Class? What Class? BJIB3143

On the 19th and 20th of February, I had a nice surprise when I went to class for the first time that semester. It was the start of a brand new semester and I had done my preparations for class. All hyped up, and ready to go, but when I arrived, the following was what greeted me. I sure hope this does not happen when students return to class after the mid-semester break this tomorrow, the 15th of April 2012. ;-)

Me by my lonesome self... luckily I have perfected the self-photo technique!

 Brand new slides...

 ... at an angle.

What a silent class... hehehe... never mind. This was all due a technicality, whereby the system accidentally dropped everyone from class, so the students were not aware of their actual timetables for the first week. Oh well... like I said, please do not happen again tomorrow... >.<

Saffron... in Malaysia!

Saffron... spice of legend. I used to read about it, see it on TV, but never actually find it in supermarkets. So what is it? According to Wiki:

Saffron (pronounced  /ˈsæfrɒn/) is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to 20–30 cm (8–12 in) and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel. Together with the styles, or stalks that connect the stigmas to their host plant, the dried stigmas are used mainly in various cuisines as a seasoning and colouring agent. Saffron, long among the world's most costly spices by weight, is native to Southwest Asia and was first cultivated in Greece. As a genetically monomorphic clone, it was slowly propagated throughout much of Eurasia and was later brought to parts of North Africa, North America, and Oceania.

So what I hear you say... I just got shocked with the price! Look on my friends...

 The front label...

 The amount! O.O

And finally the price. Yep, it is the middle one... that price can get you a decent pizza! Must taste like something special... I am not game enough to cook with it, so let us just wait and see how long it takes to get into the local dishes over here... I'm guessing, at that price, for that amount... not this century! ;-)

`PROTON HOUR'

`PROTON HOUR' Hal Ehwal Pelajar Sent: 12 April 2012 11:40 To: UUM - All Staff; UUM - All Students Cc: Datuk Dr. Ahmad Faiz B Hj Abd Hamid; Prof. Madya Dr. Mohd Amy Azhar b. Hj. Mohd Harif; Mazli bin Mutazam; Rozana Bt Mohamed Hanifa

“UUM : UNIVERSITI PENGURUSAN TERKEMUKA”               (THE EMINENT MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY)     12 APRIL 2012, KHAMIS | 20 JAMADILAWWAL 1433H     Disediakan    :  SABARIAH AHMAD    Foto               :  JKPS DPP PROTON   `PROTON HOUR’ HEP ONLINE – DPP PROTON : Pada 31 Mac 2012, pelajar-pelajar DPP PROTON menganjurkan program‘PROTON Hour’.Program ini  bertujuan untuk menyambut seruan kerajaan untuk kempen Earth Hour Malaysia. Semua pelajar DPP Proton  telah mengikuti program tersebut. Program ini juga adalah salah satu usaha memberi kesedaran kepada pelajar untuk bersama dalam menjaga kelestarian alam. Warga PROTON turut menyokong kempen ini dengan memadam lampu-lampu di blok masing-masing selama satu jam mulai 8.30 hingga 9.30 malam pada hari tersebut. Semua warga PROTON menyahut seruan ini sebagai simbol keperihatinan masing-masing terhadap isu pemanasan global dan perubahan iklim. Pelajar diseru untuk menjayakan kempen penjimatan elektrik sebagai salah satu cara hidup dan mengambil peranan masing-masing dengan melakukan perkara yang mudah iaitu memadam lampu selama satu jam  , sudah tentu inisiatif ini boleh membawa perbezaan kepada alam sekitar. Kempen ini juga turut dijayakan di 150 negara dan 6494 bandar seluruh dunia secara serentak. Habis. Daripada Dewan Penginapan Pelajar Proton Jabatan Hal Ehwal Pelajar Universiti Utara Malaysia 06010 UUM Sintok, Kedah Tel       : 04 – 928 6752  Faks    : 04 – 928 3216 Emel    : hep@uum.edu.my

Trip to the Optometrist

Optometrist or Optician? How about eye doctor? No, I do not think so... anyhow, it was a trip to get new glasses/spectacles. Apparently Mom misplaced hers in her bedroom, and until today, it cannot be located. So here is the latest in spectacle fashion... what do you think?

 Mom and her grand daughter... who does not know what to make of the new look. ;-)

Alright, this look is definitely not for sale. Mom is just testing out the lens power... she chose quite a trendy pair for the actual specs. Go MOM! :-)

Mama goes to Perhentian Island...

...so Papa and the kids go walkabout! Had the weekend to spend with the kids, since their Mama had to take DPP PETRONAS students to Perhentian Island in Terengganu. She arrived last night, and this morning (about now), Papa has to go to catch a flight from Penang International Airport to attend a HEPA programme in Bandung, Indonesia for 3 days. Oh well, kids, do not be too rowdy, and listen to your Mama. Do not fight, and do your homework. Do not miss your daily prayers and be good children. Sleep early, especially Adam, since you have to get up early for the bus. *sigh*.... see you again soon! :-D

 This is my BB wallpaper...

 I got told off by the shop assistant... she said that I could not take any pictures here, so I took a picture and asked, "you mean I cannot take this picture". She said, "yes, cannot". I said, "ok"... she did not see the irony... ;-)

 Sofiya and Adam on a choo choo train... rides cost RM1 nowadays... no more 20 sen rides.

 Alissa getting the drinks.

 My children taking over the kiddies areas at the TESCO Stargate food court.

 Dr Anissa wants to check your hearbeat! :-D

 Here is her very first patient. hehehehe

After a few long hours at Alor Setar Mall and TESCO Stargate... here is the scene in the car... hehehehe hope you kids had fun!

First Bus Ride After Accident

Today, thanks to the parents of Al-Azhar Primary School students, Adam has a bus to take him to school today. At first, I was worried about Adam having to wake up earlier than usual, but last night, he slept early, so this morning was not a problem. He was ready and excited when he saw the new bus. I was worried about his reaction to riding another school bus only 2 weeks after the accident, but he seems ok. I looked happy when he boarded the bus with his friends. All the students looked happy, Alhamdulillah. Only one student was apprehensive about riding the bus, and he had a hard time getting on the bus. Had to leave before the bus departed since I had to send Alissa to school. The two snapshots from this morning:

 Adam with his best friend, Naim.

Front view of the bus.

Son's School Bus Accident

Two days ago, I received a letter from my son's school, Sekolah Rendah Al-Azhar, Jitra, informing about a new bus service to send and fetch my son to and from the school. Last week, on the 26th of March 2012 around 4 in the afternoon, the school bus my son was on got involved in an accident on the way back home from the school.

He was seated directly behind the bus driver, but not next to the window. Apparently the school bus was crossing the highway to get into the north bound road. A lorry on the inner lane gave way, but a speeding express bus in the outer lane crashed into the front part of the school bus, at where the bus driver was located. He was the worst off.

My son recounted the event and could describe everything vividly, all the gory details included. He mentioned about his friend being thrown from the bus, another having blood dripping from a cut to the head, another friend having a torn tongue, and others crying. Thankfully (Alhamdulillah), Adam was not injured and was scratch free, even though he was covered from hair to toe in glass splinters. None broke skin, expect for the left wrist, but that was so tiny that after removing the splinter, there was no blood. For over a week, Adam was suffering from the traumatic experience.

The accident made it in the newspapers, as well as online:
http://www.nst.com.my/top-news/eleven-injured-in-schoolbus-accident-1.66365

Some pictures that I personally took are shown below:

The above school bus has been shown in the local newspapers, but what they failed to show and mention was the speeding express bus below:

Our concerned UUM officials decided to pay a visit to the injured kids, below is our TNC HEPA:

One of the injured school kids having stiches to a cut in the head:

And the bus driver recovering from a broken thigh bone, broken shoulder, head injuries, and broken ribs:

 Another injured school kid:

... this event will probably be remembered for quite a long time, but the recovery process has started, thanks to all that are involved. To date, the driver has been released, and only two of the eleven warded children are still warded in Kangar and Alor Setar hospitals. The school has organised a motivational day session for the victims of this accident last Thursday (involving professional help), and the outcome was very positive. Adam is back to his usual hyper annoying self. :-)

A visit from a Sibuti representative

A couple of weeks back, I received a phone call from the driector of a project that involved secondary school students from the Sibuti constituency. She informed me that someone from there wanted to meet with me... and he was kind of persistent. I told her to ask him to call me (... are you following all this?).

And sure enough, not 30 minutes later, this Sibuti representative called, and wished to meet up the next day. Without thinking much of it, I did. The very next day, I brought along a colleague of mine for the discussion. As it turned out, this individual was once a resident of DPP PROTON (Protonean), and at that time, I was in my first year serving as the Residential Fellow (a position which has been rebranded as Assistant Principal). He had so many plans and so many ideas about what his constituency and UUM can do about developing a strong relationship in order to help with the development of that area. He was eager to meet up with the university management, but at that time, all the senior management officers were not available, as they were attending other functions outside of the campus.

Me being me, I had no idea what to do, but then thought of my own department. So I suggested meeting up with my boss, the Dean of STML... also known as the School of Technology Management and Logistics. So, I set up a meeting the next day,... and the following was the result:

.. and there you have it... the inside story. Am so looking forward to possible future relations between STML and Sibuti... I hope I'll be involved! :-)

KARNIVAL KESELAMATAN DAN KESIHATAN BERSAMA KERAJAAN DAN NGO

KARNIVAL KESELAMATAN DAN KESIHATAN BERSAMA KERAJAAN DAN NGO Hal Ehwal Pelajar Sent: 05 April 2012 15:28 To: UUM - All Staff; UUM - All Students Cc: Profesor Dato' Dr. Mohamed Mustafa B Ishak; Datuk Dr. Ahmad Faiz B Hj Abd Hamid; Prof. Madya Dr. Mohd Amy Azhar b. Hj. Mohd Harif Attachments:

“UUM : UNIVERSITI PENGURUSAN TERKEMUKA” (THE EMINENT MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY) 5 APRIL 2012, KHAMIS | 13 JAMADIL AWAL 1433H DISEDIAKAN : SABARIAH AHMAD GAMBAR DISEDIAKAN : JKPS DPP PROTON KARNIVAL KESELAMATAN DAN KESIHATAN BERSAMA KERAJAAN DAN NGO DPP PROTON : Pelajar DPP PROTON telah mengadakan projek Karnival Keselamatan dan Kesihatan bersama Kerajaan NGO dengan kerjasama PDRM, Jabatan Penjara, Pusat Kesihatan UUM dan Agensi Anti Dadah Kebangsaan (AADK) pada 31 Mac 2012 bertempat di Sekolah Kebangsaan Batu 8 Changlun, Kedah. Seramai 60 orang mahasiswa/i DPP Proton terlibat dalam program ini. Program ini di adakan bertujuan untuk memberi pendedadaahn tentang jenayah-jenayah yang berlaku sekarang, dan juga untuk menguji ketahanan mentel dan fizikal mahasiswa/I yang bakal menjadi pemimpim di masa akan datang. Habis. Daripada Bahagian Pentadbiran dan Kewangan Jabatan Hal Ehwal Pelajar Universiti Utara Malaysia 06010 UUM Sintok, Kedah Tel : 04 – 928 6752 Faks : 04 – 928 3216 Emel : hep@uum.edu.my