discussions for their assignments ...and that TOOK TIME to mark as well ....

after their last class - 20th Dec 2011 ....

so, comparatively, 38 students with 3 essays each is not too bad ... i just need to concentrate on my marking ...the momentum must be there ....with lots of patience, and a good eyes to read their miserable handwriting!

busy June ...

i have been away from the office for a long time ...remember that i did a posting on my upcoming gawai (which was 3 weeks ago) ...i took 2 weeks off for that, a few days in the office (but was spent outside the office as i had to do my fieldwork ....) ..and then i went for a week in penang - for a conference and a day off ...now, the reality kicks in ...i am back at the office ...

and what is disturbing (lol) is that i have a long "TO DO" list waiting for me .....

(i) still have to finish my PhD proposal ...hard to get the momentum after such a long break :-(
(ii) we are moving to our new office building in July ....so, need to pack my stuffs ...i just hate this process (so, I have yet to start on this)
(iii) need to submit claim and conference report ....this is the least of my worries LOL ....coz no (i) and no (ii) are more urgent
(iv) have to apply for visa for my Shanghai trip - luckily this can wait ...the visa, according to the website, can be done in 4 working days ....(lower priority task)
(v) call to confirm my accommodation booking for our Sabah trip next month (need to remember to do this!)
(vi) fieldwork report - an on-going process ...(don't get me wrong, it is fun ....i am only lazy when i comes to report writing)

all in all, a really packed schedule for me ....and i am anticipating a busy July as well ......

former colleagues

Was browsing my album and saw these photos ....was taken during my farewell in Newcastle upon Tyne way back in 2005 ....i had a great time with these people ....

my first farewell do ...a lunch at the Happinness Inn, Newcastle with colleagues ....my Scottish mum is the third on the right ...this was only for selected people only ...my close knit friends ..and they are very lovely bunch! Always treated me like a daughter!

my second farewell do - with friends from the library ....at a pub behind my flat ...a convenient location. This was an evening after work do, which lasted all through the night! A great fun ....not many pictures were taken though

this was taken during my third (and official) leaving do ...organised by Robinson staff ...started off at Fitzgerald Pub, and continued at Sabbatini Restaurant at the Quayside ...and continued with drinks at one of the other pubs in the area ...i had a great night out ...a great colleague, even my big bosses (Liz, John and Jon) were present at the time ....

i miss those moments ...where i have lots of freedom, less stress on the job, many friends who are always there for me ....but now, I am with my family ....and I am happy with that :-)

impromtu poco poco

Found this when I was clearing my thumb drive....it has over 50 photos taken during my induction programme last  April ....didn't realize we took so many photos considering that we were on a very tight schedules ...with lectures, lectures and more lectures interspersed with morning exercise, evening jog and so on ...were secluded in Pusat Latihan Uni for a week without connection to the outside world ....phones were banned but i vividly recalled that i did curi curi texting Liz and Fendi during some of the lectures LOL ...

this was a short clip i took during our last night there ...we had a karaoke session, dinner etc ...but once the VIP left, we still remained there and sang our hearts out till 2-3 in the morning LOL ....crazy stuffs ...hehehe but i made a lot of new friends then ...and most importantly I passed the induction exam ..and that's it ...no more induction programme for me for the rest of my life!

sharing ideas and experiences

i attended a seminar last week ...on development experiences between Ghana and Malaysia ...as academician, it is something very common ...attending seminars, listening to people talking about their research and findings ...a platform for idea sharing ...

last week's seminar was quite interesting ...the speaker is a Ghanian, studying in USA ...he is talking about the development progress  - the differences between Ghana's and Malaysia's achievement ...a good talk indeed, making me appreciate our country's progress and political stability more ...

and the talk was attended by academicians from Nigeria, USA, UK and so on ...they are our contract lecturers, visiting lectures and post-doc students ...

Moments with Colleagues

I have been busy recently ...i had lots of photos but no time to do my posting ...so, this blog has been neglected ....so, decided to do a photo entry today ... all the photos are taken during freshies' week ....

as usual, we had our orientation week ...and meeting with new students, mentor-mantee session and so on ...

taken during the coffee break ...with Faezah and Elena ...the three of us were trying every cakes that was on the table ...hehehheeh

Elena's trying to be fierce ...

going to the Mentor-Mantee session ....the students were not there yet as we arrived early ....

Outside our main Hall - after the speeches and cofee break ....these are my colleagues whose offices are in the same block as me ...

 my non-academic colleagues ...Amy, Ros and Siti ....

We had more or less similar function everytime we had this session with the new students ...the students are getting younger and younger each time ****sigh*

highlights of Penang trip

this blog was neglected for a long time ..lack of updates/ postings....coz i was so busy ...(so, what else is new ehh?) ...I went to Penang last week, my second trip this year...to attend a compulsary course ...it was a 5-day course ...i was dreading it so much, that I believed that when I went in, I was completely depressed about the prospects of having to attend the course ...but, I was wrong! The course was fun ..and completely opposite from what I had experienced during my undergraduate days ...or from the rumours that I heard from friends ...

The highlights of the course:

i did the flying fox routine! awesome awesome experience ...

did a physiology test - interesting revelations (LOL)

meeting new friends 

managed to finish my jungle tracking activity

got new ideas and inspirations

No much photos were taken coz cameras are not allowed in the camp...but we were allowed to bring it during our jungle tracking activity ...the scenary was awesome! pretty beaches ...very calming and inviting!

another memorable highlight of the trip: food! I love Penang food ....

definitely want to go to Penang again - the food there are calling out my name! hehehehe ...

lunchbox and working lunches

This week is a busy week for me (i have been harping about this for a while already ...i can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it still a bit further away!) ...i cannot afford to waste valuable time waiting for my orders and eating outside ...so, the shortcut is to bring my own lunchbox ....that is why I made my own oriental tuna pasta dish early this week ....

** pasta cooking nicely in the wok**

Even mum was shocked to see her kitchen-shy daugther cooking something at 7am hahahaha ....I guess it was too much for my mum coz the following day, she already prepared something (fried rice) for my lunchbox  ...hehehehe ...and today I just stopped over at the cafe - on the way to work - to buy my lunch and some kuih (anchiovies fritters and kuih ketayap) ...and Elena also bought that yummy popia for me ...so, a working lunch again today ...and the dateline is looming!!!!!! so, am going to pen off now ...cannot waste my precious time whining here :-)

Tea lady

This was taken in PLSU last week ...we were busy rehearsing for our play that we didn't even go down to the dining area for our coffee break ....luckily we had these two nice ladies ...they brought the coffee up for us ...great teamwork ....that night we finished rehearsal at 3am!!!

In a way, I had fun last week - I like the people who are in my group - and the networking ..I just dislike the fact that I was inundated with lectures, assignments, notes to read, and all other boring stuffs, basic accommodation, and being secluded from friends and family....but it is over - for now ....and I have managed to survive the ordeals ....

Got the photo!!!

Continuation from the last posting. The very next day, I spoke again to Prof. Terry ...and i got Dr Wong to take our picture! hehehehe ....at least I have a photo with him.

He is a very kind and considerate gentlemen. Gave me very good advice and some ideas for my future research. all in all, makes me a very happy person at the Conference LOL.

meeting my idol ...

I have been reading this guy's books or ages ..he is the expert in the field and obviously had published lots of books and journal articles ...and guess what, yesterday I met him in person ...AWESOME!!! I didn't take any photos as I don't want to embarrass myself :-)

Terry McGee (on the far left in the above picture) is a renowned expert in the field of human geography, and he has been doing extensive research on urbanisation in Malaysia and South East Asia ...and to have the opportunity to sit and listen to his key note address and roundtable discussion is really great ...it is the highlight of this Conference for me ...although when I first sending in abstract for the Conference, I did not know that he is to be one of the key note speaker ...and I am glad that I am attending this conference ...

Conference in Penang - the sessions

Yes, the main reason that I am in Penang right this moment is because of a conference. It is a 3-day event, officially commencing yesterday at the Conference Halls in USM ...these are some of the photos during the official opening ceremony yesterday ....

and my paper was presented straight after the opening ceremony ....no pictures I'm afraid coz I was sitting up front and I forgot to ask someone to take my photo ...the presentation was a success, I think...i got lots of feedbacks which I found very illuminating and definitely will be used to improve my paper ...

Unfortunately, I was unwell yesterday ..so, after the presentation and meeting a few people - that's the whole point of a conference - sharing ideas and networking - I went back to the hotel. My head was throbbing and I think it was due to the late night (preparing for presentation slides), no breakfast (the queue for taxi was rather long so I choose to queue instead of having breakfast) and the very hot & humid weather in penang ...all these were making me quite ill yesterday ...spent the rest of the afternoon in bed ....

But today is a new day ..i made sure I had enough sleep the night before and having breakfast at the hotel before I went to USM ....and I fared much better than yesterday ...although the heat and humidity is still the same! Heard and attended some insprising lectures and keynote addresses today ....and one of them is from Prof Banton - he is in his late 70s by the way but still very agile and sharp! I hope to be like that when I am older ...growing old gracefully and all that ....and some photos of today's session ...

So, tomorrow is the last day of the Conference ...and after that I'll be meeting my sister ...and having a day off on Friday to enjoy Penang ...we are planning to visit the reclining Buddha, the Kek Lok Si Temple and, of course, savouring other mouthwatering foods of Penang! Looking forward to that :-)

Inter-Faculty Bowling Competition

Last Sunday was the day of the bowling competition ...our slot was on Sunday at 4pm ...and the team colours are black and red ..we had such a great fun ...with our shouting, and clapping and encouraging each other ...but I felt no pressure at all - which I really like!

Elena and I putting on our bowling shoes ...and getting ready to bowl...go go go ...

and of course, whatever it is ...competition or not ..posing is a MUST hahahaha ...

The teams didn't win anything that day ...but Bemen won an individual prize for the best high score in a game category ...scored 220 in a game ...he was the man of the day! Congrats again Bemen ....

and more poses with the prizes ...which, unfortunately are not ours hahahaha ...

Attending a course

Last Wednesday we were attending a course on how to improve our academic portfolio ...basically it is all about putting oneself at the forefront of the academic world ...by making oneself visible and relevant in his/her field ..and all that to be achieved by employing strategies to promote oneself ...i.e. through publishing ...publishing and more publishing ...but must be at the right place, the right theme ...emmmm definitely something to think and DO if i were to survive in this academic world ...

But, whatever it is, taking photos is a must ....lol

Dayang and Haslina ...

and yours trully :-)

 there is a story about this picture ...but to "cover line" i could say that they are fighting over these ....

the popia that we had for our tea break ...(emmm will anyone believe me? lol)

after a long day, we were served tea break before we left the place - had popia and sweetcorn pudding ...as well as a long list of "to do" to digest ...let it be my mantra ...publish ...publish ...publish ...

Sun burnt

I am sun burnt ...my face is hot and red ...and very uncomfortable at the moment. I have applied face cream and lotions just to ease the discomfort ...

This was all due to the fact that I spent the entire day in a scorching hot weather ...it was absolutely boiling and really humid today. I went back to my village to get some photos ...i have been doing research in the area and need the photos for my presentation in 3 weeks time ...but this weekend was the only time I am free ...and dad came with me as well today

me: in action ...at the background is the Kelingkang Range which act as the natural boundary between Malaysia and Indonesia

and the above pic was taken by dad ..we stopped at the roadside ...and I can't get out of the car as there were lots of cars passing at such high speed ..so, dad - who is suffering from gout today - had to limp by the roadside and took this picture for me ...this is a settlement about 15km from our village and located very near to the international border...

I have lots of other interesting photos, all taken today, but as it is nearly 1.30 in the morning, and i am sleepy ..i'll do another posting when my mind is still fresh ...