it’s.far.better.to.learn

On the journey of knowledge

cut the tree

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now perhaps in seven habits we have what we know as sharpen the saw… simply said practice makes perfect. but all i’m thinking is to start sharpening the mind with these on the list:

childhood education
best teaching methods
religions
be up to date to news (i have taken for granted and not watch or read the news properly for the past year!)
sharpen my fiqh, read up my tauhid, and everything related to it
and yes, definitely read up those books unread as of yet!

and as have learnt, assert: I HAVE TIME

and yes i will start today.

my avatar

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are you blogging?

yes i am

like for how long since you’ve last blogged?

hmmmm 10 days ago?

so i’ve purposely missed to blog the past few days. my mind has been preoccupied with work (duhh what else?) and realising that i do need to recharge before the 2010 starts. i;ve been counting days and contemplating exactly which day i will have some time to spend by myself, some quality time with my family and fiance. i mean i did go out with them but i feel like it’s more out of necessity, rather than really spending time with them. and i do need to spend one whole day just reading and lost myself in another world before getting back into reality. but december’s ending and i don’t think i have the luxury of doing items mentioned above.

but i do treasure those times, no matter how short it was with these people who mattered the most to me. like the time when we got to spend one day with your family and then mine, even if its unplanned, and the weddings day and yes, a trip to bottle tree park, although i wished we could have stayed longer (it was our one year after all)…and for that matter, i don’t think i’ve had chance to chill out with the girls this month!! except for weddings~

but in conjunction to the new islamic year 1431. i pray for the guidance, wisdom and patience to face the new challenges, what have them, work sense. it’s going to be exciting, yes, but a lot more to be done with triple the number of students and triple the number of teachers to handle. my Lord, i need to be strong and smart. more than ever.

and for being knowledge-ly stagnant, i need to go to talks and read more! speaking of which, i do have a queue of books waiting to be read.

and then 2010 is THE year. got to start counting the days~ 😉

a lot is going to happen. i pray for health! indeed.

another worth talking about is Avatar the Movie. watched it with dear and my siblings. and i think i might want to watch it again since siti baby didn’t get to come along being away at vietnam. engrossed and indulged in the pandora world of trees and magnificent creatures. it almost makes me want to live in such a world. so connected to nature and strong sense of belief, of oneness and love to all beings. very fantasy. i love it. i see you 😛

so with 7 habits trained and understood, i want to apply those and perhaps change for the better.

with you and my family. i think i can go through all this.

a month has gone

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and so a month has gone by, time flies so fast that before we know it, ramadhan has come knocking on our doors. ramadhan mubarak!! may this be my ramadhan insya Allah.. anyways, for the past weeks, i’ve indulged myself in endless work…which i’ve begin to embrace and appreciate that busy-ness is somehow healthy and giving you a sense of fulfillment. i cannot imagine work without work so let’s not fret or be stress about it ok 🙂

an opportunity to join in the very first basbeliamabims project, a gathering of four delegates from singapore, indonesia, malaysia and brunei. admittedly having not prepared mentally for the event and physically as i found out later, i think i’ve breezed through pretty well. for one thing, it’s really been quite some time since i joined a 1-week programme which involved much conversation and activities, i was wondering where my energy went, recalling that during my iiu years, i was running around like there’s no tomorrow. and so the whole trip was an enriching one with some good friends made along the way. although there’s about 8 of us ladies in the group.

2 and a half days in singapore and 5 days around selangor. pretty much the host while in singapore and two night stay at NACLI, which is a very nice place beside the Kent Ridge Park, except for the winding flight of stairs we had to go up and down from our room to the main carpark! luckily i didn’t bring the whole luggage, or else, i might just throw the luggage down the hill!

so in singapore, the delegates had a very focused schedule on new media as an outreach tool, going to mosques such as Sultan, Ghufran and Istighfar to share experiences and ways to outreach. i know the other delegates are pretty much amazed by aLive and honestly, i’ve the ambition that mwdh will be THE next centre. (need to maintain this momentum always, dont slack!)

we left for Malaysia on national day and the rest is history…hehe. A lot of visits to some interesting institutions, and am especially awed with Darul Quran and its beautiful majestic surroundings. we visited universiti sains islam malaysia, hub halal, and grand mosques such as al-azim @ melaka and masjid wilayah @ selangor. also, institut profesional baitulmal whoese director motivated us as well in his taklimat about the institute. interesting, students who get free education and become successful…from zero to hero, the tagline. if only we can have something like this back here in sg. especially in islamic education. that would be the ideal, really!

accomodation at ilim or institut latihan islam malaysia, which is a nice and comfortable place for me and roomie ustzh izzah. felt just like the mahallah days @ iiu.

apart from visits, we also had an outdoor activity of trekking a hill at Hutan Lipur, sungai Gabai, Ulu langat. i thought the many many walks i had had here must have been some form of practice for me, thank god for that!! 😉 although it was quite scary since, we’re going up a steep and slippery hill! some almost gave up but we all go through it fine and well. thought of taking pictures, but looking at the difficulty i thought i might dropped either the camera or my self, instead kept everything valuable in a friend’s bag…we eventually reached the waterfall, cuma tak dapat nak really mandi sungai~ although i wasnt planning on it anyway. You must have been proud of me, hehe.

and oh yeah, we had fruits galore at an orang asli community. a portrayal of how islamic mission there is outreaching to them people.

also the opportunity of attending the musabaqah tilawah al-quran 2009, which was a nice coincidence and two of our young singaporean qari and qariah, won 4th place at an international level. hopefully, more attention will be given to this event here back home. overall, it is a nice experience and some new friends made and being away from work, i can tolerate, but away from family, hmmmm, not so much…it worsened because i don’t really get much chance to update at real time, and only short periods for status updates and checking emails…

and i love it that i see you first thing. it’s an imagination come true. 😛

not a last lecture

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before this headache takes over and probably sleeping in earlier, let me put down a few thoughts.

i’ve been going through this course on working in a school environment and i cannot help thinking how fortunate i am to be able to attend this course! although something like a crash course on school environment and not so much on curriculum but yet it really helps me more in terms of managing a ‘school’ in its technical and administrative level. like for example the importance on safety at school, handling difficult parents and building partnerships, some behaviour management and useful tips, and just today we learnt on programme planning, focusing on the ground details like needs assessment and evaluating the programme.

it does give me more ideas on what to expect in my own job and more prepared. not to forget the trainer and a good role model to all of us. definitely enjoying her class. and applying what i’ve learnt!

finished reading The Last Lecture and i love it. inspiring heartbreaking and funny at the same time. also useful when it comes to how the author shared his experiences inspiring his own students. once you read it you cant seem to stop reading it~ (thanks to dear for the book)

i realised that really, life is short and i need to live today the best i can, fulfilling it with not just the everyday responsibilities, but especially with the people close to you. call me a romantic but i really admire everytime the author made reference to his wife, she ‘the woman of his dreams’ and how they value every minute they spent in the months after he knew of his deadly condition. really, i have to say his wife is a real one strong lady. with three small children to tend to without a husband….and the value of family…from how the author was brought up and educated by his parents should be modelled, briefly: how his parents allowed him to draw/paint his room with these ‘big’ ideas he had, READING as their daily staple…and what touches the heart was how the author really wants to have something which his children can remember him by, thus the book and the real last lecture he had at his university.

it’s about dreams, living life and remember to always appreciate and treasure all that you have now and nothing beats family love.

there’s a lot more to share from this book but i think it’s worth a read. link to the last lecture–>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

and so another day at work tomorrow. so many things to finish and complete. i’ve always thought working at mwdh is fast track! you really do feel like time flies so fast and decorating the classroom takes a whole day, reviewing the registration forms takes a whole day and emails and reports and not to say the upcoming sports day…i don’t have time to breathe! pardon the exaggeration.

i would really appreciate a time out and a break to a place with a beautiful beach and cliffs and trees~ *sigh*

ok people lights off.

The fisherman

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A story @ Qisas.com

leaving you a moment to read and have a thought on it. whichever way you want to interpret it. my reflection, well can’t hate hardwork and having a career if they can bring happiness in life in the most simplest way.
__________________________________________________

An investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The investment banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The fisherman replied, “Only a little while.”

The investment banker then asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?”

The fisherman said, “With this I have more than enough to support my family’s needs.”

The investment banker then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening and spend time with my family, I have a full and busy life.”

The investment banker scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to a big town and eventually to the the city where you will run your ever-expanding enterprise.”

The fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the investment banker replied, “15 to 20 years.”

“But what then?” asked the fisherman.

The investment banker laughed and said that’s the best part. “When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions?…Then what?”

The investment banker said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings and spend time with your family.”

sunflowers

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honestly, i’m a lucky happy girl to be feeling this way. having someone who really cares about me is, well, rather new to me. i never realise it can make your world go almost fantasy-like. tapi seri, berpijak di bumi nyata :))

HAPPY

anyway people, i really can’t wait to move in to the new mosque!! haha, went there yesterday and i’ve actually aimed the workspace that i’m going to sit in!!
the thing is, the whole of this month, i’ll be like going from one mosque to the other. which is, *sigh* just like last year, where i’ll be rushing from one place to another for discussions and meetings. i thought i’ve had it nehh. but patience seri, it’ll be like for two more months, and your VERY OWN WORKSPACE!! :))

although please pray that i’ll do my work right.

eh, i didn’t tell you about the talk i went like last week! was it last week? anyway, it was a talk by Abu yahya on early christianity and islam, looking at its similarities and differences. it really had been such a long time since i’ve been in a lecture and one which felt so familiar with me. terms and names which i’ve learnt before repeated and new knowledge added. it’s definitely enriching. going to put up some proper reflection on that soon, insya Allah.
makes me want to be docent @ hC more often. it’s passion i think, it’s not just doing it for the sake of doing or da’wah thing. sometimes there doesn’t have to be a reason to want to do something like, having a manicure or going to the zoo, or volunteering or simply doing your job.

although sometimes having a reason might justify things but really, it tires the brain la. can i just do it because i want to do it, i have the interest to pursue in it. sometimes, i can’t think of an answer when people starts asking me like why do you do it? kenape eh? alamak, because i want to la!

orait, wouldn’t want to make my blog a place for craps, haha. i’m just blabbering man!

i love it that you rush to see me (although, only we know) i love it that you worry about me and, i love the sunflowers of course. life is brighter. and i hope this will be as strong and persevere as can be. hmmm, well, i’ve been through treetops and an island for you. 😉

teaching techniques

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here’s five teaching techniques taken from 2think2learn video clip. found this in youtube anyway. good as a reminder to me and for others :))

1. Always have a genuine purpose behind the lessons you are delivering.

2. Make sure the material is engaging and interactive.

3. Allow students opportunity to direct their own learning.

4. Mistakes are an integral part of the learning process.

5. Humour releases tension – so use it often!

and also the power teaching techniques i’ve been checking put at youtube!
—> over at http://unpoeticpieces.blogspot.com/

2 am in the morning

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i want to do this before it’s 2 am in the morning. after so long sleeping in early, i’ve no idea why tonight i’m burning the midnight oil…hmm…so called heh.

for one thing, i’m reviving this multiply site which used to be dedicated to my teens students from a central north mosque….but i’m thinking why not make it a place or rather a space where i can dedicate my thoughts and reflections, in terms of this line i’ve chosen…of course…this blog will not be abandoned..and pretty soon, my posts will get redundant between here and there…but at least, there at the multiply site will not get mixed up with my everyday life :))

and tell me now…that setting up a place for education is EASY!! especially when the building’s already there and you have to make do with what’s given and no matter how small a room, you’ve got to utilise it because there is no other way and stretch whatever resources you might have.

to be honest, it’s scary. and exciting. and i keep thinking i cannot do any mistake this time…although making mistakes are good. it teaches you…me. and that’s what learning is all about right?
and sometimes little gestures is what makes me stand strong and reminded me that….THIS IS IT. i’m doing this. for instance,how can a teacher not be truly touched when her students bought her hot tea in the middle of a heavy rain and cold classroom? it’s the most touching and sweet gesture of them.

i so need to do this right. and there’s so many things to learn….and can i just get away from the chaos for a little while??

oklah, i admit it’s pretty exciting you know, starting from scratch and making decisions and doing things my own way haha!

but let’s put it this way…after like letting the kite fly so high, it needs to be tugged and pulled a little bit behind to set its flight back on track. so i need that now.

ps: can anyone from the americas vote adam lambert (american idol) for me? after all those seasons, now i know why some people are into this competition…especially when you have ‘set’ your heart on one of them, you just want to like support them all the way~ (ok ok not important)

so yeah, it’s 2 am. i really should be sleeping or else…i won’t get anything done tomorrow.
:))

pps: if you guys happen to have segoe script font installed, you should be able to read this blog in that font…and it’s nice!! i like~

pavlovian mats

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mats as in the ‘mat melayu’ in plural. pavlovian as in the psychologist ivan pavlov’s conditioning theory. although what i’m going to say here is not really about pavlov’s theory and how it works but believe or not, i’m thinking singaporean men, especially the malays, are getting their dose of education straight out from the tv and in the very comfort of their living room!

and it’s about time! since most tv programmes are somehow produced with women and housewives in mind. so to target men is the new trend, i think.

first there was M.A.T or Misi Anak Tempatan. and it’s an interesting show because it features young malay guys who’ve did and trying hard in their line of work or interest and who’ve somehow found success and satsifaction in the course of putting their heart, mind and body into a particular chosen line of work. whether you’re a racer, or a kompang boy, what matters is putting your best in it. and ada WAWASAN laa. and apart from that, having a positive attitude and some noble manners brings out a lot more that people forget the kental part. wait, let me correct myself, there’ll be no kentalans if a guy believes in what he wants and doing the best. it’s not about what is ‘cool’ or not, but more of passion and identity working hand in hand.

for example, you have interest in skateboarding. well that’s interest and can be a passion. but what shape your identity is not necessarily being a skateboarder, but your personality and manners, and let’s admit this, girls love smart guys.

although i haven’t watch these new drama series, i believe it’s targetted to men as well. there’s Anak Adam and Hi-Bro! and i believe it should be ‘edu-tainment’ as well somehow somewhere.

and this is my favourite : My Dad is Better than Your Dad! a gameshow in which, fathers team up with their son or daughter going through some obstacles and quizzes. if these doesn’t teach fathers out there how to be bond with your children, i don’t know what to say. who says fathers can’t be gerek?

so really, i hope there’s a paradigm shift of perspectives, of attitudes. to talk about the ‘real’ situation of what’s happening on the ground, the number of financial assistance given out because there are men with families who just can’t live up to their fatherhood. of course, there are always circumstances and difficult situations and deserving of these assistance. but there are those who JUST don’t. i think my sdo-fdo-de friends can vouch for these.

ps: the new mosque is ready soon, i’m practically rushing for time to do a good job. and i’ve relieved of a project which has been burdening me and it has always been at the back of my mind. so releasing it is such a HUGE RELIEF. i can volunteer for it but i don’t want to lead.

i’ve said it before, my da’wah is this: education. and somehow knowing i have given up the said project, i know i’ll have some hours to spare…and i’m so going to read up books to enrich myself!! not story books la but books on education or religions. i so have to catch up!! 🙂

the L word

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am in a state of drowsiness at 12.52 am, but i need to note this down.
i realised that each and every one of us bears a certain responsibility, whether conscious or unconsciously realising it. it’s amazing actually.

you see, with all this hype of gaza and so many people being uptight about it, i mean who wouldn’t, with my little knowledge of understanding politics and depressing war news, and seeing so many demonstrations and petitions going on, it’s almost ridiculuos because u can’t draw the line between true and sensationalised. all i need to know about war is innocent blood is shed, somehow i don’t care who started it, either way, lives are lost.

but my point is, some people will do anything to help, write letters or set up donations, but i can be a mere follower and contribute in terms i can, but i may not have that drive to carry out that responsibility. because my ‘perjuangan’ my da’wah is not that. my mission is here, right here in this small island, in mosques, sharing as much knowledge as i can, no matter how mundane the subject will be, it does not matter that it’s just a once a week thing. i guess this is my perjuangan, you know?

why i’m saying this is because, i used to ask myself, why can’t i do this, why can’t i be doing something ‘big’ that can seem to change the world, or why aren’t i able to do that? it’s not because i can’t do, but because it’s not my forte, it’s not what He wants me to do because other people will be doing what they are able to, there’ll be people who’ll lead, but my perjuangan is to shape those leaders and share knowledge, for the future.

but you know what, i still think i have loads to learn more. there is still so many things i don’t know. it never ends yea, learning.

so Learn.