Study Log 9288

What is it that make it so hard to talk to each other? How to break down the emotional wall?

2009-07-28T21:30:00.001+08:00

Communication is an activity or process of expressing ideas and feelings, or of giving people information. Sometimes, this activity can be extremely tough. We may find that the person we talk to interpret the matter wrongly or we cannot get they are talking about. Is it our fault not to understand what others intend to tell us or we are not good enough to express our thought?

In love, we say “NO” to age as a boundary stopping two persons to get into a relationship. However, in interaction and communication, we may not be surprise that we only feel comfortable talking to people of our age. This is an undeniable fact! Different generations share different stories as they experience different things. It is so hard for the young to explain what a computer or an i-pod is to the older generation. At the same time, we cannot understand the stories of the Second World War from our grandparents. In the short story “A Thousand Years of Good Prayer”, the main character, Mr Shi can communicate with Madam who is almost the same age as him even though they don’t share the same language. The only thing in common among them is their age and they experience the same family dilemma. They are able to understand each other based on the tone and the body language but their children can’t understand them although they share the same genetic.

I really don’t like to talk to my grandma. I rarely respond even though she is so enthusiastic in explaining some “do and don’t” to live a happy life. She thinks that all her way should be followed closely by me just because she has more experience in life. However, to me, I am perfectly capable of handling my own life. Same thing happens to Mr. Shi as well. He tries to advise her daughter to live a happy life but her respond is “I am perfectly fine!” Communication is a process of expressing something to another party but it is hard when the other party doesn’t seem to “co-operate”.

The reluctance of talking can be as simple as you don’t the others to find out something you have hid deep in your heart just to protect your dignity. Mr. Shi doesn’t explain his demotion to his family since he wants to defend his own dignity in front of his wife and daughter. However, this eventually brings to the misunderstanding of his daughter until their relationship worsens.

The fear of offending others makes us difficult to communicate as well. We are going to lose our confidence in communication if we happen to offend others all the while although we have tried our very best not to do so. Eventually, we just keep our mouth shut to prevent unnecessary stuff from happening. Maybe living in silence is not a bad idea to live our lives as what Mr. Shi’s daughter tells him in the beginning of the stories. Telepathy is very creative as well!

For me, the only way to make communication easier and less harsh is to be more considerate and understanding. We try to put ourselves into each other’s shoes before we come out with something. With this, the possibility to offend others can be reduced. Meanwhile, we must be observant in communication. If you feel that somebody is not comfortable to what you are talking, you should just end the conversation and try to ask his or her opinion. Some people are quiet in nature and some people are the other way round. So, we may switch our roles in some occasion. The talkative or the one good at expressing ideas can be a listener and vice versa.

Communication is a way for us to understand others better. If not, why does God create a mouth for us? So, please use your mouth wisely in every communication so that this activity will neither hard nor harmful.

C'est la vie

2009-05-15T18:40:00.002+08:00

Recently, I started to watch a new series of full metal alchemist (Japanese anime). It is about these two brothers who practice a kind of magic that can create thing from nothing. However, this is not ordinary magic. In order to create thing, they need to pay for it. There is no free lunch in this world even in this virtual world. Their mother died when the elder one was 11 whiles the young one only 10. Even though they were so young at that time, they were determined to “create” their mother through the magic. They had put in a lot of effort. However, after they carried out certain ritual. What they had gotten was nothing else but hell and they paid for it. The young one lost his body. The elder, on the other hand, managed to “lock” his brother’s soul on a metal body but he lost one of his arms and legs. The elder, Edward managed to get artificial limps from a friend. The fixing of these artificial limps is rather painful especially when the limps join with his nerves. Even though their life is tough, they are not going to cease until they get back what they have lost. You may say their life is pathetic. For me, they are brave and strong until they can withstand such a pain and keep moving ahead. I somehow found this story quite reflective to our life everyday.

Life is harsh and challenging. It is never easy.

The adults: They work everyday although they had their job so much just to earn themselves a living. Inflation haunts them every single minute. They can bear the consequence if they have lose their job. The situation worsens if they are the bread-breeder of the family.

The parents: Their main concern is how to make a bright future for their beloved children. They buy them books, learning gadgets(e.g. laptop) tuition classes to obtain the best result in their exam. As a result, the parents need to work extra hard to sustain these education cost. Other than that, the parents need to worry for the safety and the social cycle of the children.

The old people: They are worried that they have caused too much burden and trouble to their children. The cost of health care is so great. Some also are worried that their children may send them to the old folk’s home and they might end up lonely there.

The elder one has so many burdens until they want to go back to their teenage or early year when they don’t need to worry for anything. Who on Earth does telling you that the young generation lives happily all the time? The young ones have their own problems and troubles as well. The adults always treat these problems of young as exaggeration and serve no significance. In fact, all these matters are important to the young.

The students: Last time I used to spend my time playing in the field or stream during my early year. However, the young generation today is not holding fishing rods anymore but books, in particular, textbooks. Students today, ranging from primary to secondary school, are asked to study hard. “You must revise everyday, do a lot of exercises, attend a lot of tuition classes and score excellently in every exam to get good results. This will help you get a good job later and your life will be easy.” Imagine you need to attend tuition class from 8.00am to 5.00pm non-stop during weekend. I used to have a friend doing this in her secondary school in order to get excellent results.

Once again, life is never easy for anybody. However, this is life, man! It is all the challenges, success, failures, good time and bad time which spice out our life and make our life meaningful. You may find your days difficult. Think for a moment, if you don’t move ahead and work hard, how are you going to achieve what you want. All the challenges and failures are just a process to learn new thing and to experience life. Nobody is successful all the times and no one is a loser forever. No matter what happens, everybody needs to accept it and keep going. A stop to relax and rejuvenate while experience the world is essential but it is just a short moment and then start to work again. Everyone has a story to tell and every story is unique.

A shocking Saturday morning

2009-04-18T08:39:00.004+08:00

"Woei Song", "Woei Song", "Woei Song"...

Hardly lifted my thousand-tonnes-weighted eyelids, I searched quickly for the source of the voice. Was someone calling for my roommate? The voice softened and eventually disappeared in the dense and warm air. My body was so heavy as like it was forcing me to lie back. Okay, I thought it would be better to follow my body since it was Saturday. Who on Earth want to wake up so early on Saturday morning? By the way, there were a lot of students like to enhance their high-pitched voice early in the morning. I guessed the air was better early in the morning.Gracefully, I went back to sleep.

Suddenly, somebody was banging at my door. Dragging my sleepy body, I opened the door. At this moment, all my cells woke up and became extremely alert.

"Good morning, uncle."

Oh my! Woei Song's dad was just outside the door and his son was not here. He didn't come back last night.

"Do know where is he because he didn't even pick up the phone? I told him last night that i would be here this morning." his father told me.

"I guess he stayed overnight at student house." This was what my roommate always did during Friday's night. Perhaps watching movie together. But no picking up the phone? He always woke up quite early even on Saturday and Sunday. Had anything happened to him? What if he crashed into something bad while walking back to hostel.

Maybe somebody robbed him and killed him to cover out. Or he crashed with a serial sodomizer who was too obsessed with muscular boy and Woei Song just the one he was looking for. What a lousy roommate I am not to care for the safety of my roommate!

"Daniel, do you know where Woei Song is?"

"He is in my room now."

Thanks God that he is safe and just a short distance from my room. What a frightening but harmless morning. Then, he went out for breakfast with his dad which meant I could go back to sleep. Night everybody.

2009-04-03T22:29:00.007+08:00

1. the environment

2. the fresh bread baker

3. the penne bolognese

4. tuna & mushroom spaghetti

5. traditional homemade pizza

Italiannies

2009-04-03T21:12:00.004+08:00

Italiannies, a restaurant that I always want to go since last year. I got a lot of highly positive feedbacks from my friends who have been to it, eg. big portion, nice environment, nice spaghetti etc, making so earger to go. This day had arrived finally. My so-called-boss who always slaves me decided to treat me the set lunch in Italiannies. A good pay-off, right?

A friend of mine, Shun Ling, fetched us(Edwin & Chang Win) there. Poh Hui, Hooi Ying, Jaevon and Ainin joined us as well. There was set lunch promotion of RM13.90 onwards which was considered quite reasonable for Italiannies. Everyone wanted to get a good bargain. Upon reaching there, we were served with freshly baked breads dipped with olive oil and balsamic vinegar while deciding our orders. I ordered a lunch set of penne sauce bolognese(ps. not really sure about its name) and a dessert, Italiannies Chocolate and hazelnut cake. Both Edwin and Chang Win ordered set luch as well with different types of spaghetti. Only three lunch were ordered for girls since they would share among themselves with an add-on dessert of bread pudding.

An important part that makes the restaurant nice is its environment. Lacey white curtains, wooden furnitures and tableclothes with checkerboards all gives a homey and relaxing ambiance.
The first thing served was the mushroom soup which functioned as the appertiser. It was very creamy and concentrated. Coming out next were the spaghetti. We shared them so that everyone could get a try. To my surprise, they were all dried pasta. Quite a long time I didn't have dried pasta. They were all sinfully nice. The meat sauce of my penne bolognese was pretty good. The tuna of Edwin's tuna and mushroom spaghetti was quite crispy (not very sure is the correct word to use) and fresh. Chang Win's one which i had forgotten the name constituted a lot of spice but quite delicious in the first place. The girls had a traditional homemade pizza which was quite attracting.

The motto for Italiannies is "so good, so much, so share!" and it suits the food it serves. The portion is rather big which you can actually share among yourself while chit-chatting with your friends. Plates are placed at the dining table to share the food. To me, it is actually a good way to enhance the relationship. How smart the operator is to come out with such a briliant idea. For your infomation, I saw two men sharing a gigantic plate of spaghetti.

In short, the food served is very nice and the environment is conducive as well. However, this type of expensive reataurant can only go once in the very blue moon.

*Ps. Hereby I attached some of the photos of food served. Hope you enjoy them.

KnoWing

2009-03-28T12:04:00.001+08:00

The story begins with a little girl, Lucinda staring at the sun in the elementary school where she engaged in. It was 1959. She could hear people whispering to her all the time, making her sick but the mysterious whispering just could get lost. The scene then switched to her teacher, Ms Taylor, asking the students to draw the future they expected and the drawings would be put into a time capsule. The time capsule would be buried into the ground and shall be dug out again after 50 years later so that the next generation can appreciate it. However, Lucinda just wrote a series of numbers. Ms Taylor discovered the missing of Lucinda after the opening day. Ms Taylor eventually found Lucinda in a small room of the gym and all her fingers were bleeding badly. Again, she carved a series number at the door of the room…

In present, John (Nicolas Cage), an astrophysicist is preparing hotdog for his son but his son, Caleb then told him that he wants to be vegetarian. Caleb is actually wearing a hearing aid since he can’t hear properly. His son engages in the same elementary school. The scene then switches to the time capsule in the opening day after 50 years. The children are given an envelope containing the drawing of the last generation. Caleb accidentally took Lucinda’s. After reading the numbers, he starts to hear the mysterious whispering as well. At the same time, he notices that a strange guy staring at him from him who vanishes quickly. Caleb brings the envelope with the series of number back to his house. John becomes curious about the numbers after a coincidence. After dismissing the numbers, he finds out that the numbers are actually prophecies from Lucinda, accurately predicting the date, location and the total fatalities of the major disasters happened over the past 50 years. There are three disasters that predicted in the prophecies but they haven’t happen yet. They are all going to happen soon.

On his way to fetch Caleb, John is stuck in a serious traffic jam. When he makes his enquiries to the officer, a plane heads towards them and crashes in front of them, killing 81 people just the same with the total fatalities predicted in the prophecies. Caleb then has a vision of future global catastrophe from a silent man. John, who deadly wants to protect his son from the strange man, tries to approach Diana who is the daughter of Lucinda. For your information, Lucinda passed away a few years ago, making Diana the only one to get the answer. However, Diana treats John as mentally disturbed. John believes that there is reason that Caleb gets the prophecies. He then witnesses the second disaster which is the train crash in the subway. This disaster has made Diana to trust John. Abby, daughter of Diana confesses that she can hear the whispering as well. The doubt worsens.

Diana brings John together with their children to Lucinda’s place. After listening to Diana that Abby writes the numbers and letters backwards sometimes, John discovers that the last two numbers in the prophecies are actually “EE”. In the small cabin, they find a drawing of Ezekiel's Wheel. They find out the other carving in the bed of Lucinda writing the “EE” in full: everyone else. Outside the cabin, Abby and Caleb encounter the silent man again. There are three more this time but immediate action of Caleb manages to scare them away. John finally figures out that the last disaster is actually a massive solar flare that will demolish the life on Earth and there is no escape from it. John breaks in the elementary school to get the craving on the door of the closet as he wants to get the remaining of the prophecies. Diana doesn’t believe in John and bring the children to a cave that she believes that they are able to survive by hiding in it. However, the silent men hijack her car halfway. Diana chases after the men which eventually lead to her dead in a car accident. Back to John, he finds out that the only place that they can escape from the disaster is at Lucinda’s cabin.

Upon reaching the cabin, he follows the trace left by the silent men, bringing him to a spacious ground where he discovers that the children are safe. Caleb tells John that the silent men are actually trying to save them. They have already gotten a permission to bring the children to a safer planet. John is completely stunt when he sees a gigantic and artistic UFO appears in front of him and the silent men transform into aliens. They refuse to take John since he is not the chosen one. After saying goodbye to each other, Abby and Caleb leave in the UFO. The other UFOs are witnessed when the one taking Abby and Caleb passes the atmosphere. To my surprise, there are more chosen people. Afterwards, the massive solar flare strikes Earth and it washes off all the living creatures on Earth including John.

Despite the massive destruction, this is not the end yet. The UFO put Abby and Caleb in a weird and lifeless planet. The movie ends with both Abby and Caleb running towards a huge tree.

I guess this is the new beginning. In Bible, God creates Adam and Eve and they are the beginning of human beings. After all, I like the movie since it manages to put me into doubt and mystery and the ending is not what have I predicted. If you are not able to predict the ending, the movie can then be considered a success, I guess.

2009-03-14T10:55:00.000+08:00

Sorry everybody. I was overloaded with my documentary last week. However, you have no worry because I am back!!!

I went to Chang Win’s room after cutting my hair in one utama in the evening.

“Do you want to watch movie tonight? DRAGONBALL!” he asked me.

Even though I didn’t really interested in that movie, but I still agreed to join them (Shun Jing & little ghost). It’s time for me to relax after so much hard work and sleepless night. To me, the movie should something hilarious. I need laughter since it is generally known as the best cure.

We bought the 8.45pm session. Our seats were at the third row but I didn’t really care because I didn’t want to spoil their mood.

The story started with the main character, Goku practicing kungfu with his grandpa, Gohan. It’s a very simple and normal start. Nothing special.

Next, the acting skills of the actors and actress really sucked. They were just fooling around rather than acting. Their facial expression didn’t match with their dialogue. They looked pretty fake in acting. Stephen Chow was the only actor who was good at acting in that movie.

The movie was full of special effects. You might think that it’s better to have a lot of effect since the movie was supernatural in nature. However, too much cooks spoil the soup. Special effect should function leaving a strong impact in audience. In fact, too much computer effects made the movie looked so fake and untrue. Frankly speaking, I couldn’t feel anything.

Dragonball should be an action movie but in fact it didn’t. the fighting scenes were quite blurred and we hardly felt the tense of the atmosphere. The killing of the villain was quite easy. They only hit each other with their strongest ability and it ended in a few second. (Of course it was Goku killed the villain.) besides, the transform of Goku into a gorilla was quite blurred.

The plot of the movie also quite lousy. It didn’t leave any suspense in us to attract our direction. It was so direct and predictable. As an audience, I expected for suspense and surprise but I didn’t get any of them. The plot didn’t interested me a lot. I only realized the climax after I discussed with my friends after the movie. It was so unnoticeable.

Some of the computer effects were lousy as well. If you know dragonball, Goku can transform into a gorilla. He did transform but only a small one just like how power ranger transform. The “shen long” or dragon was also a small one. Instead of dragon, serpent was a better name for that. I was so disappointed with it. I expected a very hugh one , shining in the light.

As a whole, the movie was extremely lousy. I am not going to another edition if it comes out dragonball two!!

Listening Test

2009-02-27T21:39:00.003+08:00

You are going to listen to a man, Franky Wee, talking about his favorite drink which is tea. You are advised to write down the answer while you are listening to the recording because the recording is going to play once only!

*The answers of the candidates are in red.

What is tea?	dried and processed leaves of only one species of plant called camellia sinensis, prepared and cured by various methods.
Contents in tea	1. catechins 2. theanines 3. caffeine 4. theobromine 5. theophylline 6. fluoride
Major varietals	1. The China 2. The India 3. The Hybrid (mixed between the two types that have been mentioned above)
Types of teas	1. Black tea: Wilted, crushed, and fully oxidized 2. Oolong tea: Wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized 3. Green tea: Wilted and unoxidized 4. White tea: Unwilted and unoxidized
Ways to serve tea	1. ordinary plain tea 2. milk tea 3. teh tarik 4. iced lemon tea
Benefits	1. anti- cancer properties 2. inhibits bacteria that causes bad breath 3. boosts mental alertness 4. boosts immune system 5. Lowers chances of cognitive impairments 6. Lowers stree hormone levels 7. Anti-Venom Effects 8. increases metabolic rates
Places to drink tea in Malaysia	1. Kopitiam 2. Mamak stalls 3. The Coffee Beans & Tea Leafs 4. Cameron Highland

Orientation Week in Labuan Matriculation Centre

2009-02-21T08:25:00.003+08:00

Lone crept slowly and overthrow the joy in me. I was lonely, sitting on my bag and looking out of window. I had no idea what I was doing, perhaps filling my time. Now I realized that I had nobody to talk to. That night, I ate my meal alone and the meal was quite lousy. Then, we had our first session of orientation at 6.30pm. We were asked to wear the college tee provided and slack. The talk was rather boring and I almost fell asleep.

“You thought you are having your vacation here! You have been misbehaving tonight. As the punishment, dress formally for the rest of the orientation. One more thing, all of you must be at the hall at 4.00am tomorrow.” The head facilitator shouted at us through the microphone. Gather at the hall at four meant I need to wake up at three since it took me half an hour to walk from the hostel to the hall or else I wouldn’t be able to brush my teeth. What! I never woke up that early since I was born.

We gathered at the hall at four just like what we had asked before but there was nobody there except us. The orientation only started at five something and the facilitators pretended nothing had happened. Oh great!

“You also misbehave in front of us!” I whispered to my heart.
This was my daily routine for the whole week.

4.30am- wake up and get ready.

5.00am- walk to the hall.

5.30am- a short talk about the experience of the alumni and lecturers. *Boring

6.30am- aerobic exercise at the field. *Don’t see the whole point of exercising.

(Breakfast in between)

7.30am- gather at the lobby of the hostel. It was the time we “express” our love to the country

and the college by singing both the national anthem and college song. *The college

song is not that bad, just too many words.

8.30am to 12.30pm- talk, seminar and speech by the principal, head of departments, lecturers

and those staff who were related in the hall. *It was sleeping time.

(Lunch time)

1.00pm to 5.30pm- talk, seminar and speech by the principal, head of departments, lecturers

and those staff who were related in the hall. *It was time for a long nap.

(Rest, shower and dinner)

6.30pm to 12.00am- talk, seminar and speech by the principal, head of departments, lecturers

and those staff who were related in the hall. *Too much sleep during the

day and just listen to the boring talk and those nonsense thing.

Meal of the orientation week. It was pretty unhealthy but time was precious. What to do!

Breakfast- a can of 100Plus. *To so call gaining energy for the day.

Lunch- a can of F&N and some biscuit. *So that I could take a long rest instead of wasting

time and money for the “decent” food in the boys’ canteen.

Dinner- ordinary ‘nasi campur’ *It was really expensive even though it was extremely ordinary food.

Despite all the hardship and bored, the intention of the orientation was good but the methodology did not suit me very much. However, I was glad to make a lot of friends during the orientation and I was not alone anymore.

Labuan Matriculation College- main entrance

2009-02-15T13:57:00.002+08:00

Labuan Matriculation

2009-02-15T13:52:00.000+08:00

Last time, I used to admire those who study not in their home town. I look high up to them since they left their homes and study somewhere on Earth independently. I always told myself I also want to be one of them in the future. So, I urge to study anywhere but not in my home town. My seniors who have studied outside my home town share a lot about their lives in their university or college. I want to share my experience outside my home town to my juniors too.

The day finally arrived. I got an offer to study in one of the matriculation study centre running by Malaysia Education Department. It was the Labuan Matriculation Centre (KML) which I engaged in. The Education Department will give us a certain amount of money to sustain ourselves there but it is not really enough. However, it is better than nothing.

“Who care!” I told myself. I just want to be out of the place where I have lived for 18 years and know every single thing about it. Failed to realize the challenge that I was going to face, naively, I got on my flight and flew to Labuan on 12 May 2008 which was the day that everything would be the same.

I couldn’t remember the duration of my flight but it was a tiring one. Fortunately, one of my friends who also engaged in this college has a relative in Labuan. So, we went to the college in a Mercedes rather than the college bus. The weather there is quite hot and dry since it is an island.

To my surprise, the college is actually situated in a rural area surrounding by forest. According to some of my seniors who also got the offer, sometimes, monkeys would run out of the forest and go inside your hostel. There was a huge crowd there since it was the registration day. A facilitator actually stood in front of the hall to check our attire. For your information, we need to dress formally for the registration.

“I am sorry; your top is not suitable. Can’t you change it?” Fine! I shall go and change.

The registration was quite fun. It was like a station game where we need to go to each booth to get the respective task done. I was given a checklist so that I wouldn’t miss any station. The very beginning was the discipline booth.

“Your hair is too long. So, you get a demerit for it. We are going to arrange a barber for you tomorrow to cut it short.” said the lecturer in-charge. Great! I got a demerit on the very first day. After going through all the booth in the hall, I need to go the library for the rest of the station. The booth included the photo shooting for the student card, getting some freebies (a sling bag, pillow case, bed sheet, neck tie and a long-sleeved tee) and checking in the room. After all the hustle bustle, I got on a shuttle to reach my hostel.

What! I need to walk up to the fifth floor which is the highest floor since there is no such thing call lift. Moreover, I have a lot of luggage with me. I met some guy halfway.

“Sangat berat kan,”

“ya lo..”

I was expecting them to help me since they were so concerned. Try to guess what they said.

“ Gambateh,” and they just walked away.

After a tiring moment, I reached my room and I realized that I was the last one to enter that room. It was a quad room and each of us got a corner with bed and wardrobe. I was extremely dissatisfied with my room. It was so dusty and lousy. The facilities were badly maintained. I could even get my stuff inside the wardrobe even I locked it. This was not the worst part. We didn’t have an attached bathroom but a common one. To my surprise, I couldn’t bath since the maintenance of the bathroom was still in progress. So, I didn’t take bath that day.

I was in deep loneliness since I couldn’t really communicate with my roommates. They spoke good Malay that I couldn’t understand. They had to repeat three to four times so that I got it. I rather kept my mouth shut all the time. I had no one to talk to since I didn’t know any Chinese guy there. I was the only guy among all my secondary classmates and the college is quite strict with the interaction between boys and girls. I couldn’t go to their hostel and talk to my friends or else I would get a demerit again.

I was completely alone on the first day. This wasn’t the college life that I look forward to. I blamed myself to be so stupid to go to such a lousy place to make my life difficult. What to do, I was there already. If you want to know what was going to happen next, follow my next post then. Bye.

Labor of Love

2009-02-08T11:38:00.002+08:00

Hello, everyone. Sorry for the delay in posting since I went for a vacation two days ago. The vacation was very nice and enjoyable but I am not going to talk about it today. Today, I shall talk about work.

So, do you enjoy your work? If you are still a student, your study is your business. Do you love your work? Or you actually hate what you are doing presently. May be you treat your job or study as a responsibility that you need to fulfill for your parents, wife and children. Some people today choose their jobs based on the salary rather than their interest. Especially during economy recession, people are more realistic than before. I am not saying that nobody is choosing their interest but they are only minority. Today, a testimony of a cleaner would be shared with all of you.

There is a cleaner who has worked for a hospital for 15 years without any frustration or bored. Her job is to clean every toilet in that hospital every day. However, she still goes to work cheerfully each day. People doubt since her work is only a dirty blue collar job with extremely low payment. Cleaning the toilets in hospital is never an easy job. The washrooms are not just dirty with all the vomit, bandages and blood, but also the unseen bacteria and viruses that may be fatal. So, why does she enjoy her work every single moment?

“Auntie, why do you enjoy your work every day since it is not a very good one?”

Try and guess what she has replied.

“I want everybody to be happy when they are using the toilet. The patients feel deeply sad and scared when they are being hospitalized. Nobody likes to stay in hospital with all the tubes inserted through the skin. I simply don’t want to worsen their feelings. I want everybody to feel good when they are using the toilets. Hence, I am glad that I can do something for the patients.” The lady replied.

The lady not only works for money but also for the people. The love she has onto the patients makes her work enjoyable. So, do you enjoy what you are doing today? Does your work fill with joy and love?

Chinese New Year 2009

2009-02-02T10:06:00.004+08:00

Before Chinese New Year, I was so eager to fly back. As a Chinese, Chinese New Year is a very important festival to me throughout the year. I wanted a good rest and a serene time with my family. I started my countdown a week before. Seven days, six days, five days… However, the closer the Chinese New Year break, the busier I got. I had a lot of homework to do. Besides, I also received a lot of angpau in the form of homework from my lecturers.

Here is my homework list:

a. Physic- 35 questions in Cutnell

b. English- a book review for collage and a two-page essay outline

c. Chemistry- a table of s,p,d, arrangement for the 11st to 20th elements in the periodic table

d. App. Mathematics- a few questions in study guide

e. Economics- six short questions

Extra workload:

a. A list of questions for survey and interviews

b. Research in the topic

“Miss, I need to enjoy my Chinese New Year. Don’t be so cruel, please,”

“You want to fly to New Zealand or not?”

Speechless. Silence.

On 22 January 2009, I travelled for hours and hours to reach my hometown. If you follow my previous post, you will know what had happened. Although I was exhausted, I still felt glad to be with my family. Other than homework, the other thing that I dislike before Chinese New Year is the housework waiting for me. I ought to clean, tidy and decorate the house, help my mother to make some cookies, cakes and delicacies, and fry the prawn and fish crackers. All these hard work paid off during Chinese New Year. This year, my father made the whole family a steamboat for the reunion dinner and I liked it very much. The difference between the reunion dinner in Sarawak and that in Peninsula Malaysia is that we do not have the custom of “lou sang”. Another thing is that we can play fire crackers freely during Chinese New Year. At 12am sharp, people would play fire crackers for half an hour to an hour plus. It would be a heavy haze in the town but everyone was overjoyed with it.

Wake up before seven at the first day of the celebration, we ate “mee sua” together. Then, the happiest moment came. It was the delivery of angpau from my parents. I reserved my first day for my family. I would spend my time together at home with them, eating and watching television. When the second day was concerned, it always turned out as the reunion of classmates and friends. We would start a marathon for the whole day for the open house. This year, we started it at 8am and I reached home at 7pm. Since all of us are separated to pursue for tertiary education, we would have many stories to share with each other. Laughter all the way. Then, I visited my friends’ houses other than my classmates randomly each day until the fifth day of Chinese New Year.

I flew back on the sixth day of Chinese New Year. I ate the Chinese New Year delicacies ceaselessly and recklessly the day before flying. The journey was as usual. Nothing special happened. I reached hostel at 8pm.

The other hectic event came. I need to clean up my room before sleeping. Lousy. I was very tired already after a two- hour flight and an hour bus trip from the airport.

Oh no! I suddenly realized that I didn’t even open a single page of my textbooks for homework. I had to burn the midnight oil again before the class resumed. Oh no again! I have to lose weight because I gained quite a lot of them during Chinese New Year. I always experience these two traumas after Chinese New Year.

Despite all that, I still enjoyed Chinese New Year since it is the time the whole family and all the friends get together and visit each other. Last but not least, please share your Chinese New Year with me.

For friends

2009-01-23T19:27:00.003+08:00

For those who celebrate Chinese New Year, Franky wishes you have a properous and meaningful Chinese New Year.

For those who don't celebrate Chinese New Year, Franky wishes you Happy Holiday.

For Mr Derick

2009-01-23T18:56:00.005+08:00

Dear Mr Derick

Happy Chinese New Year.. Wish you have a wonderful year..Never mind, you are not alone..My heart will always be with you..Hahaha.. By the way, when do you want to give me angpao?

regards,
Franky.

Flying Back to Sibu

2009-01-23T18:23:00.002+08:00

Slowly, the darkness had surrounded me. My visibility worsened due to my tiredness. The light from the lamp post at the corridor could not chase away the darkness surrounded me. The cabin was in complete silence. Nobody intended to break the taboo. At this moment, I collapsed with great agony into the chair. Tiredness, sleepiness and disappointment had conquered my entire body. It was not supposed to be like this. Whatever! I just want to go home…

After greeting my classmates and Ms Say Happy Chinese New and Happy Holiday, I rushed back to hostel to get my luggage. I was so glad that I would be at my lovely home after a two-hour flight. Edwin, who travelled with me, had been waiting for me anxiously since the taxi was going to be here in any moment. Both of us were shocked when we saw the cab. It was not an ordinary red-and-white cab, but a more luxurious one. We were quite worried about the fare but we still took it. The journey was fairly good and to our surprise we just had to pay for RM 60 (RM 30 each). Not bad, the driver was actually opened the door for us once we arrived. At that moment, we felt like the rich who had their own driver and the fare was reasonable. However, the nightmares were actually waiting for us!

The service offered by MAS Airlines was very good and professional. I was pretty satisfied with it. (I was not promoting it.) After getting into the boarding hall, we received our first bad news. The MAS staff on duty told us that we would land at Sibu Airport at 9.40pm instead of 8.40pm which was believed before. Oh my, it was not a direct flight. We need to stop at Kuching International Airport for immigrant clearance. This news didn’t disturb me much since I could still reach home before midnight.

After the clearance, we were asked to board again. We were going to fly to our final destination. “Lady and gentlemen, boys and girls, we will land at Sibu Airport at 9.50pm.” Another bad news to me. It was getting late and late. After 30 to 40 minute’s flight, I could see the scenic view of Sibu from thousands feet above. I was overwhelmed with joy.

“Lady and gentlemen, boys and girls, our request to land has been rejected by the airport due to poor visibility at Sibu Airport. At this moment, we will keep the plane at present position.” Oh no! I screamed in my heart. After 15 minutes rotating above Sibu, we were informed by the pilot that we were going to land in a few minutes. When the plane was in its way down, it suddenly accelerated up.

“Lady and gentlemen, boys and girls, once again our request to land is rejected. Your understanding is much appreciated.” The pilot attempted to land twice but they accelerated up just like last time. The acceleration increased after every attempt.

“Lady and gentlemen, boys and girls, our request to land has been rejected by the airport for thrice. For your information, we are currently flying back to Kuching International Airport. You understanding is very much appreciated.” What! We were flying back to Kuching!

All the passengers let out a scream when we landed in Kuching. The plane was actually bounced off when it touched the ground. We were given a transit pass to stop in Kuching International Airport. The crew was buried with inquiries from the passengers.

“The captain is contacting headquarter in Kuala Lumpur right now. If we cannot get any information in another 10 minutes, we are going to arrange accommodation for all of you. Please be patient.” The crew answered us. I didn’t want any accommodation or cash refund. All I wanted was to fly back to Sibu. The situation was a bit out of control. The parents were busy comfort their children.

Luckily, we were asked to board again after 30 minutes. I fell asleep after the plane took off. I was awakening by an announcement.

“Lady and gentlemen, boys and girls, we are going to land in a few minutes. Please keep your seat upright and fasten your seatbelt. We will turn off the light when we land.”

Finally, we were going to land at Sibu. We let out a scream and followed by cry as well as shriek of children. The plane bounced off again when it touched the ground. The bounce was actually more serious than the previous one. For your information, we reached Sibu at 00.30am.

After picking out my luggage, I walked out of arrival hall. I wanted to stay overnight at Edwin’s place. Fortunately, I met my father’s friend and got a free ride home. I actually arrived home at 2.00am. However, I was relieved and thanked God that I had reached home safely.

Light and Darkness

2009-01-17T08:58:00.000+08:00

Standing at the main entrance of LCC-T (Low Cost Carrier Terminal), I was choked by the air of Kuala Lumpur. I couldn’t believe that I would have to live here for another one and a half year. My parents especially my father was quite worried about my safety as well as my welfare of living here although I already told him that I would be just fine and I would keep myself safe. However, this mega city is not as simple and naïve as I think…

More accurately, I am staying in Bandar Utama, a very rich and expensive area in Petaling Jaya. It can be considered a golden triangle too since it has a lot of shopping malls in the area. For instance, there are the 1 Utama , The Curve, Ikano Power Centre, IKEA, Tesco, Tropicana City Mall and 10 Boulevard which is going to open soon. Coming from a small and peaceful city in Sarawak, I never encountered any bad guy in my life. So, I still take it easy with everyone. But, in the first week here, something happened to my new friends here. I can’t really believe this was actually happened around me. That day, Ah Beng, Ginger, Woei Song (my roommate) went back from 1 Utama to Centrepoint to have our dinner before went back home. Since I live in Centrepoint, we separated as Ah Beng and Ginger stayed in student house. When I was having shower, Woei Song suddenly knocked at the door, telling me that they were in trouble. Ah Beng and Ginger were cheated by some bad guys. What was on the Earth right now? We went down stair with warden to look for them. We could not contact them. They were nowhere to see!

When everybody was anxious, they appeared in front of us. They were not joking. They told us that they were stopped by a group of people half way. The group told them that they were investigating some crime conducted by KBU students and wanted to ask them some questions. Ginger naively agreed, leaving Ah Beng no choice but followed them. They were separated then. Ginger was brought to McDonalds and Ah Beng was in the Jade Garden (a vegetarian restaurant in Centrepoint ). Both of them were told to hand in their ATM cards. Ah Beng didn’t give them but Ginger did. They were allowed to go after the group had got the money. As a kampong boy, I never dreamt that I would have this thing happened around me. If I was the one who encountered this I would also do exactly what Ginger had done. This was the first time I realized that I was actually surrounded by pure darkness.

The story did not end here. Recently, another friend, Nabil lost his phone to a group of people in a white Saga. They told him that they had lost their way and they need to borrow his mobile phone to call for help. Naively, once again he gave them his mobile phone. To his surprise, they drove away, leaving him there to figure out what had just happened. If the same thing happened to me, I wouldn’t bother to borrow them my mobile phone too as I would just take the thing easy. Stupid right? On the other hand, some of my friends who live in student house also experienced being followed by somebody. Luckily, nothing bad has happened so far. Whoa, what type of world is this? Aren’t we civilized enough not to do these entire bad and lousy things?

Some elders said that whenever there is darkness, we are just a few steps toward the light. To some extent do you agree with this statement? However, I do agree with this. Yesterday, when I was on my way to Sunway Pyramid, I had seen some light in the darkness. The bus was so crowded but I managed to get myself a seat near the window. After a few stop, a Malay lady stood beside the Chinese who sat beside me. Suddenly, he stood out in complete silence to grab a handle nearby. Both the lady and I discovered that he was actually giving her the seat. I was touch by that man. Again, the story did not end here. I saw another young Chinese lady helping a blind Malay girl to cross the road. In addition, I saw a guy pressing the door of LRT when he saw a lady running from far. These entire people asked for nothing in return and just did all these in silence.

Honestly, I never did all these before simply because no one around me does these entire things. I am afraid that I would be laughed by someone nearby. Right now, I am deeply ashamed of myself. We had learnt courtesy, politeness and morality since our early year. “Help those who need help, son.” “Give your seat to senior citizens children or pregnant ladies when you encounter one, son.” “Don’t litter, my dear. You are just making our Earth sick.” Don’t we know all these? How what extent do we actually practise all these? Think carefully yourself for a minute and answer to your heart.

My Room, My Canaan

2009-01-09T22:37:00.004+08:00

To me, the best place to read and study has turned out to be my little planet, my own room. Although it only occupies a small space, my room does mean a lot to me.

First of all, my room has everything I need for my reading or revision. All the materials and reference that I need can be reached easily. You may think that library would be a better place if I want to look for any materials or reference just simply because it is a LIBRARY. According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, The Seventh Edition, the word library means a building in which collections of books, CDs, newspapers, etc. are kept for people to read study or borrow. However, I can’t find what I want most of the time. Perhaps I am too slow than other. Another thing is that reference books that I owned are more than enough for me. To others maybe they think that the more books they use, the more they get. It maybe true in some extent. But surely I am not going to pile myself up with books. Franky is just a lazy baby.

Besides, I can be distracted by people easily. I like to observe people. When somebody comes around me, I shall observe him or her from head to bottom to come out with my own conclusion. The conclusion can be deduced from the way they walk, their apparels and appearance or the way they act. Perhaps you are one of them. I do have a roommate but I have enough observation of him since I see him every single day. Therefore, I can’t read in place like libraries, cafes (Starbuck and McDonalds). I really salute those capable of doing this.

The most important reason I choose my room to study is I can do everything in it. According to some reports that I have forgotten their title already, the duration to concentrate for an ordinary people is just only 50minutes to an hour. So, of course I need to lie down and have some rest every hour which I can never do it in library or other places. I can also eat and drink in my room. Other than that, I can listen to music and shout to release tension while I am studying. The librarians in KBU are quite fierce that they will just shout at when you talk slightly louder and I am one of the victims. To the librarians, can’t you just talk to us (KBU students) properly instead of shouting? We are civilized enough and we won’t chop your head down.

My room is just like what salt means to sea, flowers mean to humming birds, moon means to the Earth and Bella means to Edward. To me, it is the best and only place to read and study.

My study table

2009-01-09T22:36:00.002+08:00

Introduction

2009-01-07T21:28:00.004+08:00

Hi, I am Franky. Since I am a new blogger, here I am to introduce you to a guy who likes the word "LOUSY" very much. I am one of AUSMAT students in KBU International. Yes, it is an international college. For your information, AUSMAT stands for Australian Matriculation or Year 12. According to one of my lecturer, AUSMAT is something to do with West Australia. WACE has been our exam SYNDICATE (quoted by Ms Prema). Enough introduction for my course.

Today I had my first lesson of EAL/D (English as Additional Language/Dialect) and we got a surprising news. Our English lecturer, Mr Derick told us that we need to create a blog as our study log and he is going to view it every weekend. Whoa, what a surprise to me. I always want to be a blogger because it is very cool to have a blog. (This reason is restricted to this lousy guy only.) However, I never start a blog since I am too lazy to do so. I never thought that I shall become one in such way (as an ACADEMIC blogger).

After all, maybe this is a chance that God has arranged for me to become a blogger. Since I am new here, do leave your humble comments so that I can improve myself. I guess I have to stop here. If you are interested at what I am going to post for my lecturer, do follow my blog. Bye.