Happy Deepavali & Selamat Hari Raya!

This Saturday,Hindus from all around the world will be celebrating Deepavali, also known as Diwali.I will be going down to my mom's hometown,Taiping on Thursday.Parents and brother is coming over to stay at my place tomorrow.We will be leaving to Taiping on Thursday early morning.We will leave Taiping on Sunday as my sister starts work on Monday.I will be folowing my family back to Malacca as i'm on leave till 29th October due to the Hari Raya celebration which falls on Tuesday and Wednesday.As Deepavali coincides with Hari Raya again this year just like last year, we are celebrating 'Deeparaya'.Can't wait for the long awaited holiday and celebration!!!!Wishing all my dear friends Happy Deepavali & Selamat Hari Raya!



What is Deepavali?

A colorful festival that is celebrated by all Hindus worldwide is Deepavali, which is also known as the festival of lights. This festival usually falls around late October and November. One important practice that the Hindus follow during the festival is to light oil lamps in their homes on Deepavali morning. By lighting the oil lamps, the Hindus are thanking the gods for the happiness, knowledge, peace and wealth that they have received. The Hindus consider Deepavali as one of the most important festivals to celebrate.

The Legend

There is even an interesting legend behind this festival. The story goes that Narakasura, a demon, ruled the kingdom of Pradyoshapuram. Under his rule, the villagers suffered a lot of hardship as the demon tortured the people and kidnapped the women to be imprisoned in his palace. Seeing his wickedness, Lord Khrishna set out to destroy the demon and the day Narakasura died was celebrated as Deepavali, the triumph of good over evil!

Celebrations

The Hindus usually awake early in the morning of deepavali around 3am and the first ritual will be having an oil bath, which is an important feature of Deepavali. Hindus will be dressed in their new clothes on Deepavali. Most of the ladies would be clad in silk saris or Punjabi suits of various bright shades. Hindus particularly dislike dressing in black on that day, as they consider black an inauspicious color for the festival. Hindus would also pay their respects to the elderly and most families would go to the temple after having breakfast. This is also an important practice for them. The reason why they would be going to the temples is to pray to get happiness and prosperity on Deepavali. The houses would be decorated with oil lamps and children will play with firecrackers to celebrate the festival. On the first day, they would not go visiting but would stay at home to welcome the guests who visit them.

Food

Visiting Hindus during Deepavali will be an interesting activity, as you will get to taste a wide variety of delicious food. In every home that you visit you are bound to be served with a tempting spread of sweets. Some of the popular sweets are halwa, burfi and laddu. Hindus love eating spicy food.Thosais, idlis, naans and also idiyapom are served with prawn sambal, mutton curry, chicken curry, etc.Murrukus, oma pudi and other types of biscuits such as jem tart, peanut biscuit, etc are much sought after.

Fire works

Fireworks are played starting on the eve of Deepavali and can go on till about 1 week.



A lil bit bout Hari Raya

Hari Raya Puasa is also commonly known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Hari Raya (Malay for "Day of Celebration") is a term used in Malaysia that can apply to the Muslim festivals of Eid ul-Fitr or Eid ul-Adha. Typically, simply "Hari Raya" refers to Eid ul-Fitr, which is also known as "Hari Raya Aidilfitri" or "Hari Raya Puasa" (literally "Fasting Day of Celebration").As Eid ul-Fitr often coincides with either the Hindu festival of Deepavali or the Chinese New Year, which are both celebrated in Malaysia, portmanteaus such as DeepaRaya or Kongsi Raya have been created that refer to Eid ul-Fitr and one of the two festivals.

When you are supposed to be working...

I am surrounded with people who lack the values below.

Punctuality
Effiency
Time Management
Hardworking
Work Smart, Not Work Hard
etc

When there is work, they tend to keep themselfs busy and preoccupied with things that don't come together with this job.Things that are done as leisure.Things that are not supposed to be done while you are working.I am just baffled with these people.I don't undestand if they know what they are doing, what they are supposed to be doing and what they are not supposed to be doing.And when the work is supposed to be completed on the certain time, they will complaining that the work is alot and rushing like mad.They are lecturers and yet they behave like their students.Seriously.

I always finish my work on time,ealier in fact. There is ample of time for you to do your own work.These people need to be given some course on how to work.

By not completing your work,you tend to make people wait for you.And waiting is not good.I hate to wait for people and make people wait.

Please share your comments here as i really need some opinions...

Hepy Weekendz!

Have agreat weekend ahead!

Public transport or not?

7.30am :I was walking to the LRT station with my frens,Ranjini and Meena when Ranjini got a call from her friend saying that the LRT is being delayed to to some technical probs.

They both then took a cab to their workplace near KLCC.I called my Su,who stays 5 mins away from my place is she can give me a lift to work that day.

Went back to my apmt.Thank god i had just started walking from my apmt when we got the news.Su came by 8am.The rest of my colleagues who travel by LRT were stranded and had to take a bus to SS2.Then another collegue took the Uni van to fetch them from there.Was late neways.

Apparently,the LRT only came like once in every 1 1/2 hours.Damn dumb and irritating.Pity those who had to take the LRT to work or school or coll.

This is the 3rd time LRT Putra has been encountering probs.

How are we gonna rely on public transport if they have so many probs?We are encouraged to take public transport to ease the traffic jam but look whats happens wen we take the public transport.

They shoud take some drastic measures to ensure that things like this don't happen again.

Went back with Su as the LRT was stil being delayed.

GGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

LRT woes

News 1: LRT failure wreaks havoc

KUALA LUMPUR: The RapidKL LRT service on the Kelana Jaya line was interrupted for 10 hours from 7.02am yesterday when one of its trains experienced technical problems.

Passengers were evacuated at the Damai Station and alternate service was provided between the Masjid Jamek and Terminal Putra stations.

The disruption caused massive jams throughout the day. Irate commuters complained that not only they were late for work they also had difficulty going home.

RapidKL's corporate communications division senior manager Katherine Chew said in a statement that the service between Kelana Jaya and Masjid Jamek stations was normal. She said all services were restored at about 5pm.

RapidKL provided alternative modes of transport for commuters travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Terminal Putra.

Commuters going to Wangsa Maju were advised to take the Ampang/Sri Petaling line to Titiwangsa station and from there, to take the RapidKL Bus T20 to Wangsa Maju.

Feeder buses and dedicated bus shuttle services were also available to take commuters to other destinations.

News 2: Commuters stranded by break down

IN the last one month, the Putra LRT line has been hit by more than three major disruptions and yesterday's train breakdown seemed to be the tip of the iceberg.

City commuters were stranded at the Taman Melati, Wangsa Maju, Setiawangsa, Jelatek, Datuk Keramat and Damai stations when a train broke down in the middle of the tracks between the Damai and Datuk Keramat stations at about 7am.

Feeder buses were provided by Rapid KL for affected commuters to work and school. The buses travelled from the stations to KLCC.

During the disruption that lasted more than eight hours, services were stalled between the Damai and Datuk Keramat stations while alternate services were provided along the rest of the route.

Long queues were seen at all stations, especially KL Sentral, Masjid Jamek and KLCC, where shutters were partially closed to control the crowd, and coaches moved at a slower pace than usual.

The crowd even spilled over to bus stops near KLCC and commuters complained that taxi drivers were charging triple the normal metered rate.

Universiti Kuala Lumpur student Akla Shafie, 20, said he missed class in the morning because of the train breakdown and the feeder bus did not travel up to the Jalan Raja Abdullah area where his university was located.

“I came out of my house at 8.30am to take the train at the Jelatek station. Then, the service was down and I decided to forego my class and return to my kampung in Muar.

“I have experienced this before and this was the second time I had to skip class. I think the maintenance of the trains should be done more frequently so that incidents like this will not recur,” he said.

G. Sriram, 24, who usually takes a train from Terminal Putra to KL Sentral where his company's transport will pick him up, was stuck between the Terminal Putra and Setiawangsa stations for more than two hours.

“There were no instructions on the service delay when I bought my ticket at Terminal Putra. I waited for 20 to 30 minutes and took a train to Setiawangsa where we were asked to take a feeder bus to Ampang Park and KLCC.

“There have been two or three incidents within the last month and during one of them, I was stuck in a train in the middle of the tracks before it reached Masjid Jamek.

“I need to go to work by public transport but these (breakdowns) have caused a lot of inconvenience,” he said.

Another commuter Idris Daud, 62, said he had no idea what happened to the train and merely followed instructions via announcements made at the stations.

“All I knew was that only one side of the track could be used. This was the first time I experienced such an incident,” he said.

Universiti Tun Abdul Razak student N. Mahalatchmy, 20, who missed the majority of her classes, had to resort to calling her father to send her to university.

“My class commenced at 10am and I was still stuck at Setiawangsa; my assignment marks will all be gone,” she added.

Another commuter, who only wanted to be known as S. C. said commuters should have been advised at the station of origin to avoid chaos at Masjid Jamek as there were no notices.

Firdaus Mat Zain, 29, waited for hours at the Wangsa Maju and Datuk Keramat stations but he insisted not to take the feeder bus to his destination at KLCC.

RTM producer Mohd Fahmi Sarindi, 26, who missed his assignment at Angkasapuri, said: “This was not the first time and there were many such incidents in a year.”

Student Michelle Thomas, 18, wanted to leave early for LCCT in KLIA to take a flight back to Sabah but her plan had to be interrupted for a few hours.

“This was the first time I had to be stuck here (at Setiawangsa) alone heavy luggage,” she said.

In the parliamentary session last month, several MPs such as Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (BN – Bintulu) and Datuk Mohamed Aziz (BN – Sri Gading) questioned the Railways Department and Rapid KL for the breakdown of the Kelana Jaya LRT line in July.

In reply, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said the department had been given two months to investigate the incident and his ministry would submit its findings to Parliament.

In a statement, Rapid KL said service was interrupted at 7.02am due to technical problems. At press time, repairs were still being carried out.

Source : www.thestar.com.my

Deepavali Shopping

It's a Saturday again!Thank God for that.Have been looking forward to this weekend since monday.

Will be goin back home today after work.Haven't bought the ticket back to Malacca yet.Wil leave to Pudu by 1pm and hope to get a 2.15pm ticket at least.If i get any later than that, i think i'll go get my mum her houses dresses that she asked me to buy while waiting for the time to board the bus.

There's this chinese shop near Pudu which i normally buy her house dresses from there.Can't get any like those anywhere as the other shops usually have long ones and UGLY ones too.

I took leave on Monday as it's a public holiday on Tuesday for Nuzul Al Quran.I'll be back on Tuesday night.The long leave wil at least enable me to do my shopping for Deepavali.

Moreover,my mom is not doing very well.She got admitted for a few hours on monday when she went to see her doctors as she was experiencing chest pains.To conduct more tests and observation,they admitted her.Her ECG n blood test n etc came out normal.But they have made an appoinment with a specialist next month. Don't wanna take any risks as heart problems does exist in my family tree. Might take her to IJN(National Heart Hospital)in Kl for further and thorough check up later on.

I guess i'll be spendin my time cleaning the house for Deepavali apart from the normal TV addict and sleeping addict behaviour.hehehe....I plan to go to the new shopping complex which was recently opened,Hang Tuah Mall.

Plus,it's been ages since i went around Malacca.

This year for Deepavali,My family and I will b going to Taiping,Perak.Last year Deepavali was just spent at my place going around Kl and etc.

Without my grandmother there,Deepavali won't be the same.She passed away 3 years ago.However,will be able to meet up with my cousins and relatives who are living there.Also,my aunt frm Kajang is going down there too.She goes there every year for Deepavali as her mom in laws house is in Taiping.

I decided to buy more clothes for Deepavali this year compared to last year.Last year,i only got myself 2 tops.Thats all.

Ive bought for my bro clothes this year.Will see what i can buy for my mom n dad.

Went to midvalley on wednesday with my bf.He bought me a 3 quater black pants and a top.Could'nt buy for him anything that he liked.Plan to go Sunway Pyramid soon.

Went to Jaya Supermarket with Su,Yang and Azlin yesterdy during lunch and bought two tops.One top is simply superb.Its black and white.The other is a lime kinda green.Bought lime + baby blue eyeshadows to go along with the lime kinda green blouse.

I just need to buy myself a pair of jeans.saw one in Jusco Midvally but i'll b checking first in Malacca.Ive bought jeans for myself all my life in Malacca.With the waist size of an ant-24,i could hardlyfind a jeans that can suit me nicely.The length isn't a prob as i normally get it cut and sewn.

Bf is currently in Port Dickson with his gang.Partying til Sunday.

Since i started blogging a couple of days back,i'm so into blogging now.Well,thats coz i have the mood i guess.

:P

Neways,have a wonderful and cheerful great weekend u peeps!

Chiowz!

Semester 1 ends

Last week was the end of semester 1 for Foundation 1 to Foundation 6. For Foundation 7, this is the last week. They had extended to finish up the It syllabus. Foundation 8 and 9 will end in a couple of weeks time.

Foundation 7 and 8 are delayed as they were disrupted now and then frequently due to the Dikir Barat performance. It is really annoying as they are kept called to do performance each time someone visits the Cyberjaya campus or KLC or anywhere. They started the semester quite late and yet they can’t have their classes. So disturbing and annoying.

Semester 10 started towards the end of the semester so they are following the senior’s schedule. The intake is like all around the semester. Crazy. I just had one new student enroll last week. Can you believe that? Last week when it was actually the last week for the juniors!

I teach Foundation 4,5,7 and 10. Which means I only have Foundation 10 for now. And with the new subject, Visual Communication which I started to teach this week, I only have 2 classes in a week.

I have marked their Portfolios and packed them up for Archiving. Have yet to mark their final project, Batik Innovation which consists of a Research Folio and an A1 size artwork. This project is being done the first time. It’s a group project. Each group sonsist of 4-5 members, whom I had choosen myself as I wanted the students to mingle. I do not want the good ones to be with the good ones and the weak ones with the weak ones. I want them to share their strengths and help improve their weakness. If you know what I mean.

The duration of the project is 14 weeks, which means they have ample of time. I guide them throughout the duration. In fact I think I’ve helped them A LOT. On what can they do the research about by giving them topics to look for, a checklist where they can see what has been done and what has not, etc.

Anyways, the final project’s total mark is 30%. 15% for research + sketches (min 10 per person) and 5% for the final A1 artwork.

I guess I’ll try mark finish the final project for all my classes tomorrow if I have the mood. I need to have a good mood to give good grades.hehehehe…..

I am extremely strict with my student. Punctuality is very important. Late submissions is a BIG NO NO and if there is, I deduct marks according to how many days they are late. It’s not that I am mean, but I think it’s a good practice for them as well coz when they work in the industry, they will have to meet their client’s deadline. If I am very lenient with the, they will simply climb my head. Make my life and theirs harder. If they prolong the submissions, they will just have loads to do as their assignments will be piled up. I am speaking from experience. When I was studying in the uni, I will be amont the first ones to come for class, and to submit assignments. Let’s just say I am a punctuality freak.

Neways,ill rattle more on my next blog.Afraid my blog is getting jes too boring fer u guys to read….:P

Students finishing up their Portfolio



Students putting their finishing touch on their Final Project- Batik Innovation

Farewell Khairul Asri

A colleague of mine, Asri, who is a counselor here left Limkokwing end of last month. He got a job as a government officer. Will be starting his new job on Oct 11th.

Asri was my ‘going back home’ companion after work. He took the LRT to work as well. And he goes back at sharp 5pm everyday. Just like me…:P

He was a very nice and funny guy. Hope to see him sometime soon.

Wish him all the best in his future undertakings.

Asri n me on his late day at work

Visual Communication

I started to teach a new subject today. Visual Communication for the Diploma in Digital Video students. Have another lecturer teaching with me,OC.He is my coursemate who joined Limkokwing Uni bout 1 month ago.

Onli have 14 students in this class.Gotta teach them self branding and promotion,storyboarding,advertising and marketing,animatics,semiotics, n etc.

We r like 7 weeks late as they onli realised that no one is teaching this subject.Kinda lame i know.So we gotta rush the kids with their lesson,exercises and assignments.

Oh,btw, Limkokwing Uni College is no longer a Uni Coll but a University now.Nutin great to me anyways.

OH NO!NOT CYBERJAYA AGAIN!

Last month, we were not by our coordinator that we will moving to Cyberjaya by January.That came in as a TERRIBLE shock to us as we hated Cyberjaya.We really reallllllllyyyyyyyyyyy loved our campus here in PJ.The reasons:

1.The place is only in 1 building where else in Cyber the place is HUGE!

2.Food there sux big time and is extremely EXPENSIVE. the cheapest meal is bout RM5 wic is not worth the price at all.Here, there are lots of restaurants and stall-Malay,Chinese,Indian,etc.Cheap too.Tasty as well.I think ive gained a few kg ever since wrking here.ARGHHH!!!

3.Transport here is easy.The LRT is like 5 min walk frm here.I only have to leave 30 b4 wrk starts.The LRT ride frm my apmt to my wrkplace is merely 15 min!!!If i have to wrk in Cyber,i have to Take the Lrt and 2 busses to Cyber!Tat means gettin up early and coming back home late!!!ARGHHH!!!

4.Work there is stressful.ARGHHH!!!

5.We r like a BIG family here.United.HAPPY.

6.Everything is so convinient here.We r near to anywhere.Sunway Pyramid,Giant,1U,etc.

7.Can't enjoy work ther as much as we do here...

Basically its SOB SOB SOB!!!

I guess i gotta look for another place to work if we move there.

Am planning to take my masters sometime next year in UM.UM is near where i work now.If i work in Cyber,how am i gona make it for the clases wic starts at 6pm?

Hope and pray we r not moving there!!!!!

Please ope n prya for me as well.....

Pardon me!

I am becoming lazie and lazie to blog.Pardon me.Its not that i dun wanna blog but i end up duno wat to blog.I read my frens blogs almost everyday.Mayb my life is jes to boring to tell anyone on wats happening....

:(

The weekend that it was...

The weekend that passed was filled with so much of fun. On Friday nite, it was a night out with my bf, sister and cousins. Cousins gaithri, geetha and anne came down to my place on Friday evening. Left to McD bangsar for a quick bite. Bf and cousin gaithri’s bf’s fren met us there soon.

Together we left to Absolut chemistry before it was 10pm. Got sum drinks and we waited for gaithri’s bf and his cousins. He came bout 10.30pm. Next to our table was bout 10 of his cousins and frens. Cousin Alvin and his fren, who apparently is a upcoming singer (I duno wats her name) came later. The whole nite was spent dancing and fer da guys, of coz drinking. Bf bought me margarita wic I shared wit da other gals. First time trying it.not bad. A mixture of 3 concoctions.

I didn’t dance much as I was having gastric a bit as i practically didn’t eat da whole day. was tied up with wrk in the office. Jes had sum milo in McD as we were running late.

Drinking a glass of vodka with an empty stomach clearly started my gastric pain. So I jes chilled on da sofa with my bf n Alvin. My cousins occasionally came to rest a few times during their dancing marathon.

We left at bout 3 an only when the club was closing. By that time, I was starving. Had supper (for me it was bfast + lunch + tea + dinner) at a Chinese restaurant right across the club. Then we left to out apartment as my bf n gaithri’s bf , navin wanted to bring us to Tanjung Harapan in Klang. They initially wanted to bring us to PD but Gaithri and me weren’t enthusiastic about it. We were worried as they drank a lot, even tho its beer and they were sober. So after much persuasion and debating, we went along with their plans.

We went in two cars. I slept all the way there as I was already sleepy. Bought some tidbits on the way to munch at Tanjung Harapan. Just chilled and talked the night away. Wanted to see the sun rise but we were too tired and sleepy by 6.20am.

Left Tanjung Harapan. By the time we reached my apartment, it was already bright. Bf and navin left with Anne as she wanted to leave back home by lrt. My sis, Gaithri, Geetha and myself washed up and by the time we hit da bed, it was close to 8am.

Bf called n woke me up at 12pm. He came by 1pm. Navin came to our apartment with our lunch- chicken rice and wantan mee. Had lunch, lazied around in my apartment til it was 4plus. Then cousins packed their stuffs. We went to Nagas and had our tea there.

My fren, Ranjini called me asking me if I was free as she wanted to bring me out. As I will be doing nutin later, and my sis will be leaving for her night shift, I said OK. The capati wic I bought fer dinner went into my mini fridge. Decided to have it as bfast da next day….

She told me that her company’s expats will be playing in a band at Little Havana in Bukit Bintang. We left at bout 8pm.

The band was called Krude and they were really good. The lead singer looks like tarzan, with his muscled body and long shoulder length blonde hair….Practically the place was filled with 98% of expats from various oil and gas companies. 2 of her bosses bought us 2 glasses of vodka. I danced for a couple of songs. The band played from 8.30 – 12.30am. It was nearly 12.30am wen we left the place.

After havign my shower, I was fresh so I decided to continue reading my romance novel. Slept not long after that.

Got up early as usual on Sunday but I slept on n off til 12pm. Didn’t wanna get up as I wanted to sleep long. It was the weekend neways.

Sunday was spent in my apartment the Hindi movie –Veer Zaara that my fren borrowed me and cleaning up my stuffs.

It was indeed a fun packed weekend. Am lookin forward to more fun filled weekends like tis.:)