Off to Outdoor duty

Will go off to Kem later today for trainer duty. I'll see if I can catch some pictures.

Offending finger

There they are. Pictures of my swollen middle finger, taken on Sunday.
Only a week after the incident have I started wearing elastic bandage to contain the swelling. And I've since endured curious questions from those who have seen my fingers. I didn't feel like explaining much to those who don't know of my trolley/Padas trip, so I just said I tripped and jammed my finger.
Still slightly swollen. Can't close my fist properly, and still a bit painful.

Cobbler cobbler mend my shoes..

It's been a week since Padas. A week since the finger is dislocated. X-ray showed no fractures. It's still swollen. It's still painful, especially if I accidentally bang the particular digit on a surface and I am being such a clutz these days. Oh the pain that shoots into the heart when these unexpected accidents happen. Mau pengsan, nampak bintang. I use elastic bandage to limit movements but somehow when I take off the bandage - for washing and stuff - mesti terlanggar apa-apa.
I went jog-walking at Likas yesterday and I could only look at the Wall with a sigh. I think this finger will take a long time to get back to normal.

Crooked finger

It has been some while since I last logged onto this blog. Thanks Bong for the heads up. ;) yeaa... gots to help myself..

Well, I've gone wall-climbing. There's this place near my school which offers this fun activity to people of all ages (Those who are willing to defy their terror for heights or those who simply love to see how far up they can climb). I didn't think i'd be able to climb up the 30feet wall with just teeny holds for fingers and toes. Thank goodness for beginner level walls. At least i didn't feel like a total sandbag.

I've finally also gone to Padas for white-water rafting - yesterdat. I actually was in a state of nervousness a few days before going. I kept on reminding myself that it was going to be ok and that if Fadhil's 11 year old son (Fadhil's a former colleague who's now a lecturer at UPSI) could do it, why can't I? Still, I was in apprehensive. I set my alarm at 6.30am yesterday. I came into awareness around 6am and felt a quickening of hearbeat. Gosh.

Anyways, can't type much now. My left middle finger is quite swollen. A souvenir from the trolley ride down the Pangi station. The train at Tenom doesn't and didn't run according to schedule. So, all of us went on board this homemade trolley which was the transport mode from Tenom town to the rafting starting point. The trolley ride was quite exciting, right up to the second where I heard a ping! and saw a flicker of something metal hitting the rail track. A few seconds later the trolley did an unexpected halt which flung me and my friend onto the railway track in front. I landed with a thud and a grunt. My face was turned to my left, not touching the track, and I saw the second phalange of my left middle finger askewed awkwardly to the left. The first thing that instantly went through my head was dismay at not being able to go rafting. I was practically there at the starting point. What came out of my mouth was," tangan sia patah, tangan sia patah." Which was not even true because it wasn't my tangan, it was just a finger. And I felt the angle with my right hand and didn't feel any fractures. My good friend pulled me up, whilst my other friend was coming up behind me asking me if I was alright. My crooked finger was pulled into position. I didn't feel a thing. I guess I was in shock. Well, I was ok. Never mind the bruises and the scratches on my shin, knees and left wrist. What happened? The ping I heard was the bearing of one of the rollers breaking. That led to the failure of one of the four rollers and that made the trolley go into emergency brake - and hurled me and my friend to the rocky ground. Kind of funny come to think of it. Yea... painful and eventful.. but funny in a way.
Went ahead with the rafting expedition. I couldn't grip so much on my left hand on account of the dislocated and relocated finger. So I sat on the right side of the raft so that I was gripping the T-bar of the raft paddle and the power of paddling would be borne by my right hand. Good enough. Aitelyu.... waves so high your heart was on your throat. Fell overboard at this rapid nicknamed Washing Machine (on account of the way the waves were churning and turning on each other) and drank so much water I burped many times on the raft afterwards. Of course I was 'resqued' and pulled into the raft again. Other rapid names I can recall are Headhunter point, the Lambada, and the Scooby Doo. Wah... would I go again? yes. Definitely.

Anyway..see I said I wasn't able to type much, type juga banyak2. Went to the hospital this morning for an x-ray to see whether I had fractured any bones on the finger. None. So, I'll be having a swollen finger for a few days as a reminder of the trolley incident.

School starts tomorrow. Can't wait for the next holiday!

a whole month went by
life sucks at the moment
or has been for a while
keeping your head above all swirling mass of mess ain't easy
there is no light at the end of that tunnel
if there is
it probably is a train waiting to run you over.

attennn...shun!

Another pet project of mine accomplished!
The school level marching competition held yesterday had its faults but it's over, it's done. I chose form sixers as my AJK since they were more pliable, more open to suggestions... and would give them some practice in handling events. The principal showed his support by being there, giving a short speech and staying on till the end.
The participants were trully commendable, at such short notice, they could perform relatively well. Of course there some hilarious foul ups (only to be expected) but it was all in good fun.

Have food, be happy

Kanyang.
Brapa senang hati kalu cukup makan? hari tu p ruma toing, p cari timadang. tidak basar tu saiz buah, jadi sia ambil 3 biji 4. tu pun angkol yang tulung ambil dan juluk. pas tu sendiri la pigi kupas kulit baldu di blakang dapur. kira mau ambil banyak-banyak..tapi dalam hati mau masak tuk sendiri ja. potong 3 biji, kasi tinggal yang 1 biji tu abis cam buruk suda one side. Gave some sama ninak kasi campur masak sup ayam. yang len sia bawak pulang.
kamarin sia masak sup timadang. ai tel u.. to me, it's the best soup in the world. dadi's cooking style. nasi panas + sup timadang. buli akid banyak kali ni.. tambah gumuk la ni.. suda la teda braces suda.. teda lagi exercise..

Lamas sofa

hehe...it's actually Lorenzo sofa.. couldn't help but put Lamas for Lorenzo Lamas..the 80's tv series hunk. forgot the title.
A friend from Sandakan called me up last night, asking for help. He had seen this add for Lorenzo sofa selling rm3250 in mudah.com and wanted to buy it. He had called up the owner, did a bargain, got the bargain..but since his brother who's normally here in west coast isn't around, asked moi to help. ok nopo..since it's just at Yakim Jaya. Just a stone's throw from my working place.
So, went to Yakim Jaya just now. Got lost (kici ba yakim jaya, lost juga)looking at house numbers that weren't put up front for easy identification, for a while. Very old money house. Premier property.
Finally I found it. Went down from my car and rang the gate. A white lady came out. Very amiable lady. She and the husband had been in Malaysia for about 9 years now. Used to stay in west malaysia. Moved here a few years ago. Husband works as an English teacher in EIC. British council before that. When I saw the 3 + 2 + 1 sofa set, I was captured. So comfy! Lime green in color. Well maintained lime green and in extremely good condition, considering they have been with them for a number of years. I can see that the sofas are her prized possession. Apparently they were just given to them as gifts from a rich friend. So selling them is just a bonus...(hmm...if i were a friend to them, I might be the one on the receiving end kan?...uuuh...perasan). She lovingly described how she cleaned them, took care of them, how she and hubby very carefully wrapped them in all the duvets and mattress protectors they had and cling-wrapped them when they moved from west to here..just to protect the leather. We chit-chatted a while more. She has two daughters, one of them already married. The daughters will still be living here for quite a bit. One bought a house in Bandar Sierra and the other somewhere in Telipok. Only the lady and the husband will move back to Australia.
We talked about the price on and off. It was an original piece, you see. She even showed the underside of one of sofa to show the Lorenzo logo in the fabric. An original western assembled sofa that would cost somewhere along the price of 14K. And she had set RM3250. My friend bargained and had actually got RM3100. I put on a smiley charity face and got RM3000. I wish I was taking the set!!
Paid 2k first. Tomorrow I'll return to wrap the sofas. If all goes well, the sofa will be on its way to Sandakan tomorrow afternoon. :)


Oh, this is Lulu. A mix-pedigree cat. She is a fixed cat. She used to have kittens but the neighbours dogs got to them. Leanne (the Ozzie lady) says Lulu might have to be put to sleep when they finally move to Australia in September. No.... I hope I can find somebody to take Lulu and care for her.

'Tis done, 'tis over
my own, outdoor language camp
relief..can smile now.

Not much of a Haiku eh?

The English language camp is over. Years of talk of actually doing one finally came to fruition on Friday. The committee helped make this camp a reality. But kudos really go to Kala for doing the paper chase. Sending the letters, doing follow ups, rounding up the participants..
I do realise that having connection with the Kem helped. Since I was so much familiar with the workings in the Kem, I had no trouble at all organizing the outdoor activities. Being a friend of the caterer was a double bonus. Food was commendable, not at complaint at all from the participants as well as the teachers. Compliments are due to the cooks, and the boss was very generous with the portions too. Ah...bliss..
Small bumps and grinds along the way were easily rectified...(if it weren't pun, kasi boleh saja!)
Out of the 50 selected participants, we finally set off to camp at 2.30pm with just 43. It was slightly drizzling during the drive up to Kiulu. Dyah called me on my cell asking me were I was and prepared me on the possibility of the students setting up tents under the canopy. But I had a good feeling, after sending a quiet prayer for a good weekend, that the weekend would be ours to keep.
About one hour later, the bus and van carrying all participants and some teachers reached Kem. I drove, bringing with me some equipments/stationery and two upper six girls as urusetia. Another school was still in the main hall, not finished yet with their program. Not to worry.. I instructed the students to take all their belongings and go to the rest huts which were along the fences.
The drizzle had cleared up by then. The students of the other school had proceeded to the main field for the flag down ceremony. So I had my students move into the hall. I also formally introduced myself as the Camp Commandant. As I was giving the camp briefing, the drizzle resumed. Poor SMK Tun Said students got showered. Thank goodness it wasn't a downpour. My boys and girls were given their color coded name tags (name and group name printed) and based on their tags, they swiftly moved into their own group.
Next was the Craft Camp. Sites were allocated, tents were handed out and participants worked together to put up their tents. Jafora was there to hand out the tents. I handled the camp craft. I guess the students enjoyed themselves.
Too many details to write here and not enough time..
They regrouped in the main hall after tents were pitched. Each were handed a file which contained a log book, a few pieces of foolscap papers and a pen. I emphasised each of the rules mentioned.
Anyways...a few highlights..
There was Night Walk on the first night. Language activity was about descriptive writing, finding words to describe what they would feel, see, hear during the walk. There was also focus on the element of prediction here. I also briefed them about some safety precautions..mentioning especially the spiritual aspect of it. Better be safe than sorry.
The walk was of course supervised by some trainers in Kem. Without them, this walk would not have been possible. Most of the students had never done this kind of walk at night and I bet the walk through the villages, being growled and barked at by sentry dogs, walking on suspension bridges, through muddy paddy fields, walking pass dark orchards, to name a few, will be a walk to remember. About one hour later, they returned to the campsite tired but being teens, still talkative.
The next day, I also handled the Flying Fox. Did I feel nervous giving the briefing? I guess not. I only hoped I had covered enough necessary information. My other fellow trainers had decided to just let me do the briefing since it was to be done fully in English. So, while they were stationed on the tower and as brakers, I was on the ground level, doing the safety briefings, giving demos on proper gears and putting the lanyard + tandems for participants before going up the tower. Students were mostly excited. A few cried out of fear but all, including later some teachers, went down. I was the last to go down, but I brought along with me a passenger. Bethany, Florah's 10 year old daughter, had gotten a case of the fright just before take-off and adamantly refused to go down. When I reached the top, I casually told her I'd bring her along so that we could go down together. That made her so happy she agreed. So, we were strapped together when we descended the cable. Hurrah..
After this activity ended, I could then breathe a bit. My share of acvities were more of outdoor type. I had left the other language activities for my other colleagues.
Let's see, there was Haiku, HAM Radio, Cooperative games and the managing of the English Night.
I felt relatively well until after lunch. My back started to hurt more than usual. I had pulled a back muscle two weeks ago during a course in Kem. It had hurt a bit when I did certain movements like bending down and I guess (on looking back) did not make time for it to heal. I was so in pain that I decided to go for a lie down at the office sofa. I had taken some panadols a few minutes earlier and I immediately fell asleep seconds after lying down on the sofa. Gosh! I'd never done this before.
I managed to get some rest, felt a bit better, and later rejoined my colleagues and the participants in their activities. I'm glad they were there to conduct the activities.
I enjoyed the students' performances immensely. I laughed so much at their antiques. I was quite amused at how they poked fun at whatever activities that they had gone through and made them into short sketches. I was more amused when I heard a lot of myself incorporated into their dialogues. It showed that at least they were paying attention.
The closing ceremony was done this morning. I think it was the briefest of ceremony ever conducted. The speeches was short and not long-winded. Our VIP? Only among ourselves, the Ketua Bidang only. Wah.. I think it was only about half an hour! Full protocol, speech from students' rep, certs give-away, officiating of closing ceremony, giving of token of appreciation, and that's it. Hahah...my camp, my style.
And then there was group photo. As I sat on the chair with the hullabaloo of boys and girls around, it occured to me..this was my camp. My brain-child, coming to a close. It was all so surreal.
After lunch, the participants went to put away their belongings inside the bus. Before going off, they were allowed a short visit to see the river and play with the water for a while. Water activities was a no-no for them since we had direct orders from the school admin not to do any water activities.
By 1pm everybody had gone back. As I brought my car out from the compound of Kem, up the slope and turned into the main road back to home, I finally allowed myself to laugh and whoop in relief. It is over. It's done. Time to go home.

And it didn't rain...not a-tall. (yea..it showered..but not enough to do any dent in the activities).

English out in the open..

Yea... hurdles after hurdles..finally got the okay to go ahead with the camping at the end of this week. Will be at Malangang. Moi...as the herr commandant.. I'm kind of excited for the students..but apprehensive at the same time. I did a briefing session with the other members of the committee this afternoon regarding the activities and job allocation during the camp. Not exactly an excited bunch of people this group. I get the feeling that only a select few among us who're really willing to do this camp. I had left some slots empty you see, the simple slot of being the teacher-in-charge for the day..a simple duty of assembling the kids, getting them to come on time, reminding what needs to be reminded.. and I had to wait for the crickets to chirp till one volunteered. That was the slot for Saturday. The same thing happened when I asked about Sunday. Matai la...
Sigh..
And I as the Camp Commandant already volunteered to do most of the activity on Friday.
Sigh...