to kill a cocking roach

Last night I returned home after a night of wandering in the concrete jungle that is our capital. Tired and sweaty from climbing all the stairs because we don't have a lift even though we live on the millionth floor of a building. Anyway, no sooner had I gone into my room and closed the door, I thought I heard a faint twitch. But the sound of my labored breathing was louder and I paid no heed. I went over to the closet to wear something more comfortable and there was the twitching again! Only this time, I heard it. The twitching continued and it was louder. I didn't need to turn around to know what it was lurking in my room. However, I did turn and there it was: all my fears in the form of cockroach! It was huge! 2 inches and on the wall beating its wing. Mocking me.

ello governer, where's joe?

Now..if you've known me, you'd know I have a phobia of cockroaches and it's not something I'm ashamed of admitting. Barely thinking, I did what any brave person would do. After all, one is only brave when one is truly afraid. I dashed out of my room! As the door closed behind me, I heard the behemoth of a cockroach, which was the size of a fist, fly onto the adjacent wall. I ran to check the supplies under the sink to check for any weapon I could use against this uninvited guest. If you've watched any horror movie, you'd know what I would find once I opened the sink cabinet: absolutely nothing. We had run out of insecticide! As luck would have it, I found a stain remover and figured it was better than nothing.

I grabbed a broom with my free hand and went to my room which has become a dungeon of doom where nothing but death awaited. Death for the cockroach..I hoped. I carefully opened the door and the cockroach was flying around the room. Flying from one wall onto the other. As if it could sense the impending battle. I tried to walk to the middle of the room to see if I could get a shot at this pesky roach, but the walls were too faraway as the stain remover had a very short range. I'm pretty sure the roach knew I couldn't kill it without getting close and kept on flying shamelessly over my head but never getting close enough for me to get a clear shot. I did what any sane person would do. I ran out of the room again.

#@!*$&% again???!!

I rechecked all the cabinets in the kitchen to see if I could have missed something. Alas. Luck was not with me this night. I slowly walked to my room and opened the door. And the cockroach, this imbecile of an insect, was on the wall. Watching my every move. It was time for Plan B. I woke up my designated roach killer, The roach killer is normally Plan A but I didn't want to wake the killer. So I made all kinds of noises and cat calls until the roach killer finally awakened. I showed the roach which was now sitting on the wall near the headboard of the bed. The roach killer looked at the cockroach and went back to sleep. Exasperated at how the killer could chose to ignore a cockroach the size of a chicken, I looked up to the heavens and the cockroach was there too! I ran out of the room again and I looked into the next room. I saw a faint light. Could it be? Hope?

I peered inside and I saw my brother in law, probably conversing with his better half on his handheld telephone via text messaging. The following conversation took place between us -

Me: Hello.

Bil: Hey bro!

Me: It's me from the other room.

Bil: What's up?

Me: I was wondering if you were free to kill a roach for me

Bil: Where's the roach killer?

Me: I must have called a thousand times.

Bil: OK Bro! Let me help you.

So together, we went back into my room and I told him the only way to kill the enemy, a giant cockroach the size of a small goat, which was dancing in my room: knock it down and drown it in stain remover. Knock and spray! We repeated. Knock and spray! I slowly backed towards the door and watched. Nervous, I watched Bil face the cockroach. Prepared to abandon ship and runaway should things take a turn for the worse.

Bil tried to hit it and missed! The cockroach was fast! He tried again. Missed again. The third time Bil changed tactic and tried to whack the roach like a baseball, because who could miss hitting a flying cockroach the size of a grown man? Alas! Bil was too slow for the cockroach evaded the attack again. But then, something the cockroach did not intend happened.

It flew into the fan and there, on the sharp blades of my KDK ceiling fan, met its doom. The blade cut the cockroach cleanly in half. I ran to the center of the room and there it was.

not so mighty now, eh??

One half of it was near the bed. I thanked Bil and bade him farewell and went to search for the other half of the roach. I walked along the wall and found the remaining half. One of its legs was moving still. How scary to be cut in half and still be alive! I took the broom and bravely swept the cockroach away. And just like that, my room was free again, all thanks to my ceiling fan and my brave Bil.

Please go to Sun Front (majeedhee magu) and buy a fan if you're afraid of cockroaches like me and want to do all you can to defend against cockroaches. I have the larger model. Costs around 900 Rufiyaa. You can thank me by passing this message.

Until next time. Adios...

mysterious virus plagues the nation of maldives

MALE' CITY, Maldives -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has been on continued alert to monitor spontaneous outbreaks of dangerous diseases in different parts (read: third world countries) of the globe following the latest outbreak of Ebola earlier this year. It seems like WHO's perseverance in monitoring these risks has finally paid off. The organization released a statement late last night as a mysterious disease has been discovered in the Maldives. This grave news was followed by the alarming news as scientists disclosed that this disease has been endemic to Maldives for centuries. Despite the suddenness and mystery that surrounds the discovery, what baffled the medical community the most has been the peculiar effects of this menacing disease: impregnating women!

Authorities have not yet named the disease, but the pathogen responsible for this life altering condition has been identified and labeled as the Human Gravidaphage Virus (HGV). The name Gravidaphage comes from the Latin word 'gravido' meaning impregnate and the Greek word 'phagous' meaning devouring. WHO informed they decided to name the virus as a -phage because the disease ends up 'eating the life away' of the patient.

an electronic microscopic photo shows a group of HGV attacking the ovum of a female patient

Scientists and doctors from renown medical universities and hospitals flocked to the Maldives to study the effects of the virus. Dr. Ahmed, the resident gynecologist cum urologist at the biggest private hospital in the Maldives met with reporters on behalf of the investigating team of experts and explained their findings to this point.

"Our observations indicate it's possible that HGV is a gender-based virus as all HGV positive patients have been females thus far. Also...There hasn't been any reports of transmission between humans yet." Dr. Ahmed also explained that the team will conduct tests to observe how the virus affects a male mouse. "We are already working on finding a vaccine, but at the same time, we are trying to identify the chances and prepare for a cross-gender jump to males. And should that happen, take possible precautions."

HGV has been found to be aggressive even when dormant

"What we have is a very unique pathogen. While we are unable to tell the exact origin of the virus or how it originated in Maldives, our team finds it amazing that the virus keeps on attacking until the ovum or more commonly known as the egg, becomes fertilized." Dr. Ahmed explained. Everyone who contracted the virus has thus far been unable to completely get rid of the virus. "In effect, you can say that a single virus is able to make a woman pregnant but we don't know how many times it could potentially occur as the virus tends to become dormant for periods." Records show that a patient could be found positive for HGV, get pregnant, and give birth, but get pregnant again years later. Numbers show that some patients went through as many as 3 of these dormant-active cycles. He further revealed that the dormant and active period of the virus was completely random.

No one has yet been able to identify how all these women contracted the virus in the first place. It's one aspect of the investigation that the doctors and scientists have differing opinions. Dr. Yoosef, an astronomer, believes that the virus is transmitted through an animal. "This virus has been in this country for long. We cannot tell anything for sure without knowing who was patient zero. However, I believe it is a vector borne virus. There just isn't any other way for the virus to be endemic to the Maldives for centuries. The only possible explanation is that an animal that is only found in the Maldives is a host of the HGV."

Dr. Ahmed, on the other hand, opposes the hypothesis. "I'm not saying that he is wrong. It's possible that he's right too, but he's just an astronomer. What did he do to come to that conclusion? Consult the stars? I think we need the medical experts to handle this."

a close-up of the human gravidaphage virus during the active period (photo credits: Tylon - ZBrushCentral)

While it's obvious that this newly discovered virus will cause clashes in academia, everyone needs to work together as the virus has a tendency to cause false positives. That is, someone could actually just be pregnant and not HGV positive. "The problem is that pregnant women and HGV positive women show the same symptoms." Dr. Ahmed told reporters. "Once we discovered the virus, we almost had a nationwide panic as every pregnant woman in the country could possibly be carrying HGV."

Authorities and everyone concerned are working on a possible procedure to correctly identify HGV positive patients. "We know the theory behind all this," a very convinced Dr. Yoosef told reporters after the news conference. "Hypothetically speaking..if you were a woman and you happen to be pregnant, what could you ask yourself? Who the father is, no? All we need to do is build a device that would enable us to test the validity of your claim. We just need a way to test the DNA of the embryo and compare whether it matches the man who you claim is the father. I'm sure we can build this device within 4 to 5 years if we all work together."

Even Dr. Ahmed agrees to the idea as long as the virus doesn't start affecting males. "I'm afraid I have to agree with Dr. Yoosef as long as the patients aren't males. However, I would consider the fact that with the exception of a few outliers...all HGV positive patients have not been married at the time of contraction of the virus. If we use that as a start, we could start eliminating false positives within weeks with 90% accuracy!"

While Maldives, and the world, faces an uncertain future, the biggest advantage we have over the Human Gravidaphage Virus is that it has been contained in the Maldives all these years. Only time will tell how things turn out.

Until next time. Adios...

man's life is ruined after ex leaks nudes

Ahmed started his day like any other day. He got out of bed after hitting the snooze button for the third or fourth time. He managed to go through the three s's; shit, shave, and shower, without much of a hassle despite being half awake. But alas, the day was not meant to be normal by any means. By the time Ahmed reached his office, the life of this 21-year old aspiring writer had turned upside down.

Turns out his girlfriend has leaked nude pictures of him after a messy break up. It all started with a frantic call from his aging mother. The first words out of her mouth were words of condemnation and shame. Ahmed couldn't even catch the slur of words his mother threw at him. What he did manage to catch was about the shame he has brought his family and the statement that Ahmed was no longer his mother's child.

Now, this was right before he left for work on his cycle. He bought it on an installment scheme and he still had 11 months left on his payment. By the time Ahmed reached office, he had received more than 50 notifications. You see, not only did his ex leak Ahmed's picture. She took the time to tag him on Facebook and Twitter. She also wrote down his contact details. When he checked Facebook, he saw all kinds of comments from females who saw his picture. They were commenting on his body and his private organs. A few of the comments though, were shaming him. And calling him a show off and a slut for taking nude pictures. Ahmed had also received no less than 25 friend requests in a matter of minutes. They were all from females, no doubt looking for an easy lay.

Ahmed never stopped to second guess going to work amidst the ensuing chaos. He couldn't afford to lose his jobs to make his loan payments. Without thinking, he entered his office. Ahmed came face to face with his boss, Mrs. Aishath, who immediately called him to her office. The last thing Ahmed saw before he entered Aishath's office was his colleagues whispering and giggling.

Once inside, Aishath explained the company policy to Ahmed. She explained that once the case of his nude photos come into light, the company would have no choice but to let him go and forfeit his pension and all. However, Aishath said that Ahmed could get some compensation for services rendered if he resigned on his own. Ahmed tried to plead his case. He tried to explain that he sent the picture while they were dating and that his ex promised to delete the picture after looking at it. Ahmed also tried to state that he hasn't even being found guilty by the authorities. Aishath said there was nothing she could do, but she hesitated as if having second thoughts, and asked Ahmed to meet her at her apartment when her husband wasn't around. Aishath made it clear that it wasn't a promise but that she would do everything to make sure Ahmed kept his job. Of course, provided that Ahmed cooperated with her.

Having reluctantly agreed to meet his boss later that day, Ahmed walked over to his cubicle. Head down. Ahmed sat down and let everything that had happened in the last hour or so sink in. His world has come apart. He will need to work hard to get out of this mess.

Ahmed's thoughts were interrupted by a notification on the computer in front of him. He had an email. It was from one of his female colleagues. He opened the attachment in the email. The subject said "what's your rate?" and the image that opened on the screen would later make him puke.

It was the first ever picture he had sent. Ahmed wished it was the only one he did. But he had loved and trusted his girlfriend blindly and sent her all kinds of scandalous pictures. After a few minutes, Ahmed logged onto Facebook again. The number of friend requests were increasing and he had more messages from strange women than he would care to count. However, one of the messages caught his attention. It was from a girl who just shared a link.

Dreading what he would find, Ahmed clicked it. It took him to one of the infamous Maldivian groups on Facebook that posted nude pictures of guys. In this group, all the girls would call them sluts while secretly trying to get into the guy's pants, and continue to publicly shame their indecency. Sometimes they would even share contact details. Ahmed saw a plethora of his photos plastered across the page. Each picture was accompanied by a variety of filthy comments.

Despite the nature of the comments, Ahmed was a bit happy to see some people took his side and tried to explain Ahmed was a victim. But these comments were few and most of them were crowded out by comments from people saying that Ahmed shouldn't have shared his pictures in the first place and that the purpose of shaming Ahmed was to make sure he wouldn't do it again. The girl who was the admin of this group had written a message to Ahmed as well: "We will remove your pictures once you apologize to us in public for sending nude pictures. What you did was forbidden in Islam and this is your punishment. Apologize to us and we will remove your pictures!"

Ahmed knew he had no choice in this matter and he started to slowly type the apology requested by the group. The non-stop notifications from his phone and his email accompanied the sound of the key strokes on the keyboard. It made a catchy tune but it was a sad one. For Ahmed, it was a song about changing his life and changing the way he dressed. It was a song about moving onto a different island to get away from all the lust-filled eyes of every woman who has seen Ahmed's pictures. And while he was still typing, his boss messaged him, "Come over to my place, I'm waiting for you."

"This happened to me," said no guy ever.
Until next time. Adios...

އެޕާރޓްމަންޓެއް ވިއްކާނެއްބާ

ނޯޓް: މިލިޔުމުގައި ސިފަކޮށްދީފައިވާ މަންޒަރުތަކާއި ވާހަކަތަކަކީ ޙަޤީޤި ހާދިސާތަކެއްގެ މައްޗަށް ބިނާކޮށް، ފޮނިތޮށްޓާއި ކާފޫރުތޮޅި އަޅައިގެން، ގެނެސްދީފައިވާ މަންޒަރުތަކާއި ވާހަކަތަކެކެވެ.

(ފޯނުން)

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: ..........

އަހަރެން: އައްސަލާމް ޢަލައިކުމް

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: .........

އަހަރެން: ހަލޯ!! ހަލޯ!! އަޑުއިވޭތަ؟

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: (ރުންކުރު ފާޑަކަށް) އާނ. ކިހިނެތްވީ؟

އަހަރެން: އަޅުގަނޑު މިގުޅާލީ އައިބޭގައި ކުއްޔަށްދޭން އެޕާރޓްމަންޓެއް ޖަހާފަ އޮތީމަ އެތަން ބަލާލަންވެގެން

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: މިރޭ އަށެއް ޖަހާއިރު އޮލިމްޕަސް ކުރިމައްޗަށް އާދޭ

އަހަރެން: އެންމެ ރަގަޅު. ޝުކުރި...

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: (ފޯނު ބާއްވައިފި)

ރޭގަނޑު

(ފޯނުން)

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އާނ. ކީކޭ؟

އަހަރެން: ހަލޯ

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: ކާކު ތީ؟

އަހަރެން: މިއަދު ހެނދުނު ގުޅީމެއްނު އަޅުގަނޑު. އެޕާރޓްމަންޓް ބަލަންވެގެން. އޮލިމްޕަސް ކައިރިއަށް އައިސް

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: މިހާރު ބޭރުގަ. އަހަރެން އިރުކޮޅަކުން ގުޅާނަން

އަހަރެން: އާނ އޯކޭ

ޖެހިގެން އައި ދުވަހު ހެދުނު

(ފޯނުން)

އަހަރެން: ހަލޯ! ރޭގަ ކިހިނެއް ހެދީ؟

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: ކީކޭ؟ ތީ ކީއްކުރާމީހެއް؟

އަހަރެން: އެޕާރޓްމަންޓް ކުއްޔަށްހިފަން. ރޭ ގުޅާނަމޭ ބުނީމެއްނު

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އެތަން މިހާރަކު ނެތް

އަހަރެން: އެއީ ކީއްވެތޯ؟

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އެހެންމީހަކަށް ކުއްޔަށްދީފިން

އަހަރެން: އައްދޭ! ތީދެން ވަރަށް ހެއްވާގޮތެއް. ދެން ނެތްތަ ކުއްޔަށް ދޭ ތަނެއް؟

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އާން ނެތް. (ފޯނު ބާއްވައިފި)

އިރުކޮޅެއްފަހުން

(ފޯނުން)

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: ހަލޯ!

އަހަރެން: Hello. I saw your ad on iBay

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: Hello hello. Yes it's available. I have many places for rent

އަހަރެން: Oh

ގޭގެވެރިފަރާތް: Very cheap price. I give you discount for furniture too

އަހަރެން: That's great! Tell me a good time to go check the place

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: You tell time. I pick you on my cycle

އަހަރެން: Let's go now. I am near Olympus

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: Good. I go now

އަހަރެން: Awesome! Thank you

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: No no no. Thank you very much

އޮލިމްޕަސް ކައިރިން

އަހަރެން: (ސަލާމް ކޮށްލަން އަތްދިއްކޮށްލަމުން) ކޮބާ ކިހިނެތްތޯ؟

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އޭނ؟؟ ތީކާކު؟

އަހަރެން: އިއްޔެ ގުޅިމެންނުންތޯ އެޕާރޓްމަންޓް ކުއްޔަށްހިފަން

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އެހެންތަ؟

އަހަރެން: އާނ. ކޮބާ ނެތްތަތަނެއް މިހާރު؟

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އާނ. ނެތް ހަމަ. ވަރަށް ތާށި ތަންތަން.

އަހަރެން: އެކަމު ދެންމެ އަހަރެން ގުޅީމަ ތިބޭފުޅާ ބުނި އެބަހުއްޓޭ. އެތަން ދައްކަން އެމީހާ ބަލައެއްނު ތިޔައީ އަސްލު

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: ކަލޭތަ ވާހަކަ ދެއްކީ އިނގިރޭސިބަހުން؟

އަހަރެން: އާނ. ތިބޭފުޅާ އަޅުގަނޑަށް ދޮގުހެދީނު

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އަހަރެން ދެނީ ހަމައެކަނި ބޭރުމީހުންނަށް

އަހަރެން: އަހަރެންވެސް ހަމަ އެވަރަށް ކުލި ދައްކަފާނަމޭ

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: (އިރުކޮޅަކު ވިސްނަންހުރެފަ) ކުއްޔަށްދޭ އެޕާރޓްމަންޓަކީ ތިންސަތޭކަ އަކަފޫޓުގެ ތަނެއް.

އަހަރެން: ސިޓިންގ ރޫމެއް ހުރޭތަ؟

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އަސްލު މިއީ ކޮޓަރިއެއް. ކޮޓަރީގެ އެއްކޮޅުގަ ކައްކާ ކެވޭގޮތަށް ހަދާފަ ހުންނާނީ. ބޭނުމިއްޔާ ސޯފާ ބަހައްޓަންވީ

އަހަރެން: ފާހަނަޔޯ؟

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: ފާހާނަ ހުންނާނީ ބޭރުގަ. އެއީ ޖެހިގެން ހުރި އެޕާރޓްމަންޓްގެ މީހުންވެސް ބޭނުންކުރާ ފާހާނާ

އަހަރެން: އެހެންދޯ؟ ކިތައްވަނަ ބުރި؟

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: 6 ވަނަ ބުރި. ލިފެޓެއްނުހުރޭ

އަހަރެން: ހމމ...ކުައްޔަކީ..

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: ކުއްޔަކީ މަހަކަށް އެންމެ 5000 ރުފިޔާ. އެޑްވާންސްއަކީ 480000 ރުފިޔާ

އަހަރެން: 480000 ރުފިޔާ!!

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އަސްލު ވާގޮތަކީ އެޕާރޓްމަންޓުގެ އަސްލު ކުއްޔަކީ 13000. ދެން އަހަރެން މަހަކު 5000 އަށް ހަދާފަ ބާކީ 8000 ފަސް އަހަރަށް ބަހާފަ މިނަގަނީ އެޑްވާންސަށް.

އަހަރެން: އޯކޭ

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: ކަލޭ ފަރުނީޗަރު ބޭނުންތަ؟

އަހަރެން: އޭރުން ކުއްޔަކީ ކޮބާ؟

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: ފުލީ ފާނިޝްކޮށްފަވިއްޔާ 20000 ރުފިޔާ. އެޑްވާންސް ހަމަ ކުރިޔެކޭ އެއްގޮތަށް 480000

އަހަރެން: މައްސަލައެއް ނެތް

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އެތަން ބޭނުމިއްޔާ އަހަރެން އެޑްވާންސް ލާރި ބޭނުންވާނެ މިހަފްތާނގަ. ތަން ލިބޭނީ ތިން މަސް ފަހުން

އަހަރެން: ކީކޭ؟؟!

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އާނ. އެތަން ހުސްވާނީ ތިން މަސް ފަހުން. ދެން ކަލޭ ބޭނުމިއްޔާ ތަން ރެނޮވޭޓް ކުރަންވީ

އަހަރެން: އޭރުން ކުލިން އެހެންނޫނީ އެޑްވާންސް އިން ކަނޑާނަންތަ؟

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: ނޫން. ރެނޮވޭޝަނަށްދާ ފައިސާ ކަލެޔަށް އަނބުރާ ދޭނަން ކުށްޔަށްދޭ މުއްދަތު ހަމަވީމަ.

އަހަރެން: ތިކަމާ ކުޑަކޮށް ވިސްނާލަންޖެހޭނީ

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އަވަހަށް ވިސްނާ. އެހެންމީހަކުވެސް އެބަހުރި މިތަން ބޭނުންވާ. އޭނާ އެބަ ބުނޭ އެއްފަހަރާ ފަސް ލައްކަވެސް ދީފާނަމޭ. އެކަމު އެއީ ދެން ރާއްޖެތެރޭ ބޮޑު އާއިލާއެއް. މުޅި ގެ ހީވާނީ ގޮޑެއްހެން އެމީހުން އައިސް.

އަހަރެން: އެހެންވީމާ އެގްރީމެންޓްގަ ސޮއިކުރަން ވީމަ ގުޅާ

ދެ ދުވަސް ފަސް

(ފޯނުން)

ގޭގެ ވެރިފަރާތް: އޭ. މިހާރު އެބަހުރި އެއްފަހަރާ 9 ލައްކަ ދީފަ އެތަން 10 އަހަރަށް ނަގަން ބޭނުންވާ މީހެއް. ކަލޭ އަދިވެސް އެތަން ބޭނުންތަ؟

things i learned going through the education system in the maldives

According to Nelson Mandela, education is the greatest weapon with which to change the world. So now that I have gone through some stages of education, I want to take the time to pause and reflect on how well I have been prepared to become the stallion that mounts the world. For all intent and purposes, I'll be focusing on my time going through the education system in the Maldives.

okay..maybe I'm not a stallion yet

1. Fear of being wrong

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that we go to school to do something I would like to call learn. So there I was. It was the first week of grade 1 and we were going through a lesson. We were doing a mini reading comprehension and the teacher asked the class what the girl in the passage we were reading about wrote in her note book. I already read the lesson the night before so I thought I knew the answer. My hand shot up and I told the teacher what I thought was the correct answer. Apparently it wasn't. The teacher got angry at me and scolded me: "Why are you lying?!!!" I was young but I knew it was a genuine mistake and the fact that she chose to tell me I was lying rather than my answer was wrong bordered on insanity. This wasn't a one time incident but in short, it's fair to say the whole education system is build on right answers vs wrong answers. It wasn't until I started grade 9 physics that I learned from my tuition teacher that right or wrong answers didn't matter as much as using the correct methodology.

2. Discrimination

I was in grade 4. We had a girl in our class who had very dark skin, and because we were all brought up in society to be generous assholes when it came to skin color, we avoided her. I'm not saying we were taught that being dark was bad. We were taught that being fair was beautiful and into our young and innocent minds, it translated as: dark = yucky. The teacher didn't help either. If one of us boys were being too loud in the class, we had to sit down next to her. Needless to say that I spent a good amount of the academic year seated next to her as punishment and I hated the girl for that. Furthermore, discrimination wasn't just limited to skin color. If we had a kid from a rich family or a noble (read: beyfulhu) family, they get special treatment from the teacher and this irresponsible behavior from teachers and the school staff was very much out in the open.

3. Looking after yourself

When I was in grade 5 I had my first foreign teacher and boy was he scary! He was rather unorthodox compared to the teachers I had before. For example, he was the only teacher I met who punished a student and then later took them aside to ask them how they were doing. He had one interesting pet peeve. We went to school in the morning and all the desks and chairs were always dusty as hell. Not to mention the students from the afternoon session rearranged the desks everyday to their teacher's preference. Hence, every morning at 6, four of us had to go to clean the classroom and rearrange the desks. We did that for the whole year. It was an interesting and a completely new experience to clean the classroom because we were used to our classrooms being cleaned and arranged by the time we already came to class.

4. You feel like you're studying for the sake of studying

The biggest complain I had during my secondary education was studying things that I felt were useless in the real world. Especially when studying mathematics. I remember one day, my math teacher was teaching us matrices and I asked what a matrix was used for. What did the teacher say? "You'll learn it later." And this was the answer I got every time I asked any teacher about the purpose of a certain lesson. One time, in a calculus class, we challenged the teacher why using imaginary numbers worked. This time the teacher gave even a better answer than my previous teachers. "Sometimes you'll have to trust me and believe things because I said so." Yup! We weren't taught to think. We were indoctrinated to do things just because we were told to do so. However, I did manage to find out the use of matrices when I took 3D graphics in college. (TL; DR: Computers used matrices to do computations on its graphics cards.) I still can't believe why my math teacher couldn't tell me that.

ahem....I also learned where babies came from :-)

5. Unfair punishment/treatment

If you're reading this I'll assume you've gone to some form of school and have been punished. The thing about getting punished in my experience is that it's never fair. How unfair? This one time I was in class when someone threw an egg on to the ceiling. The egg came from outside and I was busy talking to a friend when it happened. Being the good Samaritans that we were, we went to the school office and reported it. Next thing we know, we had to return to school office after school and the two deputy/assistant principals at the time "Nafa" Naseem and "Gahaa" Saeed made us kneel down on the ground and write what happened. I told a nearby supervisor that we were the people who reported what happened. Then Mr. Naseem, who everyone at school hated for being a glorious stinky piece of shit-filled asshole, told us that he wants to show us who's boss, and that's saying it very eloquently (miadhu beynumee kaleymennah hey aruvaalan). Another incident that I'll never forget is from when I was in grade 1. We had a kid who was considered a little crazy (See? we discriminated even then. Looking back I'm sure the kid was normal cos he grew up to be a fine intelligent man) and one day he was chasing this girl with a broom. Everyone in the class were assigned to groups and I was the group leader to which she belonged. I don't know what I was thinking but I tried to stop the kid and somehow we ended up sandwiching the girl between us and she got hit with the broom. Needless to say she started crying and Lo and behold! A supervisor showed up. He asked the class what happened and everyone pointed at me. I explained what happened down to every detail and the supervisor scolded me and I'm pretty sure he made me stand still at my desk. One silver lining from this whole thing: I learned at a younger age that life wasn't going to be fair to me and I managed to learn to live around the system.

punish me if you must. cos I can take it.

6. Always carry a pen with you if meeting someone important

I just finished grade 10 and I went back to get recommendation from the school principal to get into grade 11. I was in the principal's office to get the report from him and he showed me that there was a portion on the form where I forgot to fill. I asked him to borrow a pen and he said, "No". I was startled and not sure I heard him correctly, I asked him if he wasn't going to lend me a pen. He said he wouldn't and he said it with a smile. I muttered a curse under my breath and went to find a pen from elsewhere. I later met with a classmate and shared what happened at the principal's office. My classmate laughed and told me that he had the same experience and that the principal told him that he should always carry a pen when going to meetings. In the spirit of full disclosure, I didn't fully learn this lesson until I finished college.

7. I only started learning when I began to enjoy studying

Now in grade 11 and till then, English was my weakest subject. I even straight up failed English in my O Level exams. Anyway, I had this wonderful teacher in Grade 11. She made us write what we wanted and let us enjoy the process. She told us what we were doing wrong while doing exercises and the best part of it all: she didn't throw a fit when we got a little late to class or if we missed a class. She did get angry and scolded us but she didn't kick us out of the class as per school regulations in case we were late. I must say I learned more about English (and teaching) from her than from my 10 years of education up to that point. In addition, she gave me confidence that I can do well in English. In short, it was a blast!

So there you have it. If you're an educator you may not agree with everything I said. I don't blame you. I'm still grateful to all my teachers and I can't thank them enough because they did, whether I like it or not, make me who I am today.

Until next time. Adios...

a letter of apology to mohamed ibthihaal

(Author's note: If you haven't heard about the incident please have a look here)

Dear Mohamed Ibthihaal,

It is with great regret I inform you that we have failed you as a society. We're deeply saddened by the brutal incident and would like to point out the deepest disappointment in our own selves at the time of this heartbreaking murder. Please do not despair or think your death went unnoticed, because the nation collectively condemns, in the harshest of words, your inhumane death.

Ibthihaal. I'm sorry your picture is plastered on every newspaper and every news outlet today so that we can all feel good by feeling bad about our own negligence. Only through such sensationalisation are we able to keep our focus on a single event. Having said that, I'm sorry that we would soon forget you and your death would just be a number in the myriads of manslaughters in this nation.

I'm sorry, Ibthihaal, that we as a society do not concern ourselves with the wellbeing of others. It's not like we knew your mother was abusing you for the past 3 years. I'm sorry, but, as a society, we don't look at children born out of wedlock as part of the community. I'm sorry that we look at such children as a bad omen and would like to keep our own safe from you. As such, we chose to ignore you because you didn't really belong to our close-knit family in the island. I'm sorry that we punish children for the sins of their parents. I'm sorry that we see you for nothing less than the sinful spawn of two adulterers. On that note, I'm also sorry that we could not identify who your father was. I'm sorry we live in a system where only his confession would have confirmed him your father as four grown men didn't see him fornicate with your mother, whose word, by the way, holds no meaning in court.

Ibthihaal, you don't know me but I'm sorry, because even if we cared, we live in a system that does not allow preemptive action. I'm sorry we live in a society that's content with letting child abusers and pedophiles walk free because, one: it's not our child and two: we don't have evidence. We are sorry but please understand that we can't really take the words of a child against an adult, and in some cases, their blood relatives. Sometimes, even their own parents. I'm sorry you didn't grow up to be an adult, because if so, you would be able to have solace in the fact that there are many others like you who grew up bruised, battered, and molested. Because, by then, you would realize, and I am very embarrassed to say this, that you weren't the first child we failed.

I'm sorry that everyone of us will use your image and your story to further our agenda. I'm sorry that even though we will likely find people who were accomplices to your murder through negligence, we will not address the root cause of this issue. I'm sorry that none of the policy makers, the grassroots, or even taxpayers would find the need to address such issues during political debates, unless it has something to do with overthrowing the person in power. However, it is with great pleasure I inform you, that we will find a scapegoat for your death and we will punish all parties involved directly. Then, I'm afraid and I'm really sorry to say this, we will sweep this issue under the rug.

i'm sorry that even though we feel sad, we'll forget everything about you very soon

I'm sorry...I'm sorry you didn't grow up to enjoy life to the fullest. Please be rest assured that you did indeed have a wonderful future ahead of you such as education, sports, friends, and most importantly, a life. I'm sorry we failed in our duties but we hope you understand and forgive us because we had bigger issues at hand. One as young as you wouldn't understand the consequences of music shows, political rivalries, or the importance of promoting xenophobia even at the cost of overlooking the current cancers in our society. I'm sorry we were too busy swimming in our own pile of hypocrisy and I'm sorry the only solace our religious clerics could offer you is the dangers of fornication to a society.

Mohamed Ibthihaal, I sincerely hope that you accept our deepest apologies because your death would be in vain and we would do nothing besides angry/sad posts on social media or pass pictures of you around and, as I noted earlier, feel good by feeling bad about you.

I'm sorry.

Very Respectfully,

The Republic of Maldives