a story in progress

I know I haven't been updating this blog of late but due to the most obvious reasons which are withholding me from updating, I will try to cram as much as I can in this one post of mines.

First and foremost, recently held the AGM meetings for the Astronomy Club. As of now (more like a week ago), I have relinquished all posts (one post, to be exact), and retire peaceful into what I would like to call an internal purgatory of hell. But this hell hole however isn't filled with sharp spikes nor the eternal burning flames of hell which consume the very flesh of the living person. No. I'm afraid it's far worst than that. It can only be described as SPM.

At the mean time, the English Corner of this year's Aliran magazine have also been completed. Send the draft bout two weeks back. Can only keep my fingers crossed that these printing people don't screw up the type-setting which I have so painstakingly arrange from scratch. For those who know me, I'm no comp whiz. Therefore, you can only imagine how long it took me to figure it out just how to arrange it to fit the allocated 10 pages. Phew. At least for now I can say the editing magazine stuff are over. Unless a certain teacher decide to harass me further into doing something which is completely not in the field of the English Bureau. Which by the way, I have to say a very stupid move to have that much other committees in the first place when you will ask any Tom, Dick and Harry to do the job. But I will leave that as it is for now, as I have other stuff to rant on.

In case you are wondering what else crap can this guy come up with, the next one will be about debate.

Yes, I'm talking about the National level Inter-School English Parlimentary Style Debate which is also known as the Tan Sri Panglima Datuk Wira Arshad Challenge Trophy which is supposedly held in Kelantan this year.

The first straw was these people over there in the JPN of Kelantan telling us it has been post phoned from the 7 of July to the 28th of July. Seeing how we have just finished state not so long ago, we figured, fair enough, more time to prepare not just for us but the other 15 teams as well. As you see at that time, there were many other states which were yet to do their state level debates, so it can only be concluded that these Kelantan organizers are considerate enough to postphoned it out of considerations of the other teams.

So fast forward to the present. Now they are telling us that the National level will be around mid-August next month after much calling, and calling on our behalf to the JPN of Kelantan and even to the extent of the Kementerian Pelajaran. Now my question is, after much postponements and delays can anyone form the JPN of Kelantan or even the Kementerian for that matter give us an official set of dates? Instead of keeping us in the dark, why can't any of these people just confirm whether there is even a god damn debating competition to begin with?

Is it because of logistics, finance or even some other underlying problems in the JPN of Kelantan that inhibits the very running of the competition? Is it because of some problems or misunderstandings between the local JPN and the Kementerian? I don't know. And for one, I hope someone would step up the plate and clarify on this whole big mess.

Dah-lah already call off the National level Choral Speaking Competition in Melaka, are these people gonna call of debate as well? Either way, the point remains, let us know!!! Tak-kan wanna wait till each state start calling and screaming for the dates only, wanna tell us cancel atau tidak??

Last year's National level debate held in Kuching, Sarawak was from the 10th of June till the 14th. The year before that, was held in Selangor, from the 19th to the 21st of June 2006. Now, from what we gather right now it could be mid-August or even two weeks before the trials in September.

Now do the math. See the difference over the years?? See how close is it to the SPM trials which are suppose to held in early September? Don't these people ever consider there are participants of the debate competitions who may be taking their trials and SPM this year? Examination years? Have they consider the impact it will do to the student? How about the parents who are screaming at their children to quit all this nonsensical nonsense and just study?

Obviously the answer is a big fat NO.

So what is to happen from this point onwards? I don't know. In fact I'm waiting for someone to tell me it's all worth the effort and time spend. And that I'm not throwing away everything I have in pursuit of this competition. I won't deny the fact that I'm demoralized by all this big mess or inefficiency as you call it. Heck, even the others are feeling it. Perhaps the other debaters from the other 15 states are feeling it as well.

But what are we to do at the mean time?

Keep on waiting in vain? Holding our hands together to pray that they don't call it off last minute?

I don't know.

Why don't you tell me instead?

Today during our debate session. A woman walks into the room and approached us.

Woman : Is it wrong for a student to bring story book to school?
All of us : Har? Come again? (all of us had this very blur look on)
Woman : Why did the prefect confiscate my daughter's story book today? Do you know I came all the way from my office just to...... (from this point onwards, the woman went all Hulk-like)
Putra : (enquire something about who was the prefect and so on - basically trying to get the bottom of things)
Woman : (Still complaining more - about her time, daughter, book, prefect)
Me : Erm, maybe there was a mix up or the prefect wasn't being really responsible?
Woman : I call it STUPID, I repeat STUPID of that prefect (and she went on complaining even further)
Me : Why don't I try to get the teacher in charge instead? (or something of that sort, can't really remember the exact words, but I did remember I kept on repeating sorry ma'am, we will try to help and uh-huh all the time)
Woman : (Still unsatisfied, she went on even further about how she will make a big fuss out of this, outright stealing of the prefect to do so and on,on)
Putra : Why are you scolding him har? (referring to me) His not even a prefect.... (and from that point Putra was on the verge of having a mega volcanic eruption as well)
Me : Erm, it's okay la Putra. Let it be. Let me go find sir. (starting to get a bit fidgety with the proceedings of the event)

After much running about and ramming into people and doors, I found Sir. After a hurried explanation, he went off to meet this lady. And from that point, it was his turn. None of our business as it should have been in the first place.

Moral of the story?

There all sort of people in this world and sadly in our already short life span, we have to encounter such people in our life - those who think so highly of themselves and keep on going on about how right they are, and how stupid others are. Okay, I may understand you may feel a bit agitated on your daughter's mis-fortune entanglement with the prefect. But why take it out on us, students??! Dah-lah storm into the room as if you own the place, you expect others to humbly bow down at your feet and possibly lick your shoes only you puas when in the first place we have no idea what is happening, while still trying our best to ease out the tension ?

During the entire incident, I wasn't the very least angry at her as all I had in my mind was; Oh shit, oh shit. Gotta diffuse the bomb. Gotta diffuse the bomb. So fine-lah, if you can act as the rational adult over here, then someone has to be the sensible one.

And as if it wasn't enough, you have to drag in Sir's name as well (referring to Mr Fletcher over here) about people isn't polite enough to wish you a Good Afternoon (as if you had wished us when you first storm into the room), and about how STUPID and SENSELESS things are.

Oh for the love of God I say. (me being pious over here)

Spare me the drama!

Take it somewhere else.

The only victim of the entire event wouldn't be me nor any of us. Heck it won't be the school or teachers. And NO it wouldn't be wasting someone's precious time and energy to come to school just to settle a case of a very, very expensive story book bought at MPH being confiscated (which by the way is IRRELEVANT). I wonder did the mother actually considered the daughter's feelings amidst all this drama? Is it something she want for her daughter to be in a dilemma or to be stuck in a supposedly big fuss matter? How about the feelings of the daughter? Any thoughts on that?

No? Doesn't matter? I know what's best for her?

Fine then, I might just be another student who doesn't have right to say this, but thinking back on how the event unfold, how we reacted and how you over-reacted, can anyone honestly say you are in the right and what you did was appropriate or S-E-N-S-I-B-L-E enough for a full grown adult who is cable of rational thinking?

I have no qualms about it as much as the next guy beside me does. All I know it ain't worth the effort to be offended or angry about. Being the crazy bunch of teens that we are, we will just laugh it out while making jokes at it (some which might not be suitable for the U-rating) and be done with it.

Now if only it can be that simple in the first place..