The Graduation of koko'

-
For some people it only happens once in their lifetime.
For some people it's a pointless tradition.
For some people it is a rite of passage.
For me, it's something that all the brothers will do for one last time.

I have always cherished relationships with good people.
This is because I think that it is harder to find a good friend in life than it is to get anything else.
Money, can be earned. Health, can be maintained. Happiness, is a state of mind.
Good friends, they are harder to find than any of the above.

They are like Nasi Lemak...
There are many varieties out there but very few of them suit me.
I have a certain personality & perspective to life.
Good friends do not have to have the same personalities, perspectives or priorities...
Their hearts have to be in the right place.

When I do find one person that I am blessed to spend time with...
Be it a brother or sister, I will keep the relationship for life.
I will maintain it and work hard to keep it alive.

I am blessed with at least 14 brothers who feel the same.
We graduated together & we had dinner together on Sunday.
They have touched my life & I appreciate them for it.
Even though we cannot continue like we were for the past 6 years, we'd still be together in our hearts.

Congratulations, brothers!
We have made a difference!
~~~~

Here is the story of my graduating ceremony told in pictures...

B.Ed.TESL Graduating Ceremony 2009
Institut Pendidikan Guru Malaysia: Kampus Bahasa Antarabangsa (IPBA)
Saturday, 30 May 2009

Good friends groom & embrace each other.
And do forgive us... We haven't seen each other for soooooo long.

There were cameras everywhere that day!
Everyone was taking photos & having a blast!

We put on ridiculously oversized robes with colourful hoods.
Totally unglamorous but still the centre of attraction!

I graduated in absentia from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, a few months ago.
So during the graduating ceremony at IPBA, I received a certificate of recognition from Y.Bhg. Dato' Hj. Alimuddin B. Hj. Mohd. Dom, the Ketua Pengarah Pelajaran Malaysia (General Director of the Education Ministry).
This proves that my degree is actually recognised in Malaysia.

Anne the valedictorian gave a wonderful speech reminiscing the past & looking forward to building a better future for Malaysia.
It was well written and delivered flawlessly.
Well done, Anne!

After that, we went nuts & started taking lots & lots of photos.

I would like to thank Nicholas Ling, the cool senior, who came all the way from Sibu to join us & be my official photographer.
You're also the first person besides me to use my precious Nikon D90.

Finally, I want to appreciate the two people that supported me & did their best to help me be a useful person in society.
Mom... Dad... even though sometimes we dont see eye to eye...
You're still the best parents I could ever have.
Thank you for being you.

Popular posts from this blog

Understanding The New SPM (2021) English 1119 Paper Format

-
Image
This outline & those of other SPM language papers were made publicly available on the Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia (LPM) website . I'm sure you've seen the above being circulated on the internet. But, what does it mean? How does this paper compare to the current SPM paper for English? Do we have to change our testing practices in Form 4? At this moment, information is sparse despite great public interest. As the head of the English panel at my school, my Form 4 colleagues will come to me for what to do & parents will ask me what this is about. Until we have very specific instructions from the ministry, this is what I will be telling my colleagues & parents based on the limited amount of information available to me from my intimate experience with the current SPM paper & second-hand information about the PT3 English paper. Let me know if I got anything wrong or if you have more detailed information.
Open Full Post »

What To Do When Your Unifi Service Suddenly Drops

-
Image
After finally putting my kid to sleep, I was about to settle into the couch with my wife & stream a movie, when my Unifi fiber optic internet connection suddenly dropped. When it didn't come back after 1 hour, I realized that I had to do something. Considering that I pay my bills promptly every month, it must be a technical issue. Here's what I did to fix the problem. It look me less than 20 minutes. 1. First, I checked my modem (the white machine). I checked the lights on the modem. When the modem is functioning properly, lights will be on for POWER, PON, LAN1 & TEL1. If the red light for LOS lights up, call 100 to resolve the issue. Also, I made sure that all the wire connections were tight. 2. Next, I checked my router (the black machine). Again, I checked the lights. When the router is functioning properly, lights will be on for POWER, GLOBE, WIFI, LAN1. My POWER light was blinking, so that means that there was no internet connection. Again, I made sure th
Open Full Post »

How To Fix Logitech Options Not Loading

-
Image
I use a Logitech K380 bluetooth keyboard at home & love it to bits. Very quiet & the tactile response is just perfect. Also, it's super small so easy to put away when I need to pile exam papers on my desk. Still, there's one small problem though... It is a compact keyboard so the multimedia buttons double as function keys. I use the function keys A LOT & it's really cumbersome for me to have to hold the "fn" button every time I want to use them. I.e., try pressing alt+fn+f4 with one hand. Thankfully, with the Logitech Options software, I can default to the function keys. A few months ago, I was chagrined to learn that my keyboard had spontaneously returned to factory settings. "No problem", I thought. "I'll just change the settings in Logitech Options." Only to find that the app wouldn't load on my Windows 10 machine, resulting in the blank window you see screen-captured above. "Let me try reinstalling." Uni
Open Full Post »

Tip SPM Dari Pelajar-Pelajar Cemerlang Straight A+

-
Image
This morning, I attended Kapten Talk 2.0: Student Edition. After feeding my baby & tucking him in for his late morning nap, I finally had time to look at my messages. Lo' & behold, a friend sent me a poster about a webinar by straight-A+ students. Interesting! I sheepishly looked at the date, what? TODAY! Heart racing, I quickly glanced at the time, 11 PG. Oh, petang. Wait a minute, MANA ADA 11 PETANG? PAGI LA BODO! My eyes darted to the upper right corner of the screen. 10.45AM! I quickly forwarded the poster + some ulasan to ALL my students' groups as well as to my school staff's chatgroup on WhatsApp. Feeling bad that I gave them so little notice, I knew I had to attend, take notes & share those notes with my students. Since I'm doing that, I might as well share it with everyone. The notes are written in my broken BM to include my lowest-performing students. "How much you achieve is how much you prepare" - Luqman Nawar, 9A+
Open Full Post »

Explained: The Low SPM Passing Grade Table

-
Image
I bet you've seen this screen-captured table. I'm in a lot of education social media groups & every year around SPM season, this SPM baseline table will be reposted without fail in exactly the same way: some dude expressing shock at the low grades required for passing certain SPM subjects while lamenting the horrible state of our national education system. I enjoy intellectual discussions, but, if some random table is the basis for one's thesis, I roll my eyes & scroll away. However, I keep seeing this post repeating itself again & again & worse still I get tagged in some of them again & again until my eyes just can't roll any further. It's time to explain what a baseline is to those who are not teachers. What Is Baseline Data? Every school does this kind of data analysis, which is why those who cry wolf are usually not teachers. Why? A baseline is used to estimate the possible grades of our exam-taking cohort based on past SPM results. How? Base
Open Full Post »