The Rise of the Guardians

I seldom do the movies at the cinema of late. Sitting still for almost 2 hours usually cause my back to act up the next day. And this time wasn't any different. Had to deal with a stiff back (and the continuous pain) the next day. Age is catching up. Body parts aren't that well oiled any more. And pain stays longer too. 8(Anyway, Son was the one who put it into the kids' heads this idea of going for a movie. We've been doing tonnes of stuff this hols but not done any movie yet. So it was not surprising that everyone was super enthusiastic about the idea. And I got talked into it.....

Finding a movie is a breeze these days with apps like CineApp. We decided to watch The Rise of the Guardians at Jitra Mall... for one simple reason. The kids wanted to adjourn to Tutti Frutti for frozen yoghurt after the movie.

We had a badminton session earlier in the day and so had to rush a bit to get ready. Friend bought the tickets on her way back home. Kids helped to hang the laundry while I rushed out to collect some goodies from another friend. We made it to Jitra in good time.

The cinema was quite empty when we got in. There were two other groups of people in the cineplex besides our group of 7. Movies aren't complete without popcorn and drinks. So we got those as well.

The Rise of the Guardian had awesome animations. The story is about how Pitch and his minions tried to kill the innocence of the children of the world. He wanted to turn their hope into nightmares and fears, warmth into cold... the sort of evil schemes which are supposed to plunge the world into a cold and destitute place. Enter the Guardians to save the day... Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Sandman, Tooth Fairy... and an inclusion by The Man on the Moon of Jack Frost. Jack Frost is usually associated with the bad but in this movie he's the good guy who saves the day. Anyway, after some suspense and many intense actions, with the help of one sole little boy who continued to cling on to his belief of the existence of the guardians, Pitch lost and hope was restored. Where there is hope, there is also happiness. Jack Frost was the hero of the day.

This is a movie which probably would appeal to kids at different levels. Many Malaysian kids today are unfamiliar with characters like Jack Frost and Sandman. Santa and Easter Bunny are familiar enough because of their associations with Christmas and Easter. The Tooth Fairy is probably identifiable too. Anyway, it's action-packed enough to keep the eyes riveted to the screen. But many of the subtle and underlying tales (and origins) would probably be lost on the kids.

I think the themes are not bad... the belief of one child could ignite a fire for others to believe and in the end gave strength to the Guardians to overcome Pitch. Life is kinda like that too... we need encouragement from others to believe and hope often times. Strength from those who believe in us....

Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are the faces of commercial Christmas and Easter. The tooth fairy... well, Other Half and I used to play tooth fairy with our little gal, till we made a slip and our gal came to her own conclusion that her Papa was the tooth fairy. But all of us need a little magic in our lives sometimes.... the awe and wonderment, the belief in something, someone.... And we need heroes to admire too. So the movie was nice in that sense. Plus Good triumphs over Evil. Who doesn't like a happy ending like that?

And yes! We went to Tutti Frutti after the movie despite the rain. Friend and I decided to forego the dessert and sat outside but the girls were sweet enough to share theirs with us. In the end, they left theirs for us and went back inside to tax their brother's. 8) after Tutti Frutti, the kids were reluctant to part... so we adjourned for dinner at Rong Reang. Rong Reang is a Thai restaurant, quite popular in Jitra.

This is prawn tanghoon... supposed to be my favourite. But this one seems to need rice to go with it. It's not a dish that you can take on its own, despite being tanghoon based.

Our own local calamari... though not quite in ring form. They're a little heavy on the oil though. The kids are small eaters. In the end, I had to push them to finish this dish.

Seafood curry. Not bad. On a hungry stomach, this would be a winner. Unfortunately, most stomachs had yoghurt filling up most of the space. So finishing it took some effort.

Mantis prawns in dried chilli - Son's favourite. Incidentally, this was also a belated birthday treat for him from Friend. Since it was his favourite, he finished this one.... He has a penchant of ordering the same food each time we go out..... We need to make memories for the kids and ourselves. Time flies and before long, each one will be leaving the nest. Just like the Tooth Fairy who took the teeth to preserve the memories for each child... Memories give meaning to our lives. They put smiles (and sometimes tears) on our faces. Sometimes we forget the reason for many things. Memories sometimes serve as reminders and reasons, as Jack Frost discovered from his memory the reason for him being chosen to be Jack Frost and eventually a Guardian. As he remembered he became more convinced and determined that he should guard and protect the innocence of the children.

For me, this hols has been a journey of discovery too in a way. I am ever reminded that much of the meaning that we get our of life often comes from the relationships that we form in our lives. And these are memories in the making too.... It reminds me too of memories of recent past, when I used to do stuff like this for Son and co too....

Muzium Arkeologi Lembah Bujang

It's been a busy 2 weeks (onto the 3rd week) of the year end hols.... one that has been filled with activities for the kids. And believe it or not, it's even more tiring than working! But one that is more gratifying as well as fun.

We've done badminton, gone out for many makan outings and so far made one outing to the Muzium Arkeologi Lembah Bujang in Merbok.

I first went there many years ago and thus was pleasantly surprised by what greeted me this time around.

There is a nice recreational area in the museum grounds, perfect for family picnics and the kids to get wet playing in the water. There was a small group of people there when we got there. The weather was perfect for an outing too, cloudy.

The place was generally well kept. Monuments and artefacts were mainly outdoor and they were well maintained and taken care. The grounds was nice and the kids had a great time running all over the place while looking at the remnants of the ancient ruins of candi(s) or stupas and artefacts, mainly from granite and laterite stones, from the ancient kingdom of Kataha. Among them were Candi Batu Pahat, Candi Pendiat, Candi Bendang Dalam....

My girl remarked that it was the first time she had visited an 'outdoor' museum. (Most kids only think of museums as buildings which house old things). So an outdoor museum was a new experience for them. The above artefacts were used to squeeze sugar cane for its juice. And they're huge contraptions compared to our little modern extractors. Took us a while to figure out how they used those huge stones! There is also a building which houses other artefacts like the beads, porcelain, Shivaite lingga. soma-sutera (a drain like structure) and arca.

Lembah Bujang was a very happening place back then. Back then was around 1500 years ago when getting together meant the need to meet up physically. And Lembah Bujang became the meeting place where international interactions and the exchange of goods took place. Of course these days, all these can happen from the comforts of our homes, regardless of location. All we need is an internet connection and the courier service. And our own homes become the happening place where all these social interactions and needs are met, though I think it lacks the fun of the physical interaction. The pic below shows remnant of stupas (candi) which were mainly temples dating back over a thousand years.

And when people meet, it's only natural that not only an exchange of goods take place but that of culture as well. And so the candi(s) or stupa(s) were built so that these wanders or travellers could feel a little of home away from home. Eventually many of them stayed back permanently. This too contributed to our racial composition today too. If we were to trace our ancestry many of us would find that we would have ancestors from different parts of the world too... my kids are no different as we can trace their ancestry back to the Middle East!

Lembah Bujang basically had all it takes to be a good meeting place. Well located and sheltered within an estuary with plenty of food supplies and good weather, the port thrived for centuries. Small rivers flowed into the hinterlands. It was purported that the Chinese traders would use these rivers to get to the old kingdoms of Srivijaya and Langkasuka. The traders from China and India would wait out the monsoon seasons here too. This went on right up to the 11th century. And because of its long history of trade, it is one of the richest archeological sites in Malaysia. Hopefully it will continue to be preserved. Our authorities seems to have a penchant for 'erasing' certain parts of history....

This is a good place to bring kids to visit. Beats the sterile mall environment anytime.

Buffet Dinner at G Hotel

To celebrate Son's birthday, we decided to go for buffet dinner at G Hotel. We thought it might be fun to try out their Surf and Turf buffet dinner which is on Saturdays.

We left quite late for Penang and when we got there, the parking bays were nearly filled. Took us quite a few rounds to find one. The whole area seemed packed with shoppers and people out on a weekend.

We had a couple of hours more to kill before dinner and over these for tea at...

.. where we watched this, as the tables were located at a vantage point just directly opposite and above the pageant.

A Japanese Princess Pageant was taking place. It was quite interesting to see it at first. The contestants also had to answer a question in English. Noticed that spoken English isn't that great these days. It was the first time we had seen an event like this. Didn't quite get used to watching the girls do the catwalk, Japanese style. They had to be demure but everyone of them seemed to have to walk tilted to one side, it seemed. Well, anyway, I am no expert in Japanese culture.

Turns out the Surf and Turf wasn't much to shout about. I mean the spread was okay and it could be we aren't easily wowed these days plus our stomachs can't seem to hold as much food as we used to be able probably had something to do with it.

There wasn't much seafood surfing around the turf of the buffet table. Some seafood like squids were sorely missing. I supposed they think fish, scallop, mussels and prawns qualify the buffet to be called Surf and Turf.

The barbecue stuff was at best basic with prawns and chicken as the main attractions. And most of the prawns were overcooked, leaving them dry and rubbery. The cook did a poor job at the barbecue pit.

The kids enjoyed the dessert section though.

...especially the chocolate fondue. Could see that they enjoyed coating the fruits and marshmallows with chocolate. The rest of the food was okay, not spectacular but okay. However, we had a nice outing together. Kids are growing up. Times like this should be cherished. Our gal enjoyed every moment she can spend with her big bro these days, I can see.

We walked around a bit after dinner and did some shopping. Kids got themselves a Cluedo board game and we got a present for Other Half's godson... Got home quite late but I think we had a great time. And one more thing... it was nice to have a driver both ways too. 8)

Our boy is a young man already. How time flies.

One week into the hols...

Holiday time! Been a busy week so far. Early in the week, visited a friend about to get married.

We went out for a makan in Penang at Agua at Straits Quay... This was the sticky pork ribs that we had, together with some tapas. I forgot to take the snapshots of the rest of the food. 8(

5 of us, 3 adults and 2 kids. Was a get-togerher with this about-to-get-married-sweet-young lass, a friend made via volleball. My fondest memory remains the 1000 volleyball digs which we dig together. And we decided to just go out and do the 'girl-thing' one more time before she ties the knot officially. So, we took another drive from Gurun to Penang.

Friend and I have also brought our kids for badminton. Age shows these days... bones are creakier, muscles ache more readily and easier too. But the kids seem to enjoy the sessions. I think the after-the-games sessions of makan are incentives too. Lol! We've done swimming too, though after all the hard hitting session with a teenager full of energy and refusal to 'lose' to an aunty ( I still win), my muscles are rebelling too... so not much swimming got done.

Holidays can be a stressful time for kids and parents these days. School and tuitions keep most of the kids busy during term. During the hole, it becomes a challenge to keep them occupied. For kids who read, the problem more or less gets solved. When I was a kid, I remember school hols as times when my bro, together with neighbourhood kids would have activities all lined up. And we didn't need any adults to plan our time for us! The day would begin mostly with 'dawn-badminton' at the open badminton court near our house, late mornings ping pong sessions, afternoon insect hunting or a game of real masak-masak... followed by more badminton in the evenings. And, as and according to the musim, games of baguli (glass or white ones), top-spinning, kite-flying would compliment the rest of the activities. By the time nightfall came, we were mostly bushed. And so parents today find the need to take their kids for holidays... which I feel do not solve the problem of filling up all the free time, still. Physical play is good, even necessary but I think many of our children these days only play on the console... with their fingers mostly. (sigh) It's not very safe out there these days and parents are busy.... A generation with lost childhood in the making.

Am still hanging on to my World History on Coursera. Just finished my 4th essay yesterday with a couple more days to spare from the deadline, this being the 8th week of the course. I realised that it's harder to get any real academic work done during the hols as compared to during non-hols time. Have 4 more weeks and 2 more essays to go before the course concludes. Have done 20 peer reviews too. It's not easy hanging on and there are times when I have entertained the idea of abandoning the written assignments altogether but so far each attempt has brought pleasant surprises in the sense that I realise that they help me consolidate information and make sense of the bigger picture in ways I never did! That got me staying on.

This is a video from one of the founders of Coursera. Quite compelling her arguments. Found her explanation on how students can follow a more personalised curriculum and the statistics and the efficacy of the different types of teaching and learning educational. Technology will change the way education is delivered, that's for certain. And I think we're slow in adapting and adopting it.

This one helped me understand why some of the work among some kids that I've been doing has been quite effective. Individual tutoring's achievement score is 98% as compared to lecture style which only produces about 50%. And it goes back too to the importance of attention, I supposed.

But from my own experience on Coursera, I think what they have done and are still trying to do is quite fantastic. I've enjoyed the last 8 weeks of learning. And I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can complete it.

Cafe La France

Jalan Irrawadi is a place right in the heart of Georgetown, where many of the post war houses there have been turned into dining places. It was lunch time when we got there but the weather was really nice, cloudy with a bit of sun. The big trees gave shade and made the place really nice. Many of the restaurants were closed when we got there. But this was our destination... Cafe La France.

This place is run by a couple, husband is French and wife is Chinese, it is supposed to serve French food. This was Other Half's order of Croissant Yoghurt Chicken. He says it's quite nice. The croissant is buttery and moist.

Our gal's Streaky Bacon Carbonara. It looks plain and simple. She was quite grumpy at first but after her first dig into it, she was enjoying every bit of it. She cleaned every bit of morsel or strand in her plate. I guess that was indication enough of pleasure in her food.

My Aglio Olio. Simple but fragrant with garlic and herbs. The slightly sourish tomatoes gave it a different taste, sort of like a burst of flavours whenever you bite into one. I enjoyed this quite a bit.

Crepe Compote (banana and apple) with cream and generous shakes of icing sugar (I think). This is another form of pancake. Crepes are popular in France. It's supposed to be considered a national dish. Originally buckwheat was used because people were poorer but was soon replaced with wheat as people became wealthier.

Another order or crepe... Crepe Suzette. Desserts with a sauce of caramelised sugar and butter. The ice cream goes really well. Warm crepe taken with ice cream tantalises the taste buds, I feel. Suffice to say, the last few pieces found their way to our gal's stomach.

Lunch and dinner have separate menus. Food is good and price is reasonable and the 'ambience' is nice. We sat outside as the weather was quite okay. Sitting there, it was quite nice to see people ambling past the restaurant. An occasional car and motorbike would go past too. It's actually fun, outside dining when the day is not too hot, with plenty of big trees around too.

Jalan Irrawadi, Jalan Burma... the names themselves imply the melting pot that Penang was and still is. Once upon a time, not too long ago, ships from all over used to stop by and along with them came nationalities of all sorts together with the cargo in their holds. Names of roads tell us our legacy too. When we remove those names, it is also an attempt to wipe out that legacy.... and at some point not too long ago, many old roads lost their names.

Lone Wolf ...by Jodi Picoult

A father goes into a a vegetative state after an accident. Leaves behind a daughter who will turn 18 in 3 months and a son who ran off to Thailand 6 years before. Has an ex-wife but she's happily married to a lawyer and they have a set of twins.

Mother summons the son, Edward, home because there was no next of kin to decide as daughter, Cara is not yet the legal age to make decisions. Edward wants to end life support while Cara wants it continue, because she hopes that her father will miraculously recover even though doctors say it is improbable due to his extensive injuries.

Luke Warren was a wolf man, an wolf conservationist, a man who studies wolf. He went to the extent of getting accepted into the hierarchy of the wolf pack, living and eating with them. And the novel is interspersed with tales of the wolf packs, how they live and function to survive.

This is a novel about choices. Medical science can often prolonged life when life would have actually ceased. And it has made moral choices very difficult. The animal kingdom is a practical one... survival not enabled by all these modern trappings. And Picoult weaves the tales of the two worlds in the novel, navigating between those choices in the wolf pack and the drama in the human world. The latter is also world of secrets, tragedy. The former is about plain survival. Sometimes I think our world would be easier if we operate like the wolf pack.

It's an interesting book, one which reminds me that very often life can be simpler and easier but made cloudy by us because of vested interests and other reasons. And perhaps too why man is different from animals...

This book took a long time to finish.... 19th book this year.

Life is fleeting...

On my last day of school, I heard that one of my students had been electrocuted to death... at his father's roadside stall. Details were sketchy but his death was so senseless. He leaned against an electric pole and the next minute he was gone; the pole had come alive with current, probably one of the live wires had been exposed...

R was 13, and in Form One. I only started teaching him sometime during mid year, when we were forced to reshuffle the students according to sets under the MBMMBI programme. The set system caused problems of their own too as the movement gave the kids plenty of opportunity to skip classes. And R was one of the 4 who skipped my classes. Little did they know that I kept track of my students's attendance for every class...

I went round the school a couple of times, trying to hunt them down but to no avail. So finally, I took all the boys' belongings (bags, books) and lugged them to the staffroom. It was a matter of time before all 4 showed up at my table. They gave all kinds of reasons why they skipped classes... and of course, not being understand the English class would be one of the chief reasons.... Anyway, I did not send them to the PK HEM as it would have been counter productive. What I did instead was told them to get their parents to come see me to claim their belongings back, which they did not want. Having a record of their attendance and also of their work not done helped a great deal in making them realize that they were cornered....

I made them go back to class and think about what I said and told them to come back to me when they had a satisfactory answer, which they did. R, I noticed was the quietest among the lot. He hung behind the group, a little shy. I spoke to him in a little Mandarin as I found out that he had attended a Chinese primary school. He's Malay incidentally. It's easy to tell the kids who have attended Chinese schools most of the time as they are usually more polite and subdued. His forehead was a little big, I noticed too. I thought he had signs of hydrocephalus... (many years ago, I did a minor in Special Ed and one of my case studies with whom I spent lots of time with was a girl with hydrocephalus.)

Anyway, the boys came back later. We struck up a deal. And that was the end of them playing truant where my classes were concerned. From that day on, they were in class. R remained quiet and subdued but I noticed his eyes would often light up when I paid him an occasional compliment for his work. Only once he had to sit on the floor to complete his work but after that he always completed his work.

News of students passing away comes once in a while. It affects us in different ways. In death, I discovered that he was an only child. His name means blessing. He was a gift to his parents in their later years.... after many years of trying. I cannot imagine their sense of loss. His father is in his seventies. And the boy has an upcoming appointment to check his slightly bulging forehead. It was a senseless death. And it highlights the danger of all those open and haphazardly built road side stalls which authorities close an eye to. We live in the tropics. Wire insulation deteriorates quite quickly over time. I am not sure about maintenance but what I see around indicates that it's not that great. And we have fierce thunderstorms too... with more great displays of lightning lately. The weather feels 'fiercer' these days.

And on the same night, a friend called me up about her father stricken with cancer and requested that we go see him to assure and comfort him. And so went. He passed on the next day. It's depressing to hear of deaths and know that one is near. It's heart wrenching to see suffering. I don't know... I mean maybe the last couple of days have been days filled with emotions... hence, maybe the feelings tend to hit at a greater intensity. And maybe that's why many of us choose to numb ourselves with things that take our minds and emotions away from all these.... and in the process numbing out everything else too.