The 'A' Victim

As scary as the title sounds, it is.

*looks sideways to see if coast is clear*

*runs for dear life while flailing hands and screeching like a wild, messed-up baboon*

credit

Okay so I'm definitely not the first person to preach "The number of A's on your transcript don't matter", but I feel that I, too, would like to share my own experience of being "The 'A' Victim"
*evil laugh and creepy flashing lights*

First of all, I was admitted to a regular daily school for both my primary school years and lower secondary school years. That's age 7-15 years old for you peeps who's asking. Typically, the goal of each student is to score as many A's as they can get for the standardized test at the end of primary school and lower secondary school known as UPSR and PMR respectively. As a result, lots of time and money are spent towards ensuring that a piece of paper has stacks of A's printed on it. I, of course, wasn't excluded.

"But ma'am, are you saying that I should neglect studying altogether?" questions an imaginary young girl with innocent blue eyes.

"Absolutely not!" replies the author of the blog, suggesting to the imaginary girl to read until the end of the post to truly understand its contents.

Me from the past spent most of her days studying for exams. With her big brother in boarding school and her dad in a different state (due to work reasons), she was only home with her mom with nothing to do for fun but watch tv or surf the Internet or play games. That was her typical daily routine: study, TV, Internet, games, and sometimes going out on the weekends. Me from the past, unlike me from the present, didn't think the routine was boring, for she had been going through a similar cycle ever since she could remember. Of course, she undoubtedly have an unbroken chain of A's on her UPSR and PMR transcript.

Now back to the future: the present. Upon entering upper secondary education at PERMATApintar, I have begun to question what me from the past have learned. All those years in school and I've learned too few, if anything, about life. I've learned too few, if anything, about myself. It is in PERMATApintar that I've discovered so many things; more than what I've discovered hitherto. Going through interviews and college applications, I learned that your personality is what sets you apart from everyone else.

So, as a student, what should you do? Sure, your exam scores do somehow reflect how responsible you are with you current job: a student. The goal of getting an A is a decent one, and everyone should have that goal. However, you should never, ever let that goal limit your vision of the endless discoveries of life. Explore your interests, do what you like. e.g. If you are intrigued by science, join some science program out there, read about it, and let your inner curiosity take over. Why? Because the answer to the question "What do you wanna be when you grow up" can only be answered with full honesty if you know what exactly makes you jump up and down for joy.

There's lots of things that you can get involved in, and it does not necessarily have to come from the school. The Internet is absolutely a great way to start (for you younger ones, I believe adult supervision is necessary). Engage in science forums, join an online art class, read advanced literature if you're a lit geek (I'm sure they exist somewhere on the web). Learn about your religion, memorize the Quran, learn a new language, read about what happened today in history. The possibilities are endless!

credit

It's a bit late of a realization for me. But I guess this experience has enabled me to write this post today from a personal point of view. It's not until I entered PPN that I started taking baby steps away from the hands of the A catastrophe. I've recently just completed my first year in college. In my second year I experimented my time management skills by taking part in so many different things that I barely have time to study. But it all turned out okay.

The bottom line is, whenever you see a chance for you to make a journey of self-discovery, grab it, even if it means losing (some of) your study time.

Trust me, I'm a college student B)

Halfway Through the Hols

Back when I was so overwhelmed by endless school work that I had so little time to even stop and think, I anticipated the holidays because I thought it would be a great getaway for me. I would finally have more time for updating this blog and do what I've always been doing back when I was in daily school, or so I thought. After less than a week left of the hols, I finally figured that for one thing, the happenings in school were what inspired me to write, and without that motivation, even with plenty of time in my hands, I still won't be able to update my blog. Well, this entry today is just for the sake of updating. Nothing interesting to share, but since it's still holidays, let me tell you how I spent it with. (boo! that's lame! *throws tomatoes*)

In the very beginning of the holidays, the research report submission deadline haunted me for several nights. No, they did not appear in the form of ghosts. Rather, it's the fact that I have to read on p values (what the heck is that thing) and learn how to use the SPSS system (aku menyesal tak ikut bengkel SPSS T_T) all on my own. Horrifying. It was the sole cause of my headache which lasted for until (now don't be a grammar nazi) I submitted the final report. Phew. I read and reread and rereread the whole report until I was ultimately satisfied with it. And along the way, I found out the benefits of doing research (kenapa kau macam nerd sangat nie hah?). Let me list that down for ya (ok, memang sah kau dah jadi nerd weh)

• Experience (bukan semua orang dapat peluang baca record pesakit weh!)
• Knowledge (sebelum nie perkataan intracerebral haemorrhage tu aku tak pernah dengar pun. masa mentor aku explain, aku main angguk-angguk tak geleng-geleng aja. sekarang nie, perghhh.. dan boleh buat karangan pasal benda tuh. hebat tak aku?)
• Practice (nanti tak lah aku terkial-kial buat tesis tebal nak mampus kat univesiti)

I could spend more time listing them all down, but that sounds a bit too boring ey? So let's move on.

That one night, I received a text message saying "Nuraini O:-)" from an unknown number (technically hampir semua number kat fon aku tu unknown, because I don't save people's phone numbers! but this particular one I've never seen :P). "kau rasa siapa nie?" the anon asked further. My instincts deep down in my gut says that it's Aida, my best friend from SMKTTF. Turns out I was right! Man, I never knew I had such powerful gut instincts. I should listen to it more often. Lol. Oh, and I knew it was a friend back is Sabah because almost all of them refer to me as "Nuraini".

A few days later I received another anon text message, this time from Nazareen, also a friend from SMKTTF (which of course was foreseen and foretold by my gut instincts). She called me and we talked for like 20 minutes. I know I haven't been speaking Sabahan for a very long time, so long that I don't sound like the old me anymore. Sobs. A few minutes later, Aida called. We caught up on old times.

"Si anu couple sudah sama si anu"

"Dia suka sama si anu bha"

"Diorang dua rapat nie..."

 It's quite a surprise how much things have shifted since I left that place not too long ago. Well, I guess time is just doing its job, separating the past from the present, the present from the future, and me from the life I used to live back then. And dude, my Sabahan sounds so rusty that I am totally embarrassed by it! I mean, who says "weyh" in Sabah? Lol. Facepalm.

Ever since the holidays, I have lost my immunity/kekebalan towards alarms. Yup. It was so difficult for anything to wake me up back in QuadP that I could easily sleep through 3 alarms. I'm halfway through finishing Allegiant, the third and final book of the Divergent trilogy. I have actually just started on the Kerja Kursus Add Math. Opened up the laptop to google for answers (don't get me wrong. I'm not cheating. I'm just checking to see whether my answers are correct, that's all). And then I decided to see how my blog is going and...... Ohhhh.. So that's how I got here... *memandang sekeliling meja* *kertas add math masih berterabur*

You know what, I should get going. Just hoping that my minor symptoms of ADHD won't get in the way of me finishing the kerja kursus. Again.

Solitude

It struck me somewhere around noon, that since I got here (PEMATApintar) I rarely ever "see" the real world again. I'm just stuck in the middle of UKM (so to say). I remembered approximately two years back when I was in KK. My school was not that far from home but still I had to go there by car. I see lots of things along the way. Shops, people, houses, roads, vehicles, dogs, cats. And on certain days, on the way back home, my mum would stop by CKS or Milimewa to buy some goods before heading home. During the weekends we used to go out to shopping malls - Center Point, 1B, Suria Sabah etc - because there was practically nothing better to do at home. I thought my life was restricted then (having have the same set of routine going on over and over). Well, I never knew PERMATA life then. As I reflect my past on this blissful afternoon, it occurred to me that I no longer see the public much. All I see are the same faces over and over and over and over and... over. The same faces. To the point that I even recognise which shirt is whose, and which shoes is whose, and which baju kurung is whose. The only places I go to is around these not-so-well-fenced perimeters, unless I go for outing of course. I wanted to go outing on my own but my mum won't allow me to. Going with friends? There is a rombongan of girls going out today, but I favour solitude. I don't know. I do love spending the holidays this way. Just me. Alone in the company of my own shadow with sounds coming only from my own brain. The less the merrier I said to Ain. Yeahhh... I prefer silence than talking (though in some unexplainable situations I tend to be a bit loud), and I prefer listening to stories than telling them. All in all, this day was great. ^^

Situasi di Dewan Makan

Hari nie banyak kejadian yang telah berlaku di Dewan Makan Pusat PERMATApintar Negara. Ada kejadian suka dan duka. Ok, aku tipu ja. Tiada sebarang peristiwa duka yang telah terjadi. Alhamdulillah

Situasi #1: Breakfast a.k.a Sarapan

Ada latihan sofbol pukul 8 pagi, so aku turun DM kira-kira 15 minit sebelum masa yang dijanjikan. Ada sekumpulan pelajar lelaki yang duduk semeja (seperti biasa, di hadapan tv) dan sekumpulan pelajar perempuan yang duduk semeja tidak jauh dari tv.
Tiba-tiba...
TV: UTC.. UTC..
Some guys and girls: Pusat pelbagai perkhidmatan... Berkhidmat, untuk rakyat... *aku tak ingat lirik*
Aku pun tak pasti apa signifikannya peristiwa tersebut sehingga mendapat tempat di blog post aku, tapi memang agak lawak + funny. UTC Televisyen ft. the PERMATA breakfast team

Situasi #2: LDK

Tempat Makan Menarik di Kuching

Assalamualaikum. Sebenarnya dah lama dah den aku nak buat post nie sebab cuti sekolah hari tu aku balik Kuching. Makanya, aku dapat pergi ke tempat makan yang aku selalu pergi kat Kuching nie. Maklumlah, aku sekolah asrama kat Semenanjung nie so jarang-jarang dapat balik. Since I have nothing better to write about, aku nak buat la pasal tempat makan menarik di Kuching.

1. Mee Sapi Haji Salleh

Ingat tak yang aku cakap pasal mi kolok tu? Haaa.. Inilah dia! Dalam banyak-banyak tempat di Kuching nie, kedai nie menjadi tumpuan orang ramai untuk mendapatkan mi kolok. Kenapa? Sebab... Sedap! Kalau tak nak tunggu lama, datanglah awal sikit (dalam pukul 7 pagi gitu) sebab *lihat sebab di bahagian dua*. Kadang-kadang sampai 45 minit kena tunggu akibat kesesakan manusia. Keluarga aku biasanya tak kan pergi kedai lain untuk mi kolok. Regular customer lah katakan (sampai salah satu pekerjanya masih ingat kami walaupun kami telah lama menetap di Sabah), (but that's a whole different story)

2. Rojak Kuchei

Penang Again

Photo from internet

Ini bukan kali pertama aku menjejakkan kaki di Pulau Pinang. Kali kedua. First time aku ke Penang ialah tahun 2008. Masa tu aku baru nak masuk tahun 5 dan abang aku tingkatan 2. Cepatnya masa berlalu. Kini aku kembali (cehh) dengan tujuan menduduki SAT subject test. Sebelum kita pergi lebih lanjut, aku memang berniat nak buat kat Inti College kat KL tu. Lebih senang dan dekat dan murah. TAPI... masa aku daftar tu dah penuh.. *sob-sob* Kali nie kami bertiga ja, sebab abang aku dah masuk kolej.

Hari Jumaat sebelum bertolak, kami breakfast mee kolok. Dah halfway aku makan baru aku teringat nak ambik gambar. Maklumlah, dah lapar sangat. Hehe. Tapi jangan risau. Pak cik google sentiasa sedia membantu. Mi kolok nie sangat femes di Sarawak ya. Menu wajib kalau datang melawat. (Aku tengah promote nie)

Photo: Credits to this blog

Pergi KL naik Malindo Air. Katanya low cost, tapi aku tak sangka pulak ada screen kecik macam dalam MAS tu. Tambah lagi dia ada sediakan sedikit kuih dan air free. Best dan cool jugak la for a low-cost airline.

Comel...

Flight tu cincai ja. The real challenge comes with road travelling. Sekali lagi nie bukan first time aku travel by car dari satu negeri ke satu negeri kat semenanjung. Kali pertama masa aku pergi Johor tahun 2011. Tahun nie pergi utara. Dalam perjalanan tu pulak aku menahan lapar yang teramat, so singgah la sebuah R&R yang aku lupa nama tapi aku ingat yang R&R tu ada restoran jejantas. Di situ lah aku "melantak" nasi campur. Haha. Guna hiperbola sikit.

Teruskan perjalanan. Sampai di R&R Tapah, aku makan lagi roti kahwin benggali cicah nescafe. Nyum2.

Cair dalam mulut

Aku menyesal sebab tak sediakan fizikal dan mental yang utuh untuk melalui perjalanan ini. Aku sangka sekejap ja perjalanan nie.. Tapi malam barulah kereta yang aku naik tu menjejakkan tayarnya di bumi Pulau Pinang. Otw tu pulak aku terjumpa bangunan nie. Kalau tengok dekat-dekat, ada tertulis "Biotech Centre"

Aku tau aku noob =='

Stuck dalam traffic jam. Sampai Seberang Perai, bukak la Mr Map untuk mengelakkan kesesatan. Crucial investing needs to be settled soon, if you know what I mean. On the way pergi hotel tu, lalu la test centre SAT iaitu Dalat International School. After going through some windy roads, we finally reached Batu Feringgi where we would stay for the next couple of days.

Akhirnya bertemu jua dengan Hotel Budget Zahaar. Dari kejauhan dah nampak bling2 signboard dia. Pergh. Memamng stylo la hotel nie. Reception dia kat luar, macam kaunter yang ada kat kedai lobi. Pastu ada tempat lepak pula kat depan reception. Ala2 lobby open gitu. Hotel bajet la katakan. Aku tabik arh pemilik hotel nie. Ada wifi pulak tu. Mantappp (again with the promoting). Keluar rumah tadi pukul 7 pagi gitu, sampai hotel dah nak pukul 10 malam. Hardcore...

The not-so-very-big big day. Red letter day, I suppose? SAT. Sampai kat Dalat agak awal. Tengok most, if not all, of the test takers are >18 college students. Pastu nampak Maneesha, Vivian and Lim. Yeay! And I guess I'm the only one who came all the way from Sarawak. They should give me credit for that XD. Tiga minggu nak study SAT subject. Tak sempat nak cover semua. Aku tak beli buku, so aku cari resources dari internet selain menggunakan buku SPM. Minutes prior to exam, tawakkal ja :)