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Showing posts from November, 2011

Pen-Pals for Mixed Proficiency Classes

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I've always had an affinity towards handwritten words. I esp love hand-written letters. It is personal. It is finite. It is unique. There is a distinct romance there that really moves & captivates me. By forgoing the ease of more modern means, it really communicates the heart of the person for actually arching uncomfortably over a table & torturing their hands in creation of the letter. I feel as if someone is giving a small amount of his/her life to me on a piece of paper. I believe that a deep connection via letters would really benefit my students & motivate them to learn the English language. Last year, I played around with this idea by connecting my Form 1 students with a class of average-proficiency Primary 6 pupils in a SJK(T) Primary School in KL through their English teacher. This year, I connected the same class (now in Form 2) with a class of high-proficiency Form 4 students in SMK Puteri Titiwangsa, KL, I taught during my practical. This time

The Lytro Camera - Taking Living Pictures

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Chech this video out it's a demo & introduction to the Lytro camera. Believe me. YOU WANT TO SEE THIS VIDEO. I've pretty much lost my patience in carrying a bulky DSLR around with me wherever I go & tired of getting suspicious looks from people. For a while, I have been looking for a compact camera (since I don't have a phone camera & may not be getting a smartphone in 1-2 years). That's when I discovered the Lytro camera. Don't like the shape. Don't like the colours. It's a bloody ugly camera, I know. Bulkier than a phone in the pocket (but I guess it's made for school girls who carry handbags & update FB like every second). But for RM1600 (US$499) or RM1300 (US$399), I can take pictures without the hassle of focusing or worrying about blurred/overexposed/underexposed/noisy images. Image capturing is instant & I can focus AFTER taking the picture. This is how the camera works: Instead of merely capturing the light t

The Flower

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Scheduled at 11:11 11/11/11. hahahahaha~~ I'm such a nerd. Anyway, after reading the abysmal entries into the karya section of my school magazine by my best students, I wrote this poem to show them how it's done. I actually wanted to write an adorable & interesting story but, at this time of year, I am far too buzy. If this year's magazine were to be produced late, I might actually have time to slot one in & you'll be the first to read it here on my blog! =D Anyway, enjoy this simple & short poem. What am I writing about? Share your thoughts! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Flower taken from monstergirlee.blogspot.com There is a flower particular as can be Not a flower you’d commonly see She beams just like the sunlight She warms the world just right There is also a busy bee From work be so weary She’ll look into his eyes And she’ll tell him no lies They danced in lovely weather It’s short their time together

Lanjak Entimau Forest Reserve

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After hearing countless stories from my fishing sifu, Wesley, about super gigantic rare fish catches in the Lanjak Entimau Forest Reserve & reading about it in a magazine article he wrote, I was really hoping for a chance to experience the deep forests, inner rivers & their life-threatening rapids for myself as well as take photos to remember it as a must-do-before-you-die once-in-a-lifetime activity. Such high hopes & expectations were doomed to be torn down & trampled on esp when travelling in a large group & following the plans of other people. It was 6-7 hours upstream to the forest reserve resort & 4-5 hours back. The boatride was an adventure on its own. In the 6 / 4 hours, we experienced all the seasons of a tropical heaven: super sunny sunburning hot, heavy painful liquid droppings & cool cloudy goodness. Let's not forget the welcoming splashes from the swollen debris-ridden milo river. The resort was a pleasant sight to behold.