The World of Tai Tai

The first time I came to Kuching was in 1990. Failing to secure a place in government schools after the SPM, I enrolled in the sixth  form  at the now defunct school on Stampin Road, St. Patrick's. It was my first time away from the comfort of home, and I was staying in the school ’s  wooden boarding house, naturally fe eling  emotionally challenged. In the first few months of my stay, I was wrought with unmitigated homesickness, which sapped my confidence, energy, and optimism for life. My weight plunged, and it took a toll on my health. One time, I was so delirious with fever that the world was almost dead to me. My fellow boarders took turns looking after me, bringing me food, sponging my feverish forehead, and washing my sweat-soiled clothes. I finally came to my senses when a boy named Simon  warned me that if I continued letting my emotions control me, I would disappoint my parents. Like me, he had come all the way from Miri to study. He...

I would like to live a short, intense life. Living a short life is a blessing. The shorter you live, the fewer sins you commit. I'd rather live until seventy, a not-too-ancient age, and have a lot of fulfilling moments, the likes of being able to concentrate on things I like. Living a long, calm life, on the other hand, is depressing, particularly if senility has caught up with me. A short, intense life would make my life more purposeful. I would always be on the go, trying my best to get things done properly to delight myself and my loved ones. Diary-writing has been my passion, and to make my life a memorable one, I would make the publishing of my own memoir a life goal- sharing my life stories with everyone. Before seventy, I would make use of all my savings to travel around the globe, my focus being South Pacific islands, particularly Solomon Islands. Their pristine forests and friendly aboriginal people have a strong magnetic pull on me. I...

Lo  s tood  in the administration office, hemming and hawing, scared of the possibility of making himself the butt of jokes during roll call. Although he was a teacher, he had no confidence when it came to speaking in front of a large group, and he was considering getting someone to replace him. But would anyone be willing to do it? Deep down, he knew that he couldn’t possibly run away from the job. Sooner or later, he had to face it. As the commotion  made by the students pounded the office from different directions, Lo  stiffened in trepidation and bit his lower lip. The public address system was not working, so Mr Zulkifli , the senior assistant, handed him  a portable speaker box, which was as heavy as his heart. Lo  dragged himself through the door and began walking up onto the stage . H e could feel his legs shaking. Panic came over him as he looked at the sea of faces in the assembly hall. The students, carrying their bags either on their back o...

Three years in a row before being accepted into Maktab, I had repeatedly failed my interviews, unable to reach the benchmark set by the college. An introverted person, I did not have the presence of mind to respond to the interviewers' questions with convincing answers, thus time and again making a fool of myself. One time, an elderly male interviewer looked at me with disdain and remarked that I was no teaching material.  The spiteful words had ravaged my self-confidence, causing me to cast doubt on the authenticity of my vocation. To be well-prepared for the fourth interview, I spent a lot of time brushing up on my English, as the course I was applying for was Teaching English As the Second Language. Almost every day, you could see me reading books and talking to myself in the mirror. During learning intervals, I watched television to observe how people communicated with one another, jotting down commonly used words and trying my best to use them in my daily conversations with ...

Today, education has become increasingly challenging, and getting students to write on the chalkboard  is considered obsolete. Cooperative learning, advocating learning through hands-on activities, is one of the most favored methodologies to date, where students, each assigned with a different responsibility, take charge of their learning in groups while teachers are reduced to the role of facilitators, only offering assistance when the need arises. No doubt, cooperative learning has produced more and more students who are independent and can think creatively. However, from my point of view, it should be done in moderation, as doing too much of it will kill its novelty, making students lose interest in the long run. Besides, slow learners tend to be passive throughout group discussions, hardly anyone addressing their learning issues. Although chalkboard writing  is discouraged at schools, sometimes, there is no harm for a teacher to use this approach to point his or her...

I have never been lack of love.   When bringing me up, my parents doted on me and I was never short of anything as a child.    In my distant childhood, the convenience provided by the Internet and cell phones was non-existent and I relied on books and radio for entertainment.    Reading books infused my young mind with rich vocabulary, while listening to radio sharpened my listening skills. A good decision can make you stand out among the rest.    Everyone looks up to a person who is clear about what he is saying.    He is cocksure about his thoughts and condemns a procrastinator.    Sometimes I cannot help wondering if this kind of person has ever experienced love in his life.    A firm decision maker frightens me to the marrow.    He can quell any objections with his cold, deadly stare.    His words are spiteful and if you have a falling-out with him, your body and soul would surely be badly scalded....

LEBUH KIMBERLY STREET KWAY CHAP BY LO SIN YEE   Kway Chap is an acquired taste. Not everyone can accept a bowl of murky broth with suspicious-looking offal. The one on Lebuh Kimberly Street, Penang, however, has attracted foodies from all over the world. The more you eat it, the more addictive it becomes. I first tasted it in 2010 and was surprised by its incredible flavours . For six years, due to the tightness of my budget, I seldom made it as far as Penang. One night, however, while browsing through YouTube, I stumbled upon a video of Kimberly Street Kway Chap. Mark Weins, the commentator (who is also a renowned food critic), sang the noodles’ praises. The sight of him slurping the noodles stirred up my hunger . Driven by a strong craving, I flew from Miri to Kuala Lumpur and took a transit flight to Penang, which is a food heaven. After checking into my hotel, I headed to the famed stall at Lebuh Kimberly Street, and found it to have g...

The deafening ringing of the school bell reverberated at  every corner.  Before it trailed off into silence, a cacophony of voices and laughter rose around a yellow cat.  He lazily raised his head as hundreds of feet pattered up and down the spiral staircase  above him. A girl squatted down and stroked the cat’s head.  The cat let out a big yawn, showing his sharp teeth and tongue with utter nonchalance.  The girl chuckled and petted the cat’s cheek, just behind the whiskers, her own hair, parted at the centre, dangling from both sides of he r slightly pimpled face. The cat closed his eyes, gradually submitting himself to the touch, enjoying the sensation.  The girl squealed as she ran her hand, kneading the cat’s head to his tail,  repeating it several times.  The cat purred throatily in response to the girl’s crooning.  A few more girls joined in, taking turns caressing the cat in the same manner.  One of them even held the ...

“Sin Yee,” asked See Wei over the phone , “are you going to attend our first reunion?” “Sure,” I replied, unable to suppress my excitement.  “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.” See Wei, my ex-classmate, was organizing a reunion at a nearby restaurant.  I was among the first few to be contacted.   See Wei was the only classmate I would see around, for his pet shop was situated in the vicinity of my neighbourhood.  The rest seemed to have evaporated into thin air.  After completing primary six in 1982, the majority of us moved to a secondary school in Lutong while the rest ended up in neighbouring towns or overseas.  By the time we finished the fifth form in 1987, we had gone our separate ways and seen each other less and less until our names lost their scent of familiarity. As the day for the reunion drew near, a string of forgotten names resurfaced from the dark recesses of my memory.  Thankfully, See Wei had formed an alu...