Accidental Discoveries
Some of the best things in life are discovered by accident.
For example, some of the most used inventions in today’s world were discovered quite by accident. Vulcanized rubber (rubber that was resistant to heat and cold, and did not change shape even after the force exerted was lifted) was not invented, but was found when a mixture of rubber, sulphur and lead was spilt – by accident – on a hot stove. Penicillin – most important scientific breakthroughs ever made – was discovered simply because Alexander Fleming did not clean up his workstation before going on a vacation, and upon his return found that bacteria did not thrive near some of his cultures which had a strange fungus growing on them.
Well, I didn’t make any breakthrough discoveries but the other day I found this really nice mamak quite by accident.
I was at e@Curve with Aiman and we were both feeling out of pocket, so we walked around the lower ground floor where the “cheaper” restaurants were.
There was this restaurant called “Ah Cheng Laksa” which proclaimed to be “Best in Subang Jaya & Sunway… some even said in PJ!” That was a pretty bold statement to make considering that PJ was full of fantastic food, so we thought OK, let’s just give that a try.
It must either be a cook who simply could not recreate the same taste, or the people in Subang Jaya & Sunway have very poor taste… because the food was below average and very dissatisfying. After the meal, we were still hungry (who wouldn’t be?) and Aiman was staring at Popeye’s which was just opposite the restaurant. But I was starting to feel sleepy and I wanted teh tarik, and the only mamak we knew was at Tesco’s. We didn’t really want to walk that far, and it with great reluctance we dragged ourselves all the way through Curve to Tesco’s. We were even tempted to stop at Pappa Rich, but my craving for the good ol’ mamak tea made me insist on going on.
When we got to Tesco’s, we didn’t see the mamak we were looking for. I guess that goes to show how long we have not been to Tesco’s… but I don’t know when the mamak changed. We didn’t even remember the name of the mamak that used to be there, and if it was the same (we used to just call it “The mamak at Tesco’s”), and what we saw in its place was an air-conditioned restaurant called “Q Bistro” with modern chairs and tables. We were already there and we didn’t really want to waste that walk, so we peered at the menu and saw mamak-looking food. Oh what the hey. Let’s just give it a try.
And the food was really good! And so were the drinks!
They had a huge variety of food, ranging from roti canai to nasi kandar to western food. It was basically a mamak, but with fancier setup, pretty menus, and comfortable chairs… and similar prices! We even came back to Q Bistro for dinner after we watched a movie.
I like it so much that I’ll probably go back there again soon just for the food. And we wouldn’t have found the place if we didn’t try the monstrosity called Ah Cheng Laksa and have been completely dissatisfied.
May 25, 2010
Random Thoughts During Invigilation
Invigilation is one of the most boring duties a teacher must ever undergo.
It is the most sleep-inducing, but at the same time it is the time where it is of utmost important that we are alert and awake.
I don’t know about other teachers, but personally I’d try anything to keep myself awake and alert. What I usually end up doing is counting the number of left-handers in the class. Interestingly, I’ve found that if the number of students per class is the same, the number of left-handers are higher in a Science class than in an Arts class. I’ve found this to be true every year. However, I can’t say that this is conclusive because my statistics pool is only in the upper secondary classes of Sri KDU.
Unfortunately, counting the number of left-handers takes less than one minute, but a solo invigilation session can take up to 1 1/4 hours.
Anyway, today during one of my invigilation slots, I started thinking about the past few years that I’ve been teaching here, and my mind starting trying to form logical relationships.
Now, I like anagrams. I’m not great at them like in Da Vinci Code, but I like playing the Word Jumble in the Sunday Star and I always score high in games like Boggle. Anyway, there isn’t much to work with here, but here goes:
In 2005, I was teaching 5 classes: 4 Aristotle, 4 Mozart, 4 Dickens, 5 Aristotle, 5 Mozart.
Taking the first letter of each class and rearranging them, I get:
MADAM
In 2006, I was teaching 4 classes: 4 Aristotle, 5 Aristotle, 5 Mozart, 5 Dickens.
Taking the first letter of each class and rearranging them, I get:
ADAM
In 2007, I was back to 5 classes, and the names still haven’t changed: 4 Aristotle, 4 Mozart, 5 Aristotle, 5 Mozart, 5 Dickens. I get the same old:
MADAM
In 2008, I was teaching 4 classes: 4 Aristotle, 4 Dickens, 5 Aristotle, 5 Mozart.
And I’d get:
ADAM
Can you see a pattern forming here? Had I stayed on, I’d have gotten MADAM ADAM MADAM ADAM and I’d probably go MAD. But I left in 2008. That must have turned out to be a good thing for this pattern, because when I came back in 2009, I had a slightly different set of letters to work with.
In 2009, I was teaching 4 classes: 4 Aristotle, 4 Mozart, 4 Dickens, 4 Newton.
I’d still get three letters that are the same as the earlier sets, but this time with the introduction of a brand new letter, I’d get:
DAMN
Finally! Something different!
This year, with a change of subject from Chemistry back to my fav ol’ Physics, I didn’t follow up with any of last year’s classes.
So, in 2010, I have: 4 Aristotle, 4 Mozart, 5 Columbus, 5 Edison.
With two pretty new letters, I get:
CAME or MACE or ACME
Nice!
However, I’m supposed to give up one of my Form 4 classes (Aristotle? Mozart?) and take over another Form 5 class (Mozart? Dickens?). I don’t know which class I’ll have to give up and which class I’ll have to take over. But regardless of whichever class I have to give up or take, I can’t form proper words with any of the new set of letters. The only one that will still work is if I have to give up 4 Mozart and take on 5 Mozart because that gives me the exact same set of words; but I can’t give up 4 Mozart because they’re my homeroom and I DON’T want to give up 4 Aristotle because it will spoil my anagram.
OKOK, it’s not just the anagram. I like ALL my classes, I don’t want to give any class up. It took me long enough to remember everyone’s names.
Remember kids: It’s not my choice. It’s an executive choice the school administration has to make for the benefit of all students.
May 23, 2010
Teacher’s Day :)
This year, Teacher’s Day was on a Sunday, hence nothing happened.
Well, Sri KDU never celebrates Teacher’s Day on the day itself anyway… they usually celebrate it after. I heard an unconfirmed news that it would be celebrated on June 4th (last day of the semester) this year, where there will be micro-performances to entertain the teachers. However, since that day is after all the examinations, my guess is most of the students will have already left for an early vacation and all we’d have are crickets to entertain us. (chirp chirp chirp…)
Anyway, I wasn’t expecting anything this year from anyone, and it was an extremely pleasant surprise to receive a card from Pearlyn who was in my homeroom (4D 2009) last year, and she gave it to me on Monday May 17th. I’m not teaching her class this year, and I think most of them have already forgotten my name by now (Miss Who?), so it was really nice to know that she remembered me. Thanks, Pearlyn! You made my day! Pearlyn’s always been very sweet anyway. At the end of last year, she gave me a box of dark chocolates, knowing that I love dark chocolates. It’s hard for any of my students not to know I love dark chocolates, because I keep reminding them throughout the year. But still, she was thoughtful enough to get me a box, and they were really good chocs, too.
Oh no! I forgot to take a photo of Pearlyn’s card! I’ll upload it when I have.
That wasn’t all. At the end of the day on Monday May 17th, I saw a couple of my present homeroom (4M 2010) students coming into the staffroom with a giant cardboard folded in half. I thought they were handing up their Chemistry project to Ms Jasmine Leong, because earlier in the day I saw various projects done on hard boards about Chlorine Gas which were works-in-progress to be submitted. Yi Hong said, “No, teacher, this is for you.” I thought he was joking until he and Bryan opened the card. PLUS, they also gave me a lovely handbag!!!
I feel so blessed to get a good homeroom every year. Last year my homeroom got me TWO birthday cakes for my birthday. This year my homeroom gave me the big card and a handbag for Teacher’s Day… and I’m only the assistant homeroom teacher.
Thank you, 4 Mozart! You made my year! Love you all!
Happy Teacher's Day from 4 Mozart!
The lovely handbag that my students gave to me
April 11, 2010
Updates!
I haven’t checked my own blog for quite some time, being so busy with work; as some of you may know, I’m sort of holding a few jobs at the same time so I have very little time to post anything on my blog. Surprised to find a few comments on my blog posts; didn’t expect anyone to respond, haha. There’s a comment on my last blog post, clearly written by someone who barely knows me and what I do and why I don’t blog often enough. Oh well.
Every year I make a new year’s resolution to update my blog more often. Every year I fail to keep that resolution…
Anyway, here are a few quick updates I’d like to share:
KDU CQ Teo Debate Challenge 2010 (12-14th March 2010)
Lydia who is the “official” school debate coach could not accompany the students this year to the tournament so I, as the “assistant” stepped in to help out. We sent in two teams this year; Team A consisting of Shane Low, Daniel Khoo and Kristina Teow, and Team B consisting of Celine Thai, Tiffany Khoo and Chia Chien Teng. Of these six kids, Shane and Daniel are the newest as this was their first tournament. I must say that they did very well; out of 60+ teams, Team A broke into octo-finals at #12 and Team B broke at #4, both on 4-1 out of 5 prelim rounds. Unfortunately both teams lost at Octos, but regardless, I’m very proud of them. If you’re on my Facebook friends list, you’d have seen the constant updates I kept posting throughout the tournament.
Sri KDU's reps for the CQ Teo Debate Challenge 2010
CONGRATULATIONS TO CALVIN AND MELISSA!
Congrats to Calvin and Melissa! Such a lovely couple. Here’s wishing them the very best for the future.
Congratulations to Calvin and Melissa!
Their wedding dinner was a perfect time to catch up with friends from uni days whom I haven’t seen for a long time. After we graduated, everyone got busy with work/family… I met some friends whom I haven’t seen since graduation.
Oh, and I took loads of photos but haven’t had time to edit before uploading to FB.
Happy Easter from KL Swing!!!
KL Swing always organises a party in conjunction with a festival, and I always try to make it for their social parties as I can’t make it for their social dances. Well, not anymore, at least, since I have other duties that clash with their regular socials.
Anyway their most recent event was in conjunction with Easter, and they had it at this cosy little place in Bangsar called “For Fresh People”.
+1000 points for a hat!
Photos to be uploaded on FB soon!!
More regular updates soon. I swear! <cross fingers>
January 13, 2010
This is for you students
I know that the moment some of you find out that I have a blog, you’ll Google and you’ll try to find it…
So this is for you who found my blog: STUDY PHYSICS!!!
In other news, I also know that many of you will try to add me on Facebook. Feel free to do so, but please introduce yourself (which class are you from?)… because I haven’t put your names and faces together yet.
If you’ve added me before but it’s pending confirmation, please send me a message identifying yourself.
The reason I’m being quite strict about my FB friends is because I only add people that I really know. This is more for safety purposes; I don’t add complete strangers becaues they will have access to my details, plus access to my list of friends, many of whom are my students. So yes, I’m being protective about my students.
Physics Rocks!! 