HLP Season is back!

And yeah, that season is back!

I'm writing this little note as an attempt to help fellow teacher-friends who are planning or are applying for this year's Offer-You-Cant-Resist (or HLP 2015). Generous KPM offers this scholarship opportunities every year and I only applied for the first time last year and Alhamdulillah I managed to secure a place in KPM Tajaan's heart!

So here's the story, a friend from Kota Marudu managed to secure the scholarship two years ago and it was then that I got to know about the HLP offers. Fast forward to 2013, so far the most challenging year in my life, but also most rewarding; I decided to give it a try since that Eeeee-TakTukarTukar didnt work for me and the jelly-jelly feeling I had, looking at my friends' graduation pics.

However, this post isn't about the technical stuff one has to follow when he or she plans to apply. This post is about the things that are absence in that 'HOW TO APPLY' section, basically things they don't tell you but believe me, they are worth considering and being given attention to:

1. The art of filling the online form:

The best is you use IE as it happens to be friendlier to the online form. I filled the form countless times using Chrome because it couldn't be saved, and it only worked when I finally resorted to IE.

The achievement part: this is the best opportunity to sell yourself through written form, gather all the written works that you have done, exam questions, modules, anything related to professional teaching careers. Check all your certificates, highlight all the kick ass things you have attended or be part of. HIGHLIGHT. The key is, to treat the space as the only space you can sell yourself (before the interview).

2. Choosing the area of study

The most important thing, and it is very crucial for you to make the right choice. No one told me this strategy but I feel obliged to share and extend so that people wont end up in the wrong boats or coaches or planes. The very first thing that you have to consider is - WHICH UNI that you would like to attend? The uni at the back of your home, Uni back in home town, or that city Uni? Well, it can be any Uni of your preference but please make sure that they offer the areas that you are interested in. Having said that, multitasking is very crucial here - that is to combine the search for suitable Uni with your preferred areas of study. It might be a good idea to just have a few in minds and it will be best if you do a little research on what are the subjects offered if you were to take up that area in that particular Uni. The scare of failing numerical subjects like Statistics somehow explains why am I in my current Uni, among other meaningful reasons lah , of course. Like, being able to drive to the Uni in less than 10 minutes time - and going against the KL crazy traffic.

3. Determining the area of research for proposal

Hah, I am not the best person to talk to when it comes to writing a proposal but I can tell you that it requires deep, real deep thinking and an area that is really close to your heart. Why? Because during the interview, you are expected to be the master of that area, you will be grilled to the bones, your answers will reflect the amount of knowledge you have on the area. Therefore, choosing a topic that is close to your practice and interest will definitely be helpful. Please choose a topic that is clever and professional. Please.

4. Value - added document - KICK ASS RESUME, MODULES, STUDENTS' EXERCISE BOOKS

Writing a kick - ass resume; is an idea that I gathered from a fellow teacher who attended  (and secured a place, of course!) the interview with a deliberate and ass-kicking resume subsequently impressing her interviewers. Argh, I do not want to look back at that sentence. She updates her blog quite efficiently and the interviewers were impressed with her blog, me? The only systematic thing I did prior to attending the interview was updating my FB status. Haha! But yeah, I did attent the interview with a (Close friends Can Insert 'Kick -Ass' here) resume and ting ting ting, it worked. Alhamdulillah. The interviewers commanded my effort (the first resume of the day) and despite being the final English - related area candidate for the day, the interview went lively and very meaningful. And... I brought other documents along, the module I compiled with my good friends and a few of my students' exercise books to help sell my ideas and the proposal. A few angels helped me with my proposal writing, giving ideas, checking and checking and checking the proposal till the very last minute - the night before the interview.

Dear friends, basically those are things that you have to endure if you plan to apply for the scholarship. Having the correct niat is also very important, just believe that when you are ikhlas in all that do, the rewards will definitely be awarded to you in forms that you can't guess. I believe in rezekis; in my case, I would like to treat it as the reward of challenges that I have gone through, especially when I was on my own in Sabah for five years. The great people I get to know there, the experiences that are so rich for both my career and life. I always tell my Sabahan friends that the scholarship awarded to me is the parting gift from Sabah as Alhamdulillah, I finally managed to get the much-needed transfer back to Semenanjung to be with my Liverpool-fan husband and Man-Utd fan family.

At the moment, I am treating this scholarship as The Gift and Amanah from Allah while waiting for my little Raudhah to come.

I would like to be helpful: email me at farhanna.aidid@yahoo.co.uk

Thank you for reading!

Selamat Hari Raya

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

Maaf Zahir Batin.

Ikhlas dari;

Haji Aidid Bin Mohd Salleh

Hajah Che Rohana Zulkiflei

Farhanna Aidid

Aizat Aidid

Farahin Aidid

Ikhwan Aidid

Iman Aidid

Erk.

Oh. It feels good to be home and of course, i am enjoying every second. the best thing, everyday i have the chance to break the fast with home-cooked lauks. This year, my mother chooses to cook everday. Tee-hee-hee. And, yeah, we only buy the kuehs from bazar.

i know some of my friends who choose to stay 'abroad' during this hols because we'v got another break coming close - the Raya break. I say, these people are berhati waja. *clap*clap*. I cant do it. Been to Bazar Ramadhan on the 1st day in KM@rudu and heeheee, its nothing like KL's and I was glad that i'll b going back to KL the next day. ngeee~~I heart KL!

KL and the malls.
I heart KL and the malls.
And the goood saleeesss.

I am now officially broke as i shopped like busybee. I finished the month's 'personal expenses' portion at the concourse level of KLCC. Only the concourse level and i didnt dare to go up to the other levels.

Antara hasil-hasil tangkapan:

Pl@ydoh (play-duuh?) set for Iman, my brother. I had to buy that first before he gave me all the ugutan-ugutan maut and so i thot i can shop peacefully after that la kan? It didnt really work.

Prim@vera shoes for him and me. I justified the purchase of my another - pair - of - pumps by saying 'Ma, they are really good for walking, try la'. Then my mom said 'why, all this while shoes are not for walking ke?'. Enough said la. Ye, saya kalah.

Then, there is another kedai opposite Prim@vera that i cant reveal the name. Hehe. In that kedai la, Iman lost his temper, I lost my money - the cashier took it and I knew it was time to go back.


To add to that, I am due to pay for all my online pre-booked items. Uwa.


Nampaknye, my Marc Jacobs tabung perlu dikacau lagi bulan ini. Uwa.


Sayda, u made the right decision of not coming back to Tanahair weh~

Just when I thought it'd be a lonely affair...

It was my birthday yesterday and alhamdulillah it was 'filled'.

I seriously thought that it'd to be a very lonely affair for me; celebrating my 24th all alone in Sabah. I underestimated, apparently. Thanks a bunch to Tqa and Yao for making the day a memorable one. Just a simple dinner (oppsie daisie, twice actually~) on Sunday night and again, yesterday's night with an extra crowd-Dzull, a newly acquanted pal from Beluran.

The first dinner, Tqa took the effort to buy the cakes all the way from KK and gosh we're filled with faaattttssssss; 3 slices of different types of cheeeeesecakes and a special one for me st@rbuck's marble cheeeesecake for just the three of us! Yao, too, celebrated her birthday recently. We ate and chatted like the KFC belonged to us and we were in our own world, spoke the same language, laughed and smiled as we toasted the 'adultness' that should come with every birthday.


***************

How could i produced such thought that i'd be all alone on my birthday?

I am not sure about others, but being away from home almost crashes my will to go through the days. I am forcing myself to be strong and to cope. School isnt the best place to be but being around the students is the best thing. So its 50-50. Occasions like birthdays and deaths give me creep and I whine at the fact the I am very far from the family. Quite recently, i have been talking about homesickness quite a lot with Yao and Tqa. It is very hard. Very very hard. When you are away and not even on the same tompok of land in the peta with your family.

So thats why. Thats why I thought 'oh its gonna be black 10. black monday'.

Proven wrong, I apparently celebrate my birthday quite meaningfully too, this year, just like the years before. With friends like Tqa and Yao, where i could really see that our friendship is blossoming into something beautiful and strong. These people are the people that i can count on while i am away, here together with them in Sabah. Their sincerity alone gives me an oxigen supply to my already-drained-will to stand tall in Sabah. Thanks so much, girls.

Thanks alot too those who texted and called me on my birthday. Sangat2 di hargai.

Jaime, aku tak jadi rasa alone~~alhamdulillah.
Syd, thnx fr the call.
Nisa, Am okay already. Homesick sket2 ja.
Nada, yeaaahhh-i had fun!
Zue, its ok bebeh!

Ejat- Yes, you are right, i have friends everywhere, How could i be alone?

****************


And, im shouting out to other friends (yang i ingat) who are gonna celebrate their bdays in August;


HAPPY 24TH BIRTHDAY GUYS!


Ana shirin, Fariza, Alin, Hadi, Star and Shaa...


Make sure you have a blast, sentiasa dimurahkan rejeki dan dalam perlindunganNya, Insya Allah.


******************

24ed already. Welcome to adultery. Hahaha.


ps: Lawak di atas berbentuk lawak bahasa ye. Sorry for inconvenience caused. *WINK*

Too Many Things~

Oh.

I was down with very high fever on the 14th up until the 16th which was the day i was supposed to go back to KL to catch the MU game. I nearly missed it but saya gagahi jua after my parents told me that my grandfather was unwell, suffered from a fall at the bathroom and it would be appropriate for me to be home with the family. I touched down at the LCCT around 11pm on the 16th. I spent half day of that Saturday at my granddad's home and looking at his condition, i was already calculating to just let the Sunday's flight go off without me.

Saturday's afternoon, with the fever accompanied, i dragged myself to the stadium along with my father, lil bro and Mr H. The LRT cabins were congested with a sea of red-clad fans. My fever was starting to go away (haha!) seeing all the red-mad-ness. At almost every stations, there would be MU fans coming in and anybody who went out of the cabins was considered a Liverpool fan and some naughty voices will sing 'of course, you will walk alone'. It was crazy, and commuters were talking using just one language; the football language. Everyone was laughing at everyone's footie jokes. Red was the only colour that mattered that day.

Simple conclusion, football unites us.

In a sense, i think thats quite true. Back in college, i connected myself with Shim, Guna through this football issue, among others. Of course, nobody could ever forget how Shim really hated (or hates) MU.

And yeah, i met these fellow devils too

red.red.red

Ali G, biasala kan with his antics - came to me, while i was busy flipping the tickets and said 'em, hi miss ' and i was shocked. Then Guna came forward - i introduced them to my dad- and - we took the photo. Too bad Syahir was looking for Ah Seng who came late; i didnt manage to see them. Btw, I thought Syahir was an Arsenal's fan? Hehe.

It was really a good game and we could tell that Van de Sar was damn tall, Giggs was the real show stealer (some may say Owen was), Amri Yahya was lucky, and some M@laysian players were really struggling to be the day's hero (trying too hard to score alone) and yeah, M@laysian players were there.

Heres another pic

papa.me.bro

Later that night, i went for a dinner with my family at M@dam Kwan's, KLCC. Due to the fever, i wasnt able to really enjoy the food but i totally enjoyed the company.

Sunday, i made my way to the airport and reached KK that noon. Thanks to Yao n Tqa who came to fetch me and we drove back to Kot@ M@rudu together.

Monday, on my way back to home after school, i received a call from my mother;

'tokbak dah takde tapi kakak tak payah balik ok, uve seen him already, its ok'

I wasnt able to think straight, wasnt sure if i should go back and i called my PK HEM, who advised me to just go back and be with the family as my father had just lost his father.

I called my aunt who managed to get her staff in KK to arrange the flight back to KL for me.

The flight was fully booked; ade rombongan sekolah KK g KL (gile best~) and the seats available were only on the biz class section. So i flew biz.

It was my first time flying biz, the ticket was all paid for (Thanks so much Kak Yus and she refused any payment from me), it was the normal 2-hour domestic flight and i got to know that in biz, the attendants call you by your name and they bancuh the tea for you.

But heres the best part of the trip, there was a F-L-Y in the chicken rice they served me. How EM-H was that? Hehe. Very EM-H, i guess. Thanks to the very helpful female attendant and the funny leading attendant who cracked a joke about how the fly made his way into the nasi.

I arrived at KLI@ at around 9pm and reached Ulu Klang at around 10.30pm. I missed the pengebumian but i was glad to be home with my family at this difficult moment, esp for my father. Held kenduris for nights. And on friday, my grandmother (mummy's side- the only grannie i have now) was admitted at Taw@kal Hospital for liver problem. Hmm. Too many challenges.

I went back to KK last Sunday.

So, it was hectic. Very Hectic.

***

And the fever is back. Homesickness is the free gift that comes along with it.

If only i could fly home, everyday. Forget the bussiness class.

United

11 days to go.

Counting.

Back On Track~

Oh well, i am happy to announce that my school's team will be going to Kot@ Belud this monday to represent the district in the Zone Level's Chor@l Spe@king Competition. We are going to compete against schools from Kot@ Belud as well as Kud@t. Alhamdulillah.



The district level competition was held at my school yesterday and yeap, we made it. Thanks to the originality of the script (read:wrote by me, so its considered school's property and original). I really have to thank my colleagues, esp my GB, PKs and KP for their support and understanding. The event was alhamdulillah, a real success.



Now, Let me tell you a story that will defintely break my heart each time i think about it.



Since the school was only given a very short time to prepare for the event (1.5 days), we had to rush many things. During the meeting, the need for a proper platform for the choral speakers was highlighted and i politely said that if we didnt have the platform, it should be ok (who wants to built a platfrom in a night?)...but to my surprise, few male teachers openly suggested that they could do it if they were given enough nails and some proper papans. Thats all they needed. What the? I was like 'aha? u sure?' and yeah, they didnt mind at all and GB granted them permission to leave the meeting to go and get the stuff they needed to build the platform. I was already crying in the inside. Talk about extra miles some teachers willing to take.



Oooh.



You see, at that point i saw the real 'teachers' in my school's teachers.. real teachers who would do anything to ensure the students could get the best they could offer. It was just a simple (yet sweating) gesture but meaningful (for me and the school's team). the next morning (event day), the platform was ready on the stage, strong n steady and even had a 'clothes' on. Haha.



Thanks to the wonderful teamwork, the event went well and was regarded by the PPD as a 5-star hosting. Alhamdulillah.



********



Remote Potentials~



********



A lot of potentials was showed and found yesterday, from all walks of the the schools corridor...

the teachers as well as the students. Yesterday's event enabled me to reunite (again!yey!) with IPb@ friends (Cohort 1 students) and also teachers from other schools who showed great enthusiasm and high energy level for meaningful language activities like yesterday's. I personally felt that with more (in number) competent teachers in Pit@s, we could really make it happen. At least to move Pit@s to a better spot in the state's districts ranking. Why do i sound like a politician? Haha.



But, seriously...yesterday's event was very inspiring; the teamwork shown by my collegues, the highly motivated visiting teachers and most importantly the students. Performances showed made me forgot that i was in a rural area. Seriously, no kidding. 'Tabik Spring' to the coaches for the wonderful presentations given by the students, especially from SMK Tel@ga. It was almost at CBN cum National Winners' level (now im being mengade~~hehe~~saje brag about my old school~~)... I talked to the teacher cum coach and i quickly decided that this guy isnt ordinary. I was proven right when i found an article about him on nSt Online.



Oh. I have so much to write about yesterday's event and pics too but i am very tired~will upload them soon and till then, pray for our success this Monday.



Berdeborrr nih~~