Wednesday, May 27, 2009

A Tale from Wonder Land

What you are going to read is a sad tale from the land I call the land of wonders, Wonder Land. Most of the 'wonders' that I am going to mention happened in a school, which I will call Wonder School. Before the present principal took over, Wonder School was a very peaceful place where the teachers and students work and learn together and had a wonderful time. But all these disappeared when the new principal (Number 1/N1) took over late last year. She actually started off very well. She introduced new ideas for the betterment of the school. At the same time, however, she did something not so good regarding the purchase of certain things (a very sensitive topic indeed). Tsk, tsk, tsk naughty her. Since she was still new she had to get approval from the senior assisstant (Number 2/N2). So, N2 being an honest person naturally did not want to release payment because things were not done according to procedure. N2 was unhappy with the way N1 did things, and all these eventually came to the knowledge of the Board of Directors (BOD) and PTA. N1, under the advice and guidance from her twin (small fry - SF) - a viscious teacher of Wonder School - started a 'war' with N2. So begins the saga...

The BOD and PTA are all on the side that is doing the correct thing, N2 because they are the ones who will be coming out with whatever monetary aid for the school. Naturally, they went and appealed to the people who are of higher authority (HA) at the state level but HA who are supposed to be neutral chose to side N1 knowing very well that what she did was wrong. Why? To save their reputation (face) and all because of their arrogance. They refused to admit that they had actually promoted the wrong person to be principal. So, BOD and PTA had to fight their case at the national level with the people from the ministry. All the evidence of wrongdoing by N1 were submitted to them. While they were waiting for word from the people there, things were happening at Wonder School.

SF wanted an amount of money (RM) to finance her Dance Club as they had made some new dance clothes for the members. Where to get the RM? Since the PTA AGM was coming up, N1 and SF came up with a plan, that was, to get some innocent people to sit on the board so that they could manipulate them. They even threatened some new teachers (verbally-face to face or through the telephone and even tried calling them till the middle of the night) and asked them to vote for their candidates. Otherwise ... Well, when it is not something that is good, God sees. Immediately, the BOD and PTA came up with a strategy to counter N1 and SF's plan. N1 said that there shouldn't be any politicking involved but she was the one who started it all. Of course, all the teachers are adults and can think for themselves. So you can guess the outcome of the AGM.

Their next plan was to get the RM through the teacher's day concert. Once again God intervenes. Some of the students refused to pay for the concert and some parents telephoned N1 for explanation. Their fingers started pointing in the wrong direction. They blamed N2 and some other teachers for instigating the students. Therefore, to punish everyone concerned N1 cancelled the teacher's day celebration for the school. Needless to say, the students were devastated and tried to appeal. Alas!

A meeting was set up and all parties concerned were to meet at the ministry to trash things out and to find a solution to all these mess. While awaiting the outcome, HA got N2 transferred out followed by two other teachers. Rumours were that a few more would follow suit and eventually the whole staff would be gone and be replaced by new ones. Well, who can take things lying down.

Things have happened and some parties have gone to the press and even the TV station. The last I heard was the fight was not over yet for all parties. As I see it, the victims from this outcome would be the innocent students and teachers as when two giants fight...

All these would not have happened if N1 had admitted to her mistake. Also if she had not listened to SF, things would have been different. As I see it, SF and her greed is the cause of N1's downfall. If only they were not so selfish, if only they had put the needs of the students of the whole school ahead of everything, if only...

jennyiyan's recollections...

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Something to ponder

This morning I listened to two testimonies from two men who were drug addicts once, they had been in jail and drug rehabilitation centres before. They have been clean for more than twenty years now. One have gone on and started a centre not only helping drug but also computer addicts to those with HIV. The other is a successful businessman. They have shown that it is not the end of the road after the downfall. As I listened to them, I couldn't help thinking of those who are still addicts. Don't they want to be free from this addiction? And to think that it is so easy to catch hold of drugs today, I fear for my nephews and nieces. They are still young and what if they do not try to resist such temptation, what would happen to them? Drugs are so easily available nowadays and last month there was an e-mail being circulated which stated that one of the latest type of drugs come in the form of sweets whereby it can easily be bought anywhere. Their target is school children. They will first offer the sweets for free to the children and children, especially girls love sweets and I can see where this is heading. I truly, truly fear for these children. We wonder what the authorities are doing in allowing such things to happen. Some say that they are busy doing what they are not supposed to do while some others say that they are busy concocting ideas on how to topple the people who have been elected by the people to represent them in the country. They seem to have got their priority all mixed up. Well what more can I say.

jennyiyan's recollections...

Thursday, May 21, 2009

American Idol

Finally, the American Idol result is out. I know many of us have been waiting for this moment. Some in Malaysia got up early just to watch the show and wait for the result. I couldn't as I was at work. So I only got the results not too long ago on twitter. To be truthful, I'm glad that Kris Allen won. It's not that I do not like Adam Lambert. He's young and good looking. It's just that I don't like all those loud songs that he had been performing. I know many out there would not agree with me but I really dislike rock and heavy metal stuff. They are very noisy and at times I feel that the singers are just screaming and not singing. Sometimes the lyrics of the song are drowned by the noise from the instruments. I know Adam Lambert's fans and rock music fans would not agree but that's only my opinion and I don't deny that I actually like certain slow rock songs by Queen and Scorpion.

jennyiyan's recollections...

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

That's life 2 ...

It's madness at the workplace today. I just couldn't get into the flow. I attended a briefing yesterday and was away from work for the whole day. When I went to work this morning I was greeted with piles of work lying on my desk. Sigh! I had to sort out everything according to priority but I just could not get going because many other things cropped up in between. Early in the morning I was greeted by my colleague, 'Welcome back to hell'! It was indeed hell as I had a wonderful day before. You see the briefing was held at a hotel and the food was good. I had a nice time meeting some old friends and also making some new friends. It was indeed heaven there. However, I managed to survive today and hopefully, with the rest tonight I'll be ready to face tomorrow.

jennyiyan's recollections...

Sunday, May 17, 2009

The world today as I see it...

I don't know about others, but I dislike being cheated. You see, last night I was at a shopping mall and there was a roadshow by a few telecommunication companies promoting their wireless broadband services. Besides that, they were also promoting their wireless broadband modems. I have been using a mobile wireless broadband modem for one and a half years now and I find that the service is getting from bad to worse lately. When I'm at home in KL I just can't log on to the internet anymore. I've made a few phone calls and even visited the said telecommunication centre but no one could help me rectify the problem and they couldn't even provide me with a good reason as to why I couldn't surf the internet anymore. The first thing they did when I made the complaint was to check whether I had any outstanding payment. Ridiculous, isn't it? If I had, I wouldn't have been so stupid to waste my precious time queueing up at the centre waiting for my turn only to be told that I had some outstanding payment!!! Since then I have been thinking of changing to another telecommunication company and have been scouting around for some time now. So when I found the modem last night, a supposedly upgraded version of the one I am using now and with a speed doubled it, and after so many sweet promises, I finally signed up for a service which is supposed to be RM50 less than what I am paying now. The salesman even told me that if I found that it was not the upgraded version of the modem I could always return it to them and will be a given a new one. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that it was the older version. Naturally, I went back and requested for a new and upgraded one today. There was actually no problem in getting a replacement, but what made me lost my cool was when he said this, "When you install this, if it is still the non-upgraded one, then you'll have to bring it to the centre to exchange for a new one." I asked him, "Don't you have any way at all to check whether the modem is an upgraded one?" "No!" Can you believe that? Of course, I got really upset and gave him a piece of my mind. I felt so cheated. Imagine, the hassle that I had to go through in driving to the shopping mall and driving round and round looking for a parking bay? And now he is telling me that if that is not the newer version, I would have to drive all the way to the telecommunication centre tomorrow to get a new one and go through all the hassle again. I mean, can't they all be more transparent and more truthful in conducting their business? Why do they need to cheat their customers just for a few hundred ringgit? Don't they know that the truth would be out eventually? Have they no integrity at all just to gain that small sum of money? I don't blame the salesman actually, but his employer because I know he is only taking orders from his employer. All these just made me wonder what is becoming of the world today.

jennyiyan's recollections...

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Millionaire in the making...

I had dinner at the McDonalds restaurant just now. I don't go there very often now more for health reasons. The last visit was a few months back. So imagine my surprise when I got my food. I had mc chicken and some fries. The mc chicken tasted horrible. It was so dry and hard. I felt like I was chewing on a piece of wood. The patty has shrunk in size and had an odd shape. The fries did not fare any better. The lettuce was simply thrown onto the bun and there was only a tiny drop of mayonaise and imagine the price I had to pay for such food. I wonder what have happened to this giant company. It is definitely much cheaper eating a burger sold by the roadside and the taste would be so much better than the one I had. I can imagine chewing on the rich and succulent patty with lettuce and a slice of cheese for topping...yummy! For the price I had to pay for the mc chicken, I could easily have bought three burgers from the stall by the roadside and that would be dinner for at least three nights. Hmm...I think I should just boycott mc donalds and give my business to those guys selling burgers by the roadside and at the same time save some money. After all, we are facing an economic downturn now. I have to learn to save as much as possible. Let's see, if I were to have burgers every night for dinner...I guess I'll be a millionaire in no time. Mmm...I might do just that!

jennyiyan's recollections...

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

1 Black Perak...

When we heard that the High Court ruled that YB Nizar was the legitimate Menteri Besar of Perak yesterday, we all rejoiced with the people of Perak. Though I was not in Perak, I could feel the relief and joy the people of Perak felt at the time. However, deep down inside, I knew that something was going to happen to deny them the happiness. True enough, the joy was a shortlived one, both for the rakyat and the PR. Today the table was turned. The appeal which was scheduled for 2.30pm was brought forward and the ruling was made known by 1.30. No matter what, to me YB Nizar is a true leader. He did things the right way and tried to uphold the law, unlike some people who use threats and other means to gain power. The way he handled things today made me admire him more. Indeed, to me he is a true leader. If only there are more leaders like him, then the world would be a better place. It's all right to be sad. We all know that he did not lose the position to a better person and it might take another three years for him to be MB, yet YB Nizar, we are all behind you and we will wait patiently for the day you become the MB. We salute you!!

jennyiyan's recollections...

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day

Today everyone all over the world celebrates Mother's Day. Well, I often ask myself what this day means to me? This is a day to specially remember my mum and all the things she has done in bringing me up. I know it wasn't easy bringing such a playful rascal like me up, what with four others in tow, all craving for her attention. We were especially close to her as our father was always away because of his nature of work. I remember when we were younger, we would pool together our pocket money and would secretly get something for mum. It wasn't much, but I know she was touched by our gesture. When I say that today is a day for me to specially remember my mum, it doesn't mean that I don't remember and think of her every other day. It is actually good to have such a day where we really stop doing other things and take time to specially remember our mums in a very fond manner. Of course, I know my mum would not want my siblings and I to spend much just for this day. For her, as long as her children are happy and doing well in life, she's a happy and contented woman. I'm sure all mums share this feeling. So, mum, Happy Mother's Day to you and to all mothers Happy Mother's Day to you all too!

jennyiyan's recollections...

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Happy weekend

Today is Wesak Day. To all who celebrate this day, Happy Wesak Day. As for me, I'm enjoying my weekend by watching The Little Nyonya at home. It's a very interesting chinese series and I'm not even half way through. Half the time I do not understand it as it's in Mandarin, a language I have never learnt formally but am learning it from colleagues and friends. However, thanks to the English subtitles, I'm able to follow the story well. I've learnt a lot about the lifestyle of the Babas and Nyonyas in just two days. Very interesting and enlightening indeed. Now, back to the show.

jennyiyan's recollections...

Friday, May 8, 2009

TGIF

Thank God it's Friday again. Have been looking forward to this day. Finally, I can relax from the chaos at the workplace. Lately, I've been looking forward to holidays and weekends as I cannot stand the political scene at the workplace anymore. Just want to get away from all these and have some peace. I wore black to work today and one of my colleagues asked if I was mourning for what had happened yesterday in Perak at the State Assembly. One Black day. I jokingly said yes. That is one lesson to be learnt. Because of one person's act and decision we see the people of Perak being subjected to such a situation. If only it had been conducted in a different manner, then things would have been much different. A minor decision, no matter how simple or small it is, is able to change the whole life history of someone or a state or country. So, if we are chosen as leaders we should not just think and make decisions for our own benefit but to look at the bigger picture, the workplace in particular or the state or country in general.

jennyiyan's recollections...




Monday, May 4, 2009

A selfless act...

I received a phone call from my sister an hour ago informing me that Iyan has hand foot and mouth disease. It broke my heart knowing that he has it as this has been one of my greatest fear for him ever since he started going to school. He told me yesterday that he had a sore throat but I thought little of it. Told myself it could just be a minor one. My sister took him to the doctor this afternoon and it's confirmed. Yet what I'm proud of is that despite his pain he still thinks for others, especially his popo. He told his popo to stay in the room and don't come out in case she gets infected by him. Then a few minutes ago he called me on the phone to especially inform me that there's a flu in Penang and he wanted me to take care of myself and make sure I did not get it. Such a selfless boy... I'm so proud of you, my beloved Iyan.

jennyiyan's recollections...