Spare Time.

We went to the 'Rumah Terbalik' (Upside Down House) just for fun. 

Such a creative concept, and funny house!

We couldn't take pictures inside though. =(

Bjork

Have you ever heard of Bjork? She's a singer from Iceland. Her music is very... unique. Nothing like the KPop and JPop things we listen to nowadays.

She's very famous in Europe. I'm also a big fan of her. She is one of my favourite singers. I also think she's quite beautiful.

You dare give her a try?

Comfort Food.

Do you like cakes and brownies? My husband loves chocolate fudge brownies. I love them too. I like them to be rich in chocolate and have a chewy texture. Making them myself is better than buying them at a shop. Quite easy too.

Doesn't it look yummy? 

I love to serve them warm, with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

On a hot sunny day? Perfect.

=)

Writing Ideas.

To improve writing, it needs to be done all the time.

I know some of you might already have a blog, but you don't really know what to write about. So I've written this special entry to give you some ideas.

***

When I was in Grade 6 (Tahun 6), I began keeping a diary. By the time I was in Form 5, I had completed four books. When I went to college, I became too busy, and so I stopped. A year into college, I began writing again in my own private blog. All the way until now.

It's funny to see how I've changed in my writing. When I was in Form 1, I wrote like this:

"OMG I HATE MY SISTER"
"Then 'F' said he was her boyfriend, and I told her -"
"I hate it when M eats chicken because her hands smell bad afterwards.."
"I saw Him walking with that girl today. Why am I not pretty like her.."

I also had lots of colours and drawings in the diary. When I was in Form 4, I had become more mature. I had experienced a lot. The atmosphere was still the same, but I was calmer and my language was a lot better.

"I finished the project today! I can't believe I did it. I hope I'll get an A."
"To be or not to be. That is the question. Shakespeare said this. I'm still contemplating the prospects of different ambitions and different colleges.."
"Prioritizing is not a focal point of my personality. Unfortunately, neither is punctuality. Which is worrisome."

I also kept a book where I wrote stories and drew pictures. I liked to read and write my own stories, so my vocabulary expanded and my writing also improved.

Some people don't want to write about themselves, so they choose a topic that their blog will be about. These are called 'Special Interest Blogs'.

For example, blogs about politics (Tun Dr Mahathir's blog), blogs about marriage (Journey of a Bride-to-Be), blogs about travel (MyTrips and Kampung Boy City Gal) and blogs about baking (Cake On The Brain) or even K-Pop (Asia 24/7 and Super KPop).

As you can see, their blogs have their own links and look very exciting with lots of pictures and graphics. In order to find out what you can do with your blog, you need to play around with it. Click on the different links to see what you can do. When I first started blogging, no one taught me how to do it. I just experimented by myself and used photoshop to create my own background pictures.

I hope, students, you can start writing a blog so that you can practice expressing your feelings and opinions. You will also improve your computer skills! Facebook is not the only thing on the Internet, so look around for the good stuff.

Happy reading!

Writing Comments.

Haaa.. This is the best part. Comments.

Sometimes, when people read your blog, they want to comment on the things you say. Just like Facebook.

You have not commented on any of my posts, see I underlined? :

 1. It's okay, I will teach you how to comment. You see the title of the post with the arrow, above? (Firsts). Click it. 

2. This screen will pop up..

.. and you can write your comments in the box. When you are done, click 'Publish'.

3. As an example, I wrote a comment myself.

4. So now, you can see there is 1 comment on that post.

Now, your basic blog knowledge is complete. Happy writing and commenting!

Starting to Write.

Once your blog is set up, of course you want to start posting! Well, here's how. I'll pick up from where we left off on the previous post.


1. To start posting entries (writing), click B (Overview).

2. This screen will pop up.

Posts - this is where you can manage your posts. (semua yang kamu tulis dalam blog tu, we call it 'posts' or 'entries').
Comments - this is where you manage your comments. Comments are things people say about your writing. I will explain this in my next post.
Layout and Template - this is where you can change your background and blog design. You see I have a big white rose on mine? You can play around in this area to see what you'll be able to do with your blog.

3. To start posting, click the 'New Post' button, in the orange box.

4. This screen will come up.

You see the big white box? That's where you write your blog. (C) is the title of your post. (D) is where you can play with the font. And (E) is used to add an image. Here is an example while I was writing the previous post.

 5. When you're finished writing, click 'Preview'. This will allow you to see what your post will look like. When you are satisfied (puas hati) with how it looks, close the Preview.

6. To show your post to everyone, click 'Publish'.

7. Then, use the 'View Blog' button to see your blog!

Setting Up a Blog.

I'm glad to see some of you are interested in creating your own blog. Here are a set of instructions to tell you how to create your own blog. My next post will be about how to begin writing on your blog.

1. First, you need to have a Google account. You can set up an account by going to gmail.com, and click Create an Account.

 2. Then follow the instructions until you have a Google account.

3. When your Google account is complete, go to www.blogspot.com.

4. Use your Gmail e-mail and password to log in.

5. Then, you click on 'New Blog' on the left side of your screen.

6. This will pop up...

 .. and you can fill in the title of your blog and the web address. I've given an example above. Give a creative title for your blog and a catchy address. If you see the yellow box come up on the right there, that means someone else is already using that address, and so you need to think of another one.

7. Then, you choose a template of what you want your blog to look like.


8. You're blog is finished setting up! To see your blog, click View Blog (A).

I will explain (B) in my next post. Happy starting!

A Song A Day.

As much as I love Korean pop and ballads, understanding language is still important and so English songs still hold a special place in my heart. That's why even when I listen to Korean songs, I always look up the meanings too, so that I know what I'm singing along to.

This song by Coldplay was a favorite song of mine in high school. Because the lyrics are so deep and beautiful. And the video is just.. Strange. And I liked the surprise ending.

Pop.

Ever heard of 'swag'?

i.e. That dude has swag. Or, 'they try to copy my swagger' (from Black Eyed Peas' Song Boom Boom Pow).

Basically, it means 'cool'. The way someone walks or carries themselves. Like a mafia or gangster walk.

Lay from EXO walks here with swag.

(gif not mine, taken from here.)

But here is a video from one of my favorite YouTube artists, Nigahiga. In it, he demonstrates the opposite of swag. Naturally.. SWOG!



TeeHee.

Colours.

Thank you to the students of my class 1 Berlian 2012 who held a wonderful class party. I was very happy to see the students united in preparing for the party, singing the songs and writing the paper plate messages for me. I felt very appreciated and loved. None of the other teachers received such a grand welcome to their classes. I thought my 1 Berlian did not like me since I scolded them so much this year. I'm thankful they understand why I need to scold them sometimes.

The party was very sweet, and I felt very touched to see so many students praying for my future. I'm sure you noticed my tears of happiness, though I was very embarassed.

My fiance also says thanks. He says I have some pretty awesome students.

I hope some of my fantastic (baby) kids will be able to come to my Wedding Reception on Saturday, 11am, at Masjid Bandaraya - the floating mosque in Likas. See you!

Engagement bouquet.

Saranghaeyo, kids. =)

Firsts.

Tomorrow, the Form 5 students will sit for their SPM. I pray our school's kids' hard work will pay off and they will gain success in the exam. Gambatte minasan.

Time Is Ticking.

Recently, I've really been loving this song. So it has been getting a lot of airplay in my car.



In class, I always ask my students to tell me WHY they like things. You can't like things just because you like them. There's always a reason, or even several reasons.

I never knew I'd be a fan of Epik High. And I'm a little late on the bandwagon. But I love their songs because Tablo's lyrics are quite beautiful. And I love their technique of using haunting 'fairy-like' lady voices to smoothen the aggressive rap.

The actress in the video isn't Ji-Sun, but I really like her acting in this. A little depressing, but still gave me goosebumps in the end.

My imouto introduced Epik High through this song, though. Which can also be heard over and over in my car.