Me as a ‘PTPTN’ officer, my Official favourite dish and my 1.45AM SMS from a student.

Yes...and it is official. It has been ten days already since I first started to work with UiTM (1 July 2010). Living in Jengka has opened my sight especially on how people can be so money-oriented. Gosht, people here are so acquisitive!!! I am yet to talk about stuffs to buy at the mart(s)/supermarket(s). I was referring to the house-to-look-for. So far, we have no luck of getting a nice and decent house. For many of us, it is just a predicament as we start our career life. As for me, it is still a basic necessity so I can plan and produce more industrious lessons for the kids. I need a proper house. This is not a complaint. It is more like an expression so that people know how hard it is to stand on our own when we just walked into the working path. I am sorry if I sound a little bit of whining, here and there. Nevertheless, I managed to pull through and enjoy myself here in Jengka. 

One of the reasons is because of the food. I have always been a food lover when it comes to "fish". It is so gratifying to just have plain fish (served... either fried or steamed or boiled) together with my plate of rice. Yummy! On top of that, the ease of availability for specific fish, namely; "Patin a.k.a Silver Catfish" really makes me happy. Just looking at the size of "patin sangkar" and also "patin sungai" pleases me! Now imagine, those "patin-s" are cooked with "tempoyak"!!! Burp! Alhamdulillah…. Ok, now it is official, "Ikan Patin Masak Tempoyak" is my favourite dish….next to the so famous; "Singgang Ikan of Terengganu"!!! I simply love it. So far, I enjoy eating at a restaurant next to Agrobank Jengka. They serve the best "Patin Masak Tempoyak" so far. Bwekk…the truth is, there are many places which are yet to be discovered. I am waiting for my paycheck and also my free time to explore more about "Patin" dishes. In UiTM, the café also serves "Patin Masak Tempoyak". They prefer to use "patin sangkar" but the size is rather small. ;(… However, it is still worth it and the PRICE is…KNOCK! KNOCK!, CHEAP!
 

Ok, enough about my hankering of "Patin" fish. Now, I would like to write about one funny thing. About 4pm (10 July 2010), I had a phone call from a parent of one of my students. He was asking about PTPTN. It seems that he had this confusion which might lead to misguided information. Basically, it was regarding the online application and also a printed letter which he had just received from PTPTN. I was surprised, honestly. Do I look or sound like a PTPTN officer, for that matter? Hmmm…I had no idea why that student (from Civil Engineering Program) passed my number to his father. As far as I remember, I clearly told them to text or call me if they have problems regarding academic matter and not during weekend or outside office hour. However, I was glad that the father contacted me (I sounded as if I am an important person, am I?!hehe) LOL. Anyway, I gave the information which might be useful and based on my experience as a UiTM student.

Last Friday, a student texted me; "Salam Mr. Niza, I want to ask you whether we have a class tomorrow or not. I was informed that all lecturers will have to attend a staff meeting tomorrow. Please reply me…" Again, this is a bit hilarious…since I do not have any class with them on Friday. He was asking about BEL011 class. I only have one class on Friday which is BEL311. I have no idea where did they get the idea of me teaching them BEL011 on Friday. Then, I took it as a misunderstanding. The student replied; "Oh, sorry sir..". Why "Sorry"??? Jeng, jeng, jeng…1. He was misinformed about the class and 2. He texted me around 1.45AM!!! My goodness!!! I was almost having my forty winks before I was dead to the world that night! But, of course I replied politely…since he is just my student…who is eager to come to class and learn. Cool. (Lucky that I am still single and not having a family yet) ;p
 

I guess, that is all for now. I will try to update myself on my colorful experience as an educator here in UiTM Jengka. Till we meet again, toodles Mr. Blogger. ;p