what can bond us?

i wonder if chemistry is really the thing for me.  currently i'm teaching chemistry for dip and cert student (Health inspector and public health assistant trainnee). frankly, i am not always into chemistry (i hate it when i was in my secondary school. SPM hangkang maut) and my matriculation days no better. (can you believe, when i asked my tutor back then, about the Prinsip Pengecualian Pauli - the electron position in an atom. he told me that if i cant get it in the class, i can try to sleep on my chem textbook).. ugh..ok, maybe what he meant was, for me to study harder (sampai tertidur on the book?). but, i was deeply offended during those trying time...

my degree course in the univ required me to take at least 3 chemistry papers. ( i took Environmental chem I and II, analysis chem and took extra soil chem). the last two were taken during my sophomore year. Env chem I and II were taught by a very eccentric man ( he refused to use powerpoint/ the whiteboard to teach). he used the old reliable chalk and the blackboard. i fall in love with chemistry from his classes. he managed to make chemistry approachable and fun. maybe, its true that chemistry is a bit hard to grasp at first, but like everything else, once you see the basic foundation, it'll get easier. (have to admit though, that i'm still having trouble with the calculation. i hate numbers!)

so? what is chemistry? in simple words, it is the the study of elements, their structure and composition and how they react with each other. (simple enough?)

i knew, this is a very boooooooooring entry for a blog. (maybe i'll continue the lecture sometime soon). nah... i'll start right away. all elements are not naturally stable (except for noble gases, ie: group 18) so, all elements tend to react with each other to form a more stable nature of elemental composition. basically, there are 3 kind of bonds to form substance (ionic, covalent and metal)..the degree of interaction (fast/slow and strong /weak) depends heavily on the degree of polarity. (polarity = ability to form charges). 

what's real interesting is the fact that, different charges actually love to be together. (imagine, two very different person get together?). one example, the table salt (NaCl) = sodium chloride. in its elemental form, sodium is a metal react aggresively with plain water, while chlorine is quite poisonous by its own. but, put them together and voila! we have a cooking companion, familiar to all of us. i wonder if the same rules apply to human interaction/ bonding (will that even viable?)

extraordinary book

i was mildly surprised to find out this evening that a fellow blogger actually leave a message to me here for this ranting out blog! my passion, should be a blog closest to my heart. writing things that i felt for. not just a mere diary, or journal of things i did in my life. somehow, i found it comforting, knowing that a person (at least) read on and knew a friction of me. 

back to that book by a weird guy named Bill Bryson (one can always try to google him up and find his bibliography). this particular book "A Short History of Nearly Everything" is  a must for all science teachers. published back in 2003, i only have a hand on this book last month (august 2008), en route to Kuala Terengganu via KLIA (waited nearly 4 hours for connecting flight to KT). trying to kill time by browsing through books at the flying emporium (my fave bookshop at KLIA, because i got 10% off every purchase. limited books though), i found that book and nearly missed it because of its so uninspiring bookcover (and it's paperback!). what will i miss if i leave it!!

the title really justify the content. it is a book of short history of nearly everything..how to measure the earth, what on earth are we living in now, etc.. every pages makes me ooooo and aaaa of new profound understandings. scientific facts presented in laymen language that makes this book so readable and persuasive for me to appreciate the simple beauty of science.

may i suggest to read this book slowly and to ponder by the end of each chapter. easy and simple this book, yes. but, one need to chew on it scientific facts closely as not to lose the thread of facts..he wrotes the book in storytelling manner (not your usual science textbook). sometimes, adding humourous details of geniuses mentioned and many, many interesting facts never revealed by our science teacher (if your science teachers were anything like mine...)

i am a science teacher (i teach chemistry) for diploma and cert student (equivalent to A level chemistry). and i am always intrigue to improve the methods used to make the process of teaching and learning more fun and effective. from Bryson's book, i found out that: deeper understanding of your subject matter really matter in teaching. a teacher should know subject contents inside out. means, be an expert in your chosen field. i wonder if chemistry is really the thing for me....

2 lessons

the hardest thing to do was to admit that i cant afford to buy 'jajan' like all my friends did. therefore, i hide at the school library. reading what i can and swallowing my pride. its hard during those time, but it taught me at least two things.

first, nothing is free in this world. you have to work hard to earn it. and sure, the harder to get it, the better it taste. those early years experience mould me into a more focus oriented person.

second, my reading habit. i'm addicted to it. and i wonder if this second lesson would be beneficial to me, long term (ermmmm... this habit costs me around RM200 per month). aaaa... talking about books, i found this one real interesting book, written by a weird guy named Bill Bryson...

passiflora

cakap pasal passion. bah i kick off with a passion fruit story lah..(read on to know what's the connection with my passion)

when i was a child, (aged around 11) my parents planted a 2 ha passionfruit groove, and that's the second most rewarding, profitable part time job i ever had. (the first would be me being assistant to my gram-bless her soul, selling ginger and other farm produce at Tamu).

the passionfruits (markisa) was daily picked (usually done in the late afternoon 5-6pm). all of us, my elder bro Adam, my sis Linda and younger bros Atan and Amit, would lined up (the passionfruits were planted in a long lane supported by belian and lined with metal wire). i have a favourite lane! lane number 3! because it got purple passionfruit in it (the purple one have no difference with the ordinary yellow.. maybe the flesh of purple passionfruit are more orangeish, but it taste the same) so, we'd lined up with our sacks and handpicked the fruits.. then we collected it at our little sulap (hut). sorted, (buang tangkai) and put into sacks for the KPD (Koperasi Pembangunan Desa) people to collect.

collection was done every tuesdays and thursdays. and payment made every 1st week of the month. it's a happy day.. payday! (so i can buy a maggi mee and eat it raw! my mom cant complaint, because its MY money)

forgot to inform, my parents didnt provides daily allowance for school.. so, we have to earn it (ala... selling rambutan to my schoolmates, sell at Tamu) the hardest thing to do was....

SAMBUNG BISUK (GTG.. MY BOSS IS CALLING)