Aina Maisara goes to school today!

- Mak Long, why is the collar of this shirt so long and pointy?
- Nanti senang nak korek telinga dalam kelas.
- Oh. OK.
- Yati please don't teach nonsense to your niece.
- OK.

Let's get real

Goals are essential to making New Year Resolutions. If you have a clearly defined purpose of what you want, you are much more likely to continue-and even stick to-your plans.

A goal must be both quantifiable and attainable. Or else it is considered nonspecific and, therefore, not meaningful. A goal that is nonspecific cannot be readily achieved and is apt to result in frustration. Or, as it is usually the case, be met with cynical remarks and even be subject to sardonic humor. There is a saying for this in Bahasa Melayu: Hangat-hangat tahi ayam. Let us sum these criteria up in two points (for the goals, not the chicken poo):

1) In order for a goal to be quantifiable, it must have measurable parameters.

For example, losing 3 kilos in 3 months is a quantifiable goal. You can weigh yourself today and again in three months to see whether you have met your goal. The scale will indicate your degree of weight loss in a measurable context. And it might also show if you have exceeded expectations. Like, say, if you weigh yourself, then straight away deduct the weight of one of the body organs (the skin, for example, takes up 16% of your body weight), then you might not have to wait 3 months to see the weight reduction. And still continue enjoying gluttony and decadence.

2) In order for a goal to be attainable, it must be realistic.

For example, having 2 cups of coffee per day instead of 3 is realistic, thus attainable. Cutting out coffee altogether from your life is not. It is in fact foolish and may lead to suicidal tendencies. It is better to set modest goals that are within reach. This lends to a feeling of accomplishment that will spur you on to more ambitious goals. The yes!-and-punching-the-air feeling.

So I have listed out 5 goals as my 2010 resolutions that I think are quantifiable and most definitely attainable.

1. When I drive to work or back home and a car suddenly swerves in front of me without indicating, I will swear only in Bahasa Melayu instead of mouthing all the bad words that I know in Bahasa Melayu, English and French. Cintailah Bahasa Kita.
2. Whenever my students come late to class, I will no longer just stare at them and give them the vulture look. I will instead bring a stopwatch to class to write down in my buku 555 how many minutes exactly that they are late to arrive to class. And then deduct points according to a range that I will decide later.
3. I will resume my exercise routine. At least 1 yoga and 1 dance class per week. Any other kind of workout (ie power walking, lazy jogging, high flying trapeze etc.) will be considered as an added bonus and will be duly rewarded with a scoop of Butter Pecan.
4. I will consult a Lasik specialist and proceed with the eye operation. I have so far only managed the first part of the process. There are too many questions in my head that leave great doubt and fear for me to go ahead with the procedure (What if tiba-tiba there's a blackout during my operation? Do they have a gen set? And a gen set backup? What if the doctor suddenly experiences an epileptic seizure and I am left helpless with red laser shooting at my flapping cornea? Arghh tidak!). Deadline will be in March '10.
5. I plan to celebrate my birthday this year in Danau Toba with my spa partners and go skinny dipping in the lake. Notice the word "skinny" in skinny dipping. Hence my resolution number 3.

Well there you go. My hopes and dreams for a more fulfilled 2010. My best wishes to all of you too.

I see you

5 things I love about Avatar:

1. You stay awe-struck-gob-smacked throughout the whole movie. You do not want to blink your eyes even for a second, for fear of missing any of the insanely beautiful visual feast.
   
2. Tall people are cool.
3. The Americans are the bad guys for once.
4. The men in Pandora "communicate", "connect", "feel", "see". These are not alien concepts to them.
5. There's a 3D option.
   

5 things I hate about Avatar:

1. The Na'vi have 0% body fat. Urgh.
2. They don't have pink Ikrans.
3. Anybody could have written the dialogue. Anybody.
4. The soundtrack is so haunting at times you just want to cry. And I am such a wimp.
5. Dances With Wolves in outer space anyone?

But having said that, who cares about the weak narration, the deja vu storyline and the hideously beefed up Army Colonel with the scars (I was expecting to see stars as well on the other side of his head to go with the stripes)? We watch Avatar for its story of redemption, for the liberation of the hero. We watch the movie for the loud Green and anti-War message that it's trying to get across. We want to have all our senses awakened at the sheer fecundity of nature. We want to always have the images of the Pandora woods at night, in all its luminescent glory, imprinted in our minds. We applaud at the victory of the Na'vi, we want to believe that there is still hope in humanity and mankind. That we still have compassion, we still have empathy. And as we watch the movie right to the end, we secretly wish inside that such a beautiful yet alien land existed in our world. Avatar is truly a Pandora's box of wonders.

My hopes for all of you in 2010

In Brazil, most people wear white clothes on New Year's Eve to bring good luck and peace for the year that will follow. Many people in Venezuela wear yellow underwear to have good luck in the new year. In Mexico, some women especially wear red underwear in hopes of finding love in the next year.

Me, I just prefer spending some good quality time with close friends around a table spread with abundant food (so if possible, make sure to have friends with more than average culinary skills. They come in very handy at times like these). Eat, talk, laugh, have fun, reconnect. And then maybe watch DVD. Or maybe play with some sparklers after that. If I ever get to roll myself out of the couch, of course.

But I'm not taking any chances people. Tonight when I meet my friends for dinner, you can expect me to wear a white shirt, a white skirt with yellow panties and a red bra underneath. I'm going to need all the luck I can get to find l-u-r-v-e in 2010!

So let us all hope for a better year ahead. Peace, Love and Understanding. Sounds so cliche but seriously, guys, the world needs so much more of it. Along with some really kick-ass Salt n Vinegar chips.

Aina the anchovy

Aina is a little girl who thinks she's an anchovy. Every day when she comes home from kindergarten, she quickly goes up to her room and puts her bag on the bed. Then she sits by the window and looks out into the backyard, imagining that the tiny plot of land is the big big ocean. Her eyebrows crinkle as she looks closer. She can see all the lovely fishes swimming past her. Big ones. Little ones. In all shapes and pastel hues that she so adores. Her favourite one is a pink angel fish that she calls Wriggly. Each time she draws the curtain open to look out the window, Wriggly will be the first to swim towards her, until he is within arm's length, and waggle his long flowing tail at her. Maybe to say hello? She doesn't really know. Aina, you see, doesn't understand Wriggly speak.

Whenever Wriggly beckons her to join them, she will first close her eyes to find that quiet place in her mind where she can be with all the fishes. Then she opens them back et voilà! she is surrounded by all her Lovelies. Deep in the middle of the sky blue waters, floating dreamily, enjoying the rhythm of the ocean.

But she is always the only anchovy amongst her sea friends. And sometimes she wonders , " Why is that so?"

But then again, she can't really ask any one of them, can she? Because after all, she doesn't understand Wriggly speak.

Why am I the only anchovy here? Where are the rest? The questions play in her mind. Round and round, like a colourful carousel, playing in her mind.

The gentle nudge that I need

Hello.

This whole blogging thing started after I was approached by a few students last week (virtually that is, through Facebook). They expressed their desire to learn more English and yes, they realized the need to read more but have little attention span to finish a whole book. So they suggested that I do a blog in English. So that they can read some English, learn some basic structures and hopefully find the courage to have one of their own as well (written in English of course).

Well I think that this is a fantastic idea. I mean using blogs as a means of learning English. Blog postings are usually short. So you won't have to read so much and get lost in them. On top of that there is a huge variety of topics you can choose from, according to your likes and needs. The choice, I would say, is virtually endless.

I guess the main task for me now is to scour the Internet in search of blogs to suggest as good reading material. I don't know what your main interests are, guys, so I'll just select some that I think are interesting in terms of topic, language structure and content. And the rest is up to you. As for me, I will try to write in English most of the time but you know some things are just better expressed in our mother tongue (especially during those emo moments lol). Or I might also write in French whenever I'm in my cikgu Bahasa Perancis mode (habislah korang :)).

Before I end this posting, I would like to thank you for giving me the push in the right direction. I've always wanted to have a blog but I just didn't know what to write about. Well now I do. I can write about almost anything!

And thank you again for giving me the chance to do something that has meaning to you.

Kerana apalah erti hidup ini jika tidak memberi makna? Ibarat tudung botol air bergas yang bergolek-golek di tepi jalan raya, ditendang ke sana ke mari. Hanya menunggu masa untuk dilenyek tayar kereta.

Ada jurang sms di antara kita bro

"pkaba?"

"OK je."

"sy x chat rini. jp td g spital''

"Kesiannya. Dia sakit apa?"

"dia 2 saper?"

"Syarifah?"

"sy 2 saya."

"Oh. Habis tu berapa lama kat hospital sampai tak boleh chat?"

"saper kt x on9?"

"Tadi kata tak chat."

"x sihat."

"Ohhh."

"Tp skunk dh chat."

"Cepatnya sihat bro. Sakit apa ni?''

"X r. Skunk dh on9 blk."

PULAK.