You add colors to my life

I could be perceived as someone who is uptight and serious.  I do admit that I don’t know how to have “fun”.  But things change when I went to Durham and I met a bunch of people who are fun, playful and yet they are committed in their work (they are also academically excellent).  I don’t know how they can strike a balance to have fun and at the same time stay focused in their study.  But, I learn a great deal from them.  

One of those individuals are Yasmin Ahmad Rusli, fondly known as Min.  Min is an exceptional lady.  When she pursued her masters degree in Durham, she had a long distance relationship with her husband, Samir.  But, from her story and all, I learn to know about Samir even though I never met him before.  I met Samir once when he came to Durham in summer 2008 (Min and Samir went to Paris after that for a short holiday).

The picture was taken when we went to York for a shopping spree.  We bought quite a lot of things.  It is not that we intently wanted to splurge like that but for me, I bought some of cookery thingy (that I still have and use until now) and clothes (which I could no longer wear because the clothes are no longer fit.  I have gained weight since then). 

When I look at this picture, Min and I looked so happy.  Indeed.  Min is one of my best confidantes when I was in Durham.  We shared some ups and downs especially when we had a problem with our housemate of no 12 Steavenson Street.  But things changed for the better afterwards when I moved to no 60 Steavenson Street, Bowburn.  Thing happens for a reason.  Alhamdulillah Allah Gives me a friend like Min to share my woes and happiness. 

Indeed it is true that “A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked“- Bernard Meltzer-

BBQ chicken wings

This is one of my famous signature dishes when I was in Durham.   The ingredients are simple yet now it is difficult to find some of it in Malaysia.  So, I don’t make any now.   Well, I can easily go to Nando’s or Kenny Roger’s or Pizza Hut to eat this.  I don’t have to prepare it myself.   

The recipe?  I need to find my cook book where I wrote all the recipes of the dishes that I cooked in Durham.  Once upon a time ago.  Indeed.  

A memory with an iron lady

I met Rita in 2009.  We joined Kelana Convoy trip to Europe.   After that trip, she came to Durham in winter 2009 with her friend, Hayat.  We went to Newcastle and ate at Gekko.   The restaurant claims that they serve Halal food but they also serve non-halal food (they put the trays in different sections though).  

On our back to Durham, I remember of thinking about the plates and such that we use.  Opsie…. what if the plates that we used are the ones that were used by others who ate non-halal thingy like pork-based food?   This makes me realise that I have to be extra careful when it comes to eating at such restaurant which caters the halal and non-halal food.

Rita lost her mom not long after our trip.  Her trip to Durham was the trip before she went back to Malaysia for good.  She is a clever and hardworking individual.  Even though, she might appear playful, but she is very serious when it comes to serious things.  When she shared her woes with me, I told her that she needs to discuss and confide in with her mom.  She said that she didn’t want to make her mom to worry about her and her siblings so there were times when she would rather share about her problems with friends.  What a tenacious and caring girl!    She has already the characteristics of an iron lady at that time.  

I am glad that everything turns out alright for her after the incident that shocked the whole country in 2010.  Alhamdullillah justice has been well-served even though it took about seven years to find the closure.   The thing happened during Ramadan.  May Allah Bless her mom with Jannah.  

Band of sisters

When I did my Latihan Ikhtisas, these three ladies are the ones who help me the most.  From the left: Fiza (wearing the sport attire), Aalia, me and Ita.  All of them are really passionate teachers.   I never had any teacher as passionate as them but I am glad that the school has them as their teachers.  May Allah Bless them with continuous hidayah, barakah and rahmah.  

Kampung Ayer Brunei Darussalam

These are old pictures.  I went to Brunei in late 2016 to attend my ex-housemate’s wedding.  Huda was gracious to be our tour guide.  I have been to Kampung Ayer in 2014 but it was the first time for my sister to go to Kampung Ayer.  

It has changed a lot since 2014.  There is new development of housing at Kampung Ayer in which they build houses with modern design.   I have to search for the pictures of the modern houses that I took (I forget where I store the pictures).  Until then, it is sufficed to provide only those two pictures 😀 

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!

At the point of writing this post, I am preparing my OBE report.  Alhamdulillah.  One course is finished.  Another two more to go.   In sha Allah I will try to finish everything before Eid.  

When I look at the students performance (i.e. marks), I could not help from wondering, do they study smart before the exam because apparently, some of them are not able to get good marks.  I know that I cannot assume their understanding based on the marks alone but it seems that some of them are not brave enough to challenge themselves to do better.  Perhaps I am wrong in this matter.  I have been wondering if it has something to do with reading (how much they read to make themselves understand certain concepts).

Language of depression

A friend of mine posted this on her FB.  An article about depression.  More often than not, people who are depressed show many signs such as the way they use certain words (i.e. language).  They speak “the language of depression”.  To untrained eyes, such things can go unnoticed.  

The two aspects that worth to be noted are content and style.  Content consists of emotion expressions, use of pronoun, rumination and social state (i.e. in the case of depression, social isolation).  Style relates to how one express oneself.  It relates to the former aspect, content.  For example, the use of absolutist words (e.g. never, always, nothing, absolutely etc.) might indicate how a person views certain situation.  A sentence like “There is nothing that I do matters” indicates how a person is using self-handicapping note in the language with reference to oneself (i.e. the use of the word “I”).  

So, please be aware of our own language or others to detect any sign of depression.  Indeed.  Mind your (and our) language, please!

Concept maps_Part 1

One of the juniors asked me if giving students a concept map assignment is appropriate to measure cognitive skills (the code C6 – creating level).  I asked him back what makes him think otherwise because to produce a concept map is not easy.  It is not simply cut-copy-paste thingy (unless one copies other’s concept map).  To produce one as your own, you need to have a good understanding about a concept and how it relates to other sub-concepts.  It is not easy to produce a good and meaningful concept-map.  I guess, this junior rarely uses concept maps to be articulated and reflective.  Apparently from his question, it does resonate with that parts that he seems to be lacking of.  

While doing my PhD, I did many concept maps like this.  But, I find it difficult to draw a concept map in a white A4 paper.  So, I changed the medium.  I wrote on brown paper napkins that I could find inside any toilet in my school and it is FOC.  It did help me to stay focused on what I want to write and organise my thoughts.  In fact, a concept map is one of the ways that self-regulated learners will use to be reflective in a pictorial form.  There are research about this.   

So, when I crafted the assignments that I want to assign to my students taking SPPP1012 Educational Psychology, I want to them to be reflective.  Being reflective demands a person to have a certain routine and habit.  In this case, to produce a concept map for every topic learned also means helping students to develop a routine which I hope will turn into a habit.  2 in 1 thingy.  Students will learn how to produce concept maps and hopefully they could teach it to others.  Secondly, students might also develop good habits to summarise their thoughts in different forms i.e. pictorial format.  

What a heck!  As a teacher later on, the students will have to teach their secondary students how to illustrate points using I-think note (I-think note is a form of concept map).  How can they teach the students if they never had any experience to draw concept map before?   As an instructor, I ask the students to submit the concept map on regular basis because I would have a look at their concept maps and give my feedback so that their concept maps would be useful and more meaningful.  This is an example that I “show” real example to my students so that when they become teachers, they would make it as part of their habits to give feedback to students.  

For more information about I-think, check it out on KPM website.

Salivary duct stone

The year was 2010.  It was February.  I felt really stressful at this moment to finalise my PhD thesis.  Due to that, I didn’t take care of myself really well.  What happened then?  

I started to have a bit of swelling on my right cheek.  I had that for a week or two.  I didn’t think too much about it.  Then, on one morning, I started to feel a painful throbbing.  When I looked myself in the mirror, my right cheek was swollen.   I started to feel something hard on the inside of my right cheek using my tongue.   I didn’t know what the thing is.  I brave myself to endure the late winter chill to go to school to edit some of my work.  

I googled the symptoms and I came across this term “Salivary Duct Stone”.  I know what causes it.  It was my fault of not drinking enough water.  I neglected my health.  It was not a time for me to panic.  So, I googled more information on how to get rid of the stone naturally.  Going to the doctor was the last thing on my mind.   I tried several ways to flush the stone out naturally.  I did it!  My salivary duct was a little bit infected because there was yellowish /reddish puss coming out with the stone.  The puss didn’t stop for a while.  Once it stopped, there was a hole inside my cheek and my cheek was still swelling and the throbbing still persisted.  This was when things became unbearable.  

So, I went to the nearby clinic.  The doctor gave me a referral letter and asked me to go to Sunderland Hospital which would take me around 1 hour journey from Durham.  I called K Ila and she sent me to the hospital.  I packed some clothes just in case I have to be warded even though that would be the last thing that I want.  Alhamdulillah, it was just a salivary duct stone.   I showed the doctor the stone and he told me the stone was out and he couldn’t see any stone left.  With that, he gave me a prescription to reduce the swelling and I didn’t need to be warded.  It took me an hour and half to reach home.   

This serves as a lesson for me: I need to drink enough water everyday to keep myself hydrated and avoid of having a stone inside my mouth.  Alhamdulillah, I don’t have any recurrent swelling until now.  

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