The 30th Year School Gathering 2018 countdown..

Ok, after years of absence, I came back to this page. Hmm..how did I get back here? 
Anyway, somebody reminded me that I have this blog that I have left for a decade!! Omg.. can you imagine that time can really flies that fast? 

Again, as time goes by, things changes and evolves from the time that I did this blog (when at that time I was having some free time from sitting in the clinic and zzzz away! LOL)

So, as the title goes. Now we are counting down to this informal gathering that we are going to have soon in Melaka! The 30th year since we left school, and so this gathering is to meet up with friends. Some I have met a number of times along the way, some I haven't met for more than a decade and some that I haven't met since I left school !

It would be nice if many of the rest that I have known did try to "participate" in this reunion. Well, what I know is that we are all noisy women when we meet. Lots of old and new stories we tell like we did in other small gatherings or dinners and lunches along the way.

This time we may not be as noisy perhaps?? Because...we are going to have a few teachers that we can get hold of to come and join us. Nothing much to do at this gathering though. I just prepare for the buffet hi-tea at the hotel and what everyone will do is.... to eat and chat away. I am not planning to add anything else because I know it doesn't even matter because nobody going to bother about anything else as everybody will be busy gossipping and talking away!!! That's the thing! To catch up with each other and not to be distracted by any other activities besides eating! :)

Ok, let's see how the gathering will be next month. I have set it to be at the end of April and we will do it in Melaka because that's where our school is and it's the hometown of most of us even though many of us are not living in Melaka anymore for some reasons.

Wait and see, how it goes next month!

The mini reunion

As everybody is having a good holiday for Hari Raya or just for a long weekend to be with family, it was actually amazing to see what we have achieved since the last few years we have been trying to get in touch with all the friends that we have lost contact with since we left school.

I have been so busy the many months this year, that I didn't get to update or tell what are our progress like...but what I can say is that we are moving to a good progress and that was really great.

From a dinner of 2,3 or 4 people being the usuals, the last hari Raya holidays we manage to get 8 people to come at one time!! That was really great!

Some are people that I have not met for really long years, as long as the time that I have left school till now! Amazing what internet and communications can do... big world becoming small world and when you thought that it wasn't possible...something just become possible.

Soon I'll post more... have not been doing this for a year due to heavy workload! Well...what I can say is... it is really great to meet school friends again.. childhood friends with lots of beautiful memories of the past and interesting stories of the present......

Zero Point, Hantu Galah and Batu Seremban

As what I have mentioned previously, and I thought more about it after recently I went upnorth and looked down to some schools from my hotel room up above on the 10th floor. It made me think about the things we did at school when we were kids.

I am wondering how many children in Malaysia these days ever know or aware of Zero Point and Hantu Galah? And for those of my era, I wonder if everyone around my time all remember the games we play? Yeah, these two are some of the common games we play at school and we can't play these alone. We have to get some friends to play the games.

Know what that means? It means that those days we are all friends. We make friends with everybody and play and enjoy all the games that we have. So that was the thing...

Zero Point..some may wonder what the hell is that? While for those who know will straight away have the picture of rubber bands in your head right? Zero Point the game you play with many rubber bands that you linked up together to make it to be a long rope that two people will have to hold both ends and the rest....will be the ones who try to get the most points!

Do you remember that you have to start with jumping across the line and say Zero Point then the rubber bands starting from the ground and got higher to your ankle, to your knees, to your school uniform pocket, your waist, your axilla, your shoulder, your ear right up to your head! What the jumpers do? We jumped on every height and have lost of counting to do before we go the next level and this can go on and on until the school bell rings in the morning!!! :)

And the Hanti Galah will be played on the badminton court. With the lines on the court being the boundaries. Same thing you need two teams..

Well....these games are played in teams and so we have to have a lot of friends to really enjoy playing these games. While present day children are more glued to the Play Station 3, Wii, Xbox 360 and the Nintendo DS... how many children out there in this country actually go out and play these games like we did when we were kids?

I think the batu seremban is still being played by some..as I have seen it not long ago. The five little bags of beans that being thrown on air and caught with one hand, also in stages of one bag to five bags together. Well...whatever it is...I hope children these days do aware of these games that we play in school, regardless of race and religion. All we know was to enjoy our time at school !

Life at school was all about learning and enjoy ourselves without prejudice.....

The school then...and the trees..

It has been quite awhile since the last time I came in here to talk about my school as my schedule seems very tight since the start of the year this year. Been going all over the place from north to south and out of the country too. Anyway, after talking with all the friends that have been found recently, all the more it became interesting to think back about the school we have grown up together in.

As what has been said in one of the comments, I passed by the school some months back. Yes, I do realise that the school appeared to be smaller than I thought it was. During the schooldays, the school feels so big with big compounds and of course with nice big field and big trees around the school. The rainforest trees in the school are some of the good things that I like about the school. Yes, I am talking about trees again :)

From primary to secondary days, the trees are some of those things that is part of my memory of the school. So many things the trees have "witnessed". The growing kids and what has become of the children who went to the school.

During primary school days, there were the trees mostly are frangipani trees by the side of the netball field, alternate with the cement benches. We use to sit at these benches during recess when we ate our food if we were not at the canteen or tuckshop as we call it those days!! Other than that, while waiting for classes in the mornings, we will sit at the benches, reading book, reading storybooks or simply just chit chatting while waiting for the school bell to ring. Some others will just be at the netball field to just play with the rubber bands that has been linked long enough to play ZERO POINT!

I will talk about the ZERO POINT in my next blog. Stay tuned! :)

Back to the trees, then came the sports day we will go to the bigger field at the secondary school area where there was a big rainforest tree stands alone and became the shelter for everybody during the sports day. Under this tree usually will be where the high jump event will take place.

Also the nice Milo truck to wait and serve children who produce their green Milo coupons for the delicious cool free Milo drinks!

During secondary school days, Form One students will be under this big rainforest tree to assemble while waiting to go to class. Same for Form Two when we had to be on "floating classes"! Where we assemble during Form One was either at the big field's rainforest tree or at what we call the "cement patch". Cemented patch with some benches with one big rainforest tree in the middle.

Sometimes you can see the caterpillar hanging down and sometimes get fallen dry leaves fell on your head. Great that those trees were there and for other city school, probably have children who never knew such trees.

Speaking of the trees, there was this specific plant in front of the secondary school toilet. Regretfully to say, I can't remember the name and I don't know if the plant is still there or not. Next to it was the hibiscus plants, and this special plant I never forget because, the leaves apparently can be used to wash your hands with, as a substitute for a soap!!!

I was sceptical at first when I was told that time, however, I tried plucking the leaves, wet my hands and crushed the leaves on my hands, and yes, it became a bit foamy on my hands like a soap, giving out a fresh smell like a soap and when you rinse your hands after that, oil and grimes that you felt on your hands will go away. I wonder who will ever remember that??

Anyway, that's about the trees and greens of the school. Hope to visit the school again and see how the trees have grown and if that special plant is still there??

The expansion of the circle

Ok, with the busy schedule I was having it was not possible for me to actually go on the blog and blabber away although there were so many things that was happening since late last year till today.

Anyway, as what my title here goes...that is what it is where MGPS and MGSS Melaka story is concern. New found of old friends is still ongoing and it gets more interesting to know that the circle of friends is expanding. Hope it will keep on going.

While one friend is getting a newborn baby, some others are enjoying the Chinese New Year with family and friends or just simply resting and hibernating! For those of you who are in my facebook and asking for more photos of the olden days, I will try to dig out and find if I still have more to post them and have all of my MGS friends view them.

By the way, congratulations Cherylene on getting the cute little fella delivered and come to this world to make you have a happy family and make the world a happy place :)

Hmmm...ok, soon I will update again on the friends' list since there are more additionals where names are concern. Interesting to know that there are more than one person from those childhood friends who are teachers and recently I have this little news come to my ears that one of them actually teach at our beloved MGPS as well ! Not sure how far that is true but hopefully soon will get that news confirmed. Meanwhile....will keep on going and get everyone from those days into the circle to expand the circle but become a nice circle that connects all of us..

Happy Chinese New Year everyone and the reunion is probably on the way soon.... :)

The good ol' days

I finally found some of my old photo albums that have those school days photos! Soon I will get them scanned and place them here and in those sites where friends can see. Who knows, those who have not been contacted yet might stumble into these photos and talks that we've had with the ones we found online, then later onwe can keep the circle expanding!

Looking at those photos remind me about how it was during the school days.. Certain part of town when I pass through now looks totally different than it was 20 years ago.. well, season's change...things change and everything changes....only that we hope the circle of friendship will still remain unchange..

Looking back at thos old photos also made me think. Wondering where were the rest of the friends that we couldn't trace at this time. Are they around in the country? Out of the country?
same thing that I found were the photos of all my pen friends. Those days there were no internet connection, only relied on the snail mail and aerogrammes when going international to save the postage cost. There were telex for emergency notes as those days phones are scarce and for outstation calls use to be cut off somewhere in the middle!

Ok, back to what I was mentioning about i.e the pen friends. Pen pals that we found those days were interesting. We talked about things of our different countries and exchanging a lot of stuff from photos to bookmarks etc. Now when I look back at those old memories through the photos that I found again, I wonder how those penpals are doing now.

Well....I suppose internet will help in some ways to get at least some of them contacted and got in touch with. Some with kids, some without, some married some singles. Almost everybody has their own path from school to the career life now.

Let's see how many additionals can we get soon! :)

The sudden surge of findings

Now that a friend is so very active getting friends' contacts, now my list of friends have accumulated to be around 20s. I suppose I will put on here the names of who they are, and will add more next time. Just for an update for those who know this blog and reading it when you have the time.

However, before I do that just to say I am glad that some surprises that I get is to find more friends that I thought I won't be able to find, some that not even cross my mind that I would see online. Today I found another person that I am very sure is also a friend of ours in the MGS days. So just waiting for the response to know if it is true when I feel I am 99% right :)

As for teachers...since some of you were asking about it, I will gather the information that I can get and I will put on here for your reading. At this time, when my schedule is full and some have filled up for even December, I will just try my best to slot in whatever I can.

Ok, I suppose I will just put here the names of friends from our batch that I have found so far :

1. Noorfaizah Haron (Faiz) - one of the first few people I met! She saw me first, we were in the same flight to Cairo, Egypt and the same flight back to Malaysia :) cool eh?

2. Intan Safina Abd Jalil - found me on Yahoo Friends! That was the first surprise I got since I came back to Malaysia that time.

3. Haslinda Ibrahim - occasional meet ups over the years too. Ok, I won't elaborate about anything but start putting just names ok? hehe..

4. Marianne Chuah / Marlene Chuah
5. Cherylene Lee
6. Siti Salabiah Buang
7. Siti Khadijah
8. Absah Mamat
9. Adilah Abu Hassan
10. Shafinaz Sehat
11. Low Yian Joo
12. Sabrina Lee
13. Huang Lu Yit
14. Amiliah Mohamed Yasin
15. Cynthia Koe
16. Audrey Chan
17. Liew Ai Lin
18. Chong Pei Pei
19. Norizah Abdullah (Noreen)
20. Jessica Chee Yoke Peng
21. Tan Bee Ti
22. Tan Seok Meng (Sherone)
23. Rohani Bujang

Ok...I think there is Lee Geok Siew but don't know if she remembers me, as well as Naniwati Md Jani. I suppose later when I know for sure, will add on Foo Pau Lin and Foo May Lin? Vashta and also Chua Swee Teen? Not to mention Annabel Tan, Wan Joon Lian, Angelina Ang, Nazariah Sabtu as well. Probably later on when can get hold of Normy Harlizah? I think last I knew Jacqueline Tan Lian Neo was in Singapore when I was still in the University days.. Now, I don't know.....Hmm...and still searching for the rest..