Backtracked...

After years of leaving the school, I found myself once again reminiscing on the days past.I left the school with fond memories forever etched in my limited memory space and needless to say, bad memories reek forever in the same place. (Fact: 70% of the small, anti-upgrade memory space of mine are occupied by these saccharine sweet recollections).  Fret not as this recollection is self- indulgent and I’m more keen to share all the mischievous deeds I did then, serious some of them were and some were more of adolescent imprudence. These are a few facts that make me smile even today thinking how lucky I was not to be expelled from the school (haha.Wishful thinking!):

#1: The fact that I goofed up on the stage when giving a speech at the assembly and unintentionally mixed up the father’s name of the Principal with the name of the school Senior Administrator. Funnily enough, I pretended to be oblivious to this and went on with my speech without offering an apology to them. Till this day, I have yet clarified myself to them.

#2: The fact that I spent less than 10 hours throughout the year in my class during Prep hours. I have this inclination to spend time at other classes and never like the place allocated for me. I spent the first 10 minutes in the class before squirming restlessly in my seat and stealing glances at the watch waiting for the time to leave the class. Since I was a nomad and spent most of my time outside of the class, I hardly got along with my classmates.

#3: The fact that I brought my mobile phone to school and the wardens passed by my locker during weekly inspection and spot checks as if it didn’t contain anything illegal. The said item was safely stashed in a biscuit tin and even the warden notorious of busting people out, Ustaz Khai didn’t do as much as to ask about the content of the tin. One of the seniors in my dorm had his locker ransacked by the same warden in which the ‘hot’ item was later found.   

#4: The fact that I abused the privilege of using the magazine room to study and lepak-ing. This was my true escapade and the only place that I could meet friends from other classes. The place that I spent more than 80% of my school life. The place used to skip assemblies and classes. The place that certain camaraderie was sworn not to be broken by trials and tribulations (which I begin to doubt now...Anyways!). The place to gossip, to debate and to use the damn realplayer and Winamp. The place to catch a nap and everything in between during Prep hours. I often consider this as my biggest crime for the rules clearly stated that students should not use any special room other than to do work related to the sanctioning of the room in the first place. And no assembly skipping. And to be at places other than classrooms during Prep is a serious offence.Aah, how I miss the room!

#5: The fact that I told a blatant lie to dear Mr Shafrin, our GPK HEM. Some trend developed after the final exam, which was to skip school. It happened when we were allowed to go home on that weekend to celebrate the coming of Ramadhan and I returned to school three days late. Surprisingly enough, it was not only I who did the same thing. About 100 students returned to school later than we were asked to and the teachers were enraged. Since the students had the audacity to break the rules on an unprecedented scale, the school was more than glad to punish those who had no proper reasons to justify their late return. I was cunning enough to produce an MC letter, a side story on how I got this dire stomach ailment and I got by without any action taken on me.

#6: The fact that I went out almost everyday without permission from the authority. My partners-in-crime were none other than Akmal and Zul and occasionally, Kelly and Nizam. The master of this all was none other than the formidable and forever sweet Puan Rohaiza. It was just a matter of starting the car engine (Kompressor) and we were all over the place (KLCC, Jusco Maluri, Leisure Mall among others). When everyone else was cooped up in the heat soaked classroom, we were busy feasting ourselves with some great gastronomic deals. If eating out was not favoured at that time, we would order Pizza Hut and McDonald’s via phone and ate lunch in her room. OMG, I just love these moments!

#7. The fact that I violated the strict rule of outing. One incident was when Pn. Wan held some jamuan at her house (I suspect it was for my friends and I). Since we were notorious in lepak-ing, we easily surpassed the time limit. Worried not we were as Pn. Wan called the warden to inform that we’d be late. Strangely enough, the warden didn't seem to care. On another occasion, Zul and I went out with her even though it was not an outing weekend. Or went to Jusco with Cikgu Rose when everyone else was hvg this seminar.

#8: The fact that my friends and I went to town without the presence of a teacher during school hours. What if we got caught? Expulsion seemed inevitable. And I thank God even till now that even though we bumped into our moody counselor on the LRT, he din seem to notice us. What luck! If he spotted us, we would be sent straight to hell.

#9: The fact that I skipped classes just because the temptation of instant Nescafe provided at certain room was too overwhelming to pass. I skipped the entire PE classes and occasionally when me, Akmal and Zul got carried away, we even missed Sejarah, Pendidikan Islam and Fizik classes. I was a no-show in the class if there were no class at that time and the room had become my secluded hideaway. No, I’m not mentioning the magazine room.

#10: The fact that I had my mp3 on during exam. One of the invigilating teachers spotted me with the thing on but the sly me managed to tuck the earphones away from his view into my shirt. Believe me, it was bloody hard to pull the earphones into my shirt that I had to unbutton my shirt first.

Phew, what a reminiscence! When I come to think of it again, I just realize how wrong my actions were. So many rules were broken, so many hearts were hurt, so much damage had been done. Please forgive me. God, help me redeem myself.

P.S: I miss the school time when life was much simpler and the expectations were much less...

You Brightened up My Day like a Multicoloured Parasol!

Some good things are better left unexpressed. Because even words can fail to capture the essence of happiness. Ah, wth! The sleepover at ASiS (yes, I've been there on Friday and there I was again on Tuesday night!) was the best evah!!

Reason #1: I've toyed with the idea before Ramadhan came and thought that, given the amount of time left here, it wouldn't have a chance of happening. But heck, I got to buka puasa at the school for the fifth year running! It's a ritual I hope to keep.

Reason #2: The Ramadhan bazaar, although noticeably reduced in size this year, hadn't failed to instigate the well trodden memories. There's also a nice briyani stall there. The Ayam Madu Istanbul was a counterfeit, a substandard imitation of the original, I think.

Reason #3: A chance meeting with Erul and Pak Wan.

Reason #4: Met with Ustaz, C. Ghani and Mr. Allen. Paying homage is very close to coming to a full circle now.

Reason #5: Got to jump the queue at the Visa centre. Thanks Ajah!

Reason #6: Reunited with many AKYUEM...

Reason #7: A rather fine day at VFS. Hopefully, my application is approved *prays hard* and ready for collection in time *prays even harder*

Reason #8: Saw Wall-E. Pidah, I totally agree with you; it was just soooooooooooooo cute!!! I won't run a review. It'll just be too cliched. Said by too may people already.

Reason #9: A Good School was in my possession, finally. All thanks to Ikram!

Reason #10: Got this!

And a pair of this!

BUT THE BEST REASON OF ALL IS ...

THE TIME I SPENT TOGETHER WITH LAWI AND IKRAM!!!

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!!!

Adieu, great friends. May our paths intertwine again.

Visitation...

So, I once again visited ASiS last Friday. Before you people start brandishing your contempt in my face and calling me a school-obsessed prig, I would like to state that the visit was the first since eons and I was there for the sole purpose of bidding farewell to the teachers and whoever whose paths intersected with mine. There were a few things, changes obviously, that begged the attention of my scrutinizing eyes. Here's a list for a long passage on this is bound to become arduous.

1. The first building that one will pass after passing the main gate is the library. Although I have no idea whatsoever of the current status of the place (previously, it was, for a greater part of the year, inaccessible), I saw a promising addition to the block. I think it's a computer lab. Students were filing out of the room when I arrived. Promising because a computer lab is a surefire recipe to attract students (oh well, librarians mostly) to use the library. The place has been in a sorry state for a long time. It’s about time for a change to occur.

2. Puan Rohaiza’s room, my personal haunting back then, is now equipped with a fridge! Wonder why the idea didn’t hit her when we were still around. It could have been a splendid place to stash food for use in the time of ‘crisis’ (it being free period). The introduction was a wee bit too late for any students to appreciate. Not that she grants entrance to just simply everyone…

3. There’s now a little Aladdin! Of course the real guy was still there, having returned from Seri Puteri where he wasn’t too keen of staying. The girls must have frightened him… Anyways, I miss the banters we shared over food pricing and quality… The best thing was, he still remembered most of my batch mates.

4. Bendahara, the house that I belonged to, tops the house system ranking. We’re, or rather aptly put, they’re leading by 2000+ points. Bendahara, I think, remains as the only house whose points went below zenith before making a meteoric rise to clinch the House of The Year award (whoa, exaggeration!), all in the same year. Of course we had to slave away our much treasured freedom on weekends, doing all sorts of gotong-royong imaginable to redeem all the lost points…

5. Cikgu Bad, my Form 4 Physics teacher, had defected to a new school. Cikgu Azwan, my Form 4 Chemistry teacher, is now a dad!

6. The oh-so-nice-and-friendly makcik cleaners were replaced by Indonesian workers. I see it as a highly dubious action. I know that the pay is cheap but to give way to them over local makciks who wish to earn something (or perhaps, they are the sole breadwinners in the families) is just ridiculous! There’s also a question on the security of students’ belongings.

7. For some strange reasons, I didn’t know that there was an expansion of the Staff Room until this visit. The renovation, which included the banishment of the adjacent Physics lab, was completed early this year. Teachers now sit in low-hedged cubicles, replete with a sitting area. In short, the place was far less scattered and disorganized. Again I was wowed by this improvement.

8. The place was still abuzz with the success of forging a partnership with some boarding school in Thailand. An envoy, which was consisted of teachers and selected students, visited the school last June. Last year, they invaded Indonesia. Again, I became a little envious and perhaps greedy. Why didn’t we have all that before??

9. The installation of air conditioner units in the hall hopefully helps in the school’s mission to scale the top spot in the next SPM. In my years, the stuffy hall could be a gauntlet to one’s olfactory system as well as a steep challenge to keeping attention. Even the stage background was adorned with pua kumbu.

10. Another addition in the hall was also noted. All I can say is I’m happyhappyhappy for it. It’s long overdue, but it’s there. It completed my visit. In a way.

Many things remained the same though. Kak Ton hadn't lost her chattiness (as well as her unrivalled obsession with SAS alumni), 'Diva' Norzila was still as blunt, 'Datin' Rohaiza hadn't lost her touch of class (she bought an induction cooker on the day of my visit), Cikgu Azwan with his furtiveness, Teacher Wan remained boisterous, Tuan Haji now sported a grizzlier look, Pn. Tuan Norma was still a ball of energy, and even a certain counselor was as dour as ever!
I sorely miss Pn. Hazilah and Cikgu Rose (one in Perlis, another in Melaka) … InsyaAllah, if conditions permit, we’ll meet up. A lot of catching up needs to be done.

That’s it for now. In the next post, hopefully, I’m gonna divulge certain consternations regarding my visit and beyond..