2008 September « the air down here…

Where Are You Going? September 15, 2008

Filed under: Inspirational — whanita @ 1:24 am

While going through an old library book on writing instructional objectives (yeah, very teacher-ish indeed!) I came across this cute story:

Once upon a time a Sea Horse gathered up his seven pieces of eight and cantered out to find his fortune. Before he had traveled very far he met an Eel, who said, “Pssst. Hey, bud. Where ‘ya goin’?”

“I’m going out to find my fortune,” replied the Sea Horse, proudly.

“You’re in luck,” said the Eel. “For four pieces of eight you can have this speedy flipper, and then you’ll be able to get there a lot faster.”

“Gee, that’s swell,” said the Sea Horse, and paid the money and put on the flipper and slithered off twice the speed. Soon he came upon a Sponge, who said, “Pssst. Hey, bud, where ‘ya goin’?”

“I’m going out to find my fortune,” replied the Sea Horse.

“You’re in luck,” said the Sponge. “For a small fee I will let you have this jet-propelled scooter so that you will be able to travel a lot faster.”

So the Sea Horse brought the scooter with his remaining money and went zooming through the sea five times as fast. Soon he came upon a Shark, who said, “Pssst. Hey, bud. Where ya’ goin’?”

“I’m going out to find my fortune,” replied the Sea Horse.

“You’re in luck. If you’ll take this short cut,” said the Shark, pointing to his open mouth, “you’ll save yourself a lot of time.”

“Gee, thanks,” said the Sea Horse, and zoomed into the interior of the Shark, there to be devoured.

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Mid-Semester Exam September 8, 2008

Filed under: College Life, Musing — whanita @ 1:22 am

I’m not in a very pleasant mood right now. The word exam brings back all those tough times I went through as a young, clueless college student. Getting A’s back then means they were from some religion classes – where teachers showed bountiful mercy and grace for sinners such as I. Actually I was, on the average, a C+ student. There were classes I remembered liking so much but somehow the depth of my fondness never equaled the grades that I acquired in the end. Studying for an exam means memorizing data upon data upon data. I hated memorization but then that’s how high school went too as far as I can remember. When teachers asked “Did you study XYZ?” what they mean was “Did you memorize XYZ (yet)?” The multiplication table, formulas, lists of concepts, names of people, important years, and the list goes on. And so, some of us formed a habit of memorization without understanding and forced remembrance without perception.

Well, now that I’m neither young nor totally clueless as a student, I’m still angry because I can’t escape this task of memorization even though I have read the chapters and understood them (OK, after the fifth time). What further irked me today was that after “studying” half of the textbook, only 1/4 of what I prepared came out and of all things, the section that I thought wasn’t going to be come! Buang karan betul…

Anyway, I better stop before I burst a blood vessel.

Wait. Three questions for any teachers who happen to read this entry: What do you think about FIB (fill-in-the-blanks) questions as part of a testing method. Is it a stone-age method or is it still relevant today? Why?

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Jazz on a Rainy Day September 5, 2008

Filed under: India, Music — whanita @ 1:12 am

Took a little night out with some friends to Koregaon Park. It was raining quite badly so I wasn’t able to take any decent outdoor shots. It was dark too. Anyway, this is another side of Pune I haven’t been before and would like to go again. From what I saw along the roads, several cafes to hang out with friends, pretty shops (on the artsy side) for the ladies, a music store (finally!) and oh, I’m sure plenty of interesting of things and places to explore given the time and the right company. Yes, I’m still cautious about going out to new places alone. Never know, which cow will gore me from behind.

Well, we were actually on a mission. To a certain café called Shisa Café to listen to a jazz band from New York on an Indian tour. We weren’t disappointed. It was an energetic and hypnotizing trio playing Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, among others and some original compositions. One original called “Reincarnation 69” was a fusion between Indian and jazz. They had a guest local singer whose name slipped my mind. Anyway here are some pictures from the night.