How to feel sad?

Happy is a feeling welcomed by most. Sadness? If we have a choice, we would rather not feel sad.

It"s good to have a hearty laugh, but not a silent cry.

However, the experience of sadness usually makes us think, reflect, ponder and consider what to do next. Unhappy situations provide us the opportunity to develop. To become more matured. Sad but true.

We wish that even if we are sad,we will not shed tears. The negative feeling is not to be revealed. Kept as a secret. 

Can we choose how we feel?

 

All the time? 

Going home? Balik Kampung?

It is like a time-out from the hustle and bustle of the city life.  Time to enjoy the serenity of the village, experience relaxed environment of the place and its people. When i lived in Kuala Selangor for almost 10 years, i did not really feel "balik kampung' for raya an event i look forward to. Well, mom and dad are in KL and raya means going back to town (ha ha ha) not going back to the village. Living in KL since I was born and until finishing my first degree at the age of 24 has made me feel that KL is my city and my village. First experience getting posted to Kuala Pilah was a real challenge. Waa...... no place for shopping, not many fast food restaurants.. Help!!! But i survived there for two years (without injuries, mind you). And then after marriage, I got posted to another "kuala" (Kuala Lumpur - Kuala Pilah - Kuala Selangor), which is Kuala Selangor.  Not sad actually, but felt troubled. Could i survive here? It is so far away from my city-village. Although not as far as Kuala Pilah but still... and funnily now i have a house there. Kuala Selangor has made me become a man (meaning a better person, coz no one ever say "become a woman" ever, right?) I learn about life, people, and how to connect with others, older, younger, teenagers and most importantly, the community.  I think i would not have had these wonderful experiences if i were to live in KL all those ten years I lived in Kuala Selangor. No, not to belittle my "tempat tumpah darahku" but all of us just need a new environment to learn new things about life. I value the ten years I spent there. Now i am back in KL, balik kampung means going back to my husband's hometown (for my children) especially. They enjoyed it this time especially because they got the opportunity to meet their cousins. Balik Kampung? Of course children enjoy it the most coz it's time to play, and mothers cannot say anything (granny is watching..)

READing is a pleasure..

Despite being in the era of technology, the hobby of reading stories, novels or fiction has not lost its place in our hearts.  This is because, every time there is a book or warehouse sales, we will see many people trying to get the genres they like at a cheaper price. And these book lovers will buy as many books as they can afford during these sales.  I find reading a wonderful experience.  We are taken into a different world altogether. We can choose whether we want to be in the modern world, Shakepearean world, Renaissance era, in Malaysia, in Asia or anywhere at all.  We can also choose to criticise the characters in the stories, gossip about them, despise or love these characters without having the fear of someone being offended with these actions of ours.  We can choose to condemn people without being afraid of taken to court.  Interestingly, we can feel attached to some events or people although they are fictitious.  Students of literature speak of Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet as if they are alive. We take pride in using phrases like "to be or not to be" or "when shall we meet again, in thunder, lightning or in rain" as though those are dialogues of real people. Reading is indeed a wonderful experience. Lets start to read with our hearts, not just with our eyes...

Literature in English

MAIN REFERENCES Bressler, C.E. (2010). Literary criticism: An introduction to theory and practice. London:Prentice-Hall, International Edition.   ISBN: 0131534483 • 9780131534483 Poplawaski, P. Eds. (2007). English literature in context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

ADITIONAL REFERENCES Bate, J. (2010). English literature: A short introduction. London: Oxford University Press. Bennet, A. (2009). An Introduction toLiterature: Criticism and Theory. London: Longman. Eagleton, T. (2008). Literary theory: An introduction. London: Blackwell Publishing. Innes, C.L. (2007). The Cambridge introduction to post-colonial literature. London: Cambridge University Press.

Quayum, Mohammad A. and Wicks, Peter C. (2001). Malaysian literature in English: a critical reader.

Kuala Lumpur: Pearson Education Sdn. Bhd.

SHORT STORIES

“Hills Like Elephants” (Hemingway) OR “Three Hours Between Planes” (Fitzgerald)

“A Little Place off the Edgware Road” (Greene) OR “The Mahogany Table” (Townsend Warner)

 “His Country – Afterall” (Lawson) OR “Down at the Dump” (White)

 “Civil Peace” (Achebe) OR “Africa Emergent” (Gordimer)

“A Dream of China” (Yu) OR “Pigeons At Daybreak” (Desai)

“Shame” (Shirley Lim) OR “Most Improved” (Muhammad Masri)  OR “A New Year’s Day  Lunch in Kia Peng” (Karim Raslan)

PLAYS

“The System of Professor Tuko”   (Al Santos)  OR *The Coffin is Too Big for the Hole (Kuo Pao Kun)

"We Could **** You, Mr.Birch" (Kee Thuan Chye)

NOVELS

Malaysian

“Scorpion Orchid” by Lloyd Fernando

Asian

“The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan