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The Forbidden Kingdom No More

Yesterday is a day that would forever go down the sands of time as...

"The Day I Fed Two Hundred Ravenous Mouths with Bottomless Pits"

Oh the horror!... The Pain!... The Suffering!!!

Like a swarm of locusts they came, wave upon wave upon wave... Like a farmer protecting his crop I could only look on and stare, as they darkened the sky, before zeroing in for the kill... Tears streamed down my eyes as I watched them strip every last grain of maize and corn that I had planted at the begininning of the year...

My knees thudded to the ground, as I numbly watched the carnage around me, my tired brain barely registering what my eyes perceived.

"So this is what it feels like"... I thought in my brain...

"This thing called Open House"

.
..
...

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I'm just being dramatic here ;)

Yesterday was actually a day that I'm going to remember for a long time, simply because it was graced with the presence of those eager young minds I help shape on a daily basis... my students. From all four faculties that I teach - Mechanical Engineering, Science, Chemical Engineering, Education... 

They were all there, All clad in their best clothes and finery (at least the girls were), faces beaming with smiles as they arrived, wishing us Selamat Hari Raya, bantering and joking with the lecturer who terrorised them on a weekly basis in their respective classes... 

It was a real pleasure connecting with them on a more personal level, which I do believe, would set up the foundation to a long-lasting relationship in the years ahead. 

And then the moment came when they dug into my wife's soto and her famous bergedel, and of course a whole array of assorted foods that an open house would be left wanting without... I was reminded of another student almost a decade ago... A heavyset youth, with a pleasant personality, and an always hungry tummy...

I smiled...

Eat to your heart's content, my students... Your assignments can wait.

Comments

This comment has been removed by the author.
uish.. terase.. memang kami mkn byk.. sbb sedapp...
every single menu pon kami nak rase.. hehe.. siap dgn kuih yg hanya tggal 2 jenis je.. sbb yg lain dah abis.. huhu~
tp yg paling best giler is the wii... sonok nye men boling lawan syafiq ngn khalif ngan dayah ngan syima.. huhu..
thanx sir.. for the food n for the game to0...
:)
You're most welcome melor...
It was a pleasure having you on board.
Anonymous said…
you have party...but you didn't invite me!!!!!!!grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
next time! invite me too!!!!!!!!!
Cik Ana said…
lobo,

so sorry couldn't make it to your place. As we have friends coming over on the same day too.

Melepas nak tengok 'forbidden kingdom' ko..

Aisehmen.

p/s: we served soto n begedil too. hehe
mucho,
Hehehehe..sorry, I didn't get round to inviting you..completely slipped my mind.. But you'll be first on my list the next time round, k..

Syana,
Laaaaaaa... Nape you buat clash dgn I punya.. I pun nak rasa you punya soto & bergedil...
Nak tgk kalau soto org baru kawen ni lain rasanya...hehehehe...
affendik? said…
and, the locusts are back to terrorize ur much treasured crops, again...yeehaa!

hehe..jz kiddin =]
thx a million 4 d wonderful meal,sir! i really enjoyed d lontong kering n d bergedil..sedap!
n not to 4get, d Nintendo too..hehe.

c u around, sir!
Anonymous said…
tak jemput puuuuuun :P
izzati fuad said…
yea.. thanx so much for inviting us. :D sedap hingga menjilat jari. hehe
Onn,
There will always be a stalk of maize that I will keep in case your swarm ever comes around again for a feeding frenzy :)

CC,
I nak jemput tapi u kat KL maaaa... klu u kat S'pore tu boleh kita ronggeng

Ijat,
Basuh tangan sebelum jilat jari.
Count Byron said…
Should've been there too but was away on assignment.
Will watch the crops devoured next time the locusts come-a-landing.
I am very happy for the students for having a lecturer such as you my son.

Love
Dad
azie said…
sangat marvellous woooooooo..
i mean, ur house and the food.

also the game session,kihkihkih

tahun dpn buat lagi ya!

alaaaaaaaa..dah grad pulakkk..
Azie, dah grad pun dijemput...tapi banyak kat dapur la... ;)
azie said…
boleh!

tapi tahun depan duit raya mesti dienclose kan sekali,hiks:-)
A t i Q a h said…
"Kau orang buat rumah Che' Lah macam rumah sendiri," said by one of your guests.

Guess who? Ha ha ha.


Thanks for the foods, thanks for the house tour, and the Nintendo Wee games.

My thanks to Kak Sal as well. Mesti dia pun penat. Hehe.
Azie,
materialistiknya...
whatever happened to the pleasure of helping out your fellow man?..
Isk...isk...

Atiqah,
I'm going to venture a guess and say that culprit was anak pak nasir... ;)
Mmg penat ari tu..in fact kak sal 3 hari x hilang penat dia...
But I think it was worth it, insyaallah.
And you're welcome
Yana Ismail said…
ha ha ha..i tau siapa yg ckp k"kau org buat rumah Cik Lah mcm rumah sendiri?"..Tok kan?;p...dia jelesla tu tgk kami memekak2 kt umh Sir;)huhu

Sir, thank you so much for the wonderful meal..sedap hingga menjilat2 jari..kekenyangan yg teramat..;)

I suka rendang n bergedil..sedappppppppppp;)

Thn dpn kami dtg lg. eee,tak malu org tk jmpt dh nk dtg...

and thanks for the house tour;)
Liyana,
Tok ye culprit dia... nak kena tok ni...
Again, you're welcome :)
Nak datang tahun depan dipersilakan..
Jangan lupa bawa berus sental & kain buruk ;)
Anonymous said…
Hei,
Why was I invited to your soto and bergedel???

AHO Tenggara
Anonymous said…
Hei,
Why was I not invited to your soto and bergedel?????

ps: forgot the 'not' there, Engelish Teach.

AHO Tenggara
Anonymous said…
Dollah,
just found your blog and saw 'little & brighter Dollah' by your bike. Selamat Hari Raya to u & the family

AHO
Hehehehehe...

Sorry abang hamid...I would have, but the students finished all the food!
Welcome to my blog! :)
& Selamat Hari Raya to you n family as well...
Anonymous said…
Dear Dollah,
You remembered. Thanks & from the comments in your blog, I gather u have really found your forte. I'm still waiting to hear & see the Dr in front of your name.
Anyway, keep up the good work and the spirit that keeps pushing, not only you but also your students.

Me, just an old teacher (like an old soldier) waiting to just fade away.

Bye,

AHO
Yana Ismail said…
apakah?berus sental?huhu..kalau next time dtg bz layan anak cmne Sir?ha ha ha..just kidding!;p
Liyana,

according to my calculations, for u to be bringing ur child to my open house next year would mean:

Tentative month: September
- 2 months pantang = July (Birth)

- 9 months pregnancy = November...

This would mean that u wud have only about a few days more...

Which would mean by now u shud have been married...

Which wud mean u got married, but didn't invite me...

HEY...

Why didn't u invite me to ur wedding?!!!
Abg Hamid,

You're gonna get the Dr looooooooong before I do... And you're not just gonna fade out.. You've got still got so much to give..
Yana Ismail said…
uhuhu..what? i thought i've sent the invitation card already?;)did you get it?hi hi hi..

Takkannnla i tak jemput.huhu. i gurau je. tgk siap calculation kluar. you ni language lecturer ke maths lecturer? i dah confuse dah;)huhu

Lambat lg nk kawin ok!!;p
Liyana,

You never know when the marriage bug will hit you by surprise...Just be prepared...
MUUUUAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (Evil Dracula laugh)
Anonymous said…
Just got around to reading ur blog.. at last.. can't believe soo much had happened since we last saw each other. Saw the pic of ur prince, soo handsome..
Deepest condolence on the demise of ur beloved grams.
What can I say.. my buddy here has such huge talent.. ur words..full of warmth, passion and emotion..
Kudos to u my dear friend.

Can't wait for the next one to come out..simply love it!!!
azie said…
sir,

kalau nak sumpah bab2 kawen tu, sila sumpah ai sekali,ahahahahaha(evil laugh jugak)
Galadriel,
Welcome to my humble blog :)
Thank you for your kind words of comfort and your words of glowing praise... You honour me.
Azie,
Puh kanan, puh kiri,
Kawen la cepat-cepat...
(just make sure nikah dgn kadi berdaftar dalam negara)
Greg Wee said…
MY mouth is now like salivating like the Niagara Falls.
Greg,
You should have seen what was happening in MY mouth when I saw ur traditional English breakfast...
Yana Ismail said…
Sir, wah!ada bug jgak ek marriage ni..

huhu..i'm just a normal peasant girl now. ;p..ape plak merepek dialogue drama ni..

i'm just a small girl..marriage?huhu..tatotnya;p

Tapi..mestilah i nakkk;p..hi hi..gelak gatal;p

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