Eco Fun Ride | Proton City

Today I had successfully finished cycling with my buddies Dr. SF and AzimAmri for about 15 km during the Eco Fun Ride at Proton City, Tanjong Malim.  It was not that exhausting actually like what I was expected earlier. Most probably due to good weather and we just went slowly cruising down the road. But still it was so fun especially when you cycle with your bestie.

The night earlier, we came to the Proton Sports Centre to pick up the t-shirts and goodie bags. It was then that we realised that all cyclists should wear the helmet or else, you would not be able to participate. It was quite frustrating because I have one myself which unfortunately I had left it at home in Subang. So whether I liked it or not, I just need to pay extra RM60 just for the helmet. Then, with a bit frustration in my little heart, we had a sleptover at the UPSI’s mosque that night, soon after we finished stapling my exam papers. (Sempat lagi =P).

By 8.00 am this morning, we reached Proton City, ready to kickstart the journey. After about approximately 2 hours, we successfully cross the finishing line where we were also given a medal. Frankly speaking, that was my first ever medal for such a long time and I am so superbly excited about it. It inspired me to participate in other events and start collecting some other beautiful medals.

Before we head back to UPSI, we checked the Lucky Draw board to see whether we were lucky enough, which I am usually not. But, to my amazement, my numbers hit the lucky list. Wow! And I got a RM50 voucher from SOGO. Hmm… Maybe I should get some undies from SOGO.

Overall, apart from being able to see Datuk Siti Nurhaliza and Amy Search for the first time, I would also say that it was a nice event that I can spend my time with my buddies before we settle down for Ramadhan. I wish we had more time to spend together and record some other sweet moments before we graduated and headed to different life directions. But still, this is one of the fond memories that shall remain deep in my mind. | ͰM

War Cry - Negaraku

This month, I managed to successfully complete a new project - The War Cry project. This is the first time we had ever participated in the competition. We actually were offered to join this contest in the eleventh hour of which only a few days were given to start everything from scratch until the final stage of video recording. At first, it seemed quite impossible to do it but still, I took it as a challenge and straight away scribbled down some words for the chant.

The whole process of forming the team, distributing out the war cry lyrics, memorising the lyrics, learning the steps and recording took only 2 days to execute, which seemed quite burdensome yet, to my amazement, the students were able to pull the whole thing very well. Salute to these kids. At first, I was actually doubted that these kids would able to pull it. But they did! Though at the end there were many elements that needed to be cut off like some dynamic steps, lyrics, and formations, but still they had done a great job.

Apart from being able to perceive new cultural element of war cry, I had learned a lot about my ancestral root of ancient Malays and the historical diaspora of this unique Pacific Islanders through the process of making this war cry project a reality. I am now more apprehensive and appreciative towards the Maori and other Pacific aborigines, our very own distant relatives of Malayo-Polynesian who shared common languages and history.

On the whole, I am glad that I was given a chance by Puan Suzi to run this project. Though it was not perfect, at least the kids had shown a great determination in making this project possible. I am also glad that I gained lots of new knowledge out of it. Perhaps we could do better war cry performance by next year with proper planning and adequate time allocation. InsyaAllah. | ͰM

Establishing the Marching Band

I like to try working with something new every single day. That is why I could not stick with routines, whether at home or at work. I will try out some new things especially at school where it is blessed with kids with full of potential. It does not have to be perfect. It just has to be something new and fresh. That is why I love my job as a teacher so very much due to the chances gained in trying out new things day in and day out.

This time I managed to establish a marching band for our school. In just one week, 30 students were given the newly bought melodicas and drums to rock on the Oh When the Saints song at our annual sports' day. At first, the challenge was that there were not enough musical instruments like drums and melodicas. Even the drums were in such a poor condition.

I then discussed with some music teachers and the Head of Music Panel about the problem, which later approved by our Headmistress where she ordered 10 new melodicas and 3 drums. I was actually relieved that she approved my request in spite of its last minute nature. Soon after all the musical instruments received, I started training them with the song, the only song they will be playing during the opening ceremony.

The initial plan was the band would be playing for a short slot, but it turned out to be them playing all the way through the marching parade. I was quite nervous at first, but luckily they nailed it. We even played impromptu the short version of Superman Theme for the flag hoisting ceremony.

So far, I had received positive feedback from the teachers and the parents where they lauded the effort of establishing our very own marching band, moreover it is established in a primary school. I would like to thank all parties involved in making this marching band a reality. InsyaAllah we will try to put on more effort to present the best performance in future. | ͰM