More from the Look-out point !

I think the pictures  speak better than my words !

Thanks ain and gang..

After my 511 class this morning I met ain and gang on the ground floor and I was pleasantly surprised by this gift made of flannel . I appreciate the thought and trouble and hoped I have been worth it.

Sunset over KL

That was some experience. I have heard about the place but never really cared too much about it. When a
colleague told me about the Bukit Belachan , then and only then I decided to check out the place. I have had no regrets since. After checking out the route over the internet, I found it pretty easy to get there. With the Sunday traffic, it took me about 30-40 minutes from Setiawangsa. Not bad , considering everything else !

Anywas the drive up the hill already got me excited. It was so easy to be tempted tp stop at the first sight of the Kuala Lumpur skyline. The adrenalin was just pumping full speed. But the lack of parking space stopped me. Going further up, I finally arrived at THE Look-out Point.

Surprisingly there are about 3-4 restaurants . One of them , by the name of Gasoline Alley (or something to that effect) seems to have chains of outlets from Time Sq to Shah Alam to Kuching !

Anyway it was only about 4.00pm. Gosh ! About two and a half hours to kill !

However , as it turned out----it was worth the wait.  Now I can picture clearly what is meant by 'panarama' or 'panaromic' view !Even the bright scene of the KL skyline was superb, but when the sun started to sink over the horizon --- it was breath-taking.

A picture is worth a thousand words ! So here are some !

The four stages as the sun sets !

The garden lights

Waiting for the sun !

Sunset from Bukit Belachan

So its Bukit Belachan this weekend with the other fellow photographers. When I suggested this place, one of the photographers said, "...smells good..". Well we shall see tomorrow. I have never been to this place myself but have read through a few web-site on it and it looks promising !

taken from a website.

Learning the cs5..

I have something new to keep me busy now....Here's what I've been trying and learning...

Before....

After.....

Now I can't wait to my hands on those old photos ...hahahah

Smile.....

 SMILE

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying?
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile



That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying?
You'll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

Presentation tips..

I am reproducing this post for the benefit of the 511 students .

Presentation tips!  

What a morning it had been today! It was a hectic one for me. I had two classes doing their presentation of their reports. And the sir-conditioning (what air-conditioning?-there wasn't any in that room!), didn't help at all! 

It started off well but after a few students, I can see where it was going! Definitely the wrong way! In fact I had to stop a few students while they were doing their presentation because it was getting out if hand, had to ask a few to skip certain irrelevant sections and I even gave a demonstration in the middle of one presentation ! 

So for the sake of those who'll be doing theirs in the future, here are some tips... 

1.Reading
Never, never but never read off your slide. I can read better and faster than you. This is not a public reading session. You are there to present and explain. 

2. Face your audience
You are communicating with your audience, NOT the screen, therefore FACE your audience. Maintain eye contacts. 

3. Voice.
When you face the screen, your voice will not be clear. Maintain a reasonable volume so that the audience can listen comfortably without having to strain their ears. Vary your voice tone so that you would not sound monotonous.
Your voice should also show enthusiasm and it must be lively. 

4.Slides
Select your information wisely. You DO NOT have to show your whole report. Pick and select the information wisely. Do not spend half your presentation time on your introduction. What is most important would be your Findings, Conclusion and Recommendation. Present and highlight the main interesting points.
Keep your slides to MAIN POINTS only! DO NOT make your slides so wordy. Just read the points, face the audience and do your explanation and/or elaboration confidently.
Use colours --but wisely. Too much of something will have an adverse effect. 

5. Conclusion and recommendation
These two can be combined if you plan your facts.  

6. BE PREPARED
Last but not least, PLAN YOUR PRESENTATION. This morning I could even see one of the students still preparing his slides while the presentation was going on. Needless to say, he scored the lowest. 

This would solve all your readings, blabbering, stammering, mutterings and most of all IT WOULD KEEP MY TEMPER AT BAY!

I hope the above would be of help to future presenters of my subject.

So to those students who will be presenting their reports next week ---good luck !

A Happy Belated 2nd. Blogging Anniversary to me !

Oh No ! and Oh Yes !---I missed the date.

2nd. May 2008 - I started blogging. 

2 YEARS IT HAS BEEN - AND STILL BLOGGING !

I am reproducing my first posting on that day !

Friday, May 2, 2008

Now why did I do this.?

Ok ! My first . I can't believe it ---I actually want to sit and write something. So I got over the first blockage to start this blog-site.The next would be what to write about. OK what about a sort of diary , a kind of a-day-in-the-life sort of thing. For starters --why not .

So--today is the last day of the final examination. Everybody's looking forward to it. But early in the morning --about sevenish, I received an sms from one of my best students, ( if not the best,) informing me that she had to go back to her hometown because her son had been admitted to the hospital.

Its like being struck by lightning !

Of course between taking and finishing the exam OR going back to the hometown to be with a sick son, the choice of decision is easy. After all nothing but nothing is more important than your child's well being.

And yet--I do not envy her. The serious student that she is, I can imagine ( or maybe I cannot imagine ) what must be going through her mind. The countless hours spent on preparing for this paper ! And now this ! Anyway knowing her --this would probably be the last thing on her mind.

Such display of courage. Such display of strength ! Such display of determination! I can't say what she is feeling exactly , but I can tell what its like to be a student when your child is many many miles away from you. You'd have much more to face than your fellow students. The hollow emptiness inside you as you miss your child before you go to bed...The horrible feeling when you see kids of about the same age as your child.s. Even talking on the phone hurts - when it was supposed to give you relief. The pain -- and yet it had to be done.

So , to this student of mine, if you are reading this, may everything be fine for your family and I know all your sacrifices will be worthwhile for you and your kids. So hang in there - I know you can do it, and more....

# posted by sunnyside up @ 2:48 PM 1 Comments

 Congratulations SUNNYSIDEUP !

Find me !

Again, a photo of me found in the AsH's treasure cove. Identify me - or maybe I'm not inthe picture ! Its a picture of my primary scouting days ! Oh the days of innocence !

To those who were told this story, the Indian guy is 'Mr kena here" or Mr Kenayan - yes, the guy who gave me a thump on my head from the back. Believe, he had good reasons to do that !

Time after Time !

I started piecing photos of years gone by....and Good Lord !.....has it been that long ?....yes it has, you  Rumpelstiltskin  you !..

No prize for the right guess !

'I wanna fork on the table '

JUST ENJOY THIS !

.and the butterflies .....

You might wake up some mornin'
To the sound of something moving past your window in the wind
And if you're quick enough to rise
You'll catch a fleeting glimpse of someone's fading shadow
Out on the new horizon
You may see the floating motion of a distant pair of wings
And if the sleep has left your ears
You might hear footsteps running through an open meadow

Don't be concerned, it will not harm you
It's only me pursuing somethin' I'm not sure of
Across my dreams with nets of wonder
I chase the bright elusive butterfly of love

You might have heard my footsteps
Echo softly in the distance through the canyons of your mind
I might have even called your name
As I ran searching after something to believe in
You might have seen me runnin'
Through the long-abandoned ruins of the dreams you left behind
If you remember something there
That glided past you followed close by heavy breathin'

Don't be concerned, it will not harm you
It's only me pursuing somethin' I'm not sure of
Across my dreams with nets of wonder
I chase the bright elusive butterfly of love

Across my dreams with nets of wonder
I chase the bright elusive butterfly of love

THE PHOTOGRAPHED !

My Sunday Morning hunt down Taman Tasik Perdana

After my tiring Saturday , I must have been crazy to even think of going for a photohunt on Sunday morning. But when you're obssessed, I guess nothing is crazy enough - just to satisfy your obssession !

So it was that morning. Sharp at 10.00am I was already having breakfast at one of the stalls in the park. And as luck would have it,  I didn't get to meet the gang till 11.00am ! But I won't go that way ! The main thing is we did get to meet after a lot of detouring as we could not pin-point exactly just where to meet.

I actually had never walked round this park, and  the three times that I visited the place was the bird park, the national monument and again the national monument during the dinasaur era !

The park is vast - I mean really vast ! Or maybe because we were walking in the hot sun , going up and down the slopes ( some pretty steep ones), and a distance of easily 5-6 kilometers ( am I exagerating gang ? - I thnk not !), it might have give the impression of size.But thw walk must have taken out at least 2 kg out of me - really !

Anyhow , we soon ended at the Butterfly Park. I was going to visit this place a few months ago, but the thought of dead butterflies being pinned on a backing plate in a showcase sort of turned me off !

Anyway this time around I had no choice but to follow the majority......and what a pleasant surpriseit turned out to be ! First, it only cost RM8 entrance fee, next, the butterflies are free. They were all flying about and the land-scaping is nice too. ....andif you're a photographer, then you have it made , as the butterflies - of various sizes, types and colours are everywhere .

Anyway -- other than the experience of the place, it was extremely good to see the gang again and catch with news of normal, new abd surprising development.

yes---it was a good Sunday....................here are some of the photos.....

PART 1 -- THE PHOTOGRAPHERS

I WAS SHOT TOO----COURTESY OF DEENA AND MEL !

The Ash Grove

OK ! Gotta give credit to AsH for reminding me of this song in her blog. I didn't want to write my comment there but I'll just lift the part of this song !

When I was in the lower form (of my secondary school), I was a member of ( HORROR OF HORRORS !) of the school choir ! I remember having to practice after school just about every other day . OMG---I could even remember the name of the instructor , Mr David Pang.  He was so enthusiastic about it.

The darndest thing about those practices was that we had to practice on stage in the school hall. Nothing wrong with that ! But when you have all the macho badminton players practicing in the same hall - then there were problems. It was quite a blow explaining to the guys why we were joining this 'softies' activity.

You see, a few friends and I were actually 'volunteered members' - courtesy of Mr Pang. It was a situation where ' you join my choir or I'll report you to the office regarding ...' one of our many pranks in the school. But he was a really nice guy so we didn't really mind . Besides that's an opportunity for us to know more girls. ( oh the things we do for those damsels!).

It was quite nerve-wrecking when we had to sing and Mr Pang would come up close to each of us to detect any wrong note ! I could just picture him with all his gestures and body movements getting so involved. The first time we saw this, we almost died laughing.

Anyway this went on for more than a year - then my voice 'broke' - and I was free !

The Ash Grove was one of the songs we had to practice nearly a million times a week ! But it was fun !

The ash grove, how graceful, how plainly tis speaking

The wind through it playing has language for me;

When o'er the light through it's branches is breaking,

A host of kind faces is gazing on me,

The friends of the childhood again are before me.

Fond memories waken as freely I roam.

With soft whispers laden it's leaves rustle o'er me,

The ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home.

1st. of May.

 The ride down South.
By 4.30 am , I was up and about ! Had my bath and prepared my simple breakfast and by 5.30am i was already on my way down south with my son in his car. It has been such a long time since I did an early morning trip that it was so refreshing and even exciting. ...and better still, I was a passenger. I was able to wallow in the beautiful morning sight , sat back and enjoyed the ride.

The road wasn't busy. By the time we hit the North-South Highway, I was beginning to feel bored and restlessness was creeping in. But instead of fidgeting about, I stole glances at the speedometer just to have a peek of the speed we were doing.  I will not mention the figure as it might be used as evidence against me.

So , took out the A300 and started taking night shots. It was no good. The condition was so dark and I did not want to use the flash (never like it anyway). The stiff suspension of the A4 kept my camera bopping into my face each time I tried to take a shot. The best of what I could do is posted here.

The cockpit of the A4 taken in difficult condition....and later in daylight...

Johor
Johor is like a foreign country to me. Why ? The weather ! Its so hot I guess you could fry an egg on the road surface at noon ! It was too hot that my sinus was acting up. My fore head was beginning to itch like crazy and my eyes and cheeks were turning red as red could ever be !

No---I don't enjoy the few hours I spent there ! How could it be so HOT !

THE RIDE HOME ! HOORAY!
My daughter arrived with my car at 5.00pm and immediately I got in the car and started my drive home alone. Traffic was heavy but the motivation of seeing K.L beckoning me to come home made the drive a pleasure. Even the heavy rain from Bangi to KL was nothing to complain about.

So---thats my activity today ! Tomorrow morning I have a photo-hunt appointment in Tasek Perdana ! Hooray again to normal life !

1ST OF MAY !

AHHHH---FIRST  OF MAY