Thank You Cikgu Faridah…

It’s been a while I have not posted anything here. Haha..

Sometimes, when my mind isn’t occupied from the daily works, something will conjure up in my mind – be it an issue or two regarding public matters which often arise from things I read in the medias, or my son’s progress in life that normally relates to his naughtiness or just pure ramblings of the mind of Monsieur Hombidai… but putting something in the mind into a written or typed thing is another matter. Perhaps I was too lazy too. But I think it’s purely a matter of ‘finding the time’ to do it as my current project which I am handling now is 2 months into it’s completion.

I actually like to write the things in my mind, especially when it provokes my sanity and creativity or whatever I may call it hahaha (temberang gia sia ni). But, this interest of mine of writing anything, especially in English is down to one teacher of whom I really want to thank from deep inside my heart. She is the one who ‘unearth’ this interest of mine to ‘just write whatever you can think of’. Of course she encourages us to do it so that we can improve our written English. (Though I admit I don’t write good articles, I just like to do it in my own way and style haha)

When I was in Form One, we had a new English teacher. Her name is Cikgu Faridah Abdullah (But don’t be mistaken with another Cikgu Faridah who is the wife of Cikgu Awe’ heheheee). Maybe Black Kid still remember her. I am not sure if she taught other classes at that time. I think not, as there is another Mr Gerry. Any of you remember Cikgu Faridah? Maybe she taught Sigma class too.. is it correct Lab Papa?

But she is a great teacher for me. Kind hearted and understanding. I was terrible in English at that time – spoken and written. I admit I couldn’t speak a word in English in when i enter Form One!! Ha ha.. but she had a great idea for us to improve – she asked us to write a “Journal”. Yes, a journal to write anything – it can be some sort of a diary, or just pure ‘ramblings’. Just write anything you can think of, she said. It was not formal, according to her. It is up to you to do, if you want to do it. But she will check our journal and correct and comment on it. I do not know about my other classmates whether they do the Journal or not, but I remember Cikgu Faridah said something that I was one of a few persons who is ‘rajin’ to do it. I always send my journal once a week so that she can check and comment.

I really loved the idea, so I started off with one book. I wrote many things - my ideas from the articles I read in Reader’s Digest, even tried to translate some easy articles in BM into English to incidents happened to me. At one time, I wrote about how I got my head into stitches – it was an article with some cartoons to illustrate what happened. She commented, “nice cartoons. Now I know how you get those bandages on your head”. Ha ha. Yepp, I was playing goalkeeper and I hit my head on the goal post trying to save someone’s scoring a goal. I manage to save the ball but I didn’t manage to save my head!!! Hahaha

She was always giving good comments and correcting my writings. That encourages me I suppose and end up completing 3 books full of my ramblings (I called it Vol 1, 2 and 3). The things I have written there is something like the things I am writing in this blog, though that was kid’s stuffs at that time.

Actually, a few months back, me and my family was cleaning and clearing unwanted things in my Mom’s house. Then I came across my Journal – though only one of them. Then it invoke my memories when I was studying on one of the ‘sot’test school in town (ha ha ha). Too bad I couldn’t find the other two volumes. Now the surviving journal is in the hands of my niece, Andrea Gracia (who won state-level NST spelling contest last year). My brother told me that she has read my Journal and is doing her own journal too. Good for her.

To Cikgu Faridah Abdullah, wherever you are.. Thank you many zillion times. I don’t think this is enough how I feel very thankful to what you have done to me, especially. You may not remember me, the small skinny kid in Form One Beta… hahaha… but i do remember you Cikgu..

I wasn’t able to say thank you to her as I think she left suddenly. I think she was transferred elsewhere and dind’t stay for a whole year teaching us (this I remember because our Beta class joined the Alpha class with by Mr Gerry who taught us to sing a song.. what was that song again.. errr.. can’t remember..oooh yeah “Where Do We Go From Here” is it?)

She may not have realised what impact she has done to the English of Monsiuer Hombidai, the little skinny kid. Although I still need to improve a lot in my writings, in my mind, she has direct impact to me.

Thank you again Cikgu Faridah…