Gawai Dayak 2009 June 5, 2009
Posted by rbjtimban in 2009, Celebration, Culture, Ethnic, Family, Festival, Gawai, Language, Love, My Views.Tags: 2009, Celebration, Culture, Family, Festival
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This year’s Gawai Dayak the family still maintain it’s tradition where everyone comes home. Chester arrived on May 29 from Song. My daughter, Fionula and her husband, Dalton on the May 31st. Seeing eveyone present around the dinning table was delightful. Mum’s place was once again filled with laughters and joy. I could see that everyone was happy. That night, my family and I went to Buloh Antu to join my brother-in-law, Ken and his family celebrating the Gawai.
The next day, June 1st, we went back to mum’s place downtown. Upon reaching home, Chester, and I decided to see our sister in Pais, Skrang and we went there around 10 a.m. in his Kenari. We had a good times in Pais. By 1 p.m., we returned to mum’s place. Upon reaching home, we told mum that we are going to Stambak Ulu to join the Stambakians celebrating the Gawai. It took us about 10 minutes to reach the longhouse. There, we joined our cousins, Ansi and Jenir and the other families celebrating. By 10 p.m., Chester, mum and I returned home – exhausted!
June 2nd, everyone seems tired of yesterday’s booze. Sis Suzie and her family came from Pais. Chester suggested that the three of us and the other family members would have a simple barbeque outside mum’s house. And once again, the Gawai “mood” rolled back. Chester invited our cousin, Philip, and his family from Entanak to join the barbeque that evening. On that evening too, right after the barbeque (an a steamboat ‘meal’), Fionula and her husband, hit the road back to Kuching.
On June 4th, Suzie and her family left for Kuching, and today, June 5th, Chester was the last person to leave for Song. Despite my brother’s and sister’s departure, the Gawai ‘mood’ is still felt by my family and I. From this point, we are looking forward to meet again next Gawai season.
Check out my Slide Show! May 24, 2009
Posted by rbjtimban in 2009, Career, Celebration, Education, Family, Language, Love, My Views, Relationship.Tags: convocation, Kuala Lumpur, Open University Malaysia, TESL
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My Trevor is into Lower Six May 14, 2009
Posted by rbjtimban in 2009, Career, Education, Family, Language, Love, My Views, Relationship, School Activities.Tags: advice, Betong, Form Six, Friends, Malaysia, Sarawak, SMK St Augustine
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Since the MOE announced that former SPM leavers are to enter Lower Six, my wife and I talked a lot about it to our third child – Trevor Jullian. Iniatially Trevor did not like the idea of joining form six as he has a lot of reasons:
1. Some of his buddies are not with him;
2. He is still attending the same school, meeting the same teachers;
3. He feels that the two years is ‘waste of time’ (studying and sitting for the 2010 STPM exams).
He did not tell us his reasons but those were our assumptions. Before the ministry’s announcement, he had received a lot of mails from various colleges offering him courses. I did not like the idea as those colleges are IPTSes – private ones, and are ‘very dear’ to attend. Trevor understands my standings, but, yes, he is not dissappointed.
I explained to him that his form six would only take him a year and a half, and it’s almost equivalent to pre-U (please, readers, correct me if I’m wrong). Should he go to Kolej Komuniti (whilst, there is one in town) by end of July 2009, he would have to undergo a two year-course. Each semester would cost him RM200, and at the end of the course he would be awarded a certificate. Of course both certs have their own pros and cons.
Most of his friends went to the school on Monday 11th May, 2009, and when they came home, and met Trevor in the evening, they persuaded him to ‘take the challenge’ – go for 2010 STPM! After two days of making the decision, eventually he smiled at me, telling me that he would take the 2010 STPM exams. Phew! My boy! Another ’sixth-former’ from the family after my Fionula “Dara”, who is now an expecting mum!
April? April 5, 2009
Posted by rbjtimban in 2009, Career, Culture, Education, Family, Language, My Views.Tags: apolitical, by, election, KEMAS
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In and around, there’s so many happenings… there are 3 by-elections in the country – Bukit Selambau and Bukit Gantang in the peninsular, and Batang Ai, here, in Lubok Antu. The polling day for all three constituencies would take place on the 7th April. Not much to comment here on the three by-elections.
This April too, my friends and I are expecting a payout from KEMAS, after which we have been hired to conduct a week long course at a nearby school last month. The course was mainly on guiding KEMAS pre-school teachers on the teaching of maths and science in English. It was tiring, but everyone enjoyed the program. Imagine – every day the course started at 8.00 a.m., and ended at 5.00 p.m. At night, it resumed at 8.00 p.m. and ended at 10.00 p.m!
“Dom” Marcus passed away March 12, 2009
Posted by rbjtimban in 2009, Career, Culture, Ethnic, Family, Funeral, Language, My Views, Relationship, Tradition.Tags: Car, peace, rest, Stambak, Ulu
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Around 9.00 a.m, 5th March, I received a shocking news from our aki Gadang. A news about a fatal accident that had killed one of our cousins, Marcus. Initially, I could not believe my ears, as Marcus was only 34, a decade younger that me. But after aki Gadang had related to me of the news, I have to take it.
Marcus was killed in a car crash along Mukah-Sibu road, sometimes around 2.00 a.m. His parents and the other Stambak Ulu villagers were informed by the Betong police officers at around 8.30 a.m.
The funeral was held three evenings later – 8th March, at his parents’ house in Stambak Ulu. A lot of friends and relatives came to pay their last respect to a humble young man whom we called Dom (Marcus).
During the funeral, my family and I shared Uncle Kimpek’s bilik to prepare all the meals. This was because, our own bilik was not completed yet. We were not the only family who shared the bilik with Uncle Kimpek. Her sisters, Anggil, Dut, and Limai also came from Kuching to share the bilik. Beside Uncle Kimpek’s place, Ansi’s bilik was also packed with the other families such as Uncle Abit’s siblings. Like ours too, their biliks were not completed yet.
On the 9th March, the late Marcus was buried at St. Augustine’s Church’s new burial ground, a hill locally known as Munggu Sabut. It was about 10 minutes drive from Stambak Ulu. All had mourned for his demise and prayed that his soul rest in peace.
Back to School January 5, 2009
Posted by rbjtimban in 2009, Career, Education, Family, Language, Love, My Views, Relationship, School Activities, Tradition.Tags: breakfast, holiday, kitchen, school
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After a long school holiday, it’s a wonderful morning today! My kids and I woke up as early as 5.45 a.m. Everyone was excited, including my wife who hurried to the kitchen to prepare the breakfast. My Form 2 Timothy was too excited to go to school. He told me that he’d walk to school as there’d some chores to do before the class begins. He took a quick breakfast of his “kolo mi” – instant fried noodle, which he prepared for himself as early as 6.15 a.m.
Theophilus and I went to school before 7.00 a.m., and by the time we reached school it was already lively. Everyone was cheerful. Yes, everyone – both parents and their children alike.
There was no assembly today, as the headmaster wanted the teachers to start classes. He told us that he was expecting officers from the DEO to make a visit to the school on this first day.
Attending the 6th OUM Convo September 7, 2008
Posted by rbjtimban in Career, Education, Family, Language, My Views, Teachers' Training.3 comments
20th August 2008
Sat for my Penilaian Tahap Kecekapan at Sekolah Menengah Teknik, Betong. The paper, Kertas Umum, was a one hour paper, from 9 – 10 a.m. It was quite tough despite a good preparation I have made earlier. Right after the examination my family and I started our journey down to Kuching. My sister, Suzie, rode in our car too. I had planned for the journey to start at 11.00 a.m., so it would be nice once we reach the little town of Lachau by 12.30 p.m. for lunch. I drove cautiously as the load was ‘good’ for the car. At 12.45 p.m. we reached Lachau and had our lunch there. By 1.30 p.m., we hit the road again and proceeded to Kuching. As it was after lunch, I felt sleepy behind the wheel. My wife and the kids and also my sister kept me awake by talking about a lot of things along the way. After half an hour, and as the heat of the day rose, the car air-con gave way. All my passengers were quiet and I knew they were all sleepy. I had to turned my car radio on to beat the sleepiness. Yes. I stayed awake until we reached the town of Serian – approximately two hours from Lachau. I told them that we had to ease ourselves at the public washrooms by the roadside before continuing our journey to Kuching. It would be another one and half hour drive to Kuching. After the brief stop at Serian, we proceeded on our way. Finally, we reached Kuching, my sister-in-law’s place at Taman Kalien at around 3 something.
21st August 2008
As arranged earlier, Ken, my brother-in-law sent, my family and I in my car to the LCCT airport to check in. We brought along two big bags for the six-nights stay in Kuala Lumpur. After everything was done, we made our way to the departure gate and seated ourselves comfortably in the AirAsia boeng. I could see those eyes of astonishment and excitement among my three children. I told them that the flight would be very interesting (which I did not like very much). We took off at 1145 a.m and the weather over the Kuching was good. But when we hovered over the skies of KL, the weather was rough. I did not like the bumpy plane and a lot of bad imaginations came into my head. Despite the storm, we touched down safely at KL LCCT. From the airport, we took the airline bus to KL Sentral. We reached KL Sentral after an hour ride from the airport. It drizzled when we reached the station but we had to look for a taxi to take us to our hotel. After about 15 minutes of wondering, an Indian taxi driver offered us a lift in his van. He said he would lift my whole family if I agree to pay him RM30 for the trip. As we were new to the place, I did not mind the rate. The driver did not talk much, and my family and I were also silent. We simply enjoyed the city view through the van window. In less than half an hour, we reached Tune Hotels at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and checked-into our rooms in no haste.
22nd August 2008:
After breakfast, my family and I took the LRT to Putra World Trade Centre to get some info on how to collect the cloak for the convocation. We spent about half an hour at PWTC to look for the Dewan Merdeka where the convo would be held in 2 days time. From PWTC, we went on foot to the OUM campus at Jalan Sultan Ismail. The big sign board said that the campus is about 450 meters away. Along the way to the campus we met some of my course-mates from Sarawak and we felt that we were not strangers in KL! We spent about an hour at the OUM campus before going back to the hotel. I paid RM200 for the cloak, RM165 for the photographs, around RM100 for the souveniers, and drinks for the children. From the campus, we took a ride back to the hotel in a taxi. We learned that the route from the campus to the hotel was very short! I knew about this when the taxi driver told us a little bit about the places during the short trip. Later in the evening, my sister-in-law, Datin Z, arrived at the hotel from work. She invited the whole family for sight-seeing in and around KL. She took us to KLCC for dinner. I purchased a Pentax digital camera, since I have lost my Sony to a thief about a month ago. After dinner and much of the sight-seeing, she sent us back to our hotel, and I learned that the time was around 11 p.m.
23rd August 2008
It’s a ‘free’ day today. My family and I planned to take a walk around KL. Augustine and his family insisted to follow us. Earlier my sister-in-law had invited my family and I to have dinner at her place in Taman Mutiara, Shah Alam. She told us to bring Augustine and his family along. At 6.00 p.m. we took a train from KL Sentral to Shah Alam station. It was drizzling and the train was a bit crowded. When we reached Shah Alam it was already quite dark. My sister-in-law’s son, Kamil, picked us up at the Shah Alam station in his 7-seater car. From the station, he took us straight to their house. His mum had been waiting at the door to meet and welcome us.
Datin Z has a wonderful place. Despite the night, we managed to take a look around the house with the aid of lights. There’s also a family swimming pool in the backyard, and other ‘nice looking’ landscaping items. It sure was costly for a big house like hers but my wife and I just kept it to ourselves.
After dinner, we talked near her her swimming pool. My Theophilus and Timothy dipped their legs into pool. Finally at 11.00 p.m. I interrupted our conversations and told them that it was time to go back to KL. My sister-in-law offered to send us back in her car.
24th August 2008
My big day. Woke up early and get the whole family to have breakfast at the hotel. We did not go anywhere that morning as I had to get all my things packed. By 11.00a.m. we had our lunch at the hotel. A brief lunch as I did not want to rush to the convocation venue. After lunch we took a 7-seater taxi to Putra World Trade Centre. We made our way through the big crowd there. My wife helped me get dressed in the convo cloak and the mortarboard. There were so many people and the place was packed at all the five levels. By 2.30 p.m. I was among the hundreds of the other students lined up to get into the Merdeka Hall. We were ushered by the university staff. It was very well organised. By 3.00 p.m. the ‘historical’ event began with the pro-chancellor’s brief speech and followed by the handing of the scrolls. I was the sixth scroll receipient to receive the scroll that afternoon, and it was really heart-throbbing while on stage. I felt I was at the top of the world that moment. When it was all over, we proceeded to the upper level of the venue to have our photographs taken. It was a long wait as there were so many people around. By 7.00 p.m. my family and I had our photographs taken and after that we made our way back to the hotel.
Once back at the hotel, it was already quite late. Everyone was tired to even take a stroll to the nearest restaurant. Tired. We went to bed as early as 11 p.m. that evening.
25th August 2008
Another day in KL. I arranged to return the cloak to PWTC and collect the actual scroll and the academic transcripts from the varsity admin in the morning. I went there alone, as my family were still feeling tired. My wife spent the whole morning doing the laundry using the hotel machines. I went back to the hotel before noon. After lunch, we strolled KL again…
26th August 2008
We decided to take a walk close to the hotel. As we have seen a lot of KL everyone was very content. As we have been in KL for almost a week, we had bought alot of things. The children were happy with their toys, magazines and a couple of computer peripherals, whereas my wife, with her textile.
27th August 2008
We made our way to the LCCT in the hotel mini bus. The trip costed us RM190, and Augustine and I had agreed that we bear the fare ‘proportionately’. We arrived around 9.30 a.m at the airport, and my wife and I treated the children at the airport cafe. We had nasi lemak and hot drinks for breakfast there. After breakfast we checked-in at the counter for the 11.45 a.m. flight back to Sarawak. While waiting the children enjoyed playing the luggage trolley, especially Timothy and Theophilus. They took turns giving each other the trolley push. After a long wait after check-in, we were among other passengers made our way to the plane. Our plane took off 5 minutes before the ETA, and the skies above KL was stormy. Above Kuching, once again, the flight was ‘a bit bumpy’ too, like above KL. It was raining when our plane touched down on Kuching International Airport. Ken, was there, waiting for us. From the airport, we went straight to his house to for a short rest. Trevor and Timothy took some of our luggage in a taxi and left the airport for Betong. Everyone was relieved after the ‘rough’ flight. And we thank God for everyone’s safe touch down.
Waiting Anxiously August 6, 2008
Posted by rbjtimban in Career, Celebration, Culture, Education, Family, Language, My Views, Relationship, Writing.Tags: Air Asia, hotel
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Since I sat for the final papers in April this year, I have been preparing for my convocation which is due on the 24th August. Am very excited and anxious. What else could I say. It’s a once in a life time experience. I will be accompanied by my wife, my younger children – Trevor, Timothy and Theophilus (all school going). Theodore was not included as he now has his own family to look after. Same goes to Fionula who had just being employed by the college where she obtained her certificate in front office recently. She is now working as a part-time tutor there. All these days, my laptop was used to surf the varsity’s portal to keep myself updated of the matter on convocation and graduation. A few weeks ago I have booked for five air tickets and two double-bed rooms to accommodate my family and I. That’s what I called ‘anxious’. I made all the bookings and purchases online – a way of doing business which I really ‘hate’ to do. It’s a phobia really. I fear that the business would be fraud of some kind. But any way, both the flight and rooms bookings were ‘clean’. From today, my family and I are waiting for the trip.
The Show Must Go On July 2, 2008
Posted by rbjtimban in Career, Celebration, Computer, Culture, Education, Family, Festival, Language, Love, My Views, Relationship, School Activities, Writing.Tags: Agnes Mukan, Ajan, Fedmek, university
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January 2004 – My friends (Nicholas Ajan, Fedmek, Agnes) and I went to OUM office in Kuching for registration. Nicholas, Fedmek and I went there a day earlier, so we had decided to stay at my cousin’s (Edward Langie Kadam’s) place at Batu Kawa, Kuching. The following morning, the three of us packed our things and made our way to OUM which was located at Jalan Simpang Tiga. There we met old friends, mostly college mates, who were also grabbing the opportunity to join the varsity. Amazing! All of us who came that day were working adults, so none felt embarrassed of being ‘too old’ or ‘too late’ to study. Excitement and anxiety filled the air. The whole morning was packed with briefings by officials from OUM and our MOE. In the afternoon, we proceeded to our respective lecture rooms to meet our tutors. They all delivered almost the same ‘theme’ in their lecture and it was very interesting, or rather, motivating. By 5 p.m. that day, and the final tutorial slot was over, my friends and I made our way back home to Betong. The 4 hour ride back home was full of anxieties, visions, dreams, just name it! But we told ourselves that trips like this one would end by 2008. In other words, this program would take us four years to complete. There would be three semester in a year. From January till May we were to take three courses, sit for our final semester exams and register for the semester. From May till August, OUM called it short semester, we were to take two courses. Exams for short semesters were conducted in August, and after the exams, we were required to register for the third semester for that year. The third semester for that year would be from September till November, and we were suppose to take up three courses. After the exam in November, one would have to register for the next courses (January, the following year). This went on for more than four years as I had mentioned earlier.
Besides sacrificing our two Sundays (at fortnightly) each month, we had to prioritize our core business – teaching. That was rather tough to cope up with, especially when one had to race against time completing his or her assignments and course works, and even preparing for the final semester exams or quizzes. In the beginning I found it hard to adapt – teaching kids during the day and becoming a bookworm late in the evening. At this point, at this age, I learned that time management is very crucial in one’s live. As time flew, I took learning whilst working very seriously, and I used to tell my pupils that I hate dead woods.
Phew! What a post! I’ll continue in a short while …
