Ayu observing :p

Have you ever observed how people hold their pens/pencils?

Guess most of you never even thought about doing something as uninterseting as that, right? I was like that too.. until I was in standard six!

Cikgu Zaharah was always shifting our sitting places around. In one of these 'shiftings', she wanted the girls and boys to sit alternately, so each boy would have to sit beside a girl and vice versa. You have to remember, this is an age where we still thought the opposite sex had a lot of germs so most of us didn't like these seating positions and were very afraid to be seated next to someone we don't like. I was lucky though, I got to be partnered with Azlan (I'm sure I wrote something about him earlier.. ahaaa, click here!) whom I have known since standard 1. We were both south paws so we didn't bother each other when writing (as opposed to whenever I sit next to someone right handed)

Well, I liked his company until this one day when I realized he was observing me while laughing his head off. When I asked him why.. he simply shook his head and continued with his work. But 5 minutes later, again he'd laugh at me and again I'd asked him but getting the same answer from him.

Finally he told me that he found the way I hold my pen highly amusing. Huh! At first I was insulted.. UNTIL I realized that, hey! I DO write in an unusual way haha.. I didn't know whether to scold him or to laugh at myself but after that, I really observed the way every else holds their pens/pencils and noticed that I've been writing the wrong way for years, but it was too late to change.. and as a result, the fingernails on my middle finger have grown in a funny shape hehe..

Anyway, last Friday I had a class with my form 1 students in Bagan Serai. And since we were in the boring topic of fractions, I left them with 5 pages of exercises while I went around the class checking on everyone. It was then that I noticed, I have a student with a funny way of writing too.. though different than mine la of course. So to while the time away, I took some pictures hehe..

Note: They DIDN'T KNOW I was taking pictures of them as I took it discreetly so pardon the picture quality. I couldn't actually sit in front of them and take the picture right in their face, could I?

The first one here is Ain, the daughter of Cikgu Rohaidzat. She holds her pen the normal 'good-student' way which most of my friends who are geniuses, write with. Tapi tak pe la kan, jari dia pun panjang², runcing².

Ini pulak Atifah. Smaller and shorter fingers but she still writes the normal way kan like most of you write jugak.. not that you guys are not geniuses laaa, that was just me saying it. Doesn't mean yang the first picture tu is the ONLY way geniuses write.

Remember my tiny student, Hamizzat? Well, the above pic is him. He holds his pen just like Atifah, right?

And THIS is Kasyful. I wish I could take a better picture. He was the one who made me laugh when I noticed the way he wrote. Four of his fingers, from the pinky right through the index finger were 'resting' on the paper, as opposed to only the pinky. It looked like his was dragging his fist around while writing and I couldn't help grining at him. Even when he kept saying, "Jangan la tengok tangan sy, cikguuuuuuuuuuu.."

In the end, he told me that people usually found it amusing and he now doesn't mind it much. So, to make him feel better, I showed him how I hold MY pen/pencil.. and he was equally 'amazed' haha.. though I have to admit, his way is better since he's fingernail growth wasn't effected.

And how DO I hold my pen?