The Malaysian Insider

MARCH 10 — Do you have a Facebook account? If you don’t, then I’m sorry, you’re just not that cool. Facebook to the current society is like the air that we breathe, the water that we drink and the food that we consume.

Not having a Facebook account is similar to admitting you have no friends because if you have friends, then they would have Facebook accounts.

They would have you on their “Friends List” but you’re not there so you must not have any friends.

MARCH 3 — So my sister is getting married in a few months. Yes, my younger sister. And no, I am not jealous at all about it.

For some reason though, some of the people I had told of about her wedding seemed to think that because I am still single with no plans of marriage in the near future, I would be upset about her wedding.

They even asked me outright whether I felt jealous or embarrassed that she was getting married before me.

FEB 17 — I used to live in a low-cost flat alone before I moved to live with friends earlier this year. I had been living alone since I moved to the city I’m in now, and I thought I could make do without the trouble of living with a person I barely knew. Sure, living with friends can be quite fun but not when you get a housemate who makes home seems like hell for you.

If you are familiar with flats, you know that whatever goes on at your neighbour’s or outside, you are bound to hear it. So I have heard mothers screaming their heads off yelling at their kids, guys trying out their new car stereo at ten in the night, and couples fighting in the wee hours of the morning.

FEB 10 — A few weeks into the school term and I have already received quite a few phone calls from parents regarding after-school tuition. The last few years, I did offer homework assistance and extra coaching after school, but since I am now working in the afternoon session, I decided not to offer that help this year. Work is taxing and can be quite stressful, what with adjusting to the new environment, etc, I feel like I could make do without the extra work tuition will bring me.

Tuition seems to be a major concern for parents these days. If school teachers offer tuition classes, you can bet that the students will be scrambling to fill up the classes, especially if he or she  is known to be a great teacher. Someone who is a ‘Guru Cemerlang’ (Excellent Teacher) or has been teaching for a long time usually can, and will charge more. Their classes would be much sought after and if the students produce great results, which in Malaysian context means a long string of As, then you can bet your top Ringgit that more students will register for the next school term.

During my first year of teaching, I decided to just wait and see, and learn more before even considering giving tuition. I was after all just a new teacher, and felt that my inexperience and lack of familiarity with the exam formats would not be fair to the students.

JAN 27 — Minggu ini minggu kedua sesi persekolahan tahun 2010 bermula namun terasa seperti sudah lama saya kembali bertugas sebagai seorang guru sekolah kebangsaan.

Maklumlah, sebelum sekolah dibuka, kami telah ke sekolah seminggu lebih awal bagi menghadiri pelbagai mesyuarat serta membuat persediaan menghadapi sesi persekolahan baru.

Bagi yang baru berpindah ke tempat bertugas yang baru seperti saya, bermulanya sesi persekolahan baru bermakna saya perlu belajar mengenali rakan sejawat dan anak murid selain mengenali dan menyesuaikan diri dengan budaya kerja di sekolah baru.