50-Word Sentence Competition

1 May is Labour Day, so, it is a rest day for me. This also means that I have extra from my pay this month which I would like to share with my students from 5 Bestari and 4 Arif. Earlier, I had a lesson which required them to make a 50-word sentence from the given subject and a finite verb. Therefore, I will be giving them the opportunity to use their prior knowledge to make a 50-word sentence as creatively as possible and get RM50.00 for reward. 

Please use the following subject and finite verb:

The labourer works.

The Rules and Regulations

1. The participant must use the given subject and finite verb above as the main subject and verb.

2. The participant must use Complex Sentence. Compound Sentence will not be accepted. 

3. Using the word 'The labourer' is optional. Any other words with the same meaning is acceptable. 

4. The finite verb must be used in the suitable tenses.  

5. The sentence  must consists of 50 words; not more or less. 

6. The sentence must be written in the comments below this post complete with the participant's name and class name.

7. The participant can submit more than one sentence.

8. The sentence must be submitted starting from today until 31st May 2014.

9. The participant must be from 5 Bestari or 4 Arif 2014.

10. My decision is final.

Click here to submit your answer.

Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge

The Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah bridge is the second Penang bridge which connects Batu Kawan on the mainland and Batu Maung on the Penang island. It is 24km long and it is currently the longest bridge in South East Asia. 

Yesterday, I drove on it and the feeling was wonderful. There were not many cars because it was Saturday, 8.30 in the morning. It was more suitable for those who are always travelling between Penang and the south, mainly Kuala Lumpur as those who wants to go East, whom includes myself, may have to turn back to the left where the first bridge is.  However, I was just taking the opportunity to make use of the holiday time to actually be among the second Penang bridge users. 

The cable stayed resembling that on the first bridge

The 'S' curve for safety reasons

The entry point on the Penang island

Gua Musang Stop

I was on my way from KL when I stopped at the Gua Musang Stop. I don't mean the RNR near the Sungai Asap, but rather the one not far from the Gua Musang roundabout. It is a new stop with facilities such as a musolla, toilets and also food courts. There are also parking lots for buses. All in all, I like the stop because it is an alternative to the RNR stop where all the cars coming and going to KL stop by everyday, especially during the holidays. However, there is something which they must improve on, that is to prepare more foods during the holidays when there will be more customers coming by. I found it hard to buy food when I stopped that day, and I had to settle for a burger only because other foods were already finished.

An Enjoyable Trip

"Come on everybody! Wake up! I want to see all of you in the car at 8.30 sharp, or else..." I commanded.

That day, we planned to visit the famous Crystal Mosque at Terengganu, and on our way home, stop at La Hot Springs. Everybody was ready, including my 3-year-old son, 'Ammar. He was anxious as to where I would take him.

"Where are we going, abi (father)?" he asked.

"We are going to Terengganu. You've never been to Terengganu, haven't you?" I explained, and whether he understood my explanation or not was not that important.

"Yeay!" he exclaimed, happily.

As promised, the five of us departed at 8.30 a.m. We stopped for our breakfast at Machang, near the traffic light. As the driver, I had a heavy breakfast, eating Nasi Dagang with grilled drumstick, while others only had roti canai.

Half an hour later, we continued our journey. The signboard showed that Kuala Terengganu was 144 kilometres away, and it took us approximately 2 hours from where we had our breakfast that morning, to reach our destination.

The journey was very enjoyable. We travelled through Pasir Putih, and when we entered Terengganu border, we could see remarkably-designed mosques throughout. We all gasped in awe, because the mosques looked very clean and beautiful. They were very different from the mosques in Kelantan, where the designs and the beauty were not that apparent.

Arriving in Kuala Terengganu, I had no problem in finding the whereabouts of the Crystal Mosque because we could clearly see it from the bridge. It was situated near the riverbank, and was surrounded by many structures, especially the Convention Centre and the replicas of the mosques from around the world in the Monument Park.

First, we took some pictures at the Crystal Mosque compound. There were many people there; some of them were taking pictures also, while others were having a programme inside the mosque. 'Ammar was very excited, posing and asking me to take his pictures in front of the mosque.

Then, we entered the Monument Park. It was captivating just to see the smaller scale replicas of the most beautiful of mosques and monuments from around the world, among which were al-Haram and al-Nabawi Mosques (both were situated in Saudi Arabia,) al-Hambra Mosque (Spain), and the Taj Mahal (India).

While in the park, 'Ammar saw pupils getting on the tram unceremoniously from afar. He said, "Abi, I want to ride the tram". "We can't, my dear son. We don't have the tickets," I replied.

I was taking my camera out and starting to take the pupils' pictures when I heard them calling, "Sir, come with us!. Sir, come with us!".

It was then I realized that they were actually pupils from my school, who were travelling with the teachers in a three-days-two-nights tour of Terengganu. And luckily for 'Ammar, he had the chance to enjoy a free tram ride after all, courtesy of the group tour.

After spending a couple of hours in the park, and taking pictures at all the monuments and mosques, we decided that it was time to go. But, we cashed in the vouchers given to us at the park's cafe and its souvenir shop.

It was already 5 p.m. when we got out from the place. After some discussion, we came to the conclusion that there was not enough time to continue our plan with the La Hot Springs. Thus, we found a place to stay in for the night, and would carry our plan forward the next day.

Aquaria

How long does it take for a group of piranhas to finish off their meal? This and many other marine-based questions will be answered in the Aquaria situated beside the KLCC. There are many kind of fishes on display, among them the large Arapaima, the giant sharks, and the huge ray. You can also see the fishes being fed by the divers at the Aquatheatre. But, the piranhas are being fed separately, for they live in separate aquarium. Therefore, make sure that you enter during the feeding schedule for your utmost pleasure, so that you get your money's worth.

And remember also to bring your finest camera, because once inside, no flash is allowed. ENJOY!

For more information, click the official website here.

LOGIC GAME

I played a logic game I have in my laptop. It is a good game testing your deductive ability. I just have to guess the right features which includes the hairstyles, the eyes, the nose, the mouth and the clothes of what was behind the curtains. Most of the time, I got it correctly in 6 or 7 guesses, but this morning, I got it correct in just 5 guesses. I got a title "Champion of Logic". Haha.

Happy Holidays and Good Luck SPMians and STPMians

Happy holidays for those who are holidaying, but for those who are having their exams, especially the SPMians and STPMians, I wish you all good luck. After stopping blogging for a while due to my first sleepless experience of marking public exam papers, or PMR to be exact, I am back at my keyboard typing something, which may or may not be of interest to you. Nevertheless, I'll share with you some traditions at my new school which I did not previously experience during my 4 years at Gua Musang.

1. Graduation

There was actually a graduation for the would be SPM students, to commemorate the end of their study in the school. All the students wore a robe and a graduation hat before taking their scroll from the principal. I know that many other schools also have their own graduation, but for me, it was my first time. I could see happy faces receiving the scroll, but sadly, I didn't know if they will actually be happy when they take their result next year. I will surely be praying for all of them, but still efforts must be made to make the exam a successful one.




2. Knowledge Blessing

Actually, I had experienced this event at my previous school, but unlike this event, it did not have a bathing session. Yes, the teachers here bathed the candidates with water from their parents' Solat Hajat. They merely poured the water on the candidates' heads after they drank some of it, not on the whole body. This was inclusive of the female candidates, who were poured water on their scarves by the female teachers.

New Sultan Kelantan Proclaimed

The is only one thing in my mind when the new Sultan of Kelantan was proclaimed yesterday - Are we still going to have two days off for the Sultan's birthday? We have had our holidays on the 30th and 31st of March every year, but the new Sultan being born on Oct 6 raising the question in some, if not all, of the Kelantan people. Nevertheless, congratulations to Sultan Muhammad Faris Petra for the proclamation, and I will support you all the way, as well as wishing you a successful reign.

Daulat Tuanku! Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!

Tambun (Again!)

This time I brought my in-laws to the water park. Initially, I was anxious of the ever-changing wheather, and was wildly wondering whether the weather is where the weather should be. Leaving the Tanah Merah house at 5 a.m., we travelled through Gerik and arrived to find the sunny weather at Tambun at noon. We checked in Sun Inns at 5 p.m. after playing our hearts out at the park and head for Cameron Highlands the next day. It was an enjoyable experience, hopefully to be repeated in the near future.

Time for pics:

One of My Favourite Toy of All Time

The Rubik's Cube is still my favourite toy ever since I was small until now. I still remember the sleepless nights of trying to solve the puzzle, which was at that Internet-less time proven to be quite impossible, except to use the guidance given with the box. I memorized the algorithm then, but failed to summon it up when I tried my sister-in-law's Rubik's cube. A browse in the Internet followed, and here is the solution I found to solve this evergreen puzzle (I'm not going to waste Raya holidays just for solving the cube, hehe).

MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA!

It has been 52 years since the day Tunku Abdul Rahman announced the independence of Malaya from the British on 31st August 1957 at Stadium Merdeka. This year's motto is '1 Malaysia, Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan', which means 'people first, performance now'. This motto is always lauded by our current Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

What the heck is that? Well, the first time I encounter this word is when I finished my quest, I mean, my game of Bookworm Adventure Deluxe, when the hero (a bookworm named Lex, of course!) throws his final attack to the enemy's boss to save the Great Library from destruction. Initially, I thought that it is a made up word, the hero being using weird words throughout the game. However, accidentally I bumped into this article when I read my New Straits Times, (actually, my younger brother did before me, and being with me all the time fighting the enemies he told me about this article. I admit when I read newspapers, I will go from back page because of the sports) today. The word is clearly mentioned with its meaning. So, seriously, how many of you know that many words you think you know? Well, according to the article, there are already 999,999 words in English language, and the millionth word will be submitted in April 2009. The reason for this? English language does not have the equivalent of Malay language's Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka (DBP) to monitor its development. Thus, it can accommodate or transform many other words from other languages to its vocabulary.

As for the game itself, I will give it a rating of 5/5 as an English teacher!

Freak Accident in Kuala Krai

I was on my way to Gua Musang to fulfill my in-holiday task which was assigned by the principal for every teachers when I witnessed an accident at Sg. Sam between a Toyota Unser and a Mutiara bus which killed four members of Perbadanan Perpustakaan Negeri Kelantan (PPAK). All four of them died on the spot because of severe injury and were still lying on the road when I passed by the accident venue. My wife and son did not dare to take a look as I watched the bodies covered with the black sheet lying side by side on the road. It is said that the Unser tried to overtake two cars on the downhill road and could not get back into its lane before colliding head on with the oncoming bus. All of the passengers and the drivers of the bus who were heading to Kuala Lumpur were unhurt. In sadness, I recited al-Fatihah and reminded myself to always recite a prayer before driving my car.

Read also Kosmo!, Sinar Harian and Berita Harian online on this tragedy.

Holiday with My Family

I just came back from KL. Even though it was raining everyday in Kelantan, especially in Kota Bharu, there was no rain in KL. I stayed at my cousin's house in Bandar Baru Bangi after picking my wife from UKM. We managed to go to Nilai 3, Sunway Pyramid, Sogo, and Pertama Complex. We also visited relatives in Semenyih, Bukit Antarabangsa and also Taman Melawati. Below are some pictures taken during the holiday:

Nilai 3, a shopping paradise

In front of the Sunway Pyramid

The Sunway Sphinx