Effects of David Garrett's Music on me... (part 2)

     Here is a story, actually a reality that is happening now to me. It so happen to be that I started my much needed work on my health on the 25th of August (at 152kgs). As many of us know going on diet can be rather stressful especially when your are all alone in it. Confession: I did it last year July and was able to last two weeks only. This time around the only difference I had was David Garret's music in my ears and head every now and then. When I listen to his music I get goose bumps. (is that weird?)

I am able to escape the thoughts, worries and problems that are constantly in my head. His music is able to allow me to express my bottled up feelings without actually expressing. (Hope that made sense.) 

     Being the breadwinner of the family, I have had my fair share of making decision and putting up with another form of stress. Here surprisingly David's words comes in handy. Words he said in another context but played its role well in mine. For instance, when he was asked, how could he cope with the stress of the shows and album recordings, he simply said, it comes down to how you actually take things, if something goes wrong; turn the situation into an opportunity instead of a problem. Learn from it.(not his exact words but the gist of it)

True enough I have learnt from a fall out I had recently and I see thing positively. The best of all I went through the whole dramatizing scene very calmly. I took my time to think of my actions before acting out. Something I could never do before.

     In another situation, he inspired me to challenge myself and test my limits. The matter may be simple but for 12 years I did not do it and today I'm proud to say I have conquered 6 laps of my pool and moving one lap higher every week, I was also able to walk 6 km in 35 minutes. I started venturing into unfamiliar grounds all by myself. Places I never saw myself at, doing things I never did. Well I am glad I watched his interviews keenly.

(I wake up every morning and challenge myself- David Garrett) Well I have to admit I do not know who David Garrett is in real live but his music speaks for him and his words knowing or unknowingly helps me. Thus, a huge thanks is in order. THANKS DAVID GARRETT. 

      By the way, I proud to announce I lost 7 kgs in less than a month (traditional way; eat right and exercise only) and I am not giving up anytime soon. I may not know David Garret personally but my gratefulness travels miles to him. Thank you for inspiring me. I am pretty sure you inspire many out there too.

Inspiration comes in many forms, who would have thought it would take a creative maestro-violinist to inspire me to change my lifestyle into a healthier one. 

I shall keep you guys posted on what happens... Again Thank you David Garrett.

My Personal Thanks to you... THANK YOU

P.s; I do not own any of the pictures ;)
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT... LOVE TO HEAR FROM MY READERS TOO.

How I Discovered Him... (part 1)

        I discovered him while I was studying for my final exams. It was about 4 am and I was all alone in my hall flipping through the TV channels to find a some kinds of music to accompany me, in this stressful silent moment. Giving up, I switched off the TV, left the audio on and went to the kitchen to make a drink. I kept hearing German words (which were gibberish to me) and claps, followed by the violin being played in such unusual way, it was a rock song but I couldn't recall the title of the song. (Live and let Die) Then and there I knew it was worth a watch. 

      Grabbing my drink and walking to the hall, I heard him play the Smooth Criminal (pop) on the violin it was beautiful. I switched on the TV and saw him playing with such passion and emotion. (it was clear he was enjoying himself) I couldn't take my eyes off him he was so charming but the way he played the violin was divine(couldn't think of any better word if i can I would use anything higher). I could only refer his talent to the water and its qualities, smooth and calm, suddenly rough and powerful. As the rest of you would have guessed I closed my book. (I passed with flying colours though). Watched the whole concert, although I didn't understand the language I just loved listening to the music and watching the way he played. He was born to be an entertainer. I could actually guess what he was talking about too... weird but true. (body language and facial expressions).

       As soon as I completed my exam paper, I did my personal research on him and I knew I lost a lot, as he has been out there doing wonders for so long and I had no idea. The more I research the more I felt the lost. He was so closed and I missed him. Instead of crying over spilled milk I made it a point to like and follow this guy. I caught up with his interviews and videos, bought his CDs too. 

     At the age of 31, it would sound funny to say that I am obsessed by his music like a teenager but I hereby proudly admit I am. I started listening to him everyday and night. Guess what after 6 month I still am... I present to you MY LOVE AT FIRST SONG...

David Garrett

Started playing at the age of 4 and still playing like angel. 100% recommendation. :)

(I do not own any of the pictures)

A directed short story.(another try)

We were suppose to write a 1000 word short story. The town is divided due to a families feud. An old maid comes back and stirs up a new trouble. Therefore my take on the subject matter is... (have fun reading)

Windsland’s Feud

I always sit down at this porch watching the other side and thinking of him. I can’t say I miss him but do miss the memories we had. I hate him for taking away that happiness I had. The town of Windsland is now known as Upper Windsland and Lower Windsland we have two of everything, two schools, two hospitals even two cemeteries. Most the remains of people from Lower Windsland had been shifted to the other side. People have taken sides according to the position of their house. These rows of old oak trees mark my boundary today. No one from this side of the town has seen the lake for 10 years now. Mother says she remembers it as, heaven on earth with fresh smelling sandalwood and green grass with dew drops. I still remember the day it happened; he looked at me in my eye and rode off on the horse. I waited, days became weeks, weeks became months, and he never tried to explain. I suppose desire over powers relationship.

***

            The door bell rang very early in the morning, no one wanted to get to it I ignored it twice by the third time I was staring at her. I pinched myself, it is real she is here Nanny Su is back. I hugged her so tight.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

“Oh! Come in Nan Su, Sorry. It’s just I missed you so much” I said as I ushered her in. She took a seat at the dining table and made me stand in front of her. She read me inch by inch and point out how I still haven’t learnt to tie my gown ribbon. I just giggled and walk to the kitchen to make her some tea. She was coughing I could make out she was sick.

“You have turned out to be a fine young woman Lily. Isn’t your mother home?” she asked.

“She is at the church Nan Su she will be back by dinner.”

We only spoke for an hour then she said she wanted to leave she needed to rest. I closed the door after she left and thought to myself thankfully she didn’t talk about him.

***

“but Lily is my...”

“Nanny Su! Please take this blank cheque and leave soon, I do not wish to argue with you, not after 10 years.” Papa sounded furious. Nanny Su just walked away.

Later that evening, I saw her amble around the church yard. I walk up to and asked her what happened. She just held my hand whipped and said “I’m sorry Lily. I tried to make it right but he is just too hard headed.” I hugged her to calm her down. She felt heavier than before, she was unconscious her left hand and legs were twisted. I shrieked for help. The farmer and the reverend carried Nanny Su to the hospital. Fortunately it was walking distance.

The doctor informed she has had a severe stroke. Her son brought her back home after two days. I visited her few days later. I tried to ignore the haunting feeling and walked closer to her. I touched her hand and she opened her eyes, she instantly grabbed my hand and pointed to a box on the table. I walked over and brought the box to her but she push it back to me and waved her hand as is chasing a fly away. I comprehended that she wanted me to take it and leave.

 I sat under the oak tree and opened the box; there were many yellowish papers and envelopes. I pick one and recognize the hand writing, it was Papa’s. These were love letters to Ms. S. Were they lovers, was papa cheating on mum...

After 2 weeks I built my courage and went to Nan Su’s house again.

“Peter!” I could not believe my eyes. He was standing by Nan Su’s bed. He looked taller than I remember as a matter of fact he was not how I remember him at all. He looked up at me I could see the fire in his eyes.

“Haven’t your family done enough harm?” he barked at me.

“Nan Su was fine until she came here and met you people; you’re a bunch of killers.”

The only word that came out of my mouth was “What?”

He stormed out of the house and rode away. He still believes his mother was killed because of us. He could see it was his action that killed his mother. He stole from us he made all that happen. I rambled and walk back home. I, being there any longer would have made things worse for any of us.

***

            The next day, while breakfast time Nan Su’s son brought dire news, doctor has said Nan Su is counting her minutes already. I knew the right thing to do was to make sure she meets her lover again. If it was me, I would want to die in the arms of my lover. I managed to bring Papa to Nan Su’s house without mum.

            Papa went close to her bed and held her hand. She remained motionless. Papa let go and took two steps away from the bed and looked at me. I looked at him and he seemed puzzled. I handed him the box of letters and told him I know they were lover and I was most probably Nan Su daughter.

“Lily, don’t be ridiculous.” He shouted.

“Papa, open the box.” He opened it and looked at me and looked at the letter again. He sat on the chair next to the window. Out of the blue, Peter walk in but Papa did not react the way I expected. Papa dropped the box and rested his head on his hand.

“What are you doing here?” shouted Peter.

“I despise you Peter, you a cowered you do not belong here in Upper Winds...” I raised my voice but Papa interrupted me.

“Stop it, this has gone too far. I realise need to come clean.” Papa said as he stood up.

“First of all, Lily you got it all wrong. Nanny Su is not Ms. S. Secondly Peter is innocent.”

“What you mean Papa?”

“Now you say, I am innocent”

“Yes and Yes. The whole robbery was my plot and Nanny Su helped me with it, more like I forced her too. That is the reason she came back, she wanted to confess.”

“Why! Why Papa”

Ms. S was Peter’s mum Shirley, Lily you are hers; you are Nanny Su’s Niece. I had to it you both were falling for each other. I had to...

Ends.,,

Opinion Piece another skill...

Malaysia, One School System with One Language.

            In teachers training, we were trained not to talk in any other language except English during the teaching and learning period. My first posting as a trained teacher was in a Tamil vernacular school, Sek. Keb. Tamil Desa Cempaka consists of pupils from the low cost housing are which was formerly known as Ladang Jindaram. Most their parents worked at the palm oil estate. This school did not have an English optioned teacher for (a teacher trained to teach English) at least 7 years. My first year there, I would call my father and cry to him over the phone to on what kind of failure I was at my job. It was that difficult to teach these children English with just one language.

Soon, I picked up their mother tongue and everything seems a little easier. Though some of you may see this as a defeat on my part, I asked myself would I rather have the student go home confused, uninterested, and given up or is it better to bend the rules and make sure the students gain some knowledge. The verdict favored on code switching. The way I controlled it is by not repeating the same translated words again the next day. The children were allowed to write down the translation in a small vocabulary book and refer to it when needed. It was time consuming but it paid off.

Today, I teach at a National school, Sek Keb. Puchong Perdana. This school is in an urban area and has been graded as town school. Then again, there is hardly a day I go about teaching without code switching. It is just easier faster and the students get it. I would not want to spend 10 minutes trying to explain one word. Having gone through these situations the phrase one language of education and communication is a nightmare. It is attainable if the children are trained to use one language since preschool and are educated in a boarding school, where there would be less if not no mother tongue influence at all.

Now let us look at the even bigger picture. Why do we educate our children? Why do we spend so much time and money on our language planning and policy? The answer is as simple as to ensure these children will grow up to contribute to the country’s development and well being by either serving or working in specific areas. If we were to choose only one language what will that language be? English? Bahasa Malaysia? Either way choosing just one language and suppressing our opportunity to seek global market seems a little preposterous. Scenario: being a multiracial the child who has an ability to speak at least two languages, will be able to bring in more benefits from other countries which speak any of those two languages in comparison to a child who speaks one language only. In other words, a child who speaks English, Malay and Chinese will be able to communicate with Indonesia, China and most western countries in depth rather than a child who speaks one language. In Malaysia most of us can speak at least two languages and most Chinese and Indians can speak three languages. Our language is our identities we are known as a multiracial country are we not? This is our advantage in the international zone, why suppress it and break our own legs. In addition to that point, do you remember the last time you filled in an employment form for a job interview. A famous question on these forms will be the language you can speak, read and write. No one can deny the ability to speak many languages serves as an advantage to the employee. Choosing to use only one language as the language of education and communication will encourage our children to shy away from stepping out in the world. Vice verse foreign countries may find it cumbersome to communicate with us too. To be truthful even the Japanese has picked up English to break its barrier and venture in to the global market. We need more than one language.

Although I am against one language of communication and education, I am all for one school system; the condition being, the school system should be able to cater all levels of student, student of various races, and benefit the development of our country in various fields. From what I have personally seen and am going through now. We are making a better system planning compared to few years back. This is the result of us learning from our mistakes but that should not be the reason to make more mistakes too. We should be able to predict and avoid making mistakes before the plan is implemented. Ensure the stability of the system before implementing and confusing everyone. Back in the 90’s we heard reports of children not being able to speak a full sentence in English during their job interviews. Today I am teaching in school and I can assure you if you follow the current KSSR system accurately minus the burdening paper work. The children can answer simple questions at the age of 8-9. Thus, we are getting better just ensure its stability before executing it.

            I doubt I can make myself any more convincing, one language of education and communication does more damage than titivate our nation on the other hand one solid school system can benefit us more than an unstable one.

Trying My Hand at Crime Feature

The Truth Behind DNA Technology and Crime.

            She screamed at the top of her lungs ‘no... no...’, tears rolled down her cheeks and she could not stand anymore. Her daughter held her and brought her out of the court with the helped of two of their relatives. Jenny Lim, 54, a single mother, went hysterical in court when the accused was set free due to lack of evidence.  Her elder daughter Christine 23, was kidnapped, raped and murdered three months back.

Christine Lim, was on her regular routine on March 10, 2014, she left the house for work around 6:45am and headed towards the bus stop which was 20 minutes away. She was alleged to have been kidnapped while she was walking to the bus stop and was brought to an abandon petrol station at the Nilai /KL highway, where she was brutally raped and killed.

Christine Lim was found with a broken neck, torn internal tissues and cracked skull, in her yellow bloodstained blouse. Her handbag and skirt were found a few meters away. Police commissioner, Tn. Haji Alias Jabir said the scene suggested the victim did try to run away but failed.

Lee Man Si, 38 year old local business man was rounded up together with a few other men and was brought in for questioning. He was released on April 1, three days later he left to Shanghai, China. Nevertheless, he was arrested upon returning to Malaysia on the 18^th of May 2014.

Ali Ammar Zamri the Judicial Commissioner stated Lee was let off the hook for several reasons. The major reason was that the DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) traces found on the victim and her blouse was not a complete match to the accused. Ali also added that the Satria GTi with tinted window which was seen leaving the scene was highly circumstantial as there is no prove Lee drove the car that day. Judge finally made his call to acquit Lee from all the charges.

A man walked free that day. DNA evidence can clearly change the fate of many. It can save an innocent and at the same time save a criminal too. DNA is said to be a sword with two edges, it needs to be handled carefully. DNA evidence can be easily tampered and disintegrated. Best of all, DNA profile can be a perfect match in cases of twins and bone marrow transplanted patients. Should something so fragile be the key to a person’s life and another’s justice? Furthermore, anyone who knows you can have accesses to your DNA. All they need is some of your hair with roots on it.

Years ago, Malaysian courts went through a complicated time trying to judge an accused as the major evidence was a partial finger print and some bloodstain. Saravana, 32 was finally found guilty to the murder of Sheela Ramu as the partial finger print was a match to the accused. In addition, eye witness claim of seeing a black Proton SAGA speeding way, backed up the case too. If there were DNA technologies back then, perhaps his fate would have been different or maybe not.

Nevertheless, the accuracy of the DNA can only be proven if it is collected, stored and processed according to specific procedures. Flaws can happen at any of these stages and cause the DNA evidence to be useless to the case. This technology would have been valuable in the 80’s and was extremely helpful in the 90’s but now in the 21^st century with the escalating crime rate and criminals are getting sneakier; DNA technology can be challenged. Television programs such as Crime Scene Investigation (CSI), Criminal Documentary, Happily Never After, Law and Order: SVU (Special Victims Unit) which are based on fictional cases and past criminal cases that has close basis to the real world crimes gives them an insight as these programs feature why the criminals are caught in relation to evidences. As a matter of fact, The Internet has various site on how DNA evidence are contaminated these information will help them avoid mistakes. In the 90’s an elite case produced DNA evidence as star evidence. The whole case took a detour when the defense team stated that the DNA was planted. Mazni Sahari was accused for the murder of her step father. Her lawyer Mr. Rave argued the hair was circumstantial evidence as it can be obtained by anyone, the trial which went on for 2 weeks before this issue was brought to light and the verdict was lack of substantial evidence. She is a free married woman today with three children of her own.

Looking back at a few cases, we can be thankful for the huge leap DNA technology has granted us in field crime investigation. It has help free many inmates and brought justice in many to many cases. Nonetheless, there seems to be a trend in our cases nowadays. We should be aware that cases should not be judge solely based on DNA evidence or influenced by it either. Malaysians have to realise that DNA evidence has two sides and we should be cautions and responsible over judgments we pass as the fate of a human is at stake here.

(862 words- Fully Fictional)

AN INDIRECT LESSON FROM MY LEADER

In the last 3 months we realized the fish from the Preschool fish pond in my school kept vanishing and the teachers kept replacing them. One evening they decided to replace and watch over the pond from a distance. Just as suspected, a few pupils were the cause of the vanishing fish. These pupils were caught and warned.

Two weeks later this incident happened again. This time around, these students were brought to face the headmistress.  This is where the indirect lesson begun, instead of scolding the pupils or punishing them she explained the importance of the fish made them the protector of the fish pond. Guess what it worked! The boys were excited and made sure the pond was beautiful at all times.

That day I realized, leaders do not rectify problems, they transform them into opportunity. Thanks for the lesson.

MS.D

(p.s : alterations  for literary purposes)