Pn.Phan,A Teacher Who Holds A Special Place In My Heart

Dearest Pn Phan,

Well,I had the privilege of knowing you since 2012 thanks to my involvement in the Editorial Board.To be honest, I was scared of you in the start as some seniors told me that you are very strict and 'garang'.

I realised that they were just pulling my leg when I stepped into form 3 and started getting more involved in the production of our school magazine after my PMR examinations.

In Form 4,I met you more often as I took part in a number of language competitions and you were always there to guide me be it during drama,perbahasan and of course Nilam.Without your guidance and encouragement, I feel that I wouldn't have gone that far.I was quite nervous during the state finals but having you  around in BTPN helped me feel relieved during those intense moments.

I will treasure this review which you wrote during my Nilam nationals forever.

I would always be indebted to you as you gave me the responsibility and opportunity to helm the Editorial Board even when I was not that perfect.

To add the icing on the cake,you became my English language teacher in Form 5.That was when I realised what my seniors meant when they told that you were strict but I really enjoyed being in your class it was really entertaining,joyful and fun.English lessons was never the same again after you started teaching us.

You were the person whom I could always refer to whenever I had problems and you were ever ready to give me wise advice when I almost took some harsh decisions at times.You tolerated me and Amelia when we dragged the production of the magazine plus you always had this approach on things in a soft and stern manner which I really adore.

One of the best memories which I ever had with you will be the brown rice nasi lemak incident in your cubicle with Amelia and till this very day I will just laugh so hard whenever I recall about it.There had been a few occasions where I had been mistook as your daughter by few.

I feel blessed to have been your student.

Happy birthday,Pn.Phan!!💕

You may have grown a year older, but you will always remain as youthful as you are.By the way,congratulations on your promotion as the Senior Assistant of Co-curriculum.

Sincerely,
Saveetra Revathi

Happy World Food Day!

Yeah,that's me during the spicy ramen challengea few weeks back.

It's been quite a long time since my last post as my health has not been good plus I am quite busy studying for my finals which is in 4 weeks.But it is World Food Day today and I got to spare some time for to write this as blogging is one of my ways to improve my writing skills as I prepare myself for MUET next year.So,here's one post dedicated to all.

Food is a basic need of life which sometimes people take for granted. Being in Malaysia which is akin to food paradise,we are just spoilt for choice at times.Due to the easy access to obtain food,people tend to waste it.

Ask yourself,when was the last time you finished every bit of food on your plate?If your answer is yes,hats off to you but if your answer is no,try thinking of the people out there who can't even afford a meal each day compared to some of us who can have  breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea , dinner,supper,etc.. in just a single day.You can never go foodless as you can find food everywhere.Hungry?Just go to the nearest mamak and there you have some roti canai, nasi kandar,nasi lemak or you just go to Starbucks for a cup of coffee which almost equals to my allowance on food for a week.

One of  my first outdoor cooking experiences during my school's camping day last year.Most of the 'cokodok' were oddly shaped and this particular one was in the shape of a heart.

There had been numerous views on the soup kitchens out there but personally,I feel that this noble effort can continue. When a beggar asks you money so that he can eat,try buying him a meal instead of giving him money as you will not only fill his empty stomach but you will also add on your blessings.My dad once told me that if someone approaches me and asks for food,never ever turn down their request at it maybe be a reincarnation of someone who was close to us and had died coming to meet us again.It may sound illogical but I still hold on to it.

Now,that I'm in college,I do try to cut cost but it will never be on food as Dad always said if you spend your money on food,I won't mind unless you waste it.There are times,when the kind pak cik bakery in college distributes the unsold food when it is nearing closing time but he ensures they are safe to eat and tastes them first to ensure they are not spoilt.I used to get them a lot and I would just distribute it to my friends.

Well,the bottle of Nutella in this picture was given to me by a friend and I only ate it a few times because yeah-it is fattening plus I am not a big fan of bread.Therefore,I chose to just pass it to Si Jie and Zulaikha,fellow food lovers on my floor who was were elated when they received it.The gift of food is something very noble and you should practise it too.Happy World Food Day everyone!

.

Love,
Saveetra Revathi

Eyebags...my Favourite accessory

         

The cause of my beautiful eyebags is insomnia

Insomnia...
Yes,you read it right,I am actually suffering from insomnia at the moment as I have a quiz for Economics later in the morning plus I still have tons of assignments to tutorials to be completed because I was not able to attend classes on Tuesday and Thursday due to having terrible gastritis and food poisoning. Missing lectures and tutoring sessions made me feel even more stressed as I hated resting in the room.If I live on the first floor,I would have definitely dragged myself to class but unfortunately I live  on the 4th floor so I didn't want to take any risks as I  eas afraid that I would faint ony jourmey as I was dehydrated and weak...Moreover,since I was losimg my sleep because I had been suffering from insomnia,my health was affected plus my eyebags became more obvious as days went by...

What is insomnia???

Insomnia is a sleep disorder. People with insomnia have trouble sleeping, in that they have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired.^[1][2]While the term is sometimes used to describe a disorder as diagnosed bypolysomnographic or actigraphicevidence, this is often practically defined as a positive response to either of two questions: "do you experience difficulty sleeping?" or "do you have difficulty falling or staying asleep?"^[2]

Insomnia is most often thought of as both a medical sign and a symptom^[2][3]that can accompany several sleep, medical, and psychiatric disorders characterized by a long term difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep or sleep of poor quality. Insomnia is typically followed by functional impairment while awake. Insomnia can occur at any age, but it is particularly common in the elderly.^[4] Insomnia can be short term (up to three weeks) or long term (above 3–4 weeks); it can lead to memory problems, depression, irritability and an increased risk of heart disease and automobile related accidents.^[5]

Source:Wikipedia

Dealing with Loneliness....Part 1

This post is dedicated to a close friend who is trying her level best to fit into a new environment after being plugged with depression and loneliness for almost half a year.This is part 1 so stay tuned for more.....

I am so sorry dear,but the truth is that I don't want to be emotionally attached  with anyone anymore.

When I say emotionally attached,I am not talking about love relationships but basically any sort of relationship be it with family,friends,etc... 

It hurts to be ignored,rejected and treated like an animal all the time.

Just because I am smiling,it does not mean that I am happy on the inside as a fake smile can hide a million tears.

My smile is fake and I know that I may look like the happiest person when in reality I am suffering inside...

I may be alive but the truth is my soul died a very long time ago.

I can't withstand anymore heartbreaks and FYI,I am not the old me anymore.

I have changed a lot or maybe even completely in that 6 months.

After breaking out of loneliness,dejection and depression I had a culture shock.

I tried to fit in but people just kept on doing that plus mostly misunderstood me without knowing what I was going through.

I give up on people already.

Nobody is being honest at all and I am not gonna let myself to be hurt anymore as I might gonna continue leaving alone.

Life is way better like this as I won't have any regrets later on.

It will be a million times better as nobody will disappoint or abandon me in the end.

Therefore,I am taking this decision for my betterment.

Early morning musings..

I found this wonderful short essay saved in my pendrive,but I have no idea on whether I penned it myself or was it something which I copy and pasted from somewherebut is such an inspiring essay,I choose to post as good things are better shared...

... so this is for us.

This is for us who sing, write, dance, act, study, run and love

and this is for doing it even if no one will ever know

because the beauty is in the act of doing it.

Not what it can lead to.

This is for the times I lose myself while writing, singing, playing

and no one is around and they will never know

but I will forever remember

and that shines brighter than any praise or fame or glory I will ever have,

and this is for you who write or play or read or sing

by yourself with the light off and door closed

when the world is asleep and the stars are aligned

and maybe no one will ever hear it

or read your words

or know your thoughts

but it doesn’t make it less glorious.

It makes it ethereal. Mysterious.

Infinite.

For it belongs to you and whatever God or spirit you believe in

and only you can decide how much it meant

and means

and will forever mean

and other people will experience it too

through you.

Through your spirit. Through the way you talk.

Through the way you walk and love and laugh and care

and I never meant to write this long

but what I want to say is:

Don’t try to present your art by making other people read or hear or see or touch it; make them feel it. Wear your art like your heart on your sleeve and keep it alive by making people feel a little better. Feel a little lighter. Create art in order for yourself to become yourself

and let your very existence be your song, your poem, your story.

Let your very identity be your book.

Let the way people say your name sound like the sweetest melody.

So go create. Take photographs in the wood, run alone in the rain and sing your heart out high up on a mountain

where no one will ever hear

and your very existence will be the most hypnotising scar.

Make your life be your art

and you will never be forgotten.

A Day Filled With Lessons..................

A smile is a smile,no matter the face,a soul is a soul,no matter the race...

I can say that I had seen,felt and also learnt so much in this past week and most of it happened today.Since I am a lazy to separate them,I would just list it out.

1.Times change but people just remain the same.
-You may disagree with this but based on  my personal experience,I realised that some peolpe can never change themselves no matter how hard you try.

2.Everyone is equal.
-No matter how rich a person is,in the end all of us will be buried in the same soil so why boast about your title,social status,etc.?Today,I got the opportunity to meet a female politician who is so down to earth.I am saying so because unlike other VIPs whom i had seen in my life,she actually waited in line for her turn to be served in temple.

3.Too many cooks spoil the broth.
- What happened today was that too many self-proclaimed chefs spoil the 'morru'.Since it was the annual fire walking ceremony in the temple in my neighbourhood,the resident council decided to set up a refreshment stall serving 'morru'.Morru is actually buttermilk mixed with Indian spices.Well,since everyone had different ideas on the perfect taste of the 'morru',each of them added extra ingredients and also lots of salt.The end result?????The 'morru' became so salty that we had to dilute it almost thrice to bring back it's original taste.

4.It doesn't mean that without both feet,one can't stand tall.
-I met another 'special' person this week and it was a man in his 50s named Mr.Shanmugam who is a snacks and toys seller.Just like in Sally's case(Read my earlier blog entry titled problems to know more),I never knew that he was disabled as he was using prosthetics for both of his legs.Despite being disabled,he is determined to succeed and be the sole breadwinner of the family as both his sons are in university while his youngest daughter is in Form 2.

My Wishlist !!!!

I am back to being a Penangite this week after being a Perlian for the past month as I came back home for the Raya holidays...It feels great to be home as I can perform my daily duties peacefully in a familiar environment without the worry of someone trespassing my room(It is not that peaceful actually as I have my annoying younger sister poking her nose in everything I do).Well,as my parents insist on driving all the way to Perlis to send and pick me up which is really costly as a one-way trip costs them at least RM200(inclusive of petrol and toll only) they came up with a decision.I can't come back home until my mid-semester break which is in early September.I tried my best to convince them that I can just use the college bus instead as it will only cost me RM18 for the two-way trip but they gave me a strong NOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Therefore,I took a decision and came up with my wishlist.Since the wishlist was done in 10 minutes,I may have missed some of the things I wanted to include in it but even without the'forgotten' iems,I already have around 10 in the current list.

So,what list did I make?Being a fellow Malaysian,I think that some of you might have guessed what are the contents in my wishlist ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Well,my wishlist is titled THE FOOD I WANT TO EAT BEFORE LEAVING PENANG ON 11 JULY 2016!!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.......It would be shame that I miss out all of favourite  food picks since I won't be back in Penang for a long time....

*BOOM....BOOM...BOOM....DRUM ROLLS EVERYONE*

And I present you

SAVEE'S LIST OF FOOD TO EAT BEFORE LEAVING PENANG ON 11 JULY 2016!!!!

1.Curry Mee

This is on top of my list as it was one of the food that I never dared to lay my hands  on when I was 

younger as it looked oily and spicy but after trying just a spoonful of it from my Dad's bowl last year,I realised that it was the tastiest thing which I ever ate.It is a challenge at times to find the perfect halal curry mee stall but thank God I could get a tasty bowl of it from the faithful Chinese Aunty from the market in my neighbourhood.Luckily,I had this for breakfast the first morning I got back home so CURRY MEE CHECK!!!

2.Wan Tan Mee

Wan Tan Mee has been my favourite since childhood and I would only consume it at a particular stall from the Bagan market because I don't know why that the wan tan mee sold at the particular shop tastes absolutely delicious and the soup is made without pork too so I don't have to worry about mistakenly consuming pork.Once again,I am lucky because I just had wan tan mee for breakfast yesterday so WAN TAN MEE CHECK!!!

3.Brown Rice Nasi Lemak

I fell in love with this heavenly version of nasi lemak thanks to my school's computer technician Mr.Liew who once gave a whole plastic bag full of it my Editorial Board teacher advisor,Pn.Phan when I was in Form 4(2014). Since there were still some packets left,Pn.Phan decided to give a packet each to me and my best friend,Amelia.My first reaction when I saw it was IT IS ROSAK!!!!!Amelia then told me that it is not spoilt but it was simply made of brown rice and pepper. It was so tasty that I finished it in less than 3 minutes(I am a really slow eater actually) and what made it more memorable was that we were actually eating in the teacher's cubicle and something happened(We'll save the story for another time as it will take a whole new post to retaliate it).I got to know that it is sold at Bagan Ajam market and since my mom used to frequent that market on weekends,I pestered her to get it for me and Mr.Liew who later got to know about my obsession with it made it a point to save at least a packet for me when he visited my school.What really touched me was after he was posted to China and he came back to Penang after almost 6 months I guess,he actually remembered my love for it and bought it for me on the last weeks before SPM....That was one of best final memories in my alma matter,SMK Convent Butterworth..Unfortunately,my mom told me that it is too far to go to the market from my new house but I am gonna try to convince her so BROWN RICE NASI LEMAK PENDING....

4.Egg Thosai

It may seem like a odd combination and I couldn't find the perfect picture of it in Google so I have to settle with this.I only started eating this in Form 3 when I asked for an alternative to the plain thosai which I am used to and also fell in love with it on first bite.Egg thosai is best eaten with chicken curry and I guess that I will be having it for breakfast tomorrow so EGG THOSAI PENDING....

5.Apom Balik

There is two types of apom balik and the one I like is the miniature ones which are crispy and tastier.It is gonna be hard to find apom balik as most of the sellers are Muslims who are celebrating Hari Raya but I will try getting it at the night market in my neighborhood this Saturday night so APOM BALIK PENDING!!!!!

6.Char Koay Teow

You can find many versions of char koay teow be  but my personal favourite are the koay teow basah which can be found in Malay stalls and also the World Famous Penang Char Koay Teow!!!!! I ate it for dinner yesterday so CHAR KOAY TEOW CHECK!!!!!

7.Cendol

You can find cendol sold almost everywhere but my personal pick will be the stall in front of SMK Dato' Onn Butterworth.My mom told me that the current owner is a 2nd generation cendol seller and I think that is why the taste has been the same since my first try at way back in 2005 but since it will be hassling to go all the way there to just get a bowl of cendol(I am trying to be considerate towards my parents here) so I think that I will opt for a bowl of cendol somewhere nearer tomorrow.Therefore,CENDOL PENDING!!!!!!!

8.TomYam Maggi

Well,I just ate a bowl pf tom yam for RM9 for dinner about 3 hours ago and I am still full.The guilt feeling of eating such an expensive dinner is still haunting me as when I ordered,the uncle told me that the standard price is RM5 and it would cost around RM6.50 with the extra crabsticks which I requested for.However,the uncle ended up adding two of each ingredients instead which resulted in the 'very cheap price' that I paid for it.I forced myself to finish it and thank God my Dad helped me out so TOM YAM MAGGI CHECK!!!!!!

9.Sushi Bread

I was introduced to this by my best friend Sueqi in Form 3 and what I love the most about it is that it takes only around 6 to 7 pieces to fill up my tummy for the whole day...The bakery which sells this amazing delicacy is quite near to my new house so I would be making a beeline there tomorrow SO SUSHI BREAD,WAIT FOR ME,I AM COMING FOR YOU TOMORROW!!!!

10..Gulab Jamun

Chocolates and sweets are a girl's best friend right?This high in calorie dessert has a special place in my heart and since Ananda Bhawan is just a stone throw's away from my house,I would just be walking there to buy them.  Therefore, DEAR GULAB JAMUN,WE SHALL MEET TOMORROW TOO!!!!!

11.Chicken Murtabak

You can find murtabak almost anywhere but my personal favourite is the one sold in the night market at Taman Inderawasih every Saturday.It is not like the other murtabaks you get out there as it contains real chicken pieces and not only egg+onions and the price is around RM3 which is very worth it.However,I am not sure if the stall will be open this week so I am gonna find for a wishing star later and make a wish...So,CHICKEN MURTABAK PENDING.......

12.Subway Chicken Tandoori

I am pretty sure that most of you will have the song which was created when Subway Malaysia announced that they will be bringing back this heavenly creation back again for a limited time....I may get it at C-Mart back in Perlis but if I did,I have to use RM11.90 of my allowance for it so I am gonna eat it In Penang instead as RM11.90 is quite a big amoun t for a college student(Well,it can cover the price of my meals for 2 days in college so I better use my parent's money now as I DON'T WANT TO GET SCOLDED LATER)SO,SEE YOU SOON SUBWAY CHICKEN TANDOORI!!!!!

Woah!!!!That is a lot of food and I bet I am gonna gain back the 2 kg I lost in my first month college but food is a basic need of live so I am gonna eat all of the food listed here without any guilt.I only have one hope which is I don't suffer another heart attack after seeing the price of my food.It's getting late and I have to sleep....Goodbye....

Sincerely,

Saveetra Revathi