LIMERICK

Today we learn about limerick, which was really fun. We were divided into groups of 3 to 5 and in the group we were required to come up with our own limerick using either of the templates provided in the course book. As for our group, Amanda, Jessie, Sya and me, it took us a couple of tries before we got our limerick right. At first, our limerick didn’t rhyme, so we had to change the third and fourth line in order to make it rhyme. And this is our final result,

There once was a clown from China Town,
All the while he hoped to marry Chris Brown,
So he went to a fortune-teller,
And changed his name to Liv Tyler,
That bloody gay clown from China Town.

YOU'RE JUST TOO DUMB

If life is determined by how much rejection you get, my life would probably be nothing but rejection. Getting rejected feels shitty, especially when you are left in the dark of the reason why you were rejected in the first place.

Doing the research paper was probably the shittiest part of the semester this time around. I sent my second draft three weeks ago (my first was lost by my supervisor) but when I saw my supervisor this afternoon, she said “Why don’t you give me some more time to look at it?”

Unbelievable! What am I supposed to do? The research paper is due next week, and I am still stuck at the outline. I know, maybe I am wrong, but at least could my supervisor explain to me what is wrong, why my draft got rejected, and what should I do next?

Of course she can’t. Why? She does not even know where she put my draft. Unbelievable? Believe it!

MULTIPLE GENRES

I never knew that letters and diaries are considered as a literary text. However, during the previous class with Dr Edwin, we learned Franz Kafka’s and Andy Warhol’s diaries. Also, we read letters from Van Gogh to his brother Theo, and also John Keats’ letters to his fiancée, Fanny Browne.

It is interesting to know that there are other sources of literary texts aside from the usual short stories, poems, novels, and plays. I am sure that Dr Edwin promises to give us more input on other genres of literary texts. At least these fresh genres can give students a different view of literature. Hopefully, I can use this in my future classroom. God willing…

HOPELESS EFFORT

Today, I went to my supervisor’s room for the fifth time. As usual, I knocked on the door, no answer. I called her, the voicemail greeted me. I sent an SMS to her but of course, no reply. She promised to see me at 10 a.m. so at 9.50 a.m. I was already at the front door of her office, and I waited for half an hour, but to no avail.

I am at lost at the moment of how I should proceed. After much consideration, and discussion with my fellow friends, they advised me to carry on with my research paper without the supervisor’s approval. If I were to wait for her, I would miss the dateline and it is my grade on the line.

So, this is what they call independent learning, huh??

SECOND DRAFT

During the holiday, after coming to terms with the fact that my first draft is lost forever and ever, I started working on my second draft; new thesis statement and new supporting details. The only mistake that I did when submitting my first draft was that I did not keep a copy with me in case the usual happened. I guess its destiny, haha, for me to come up with new draft and new stories and new ideas.

So, instead of doing poems like I intended in the first place, I moved on by selecting short stories; 3 short stories, Boys and Girls by Alice Munro, Sara and The Wedding by Karim Raslan, and Territory by David Leavitt.

To me, all three of these stories is connected with how the individual has to submit to the bigger and more dominating force of the society around them. Although they have different perception of themselves as individuals, but due to the societal strain placed upon them, they have to re-evaluate themselves in order to fit into the society.

I will, again, dutifully, try to contact my supervisor to set up an appointment with her. And hopefully, my draft would not be lost into oblivion again. And of course, this time, I am not taking any chances, I have a back up copy of my draft in my pen drive, my external hard disk and my laptop.

ARTIST GALLERY

Today, on a sunny Sunday morning, I went to the Artist Gallery in Malacca. Last couple of weeks, Dr Edwin mentioned about the artist, Mr Tham Siew Inn, whose works have been known locally and globally. At first, the plan was to organize a class trip there, but after too much hassle and bureaucracy, the plan was cancelled.

But this does not stop Lukman and I, Bahira to find out for ourselves about the artist and his gallery. I asked Dr Edwin for the artist address and during the last class, Dr Edwin gave us the address and showed us some postcards of the artist’s paintings. So, deciding that the trip to Malacca will be an educational and fulfilling one, we both agreed to rent a car and went there on our own today (1st March).

In a red Viva, I drove from UPM to Malacca, while Lukman took over when we arrived to the city of Malacca. It took us quite some time, Lukman navigating the car, while I was the dedicated sign board reader. We were going round and round in the city of Malacca, looking for Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, where the gallery is situated. After many turns, u-turns, and confusing sign boards, we finally spotted the gallery at the area of Jonker Street.

It was a very humble house shop, yet the owner, Mr Tham is much humbler. Clad in a simple white shirt and trousers, we were amazed at the hospitality shown by him towards us. We were treated like a special guest. He patiently answered all of our questions as we were very curious about the intriguing paintings. He uses water colour as his medium on paper, and not canvas like other artists normally do. He explained that the paper will absorb the water colour better than canvas. When asked about how long he takes to finish a painting, he said that it depended on his mood (guess we have some resemblance there…hehehe).

After viewing his painting, we took the opportunity to take a tour of other parts of the shop house. We went to the backyard, where I got to meet Yumi, Mr Tham’s cat (a chubby and cuddly cat indeed). Other than that, we found out that Mr Tham is not only talented in painting, but creating seal engraving and opal jewellery as well. His son, Mr Tham Ze King, follows his footstep as he is talented in portrait painting.

After almost 2 hours at the Artist Gallery, we decided to make a move. Nonetheless, going to the gallery was a sweet and educational experience, only made richer and memorable by the kind and warm welcome of Mr Tham Siew Inn. Thank you Mr Tham for the generous hospitality and thank you Dr Edwin for opening up another branch of art and literature for us to explore and appreciate…

P/S: Hope you like the gift that we bought you :)

NELSON MANDELA'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY

After much discussion on Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, I realized that my life is nothing compared to the life that he had. 3 decades being imprisoned and fighting for a cause larger than himself. I don’t know whether I have the ability to be as selfless as him who out aside his personal gain to be a prison bound martyr and tirelessly fight the war of apartheid. What I am interested in the autobiography is that clothing can symbolize a person stature and the power that he possessed. For instance, like what Dr Edwin said, short pants was for those from the lower ranks and a long pants was worn by those from the higher ranks. That is why Mandela insisted on having long pants for all African prisoners, and when the prison warder gave him long pants but did not give the same pants to other prisoners, he refused to wear it. He said that “…if he was willing to give me long trousers, why couldn’t everyone else have them?”. Here, it shows that he is not fighting a personal war, but a war to represent every discriminated people out there. His sacrifice and willingness to suffer for a cause that he believes in makes him the symbol of resistance against racism.

TICK...TOCK...TICK...TOCK...

Writing a research paper, as I expected is much, much harder than writing a position paper. Aside from selecting the appropriate texts that you can dwell upon and write 3000 words about, it is a big issue when you have to wait for approval from your supervisor. I send my selection of texts two weeks ago and until now, I am yet waiting for the approval of my supervisor. I sent her messages and called her many times but still no reply. I went to her room but she was not in. right now, I am at lost as to how to proceed with my research paper. Time is ticking and I know I haven’t had much time. Should I carry on and write whatever it is that I want or should I wait and wait? Why life is so difficult?

THE VIRTUE OF PATIENCE

After reading Nelson Mandela autobiography, I learned one lesson; the virtue of waiting. I have been made to wait my entire life, for things as simple as getting service at McDonalds and for things as complicated as waiting for my first love. Some people had it easy; they keep getting lucky, getting things they don’t even wish for. For others, including me, I had to wait for things to happen, things that I yearn for, things that I wish I could have, every day, every moment.

Looking at Mandela, how patiently he waited for 3 decades for his freedom, how he never surrendered at defending his protest against racism, I was inspired to learn the fact that patience has its rewards. Even though at times, I wish I could surrender and said that “I’m tired” or “I want to quit”, but patience is what holding me back from saying so. In all facets of life, either in study, friendship, relationship or even my faith, patience plays a dominant role.

So, every time I wish for something but I don’t get it, every time I had to wait for somebody for a date, every time I want something so bad but I couldn’t have it; I will remember the virtue of patience and hopefully I can patiently wait for those things to happen.