CELEBRATING MY LAST BIRTHDAY IN SCHOOL - PART TWO

A collection of photos, taken 3 weeks ago.

    10th OCTOBER 2023     ~ The very first person to knock on my door to wish me "Happy Birthday" with a present was Mr. Michael of Form 3 Sinus.

I was presented with "Pulut Kuning" [yellow sticky rice] by the teachers and staff [of SMK Dato' Jaafar] so it was time to share it with others.

Mr. Alan of Form 5 SNB got me a box of literally sweet surprise, specially delivered by her mother to school.

A friend from Changlun ordered McD breakfast for me and got it delivered to school.

A few people wanted to get a photo with the birthday boy in class.

A fruit was delivered to me and it was from a friend from Jitra.

    11th OCTOBER 2023    ~ More Yellow Sticky Rice to be shared with colleagues, and this time I bought a cake for myself but to be eaten with friends.

The birthday presents delivered to my house - the first one from Labuan, and the second one from Kajang.

That should sum up how my birthday was celebrated this year. It would definitely not be the same for next year anymore - with no friends, colleagues or students.

ATTENDING AN AQIQAH EVENT OF PUAN NURUL BARIAH'S BABY BOY

14th September 2019 ~ I was invited by Puan Nurul Bariah Moosa to the aqiqah event for his newly arrived bundle of joy. It was held at her in-law's place in Taman Kobena.

Puan Nurul Bariah was a student in my English tuition class in 2002 (PMR) and SPM (2004) when she was studying in SMK Kempas. She was one of the few people who are still keeping in touch with me, especially when she is now teaching English in SMK Tasek Utara 2.

A present student of mine, a fifth former of SMK Dato Jaafar, Mr. Hassanal, had a shock of his life to see me at the same place. It is a small world after all.

Thanks a lot to Puan Nurul Bariah for inviting me and I pray that the baby boy will bring abundance of joy and happiness to her and her family.

VISITING AN INJURED ANGKLUNG PLAYER AT HOME

12th September 2015 ~ I was informed by Mr. Mohamad Zikry that he would not be able to attend the regular Angklung practice in school. I was surprised when he told me he had broken his collar bone but I was more surprised it happened when he fell while playing football in school during PE period.

So accompanied by two other members of the Angklung Group, we went to visit him at his house in Taman Pulai Indah and got to meet his other family members too.

So we wish Mr. Zikry a speedy recovery so that he could continue playing conga for the group. I am sure he will be up and running after just one month.

THE 9th DAY OF EID 1436H

The three siblings were here in the afternoon - Mr. Solleh, Mr. Zahari (both from SPM batch 2006) and Mr. Syahir (from SPM batch 2012).  They had to be here today as two of them would be going away to work and college somewhere else.

The next big group arriving after that consisted of my ex-students from SPM batch 2009. A few of them are still studying while the rest are already working. These are some of the regular visitors to my house during Eid since they were still in lower secondary.

In the evening, I decided to visit Pn. Noraliza Mazni, a colleague from SMKTUN, who was holding an open house at Taman Pulai Utama. The event was a joyful one because, besides all the delicious food,  I got to meet more old friends and ex-students there.

20 more days to celebrate Eid, and there should be more people to meet.

A SMALL TREAT FOR THE SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS

13th March 2015 ~ Finally, I managed to gather for a small treat for these people who had helped me lock the school's grills every evening before going back every day without fail. For what they had done, their willingness and kindness, only Allah will repay.

We spent about 2 hours at Skudai McDonald's and sadly, had to part ways right that. Perhaps we should do this more often in the future. Thanks again, Wan Muhammad Faiz, Zaqrul Ieman, Adlan and Aiman.

I have two more groups of students to whom I owe similar treats. It is not easy to get people together at the same time. *sigh*