Durian Fruit - King of Fruit

This morning, my friend from school, Cikgu Saiful Anuar brought me to Marak Parak (it was not really Marak Parak, but a way to Marak Parak).. I am familiar with this place but I never realized that it has a lot of durian trees over there. Marak Parak is a gateway to Sorinsim National Park which is abundant in flora and fauna. We went there around 6.30 a.m. which is approximately 15 minutes drive from my house..

As we entered the place.. we found that the durian orchard was located on hilly areas near Marak Parak.. but as we went further, we had to descend a steep road which leads to a house belonging to the owner of the durian orchard. Wow! What a splendid view. We saw many tall durian trees bearing ripe durians and a lot of other fruit trees growing almost everywhere..

Which one of these durians that you think is the sweetest? The yellow one, the green and the small one, the yellowish green or dark green?

After we had arrived at the house, we saw a lady who was already sitting at the front house with two baskets full of durians which are from different species and are sold with different price. The price were cheaper than the market price and unbelievably you could buy a basket of them with only RM30 in your wallet.

Do you think the yellow one is the sweetest and tastiest?

Or the big, green one?

No, you are wrong. The smallest and the greenest one below is surprisingly the sweetest and the tastiest one.. It is the cheapest among the durian fruits which costs from only RM4 per kilo. It looks like a rambutan fruit. The spikes are very long and thin.. This one is the local breed, but is from the hybrid species as according to the owner. the insides are very thick, sweet and whitish..

Just a few bite of the sweet, creamy and milky taste is enough to heat up your body. It has been said that to balance the body temperature after eating durian is that you should drink a lot of water filled from the remaining durian peels.. From what I read, the durian peels can be used to remove oil from water. It is an absorbent which is used to clear oils spilled at coastal areas. How far it is true?

A taste from heaven..

Blurrrrppp.. My mother said that when she was a child, she believed that great taste comes from heaven. But great taste comes with great price.. It's expensive and contains high calories.. We should be grateful that durian fruit is seasonal - only once a year.. Imagine if durian trees are non-seasonal like coconut trees.. It'll make durian less special, people will be making fewer money and there'll a lot of health disaster. Haha.

Chasing the Rainbow

On our way home from Kota Belud...

Shrimp Day

Today, my younger brother and I traveled the whole Kota Marudu to catch fishes.. As usual, we brought our fishing net or rambat to catch them. It was late in the evening so it's best to go out when it was not so hot like in the afternoon. As we travel along the rivers and ponds, we caught many kinds of freshwater fishes..but their sizes were not up to our standard which was quite a dissatisfaction to both of us. We even ended up catching tilapia inside a drain and it was also the same.

So, with a great dissatisfaction, we reluctantly decided to find a bigger place to catch the fish..in hope that we could at least get something better. So, we decided to travel miles away to a wider river near the town.. Salaping River.. At first, we thought that the river might be another frustration because of what happened before.. We thought negatively, but luckily we acted positively.. We still made an effort.. Finally, we managed to catch a few shrimps after throwing the rambat a few times into the murky water.. Since it was nearly 6.00 pm and it was getting darker, so we had to return home with just a few catches. Tangkap ikan, udang mengena.

Grandpa from Apin-Apin

A visit to my aunt's house at Tambunan recently recalled past experiences of me and grandpa (from mother's side; the other grandpa from dad's side died long before I was borne)...

When I was a little kid, Grandpa used to visit us at our hometown. I have this one particular experience with him when he brought me to catch fishes around our neighborhood.. During these days, the streams and ponds around my hometown were clean and fresh, with lots of fish species in them. We usually walked minutes away from home to the fishing streams. Grandpa used pukat, rambat and hooks to catch the fishes. One day, my brother and I went with him at a nearby pond.

We were such a nuisance then; we disturbed the calmness of the water, scared all the fishes away as we splashed our hands in the water and even chased the small fishes around. Grandpa was mad and was coming after us, at first I was scared that he's gonna beat us or so, but he actually grabbed the fishing net and helped us to catch all those small fishes. He said something like "Nah! Jangan lari-lari. Nanti ikan takut." Haha! I was so naive, little, insensitive and playful that time and I think our "bratness" gives him a funny headache. But I believe he's such a wonderful Grandpa.

We grew up and like everything about fish. Every holiday season, we scrutinized every corner of watery areas to catch them. We find opportunities. Haha. We drove miles and miles away to find possible places to catch the fishes. We went to the seas, ponds, streams and rivers. Even in a funny little drain near pasar ikan.

Fishing is a universal hobby, almost everyone has that hobby. But I still think that part of our experience with Grandpa (and dad too) lead us to our fishing obsession. Is Grandpa gonna catch fish with us again? Or because he is living a better life now that is he done already? No, I personally think that he will never stop. He's not like us. Catching fish is more like his habit, because he had been living with it since he was a child. Now that he's older and is living a better life, he is still doing the same thing when he has the chance.. so I think, he enjoys it more..

Ever since I was away from home and further my studies in the university, I seldom met him. These few years I met him once or twice. But knowing that he's still there in Tambunan with my aunt, I am certain that I will see him again. Then, he converted to Muslim on 24th June 2011. It must be wonderful to spend Hari Raya with the whole family and him! May you find happiness in your new life and May Allah bless you, Grandpa - Joseph Angap @ Muhammad Yusof. Thank you for everything.

KOTA BELUD TEACHER'S DEBATE 2011

10 of March 2011..

The day of the competition..

Front line:

Nur Zuriaty Zaki

Syaharil (John Smith)

Pathima Ria

Reserve:

Mohd. Hanafi (Me)

Nurul Ros Adira.

All of us debaters are from SMATS, but only one (Syaharil) is from SMK Pekan II.

I did not debate for this round, but I felt nervous too.. Well. I was well aware that if any of the front lines could not make it, either me or Nurul would replace their position in random...that would mean we had to prepare for every position: 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gov. or Opposition roles.. I think that was why I felt restless before the debate. We fought against only one opponent from Lahad Datu, and it was a tough debate. After a lot of struggle, the result is...

OUR TEAM WON.

Attention: Syaharil won the Best Debater title!

Thanks to all for such a great opportunity.. I've learnt a lot during our practice..

Credits to Sir Zac for being such a wonderful coach..

Debate Fever

Fever! Just the very word sends fear striking at parent's hearts: Fever! Fevers are bad! Cuz, well, look at the kid! Hot! Uncomfortable! And hot! That has to be bad, right? Oh, and fever can kill! Kids can explode, can get brain damage, whatever. It's just...bad, that fever, right? Bad! Must medicate! Must take Tylenol/Motrin/have an alcohol bath/sponge bath. Must! Because fever = B.A.D.

However, its not that kind of fever. I'm joining a TEACHER'S debate competition.. I don't know whether I will be selected as the front lines or the reserve. But that is not the big matter. All of us will debate, anyway. What scares me most is the unseen mystery that lies ahead. It sends fever through my veins! Is that how we say it? That's a teacher's debate! Of course it's a lil bit more challenging than the one we carry out at school, because all the teachers are there to fight against you.. You will feel that you will be squeezed like a tiny bug. *Giggles*

A debater from another school told me that the official letter from Kota Belud PPD was released this morning.. The debate will be on March 10th.. its a few days away! Funny, we never practiced face to face.. So far, we simply did online discussion and did small meetings. Hopefully, the opponents r not that wild.. Grr.. Rawrr.. I don't know what'll happen to our team on the competition day. My thoughts r in the clouds, I imagine many things already.. *Worries*

In our small meetings, we met our big sifu, Mr. Zach.. He's there to guide us for the debates and talk about the topic in details. We started like we've never been to debates before (I did, but forgot most of it).. and the discussion wasn't that cool.. Mr. Zach already started wrinkling his face when we were stuck in between the definition and the premise for the topic "Teacher Development is the Main Determinant for the National Educational Excellence". Hopefully, next debate will create havoc in the atmosphere!

We will work harder..

Super Teacher SMATS

Time sure flies by so fast.. I didn't realize how much time I've missed to write my blog. Lots and lots of activities and of course, internet connection problem decreased my motivation to write...

For this entry, I'm sure that things turn out to be totally different from my previous posts... it's all about working days!! It's a 360 degree rotation in life. I'm a full time sifu, teaching at SMKA Tun Said, a school at Kota Belud District in Sabah..

And one more thing, SMATS is my ex-school!! Even though I studied there only for 5 months or so, it's long enough for me to learn a lot from those sifus.. I've met a few remaining teachers. They all look completely the same. One of them was Cikgu Hamzah..the most noticeable teacher in SMATS.. Thank you for everything teachers, now that we work together in the office, I feel honored and weird too, hehe.

What I like about the school is the strategic location.. It's an hour drive from and to my hometown and Kota Kinabalu.. It's in the middle! So I could go back home when it requires me to and run away to KK whenever I feel like releasing my stress and stroll down the KK highway...

Living a new teacher's life (notice the word new) feels so different but overexcited at the same time. I couldn't manage myself much with the multiple tasks, especially the one dealing with filing and documenting. I'm a total mess for that part!

SO, IF ANYONE ASKS ME WHERE DID I PUT MY STUDENTS' FILES OR DOCUMENTS, I CAN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION DIRECTLY WITHOUT SEARCHING THROUGH MY DESKS AND DRAWERS. I failed for being an organized and systematic person! I guess I need to be more organized and I should take documenting or filing course. Is that offered?

I have a habit of helping other people. I hope this habit continues even if years passed by. I don't want to lose that helping spirit. (Can we?) We need each other, that's why. I think that 'helping spirit' is very important because up until now, I am what I am because of wonderful people around me who never ceased to help me in every way. When we grow older, we learn and unlearn a lot of things. I hope this habit remains in me all the time. But at the same time, I also have the habit of not helping at all. Then, what that makes me?

My Mitsubihsi car helps me a lot in my school chores. But I'm afraid that one day, due to overuse and constant heavy works, that car's gonna be sick. Recently, I've replaced the alternator and it costed twice as much as my house rent... Since I'm working now, I pay the bills and it takes a lot to realize how much responsibilities that I have to carry out now...

All teachers here are great.. Although it took some time for me to see the school in different perspective! I started from a student's perspective and now to a teacher's perspective. This kind of experience is very unique and weird, too, believe me if you can imagine it yourself. Do you think that is easy to handle? Come on, it's the conflict that you have to face just like when you have to act like a father when you are not even married. Maybe I was just young that is why I felt it was tough. But I believe, I am going to be alright. In my life, this was just a small fragment of difficulty if to be compared to what I've gone through before. Although I did have my experience as a teacher before, but now is the real thing.

That's all for now... There's so many jumbled up ideas inside my head. Don't know how to put it right.. Chow!