Jarod Yong

When I get time off away from the mindless busy-ness of work, I get this funny feeling. This feeling brings me down & it cuts me deep. Feels like a thin sharp knife slowly pushing its way into where it hurts the most. When I'm with the people I love, I feel somehow incomplete. This feeling is hard to shake when all of them are either attached or married. It doesn't help when friends tease me & especially when old ladies are asking dumb rhetorical questions or trying to matchmake me. I'm nice to them & I entertain their good intentions but it doesn't help my self-esteem. What kind of a pathetic messed up dumbass needs the help of old grandmothers to get a girl? Gone are the days when I can rely on my buds for all my social needs. My soul mate is married. My best friend has a girlfriend. My best bud has a second child on the way. I see people younger than me getting hitched while I... I start to wonder what the bloody is wrong with me? I'm 27 t...

Just touched down in Kuching a few hours ago for my well-deserved break at home. I've got 4 days to rest before I make my journey back into the jungle again. "Why so little?" you ask as you stuff your face with mom's rendang? Well, it's because I gave up the first half of my break to stay with the students at school. I wanted the PMR & SPM students to stay back & do some self-study. Knowing them, it would be unlikely for them to study if they were home. The good ones will be helping the family at the farms while the spoilt ones will be lazing around. I also took this opportunity to give BOTH the PMR & SPM students tips on how to excel in their respective English Language papers. PMR Seminar All through the 8 hour sessions for each of them, I reiterated the need for them to be disciplined, focus, work hard & work independently. Values that will serve them well after they finish school. However, I sometimes feel that I am alone in the strugg...

Posted on Monday, 6 August Posted on Friday, 10 August I often wonder if I should write about this. About a conspiracy against me & my organisation by someone within the organisation. Something wicked & malicious that has been allowed to fester & reign like a cancer. I guess everybody will have something to learn from this so I shall write about the issues without making identities known. This has been the primary reason for me to write 2 lengthy FB statuses in BM last week (as seen above) & the reason why my 2 years as Ketua Warden has been a complete nightmare & the worst years of my short career. I want this person & his cronies to know that I know what he is up to & I am not afraid of him. I have always ignored his activities as long as they did not conflict with my work. I did not want a fight but he chose to pick one with me. All the time. The latest incident was the last straw. It was an act of war. A war that was forced upon me. ...

Last weekend, the Warden Board & I helped out at the Kem Jati Diri organised by the Guidance & Counselling Unit (UBK). This camp short-listed 60 at risk students & had the objective of injecting a new spirit & giving these students a new purpose at school. Out of the 60, 39 students attended. The students were really reluctant at first & very apprehensive because they had the impression that this camp was for bad students. However, they warmed up as we used a warm, enthusiastic & friendly approach to reach out to them. I used a point system to get them to do what I wanted them to do. This works like a charm... Always. A different approach from the harsh day to day nagging & punishment they received from the Wardens almost every day. One thing about the students from this school is, they are generally good. Even the worst student will respect the teacher & will be willing to do any kind of work. No hardcore gangsters or underta...

     I am really proud of my students. Both the boys & the girls worked hard to make the Asrama Terbuka 2012 a huge success last weekend. Some of them started since the beginning of the year, some at the eleventh hour on the week itself. I'm still pleased because, in the end, all of them stepped up with their best. I did one last year as well. You can read about it  here . Male students building their bamboo megastructures in preparation. The boys' enthusiasm really took me by surprise. Those who were cold to the idea warmed up after watching their peers  come up with awesome gardens.      The Asrama Terbuka or Open Hostel Day is the biggest hostel event of the year where the hostel is open for visit. I wanted it to be an event from the students for the students so I did not involve any of the wardens in the AJK. I wanted to give the wardens a break.      I appointed key students to form the AJK & they ...