simmyrevolutio

TUNELESS SOUNDS

2011-02-23T23:44:00.003+08:00

It is my biggest honor to officially announce the TUNELESS SOUNDS Facebook page and Youtube channel opening!

Feel free to leave your comments and enjoy yourself

Tuneless Sounds YouTube Channel

Tuneless Sounds Facebook Page

OUR FIRST OFFICIAL COVER. ENJOY!

CHILDLIKE

2010-09-03T13:07:00.000+08:00

Have you ever sat in a room full of children? Sit there and notice, how innocent they actually are. I mean excluding certain child geniuses who have big plans of taking over the world and such, then again, how often does that actually happen? A smile, a tear, a frown is exactly what it is coming from a child.

As we grow older, a smile may not exactly be what it is. It can be a cheeky smile, an evil smile, a fake smile. What happened to the times when a smile was just a smile? The time where a smile actually meant "My brain is sending impulses to tell my face to show this expression because of how happy I am on the inside."

Then it makes you think, what actually happens in the growing up process? What do we learn? When did we become so "un-innocent"? Is it something that comes with maturity? When did it start to be wrong to be childlike? Not childish, but childlike. When we were kids, our faith was simple. We simply believed. We hoped for the best. We did not let anything come between us and realizing our imaginations. We simply believed they would work just because. When did we start learning to make things complicated? When did we start giving up so easily?

Shouldn't we be braver, better, stronger than when we were kids? It's just sickening and tiring to listen or see news where adults behave worst than children. Beyond childish. When we were young, wrong was wrong, right was right. There was no in between. When did we started to create a grey area? As we grow older, shouldn't we have more faith, and the capacity to exercise bigger faith? Think.

"It is the childlike mind that finds the kingdom" Charles Fillmore

Lastly enjoy this video.

(My post wasn't really inspired by this video though. It was because I was sitting in a room full of children, then I remembered this video. )

ASHA ON DRUGS

2010-07-06T19:10:00.000+08:00

I don't normally re post what people write, but this is something worth reading, especially since it's coming from Asha Gabby Prunella Blake Windsor Casigrahi Venkatramanan. Thanks pops for allowing me to re post.

ASHA ON DRUGS

RULES AND REGULATIONS

2010-03-03T21:45:00.000+08:00

"Without any law, there would be no criminals"

Well, there isn't much to agree or disagree with the statement. It's more of a sit down and think about it statement. True, if there were no laws defined to be broken, everything is morally good to be done, but without law, there would be no peace as well.

Personally, I think laws should exist, but within the proper limitations of what it should be. It shouldn't be something so complicated.

According to Wikipedia: (This is what came out when I typed rules)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_(sociology)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral

To me, rules are just meant to be something that holds civilization together. Something that everyone should agree on to prevent the whole world from going chaos. It shouldn't be so detailed and complicated to the point it restricts people too much from living. Sure this only may occur in an ideal world where people aren't constantly thinking of themselves, but imagine, how convenient life would be if we didn't have to always worry about what rule we are about to break when we take one step. What's worst, we now even have unspoken rules, or traditions that people seem to love to follow. A believe that something should or should not be done in a certain way, just because everyone else is doing it. It sounds too abstract, let me give you an example. Like a club or an association, they have farewell dinners and gatherings like that. Every year, the committee follows "traditions" of the past year, simply because of "tradition's" sake. Come to think of it, it looks really stupid now. It's like organizing a party without thinking. It just feels like it's done out of duty rather than doing an event for the purpose of the event. Unspoken rules like the leader of an organization or committee should always be a male. Sure, times have changed and people are starting to switch their point of views, but somehow in their mind set, a leader should always be a man. Even statistics have shown

(According to Wikipedia)

In the workplace, unspoken rules can have a significant impact on one’s job satisfaction, advancement opportunities, and career trajectory. For example, research conducted in the United States by the Level Playing Field Institute and the Center for Survey Research and Analysis at the University of Connecticut revealed that 36% of white women, 37% of women of color, and 33% of men of color identified the fact that only certain people are part of important social groups at work as the greatest obstacle to fairness in their workplaces (LPFI/CSRA 2003).

I'm not making this up. I know its stereotyping, but it's the general opinion of most people. Unspoken rules conform people to think inside this small box, it's bad enough we have a list of written things that we can't do, but now, an unwritten and unspoken longer list of things we can't do. Sure there are a lot of good things that come out of rules and regulations. Imagine if we didn't define rules on being punctual, everybody would take their own sweet time to go to work or school. Punctuality is a whole other issue on it's own.

The thing is, the purpose of having rules and regulations has gone astray. It's like the time where the Pharisees were so engrossed with their laws, that when Jesus were actually in front of their very eyes, the claimed that Jesus was defaming the law. See how blinded they were by their laws, they forgot why the laws were even there, so blind till they didn't realize they were looking at the law.

More of this here:

http://obeygodratherthanman.blogspot.com/2009/11/why-false-teachers-mock-truth-part-1.html

The point is, rules shouldn't be something burdensome and people dread to follow. Rules should be harsh, but not unreasonable. It should be executed firmly so that people follow a certain line of order so that the earth continues spinning on it's normal axis, but not too strict till the point the earth stops spinning at all. I agree that rules should exist, but only to keep order.

"If you don't like their rules, what would you use?" Charlie Brown

WHY I DISLIKE CHINESE NEW YEAR?

2010-02-19T11:04:00.000+08:00

NO 5: It's always somehow the hottest season of the year. Literally.

NO 4: It's really crowded everywhere. Sure, people have the right to be out, but Melaka just isn't ready to accommodate all you tourists!

NO 3: Half the town looks red.

NO 2: The food is all the same, and it takes ages to wait for it. First it's the yee sang. Then half an hour later, the dishes start to slowly come. The worst part is they have SHARK FIN'S SOUP. Why must they eat an endangered species? Do you know how they get the fin, which you barely can taste? They cut of the fin and throw the poor animal back into the sea to await it's death! SAY NO TO SHARK FIN'S SOUP!

NO 1: The ang-pow you receive? It's never truly yours. No matter how you think of it, you never TRULY earn a clean cut from getting ang-pows. Firstly, the amount your parents spend on giving other people ang-pows. What difference does it make from your parents giving it directly to you? Logically speaking, it's just a bunch of grown ups exchanging money.

I'm not a depressed person and I don't hate Chinese New Year. It certainly is fun being with your family and having BAK WA, just stating some reasons to not like it. Thank goodness that times are changing and people are not as superstitious as before. I'm not trying to make everyone dislike Chinese New Year. There are people who just love the idea of a fresh start, buying new stuff, spring cleaning the house and all that. That's good for them. It's their right to enjoy Chinese New Year, I'm just using my right of speech. Happy Chinese New Year 2010 to you all.

10 WAYS TO SAY JESUS LOVES YOU

2009-12-29T01:52:00.000+08:00

10. Share or pay for someones lunch / dinner that you don't really like

9. Smile SINCERELY. Honestly, why so serious?

8. Tolerate their interruptions

7. Keep the promises you make them

6. Make time to be with them

5. Check on them when they are sick

4. Be honest with them, even if it may not sound pleasant, but do so with all intentions of helping the person

3. Support them through difficult times even when it's not convenient for you

2. Respect them

1. The best? Look them straight in the eye and say "Jesus loves you, always."

SOMETHING SMELLS FUNNY

2009-11-16T12:35:00.000+08:00

Have you ever really wondered why is it offensive to tell someone if their breathe is bad or their body odour wreaks? Since honesty is the best policy, shouldn't it be just fine to tell someone politely, "Excuse me, but is it ok if you go wrinse your mouth cause I think you have bad breath". However, we would more rather endure the smell for however long a time, then start complaining about the person later. I mean, honestly, how often do you hear people telling a person that their breath stinks?

According to Wikipedia:

Hygiene

Some interesting answers on

How do you politely tell someone their breath stinks?

I guess if the person smells bad after they just woke up or came back from a 10 mile marathon, it would be quite your fault for going too near them. However, what about weird diseases that causes them to have weird breath, like some weird stomach cancer? We would never know. So sometimes if we really have to tell someone that they have bad breath (the fancy name for it is HALITOSIS), we might want to do it personally. If we do find out that they have some weird disease then, we might want to maybe pray for them or suggest something helpful and positive. Sometimes it may happen to our own friends or close relatives and we hear other people talking about them, it may not be the most comfortable thing to hear, so we should be tactful in informing them and letting them know that they don't smell that good.

Some interesting methods on

How to cure halitosis?

However, if the person is constantly smelling bad, you may really want to consider telling them they smell bad as it may be a sign of wrong consumption or something wrong with their habits. I know it is easier said then done especially in church, workplace or meeting someone new, when everyone tries their best to be their nicest to one another, it may be a bit touchy and personal to tell them that their breath stinks as they wouldn't want to offend anybody, but think of it this way, wouldn't it be easier if you just told the person that they stink, rather than telling the whole world that they stink and letting the poor guy find out that people have been talking behind his back.

Maybe this should no longer be a taboo subject as hygiene is everyones responsiblity. Sure, people in the past may have taken baths in few months once, but times are changing, we no longer live in the era where bathtubs and toothbrushes don't exist. I mean there are even electronic toothbrushes and high pressured showers. There shouldn't be much excuses on why we can't smell good. Just do simple checks on yourself before you leave the house. You may not be going to see the prime minister or the person you are interested in, but it is no crime to smell good so that you don't make other people feel uncomfortable.

"Nine-tenths of our sickness can be prevented by right thinking plus right hygiene - nine-tenths of it!, HENRY MILLER"

DISCLAIMER:

The author wishes to state that this post was not done to make anyone feel bad about themselves as this post was done from a third party perspective with no particular interest in the subject. The author wishes to encourages everyone to practice good hygiene as it is no crime to be healthy and clean.

HOW TO SMILE

2009-11-12T09:28:00.000+08:00

Things you need:

1. A mouth (preferably still attached to your face)

Precautions:

1. Practice good oral hygiene as you wouldn't want to flash a beautiful smile with few green gummy bears sticking out of it would you. However, it's not a must to have a beautiful set of teeth to have a beautiful smile.

2. Smiling and winking simultaneously might send the wrong sign (especially to the opposite gender)

Steps:

1. Begin by curving your lips upwards.

2. When comfortable, open your lips slightly to show those shiny white pearls (preferably if you have some)

3. Now, flash that brilliant smile of yours to the world.

Smile and the whole world smiles with you! Up till yesterday, I have never heard that smiling is against the law. Yet, people keep their smiles as if it will help them get any richer.

Ever wonder why models never smile?

Some interesting answers here:

http://feu.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081127091226AArmWx7

Sure, we have all been guilty of being selfish with our smiles, but sometimes, we must understand that we will never truly understand what a person is going through. So share the smile. It's contagious. No matter how weird and crooked you think you may look, a smile banishes all of that. Even a stranger is worth sharing your smile with. However, in my personal view, if you don't feel like smiling, don't fake it. You are ruining the purity and innocence of a smile. Sounds harsh right? Big companies pay millions just to educate and motivate their staff on how to smiles. See how important smiling is? SO SMILE!

INTELLIGENT QUOTIENT

2009-11-09T16:37:00.000+08:00

First and foremost, I would like to specially dedicate this post a person I highly respect and look up to, Commander Vive for provoking my thought and hence inspiring me to write this post.

This was his post about intelligence
http://vivealive.blogspot.com/2009/10/smart-but-not-so-bright.html

SO WHAT IS IQ?
It basically is too long to conclude and quite varying answers so I'm just going to link the websites, if you are really interested, you go study it.

According to Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ

According to How Stuff Works:
http://people.howstuffworks.com/question455.htm

According to About.com:
http://homeworktips.about.com/od/homeworkhelp/a/IQ.htm

Based on some 'googling' of websites, I found 1 sentence quite interesting, "We cannot measure intelligence when we have not defined it."
This website is quite interesting:
http://iq-test.learninginfo.org/iq02.htm#top

Anyway, I also wanted more answers and I talked to my friend YONG LEE MAN about IQ (please note that he is still single and available). After quite a deep discussion with the man, I got some good stuff from him, which parents should sometimes consider. He says that he does not believe in the existence of dumb or stupid people. Which I partially agree. He says that it is only whether they put enough effort into it. Rings a bell? "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration" Albert Einstein.

Parents, in general, hope the best for their children, they hope that they will all be smart and successful in life. Who hopes that their children would end up begging on the streets? However, they spend hundreds and thousands on the child, when he has not even had a glimpse of the world. In this new generation, there are also parents sending their children for all sorts of lessons, be it swimming, ballet, piano. Some say its to discover their true talent and all, but sometimes, they put the children out of the equation, not even bothering to ask them if they like the sport or music instrument. I'm not judging. I'm just posing a question. Is it really worth pushing the child to do something they don't like? Isn't childhood suppose to be the best time of their lives? An average primary school goer now has probably an average of 1 hour of play time now which they barely even spend outside.

It is definitely not a crime for their parents to push their children for their own future, but there should be a balance for the child to enjoy his or her life too. However, children should also understand that parents sometimes push them for tuition and the such based on the parents observation and understanding that the child is not doing too well in their studies or the extraordinary ability to swim extremely well. Well, maybe its safe for me to conclude that parents and children should communicate to know what they expect out of each other? It sounds too cheesy and metaphorical, but I guess it's the best solution. Example, if you like swimming, you should let your parents know about your dislike for the current badminton lessons you are attending, and see what you both can work out. Anyway, how parents raise their children is really none of my business, it's all up to the parents. I'm just posing these questions as food for thought.

My friend also added that it varies among people. They have different skills and talents. He gave an example of himself having short concentration. So he acknowledges this and knows what he has to do, which is during that short period of concentration he has, he does his very best and puts full effort and understanding into what he is trying to do. Then he starts losing concentration and starts playing Tekken 6. However, the point is this, eventhough he has short concentration, he does not use it as an excuse to NOT do work. He does his best to counter the problem.

So, based on this deep interview, what I can say to conclude it is, there is no such thing as dumb people. Everyone should acknowledge their weakness and learn to fight it. So if you want to achieve something, there should be no excuse for 'When there is a will, there is a way'. However, please don't read it out of context and do something immoral.

Besides IQ, there is also the question on EQ? What is it? Based on my understanding? It is a measure of emotions. There are plenty of studies showing the relation between both, however not much the studies have been conclusive, my best guess is that there can be nothing conclusive on humans because we are all so subjective. To say that someone can be so sure about something human is rather illogical. Anyway, back to IQ, would you call a doctor who smokes intelligent? What about a successful business man whose personal life or marriage that is in ruins?

So how do you tell if a person is smart? What REALLY differentiates him or her from the rest? A few numbers in their IQ score? Their ability to do well in exams? Well, this post is not to encourage students to be happy with their current below average scores and say that you are not dumb, just lazy. I hope that you will feel more inspired to work harder, knowing that if someone can get A in their exam, so can you. See the difference? Anyway, this is all stuff you already should know, so I'm not going to go deeper. Well, based on my understanding, I just hope that I can provoke everyone reading enough to know that it doesn't really matter what your measure of IQ is, it's what you make of it.

So what do YOU think about IQ and EQ? Please feel free to state your ideas and thoughts.

DISCLAIMER:
The author wishes to state that the author has no preference on whether IQ and EQ is good or bad. This post is done from a third party perspective with no personal interest in the matter whatsoever. The author also wishes to apologize if in any way, any person has felt insulted as the author has not written this post with any intention of hurting anyone.

WORTH-LESS

2009-10-06T22:49:00.000+08:00

JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE NECESSARY DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE IMPORTANT

JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE UNIQUE DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE USEFUL

First of all, I would like to deeply appreciate my dear friend Alex Oi Zhia Loong for inspiring me to post this.

All those pictures are certainly thought provoking aren't they. If it doesn't get you thinking I would like to congratulate you on having a strong firm in your principles and whatever you believe in. However, to those having their brain gears running after looking at this. I'm curious to what is your reaction the first moment looking at it. Happy? Angry? Sad? Thoughtful?

The world seems mean now doesn't it. To some who may try their best to justify this, I'm sure you may have some hard time evading this very simple truth.That we are all NECESSARY, BUT NOT ALL IMPORTANT. Some of you may feel insulted. There is no denial because we are all homo sapiens with some hint of emotions. Even for those who are allergic to a whole spectrum of human emotions, they do admit the existence of human emotions. Anyway, that is a bit side tracked.

Sure we are all important, just that some of us are not that important, yet we are all necessary to cause an imbalance to create a balance. It's quite straight forward. However, this doesn't mean that we should stop trying to do our best. It's just a reminder that we are all human and we have our imperfections. Every little gesture causes an effect. A little something called a chain reaction. Everything in life has it's reason and purpose, it's all necessary yet not always important. So don't ever feel like you don't belong, because God has a purpose for each and everyone of you. It may feel like a small and unimportant task to you, but it is necessary and crucial that we follow obediently so that God's divine plan can be unfold.

The author wishes to apologize to those who have felt insulted by this post. The author wishes to state that this post was done to purely provoke thinking and not to upset anyone in any manner. Please feel free to state your opinions and thoughts.

THE OTHER SIDE OF PENANG

2009-09-22T15:41:00.000+08:00

If you think Johor and KL drivers are bad, wait till you see Penang drivers. I know this is quite a bad post considering its stereotyping drivers, but I'm just talking in general of the things I realize. This is not a post where I will trash about Penang drivers, but just a small thing a lot of people seem to notice about Penang drivers.

I realized that KL drivers just driver really fast and Johor drivers are really aggressive. However Penang drivers are a hybrid of both plus a hint of Singaporean driving, which is the ("I'm always right" way of driving, no offense) and a dash of paranoia.

I may not be the safest and conservative driver but all these drivers are like a new breed of fast and furious.

I don't understand what is causing this phenomena, but feel free to state your observations.

HOW NOT TO WORRY

2009-09-16T00:13:00.001+08:00

TOP 5 suggestions I can think of:

5. Constantly remind yourself on why you SHOULD NOT worry.

4. Remind yourself Worrying = NOT trusting God

3. Relax yourself, realize that there are things you can't control

2. Live everyday like it's your last

1. My personal favorite: JUST DON'T CARE! Who are you to care about everything anyway?

Sometimes we as fragile human beings tend to care about what everything everybody says. You should know by now that no one is perfect or will ever be. So you can NEVER please EVERYONE. So why bother? Why worry? Just be happy and do the best that you can. If you know what you are doing, just follow your instincts, why let other people allow you to have doubts?

Sometimes there are just certain things you really shouldn't know, so don't drown yourself in worry thinking what might happen if i do or don't do this or that. For example, exercising. You think, whether or not should I do this or will this routine make me shoulders too broad or will lifting too much weights make me short. All these worries just ends up becoming excuses for us to not exercise. So don't think too much and NIKE. In other terms, JUST DO IT. Though, don't read this out of context and do things that will bring harm to you or others. Please use some common sense. Sure it is a good concept to live by, but sometimes, certain things don't apply. Like murdering someone, you don't JUST DO IT. You shouldn't even think about doing it.

Read this in the context where it would benefit everyone.

Worrying is never good for anyone, so why start now?

WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER WORRY

2009-09-15T22:35:00.001+08:00

New York 9/11

As you might remember, the head of a company survived 9/11
Because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was
His turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her
Alarm clock didn't go off in time.

One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike
Because of an auto accident.

One of them
Missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to take
Time to change.

One's
Car wouldn't start.

One

couldn't get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man
Who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
Took the various means to get to work
But before he got there, he developed
A blister on his foot.
He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.
That is why he is alive today..

Now when I am
Stuck in traffic,
Miss an elevator,
Turn back to answer a ringing telephone...

All the little things that annoy me.
I think to myself,
This is exactly where
God wants me to be
At this very moment.

Next time your morning seems to be
Going wrong,
You can't seem to find the car keys,
You hit every traffic light,
Don't get mad or frustrated;
It may be just that
God is at work watching over you.

This was an email I received and I find that we all should be reminded on how unpredictable life always is. It's the little things in life that sometimes bring the most joy. That is why we should constantly remind ourselves never to worry about the little or big things that annoy us. Simply because life is too short to be wasted on such unnecessary burdens that anxiety brings.

For God's eye is on the sparrow, so I know God watches me.

WHAT TO DO IN A CAR ACCIDENT?

2009-08-17T18:23:00.002+08:00

FOR THE PEOPLE INVOLVED:

1. Push the PANIC button in your brain. Panic. Don't let your brain tell you what to do. Think with your butt.

2. Leave your car in the middle of the road, don't push it anywhere

3. Don't report the accident.

4. Don't take down the driver's details. Instead ask him questions like "What is your favourite color?" or "What do you think of the weather today?"

5. Ignore all the details of the car accident, why should you care right?

6. Take your time to take pictures and pose with the car that is damaged. (MOST IMPORTANT STEP)

FOR THE BYSTANDERS:

1. STOP! Slow down your car and take a good look at the accident. Feel free to park your car and obstruct traffic to have a better look at the accident. No one is forcing you to help and this is a democratic country right? Why should you bother lending your hand to a stranger that needs it right?

CAUTION:

If you have some common sense, please realise that the title of this post should be "WHAT (NOT) TO DO IN A CAR ACCIDENT. "

However if you still choose to follow the above steps, the author wishes to give a fair warning that following the steps may have heavy unwanted penalties, so follow with extreme caution.

CHEERLEADING

2009-08-03T21:03:00.005+08:00

CAUTION:

Please do read with caution, this post has nothing whatsoever to do with whatever recent cheerleading events that may have occured. This post is done from a third viewer perspective and the author has no personal interest in the matter whatsoever. The recent events may have inspired this post indirectly but has no interest in insulting any party directly or indirectly. The author wishes to personally apologize if this post has still insulted anyone, and suggests that anyone who wishes to make a complain to directly contact the author at stefsports@hotmail.com instead of spamming the comments section with vulgar words.

According to Wikipedia:

Cheerleading is a sport^[1] that uses organized routines that range from 1 minute to 3 minutes made from elements of tumbling, dance, jumps,cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games and matches and/or compete at cheerleading competitions. Cheerleaders draw attention to the event and encourage audience participation. The athlete involved is called a cheerleader.

Cheerleading originates in the United States, and remains a predominantly American activity, with an estimated 1.5 million participants in all-star cheerleading. The growing presentation of the sport to a global audience has been led by the 1997 start of broadcasts of cheerleading competition byESPN International and the worldwide release of the 2000 film Bring it On. Due in part to this recent exposure, there are now an estimated 100,000 participants scattered around the rest of the world in countries including Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany,Japan,^[2] the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.^[3]

Cheerleading in the United Kingdon has not yet been recognised as a sport. Untill it is, it is unlikely a Governing Body will be announced. Competitions now run in the United Kingdom. The largest regional cheerleading competition was the National Cheerleading Federations's held in Milton Keynes in May 2009.

However according to Stefanie Sim:

Cheerleading is not a sport. Since the United Kingdom does not see it that way, and since Malaysia was once colonized by the British and we follow British english, hence it is NOT a sport. I personally believe that cheerleading is a perfomance. Sure, you may defend it by saying that it takes great effort and training and precision. What about Hip Hop dancers then? I'm sure they work just as hard, I don't see them walking around defending that Hip Hop is a sport. Besides, cheerleading has become more of a culture than a sport or a performance. Girls enjoy acting like bimbos (no offence and NOT all act like bimbos) just to get attention. (apparently it does get them attention). It's just saddening to hear that nowadays people attend a SPORTS day just to watch cheerleading. A bunch of people (I say this with boy cheerleaders in mind, which I personally think is kinda wrong) screaming their lungs out trying to compete who is louder. (to which I still don't know what they are trying to prove)

As it isn't fair for me to keep blaming cheerleaders, I would like to say I personally enjoy the entertainment cheerleaders bring, sometimes, somewhere, nice, friendly, dynamic cheerleaders do exist and they do (REALLY do) bring excitement to the game. They support the team at all costs. I have personally never seen real NICE cheerleaders (nice here not referring to their physical appearance). If I ever do, someday, I will tell you where to find them. I'm sure cheerleading was meant to be something good, I mean why would creating a group of people to cheer for your team at all costs be a bad thing.

It's just that sometimes, we carry the wrong culture we didn't mean to cultivate. Like playing pool or dancing hip hop. We automatically relate them to people who smoke, drink, take drugs, go clubbing and the such. It is not always true, however it's just the culture that people normally sub conciously adapt into their lifestyles. I personally think that there is no exception for cheerleaders. They accidentally or purposefully adapt a no offense, rude like attitude. However, this maybe just a culture that is over sized by the media through shows about cheerleaders who are supposedly blonde, dumb , rude and the such. Young girls being naive and innocent, sub conciouslly wanting to be popular, may have adapted the culture, hence, stereotyping themselves, but some cheerleading is most certainly not a crime. I have certainly nothing against cheerleaders or cheerleading. I enjoy the entertainment cheerleaders sometime bring through their bobbing (thanks for the word POPS), but it's sometimes the attitude and culture that may irritate and annoy people, to my personal opinion.

PERSONAL NOTE:

To all cheerleaders who might have read this, this post is most definitely NOT (SORRY JUST REALISED I TYPED ONE) (minta maaf banyak banyak ya, terima kasih kerana beritahu saya.) to insult you, as I have always been and will try my best to continue to be open in understanding all possible sides of a story or situation. If I wanted to insult anyone, I would have firstly done it to your face straight, and added with constructive critism. I do have better things to do then to pick fights with people. Time is to precious to be wasted on petty fights with no apparent reasoning.

NOTE:

If you are interested to know the real story, check out my POPS blog, http://tanweiyi.blogspot.com/2009/08/hope-authors-dont-mind-but-bob-at.html. However, read at your own risk, and you didn't hear it from me. It is just for self entertainment and we don't mean to hurt anyone.

IF I WERE A BOY

2009-07-08T14:31:00.003+08:00

I don't mean it literally, I know God put me in this female homo sapien body for a purpose. I'm not trying to fight His will for me to be a girl nor am I questioning it through this post. I'm grateful for being alive as a girl. I'm not trying to start a controversy because I am not lesbian and I don't wish to change my gender. I'm also not encouraging people I know to be lesbian or gay or cross dressers. It is not my parents fault that people misunderstand me and mind you, they have tried their hardest to knock some sense into this head of mine.

I just want to share with all of you some of the many incidents that make me want to burst of laughing.

1. I once was walking past a coffee testing station in Jusco when suddenly, a lady said in Chinese, "Ah Boy, want to try some coffee?" (that's just for starters)

2. An insurance agent walked into my dad's office with my dad and me in it. I was minding my own business on the computer, when suddenly, the insurance lady barged in and went on raving "WOW, Matthew! You've grown so big already ar?" Me, being the good Samaritan who didn't want to burst her bubble of excitement gave her a "shy" smile and said, "I'm Stefanie".

3. I was once walking out of the lady's toilet, when a lady wanting to walk in stopped and looked at me, wanted to turn back, then saw the "Female" sign on the toilet door and gave me a "I'm sorry" smile and waltz right in.

4. Also another time, while walking out of the toilet, a man saw me and decided to enter the toilet, until he saw the female sign and took a sharp corner towards the male sign.

5. I also once entered the female toilet, trying to answer nature's strong call, when I was suddenly interrupted by the cleaner inside, "Eh, boy! Ini tandas perempuan (Meaning, this is the ladies toilet)". Me trying to be polite, again, gave her a "genuine" smile and said "Saya perempuan". It took her a few seconds and a few strong glares at me then she finally said, "Oh, sorry sorry."

6. There was once, on a beach, while I was washing my own hands using a tap provided, when suddenly 3 Indian kids came up to me and said UNCLE. Wow, not only do I look masculine, but I look old.

7. I was at Jonker trying to get a good meal. Mind you my hair is now at around my shoulder and I so happened let it down to dry. When I was about to rest my butt on a chair, the waitress shouted in Chinese "Leng Chai, what you want to drink? (Meaning, HANDSOME BOY, what you want to drink).

God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.

HOW TO BE LAME

2009-07-07T08:45:00.002+08:00

1. Tell jokes which you know only you would understand

2. Interrupt a big conversation with a big group of people to tell them what you heard about the weather.

3. Play "Defenders Of The Ancient"

4. Smoke cigarettes because you are stressed up

5. Smoke cigarettes but wash your cutlery at a restaurant before you eat

6. Pretend to have small talk with a person you actually have something important to say to

7. Claim that everyone hates you when it's the other way round

8. Make a big fuss over Micheal Jackson's death when you actually don't know anything about him

9. Be rude to people because of their appearances

10. Pretend to be someone you are not

However, lame can mean so many different things to so many people. Read and execute with precaution, might cause permanent lame-ness.

GRAND PRIX 2/2009

2009-06-29T08:06:00.003+08:00

27th and 28th June 2009 were the dates for Malaysian Fencing Grand Prix 2/2009. It was not a big event, but still, a fencing event.

Fencing, yes, the sport and not the act of putting a fence around a perimeter, is more than just two people poking, stabbing, slashing pointy metal sticks at each other. It takes speed, distance and timing to achieve perfection. To me, it will always be an elite sport full of dignity, as it was originated. People in the past used to fight, to the death, for the honour and dignity of themselves, family or country, but today, in contemporary world, it is just for sport. A very interesting sport I may add. It is not about inflicting pain to your opponent but rather knowing your opponent. Being able to think two steps ahead of the opponent and claim your victory.

As for me, my primary weapon, or only weapon would be the sabre. I find this weapon most interesting. The sabre has many ancestors which I am not so sure of. Some people may find this sport cool and some are just awfully terrified. It is personal preference. What I find most intriguing about this sport is the passion. The thrill of rushing towards your opponent, getting a one light.

I'm not making much sense to some people right now, but if you ever get the chance, go watch a fencing match, notice the passion.

Eat, sleep, fence.

DO YOU AGREE?

2009-06-23T14:17:00.004+08:00

The newer generation is not growing smarter, they just have a larger accumulation of smartness.

PARENT'S DAY

2009-06-17T08:41:00.006+08:00

Well, my church doesn't celebrate Father and Mother's Day anymore, instead, we celebrate PARENT'S DAY, it's suppose to reduce cost or something. Anyways, I wasn't around during the celebration, but since the REAL Father's Day is coming, I want to share some stuff about it. In case most of you don't know, yesterday was my father's birthday. My real father, DAVID SIM CHOO LAI. (ya, my hero)

So what is Father and Mother's day all about? In simple words, it's just a day to honor Fathers and Mothers all around the world. Honoring them for all the shit we put them through day after day. Sure you might think, if we were that troublesome, why bring us into this world anyway. That, I still can't find an answer, why don't you ask your parents? Anyway, there is no harm in going the extra mile for them for just one day after all they been through for us right?

There are so many ways we can appreciate them. The normal ones would be bringing them out for dinner, buying them presents and the such. Though, if you have the time and resources, you can do something a little more extravagant for them, BUT, I'm not saying that it is wrong to have a normal outing or dinner. After all, it's the thought that counts. I'm sure your parents would be touched enough with anything you do.

Anyway, I can't really find any other reason on why you should appreciate your parents. No matter what they say or do, they still love you. To me, I love my family, simply because they are my family. So, to all the parents, a special tribute goes out to you.

Just like our Father in Heaven, our parents on earth will forgive us no matter how much wrong we have done, all we have to do is just ask. Like the prodigal son. Though, that doesn't mean we can keep abusing the privillege. Here is a special song dedication with an awesome MTV. (it's getting harder to find a MTV with a good message nowadays)

"I'd Come For You"-Nickelback

Just One more moment, that's all that's needed.

Like wounded soldiers in need of healing.

Time to be honest, this time I'm bleeding

Please don't dwell on it, cause I didn't mean it

I cant believe I said I'd lay our love on the ground

But it doesn't matter cause I've made it up forgive me now

Everyday I spend away my souls inside out

Gotta be someway that I can make it up to you now, somehow.

By now you'd know that I'd come for you

No one but you, yes I'd come for you

But only if you told me to

And I'd fight for youI'd lie, it's true

Give my life for youYou know I'd always come for you

I was blindfolded, but now I'm seeing

My mind was closing, now I'm believing

I finally know what just what it means to let someone in

To see the side of me that no one does or ever will

So if your ever lost and find yourself all alone

I'd search forever just to bring you home,

Here and now this I vow

By now you'd know that I'd come for you

No one but you, yes I'd come for you

But only if you told me to

And I'd fight for you

I'd lie, it's true

Give my life for you

You know I'd always come for you

Yes I'd come for you, no one but you,

Yes I'd come for you

But only if you told me to

And I'd fight for youI'd lie, it's true

Give my life for you

You know I'd always come for you

No matter what gets in my way

As long as there's still life in me

No matter what, remember you know I'll always come for you

I'd crawl across this world for you

Do anything you want me to

No matter what, remember you know I'll always come for you

You know I'll always come for you

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts. ~Author Unknown

CAMPORAMA 2009

2009-06-15T11:25:00.011+08:00

4 years once. CAMPORAMA. A camp not to be missed. This is my third camporama. So why was this Camporama this year held 5 years later? It doesn't really matter does it. At least they had it. God has his timing and purpose for everything. There is no mistake or error about this.

ADVANCE TEAM

This was my first time participating in an advance team. You can really see how passionate Selangor #6 and #7 was when you find out they were there a day earlier with lorry loads of stuff.

I also noticed quite a number of new faces taking over the leadership positions, like Cmdr Reuben, probably still holding the record for being the youngest GMA holder in Malaysia. He was the camp commander for this camp.

CITIES

Australia-Selangor #1

Japan-Selangor #6

India-Selangor #7

China=KL #1, KL #3, JB #3, NS #1, A church (which name I forgot, sorry) and last but not least Melaka #1

CAMP THEME

The camp theme was Positioned 2 Serve. I personally find that this theme really suits the time. In this current generation, we need to understand that temptations are growing stronger and we need to stand strong in the place God has positioned us to serve in, no matter what the ministry, but being Royal Rangers, " We will do our best, with God's help, to serve God, our church and our fellowmen. To live by the Rangers code, to make the golden rule, my daily rule. "

The Royal Rangers ministry is an excellent ministry that is most definitely not some sideline ministry. This ministry is able to bring up excellent and passionate leaders. Not saying that there are no passionate leaders in other ministries, but where else can you find commanders that take time off from their busy schedule to get more busy? Where else can you find leaders who take time to be responsible to plan a camp that will impact the lives of the younger generation, while ensuring they are getting the adventurous camp, be entertained and yet care for their safety?

Which brings me to the KL #1 commanders. I have never seen such patient commanders before. Honestly, it was unbelievable. Kids asking the weirdest questions and yet they had the patience to answer them patiently. Well, me, being curious, asked one of the commanders why they are so patient, and he patiently replied me with a story about one of his more senior commanders. He told me that this more senior commander once had to clean up after a boy who had an accident in his pants (yes, he....in his pants) and mind you, it was jeans. So the more senior commander patiently washed the boys pants in a run down toilet. So I guess this is the story that motivates this younger generation of commanders in KL #1 to be so patient. To Cmdr Philip Lam Kah Leong (City Mayor of China), Cmdr Lam Kah Meng, Cmdr Samuel Ngeow, Cmdr Hansel, here is a tribute to you for being so patient. It's not like other outposts like Melaka #1 have no good commanders. We just have a 'different' approach.

SKILLARAMA AND HIGHLIGHTS

I didn't know whether I went as a camper or commander, but I guess it's a privilege for me. I never guessed that I had the time to finish all the Skillarama and Highlights, but I did, and managed to get the Skillarama badge. It was a blessing. I had the chance to play a game of laser tag, which is something like paintball, but you don't get shot by bullets. Instead you wear a censor on your head that is connected to your gun that is your life. I also had the chance to collect all my city badges. One of the notable moments was when we had to play slow motion rugby to get our city badge from Australia. It was hilarious.

INTERCITY CHALLENGES

CHINA WON. We played Ultimate Frisbee, Regatta(building a boat with recycled materials and racing in it) and Laser Tag. China won 2nd placing in all of it. I

CITY NIGHT

On the first night, there was no night rally, instead, each city had to hold it's own event. In China, we had some plays and "Confucius says" to entertain the children. We also had our very own Cmdr Samuel Ngeow to share a short message about the UNDYING FLAME that Jesus gives us. At the end, during a Q & A time that was held, when asked "What is the capital of China?" not many hands were raised, but there was a little boy who confidently raised his hand and was chosen to say his answer. He bravely answered "C". All of us took about 3-4 seconds to digest the answer then started bursting out in laughter when realising he misunderstood the question as the capital letter of China when we actually asked for the capital city of China which is Beijing. Anyway, he was still given the prize.

NIGHT RALLIES

The night rallies were awesome. I had the privilege of witnessing about 60 campers giving their hearts and lives to our Almighty Jesus. It was definitely the biggest satisfaction any commander there could have had. When one soul is saved, the whole of heaven rejoices. So all the angels up there must be having a big fiesta and must be all fat by now. We were separated into Discovery Rangers and Adventure/Expedition Rangers. Cmdr Gideon Lee (our current National Commander) gave short and sweet messages on both nights that were yet able to impact everyone. He also shared his vision on how Royal Rangers Malaysia will have a full time staff and our very own campsite. WHY NOT? It's something every Ranger in Malaysia should hope for.

WHAT I LEARNT FROM THIS CAMP

1. How to throw a boomerang correctly

2. That you are suppose to remain completely silent during a Japanese Tea Ceremony and that sushi rice is different from normal rice

3. That the bollywood industry is the biggest movie making industry

4. China is the 5th biggest country with the world's largest population.

MEMORABLE CHANTS

INDIA(mostly from India)

1. Singh is King

2. The bulb is spoilt change it X2, pat the door/dog X2 (chant done along with actions of changing a bulb and patting a dog/door

3. I.N.D.I.A, India the Bomb

4. Yes boss, can boss, no problem boss.

AUSTRALIA

1. Aussie, OI, Aussie Aussie, OI, OI

2. Aus-tra-li-a

3. Waltzing Matilda song

4. Kang-a-roo

JAPAN

1. Ohio, Ohio, Ohio, OH

2. Too fast and furious song

CHINA

1. Glory, glory China hebat

Glory, glory China bagus

Glory China mesti menang

Gila gila China

2. Let the China town beat the Japan outta you

Let the China town beat the Aussie outta you

We gonna beat up India, make them black and blue

So let the China town make a winner out of you

3. CHINA

WHAT YOU WANT

ARE YOU READY

YEA

WHAT ARE YOU READY FOR

CHINA MANIA

ROYAL PATROL

I also had the awesome privilege of serving in the Royal Patrol with Cmdr Zach again. It was an exciting experience again being able to participate in morning parades and night duties.

ACTS 13:36

A NEW CHAPTER

2009-06-04T20:50:00.003+08:00

Decisions, decisions, it is now sort of half a year. For most of my friends, they have finally decided what they want to do with the rest of their life. Just to clear some things up, I don't believe in "Will this guarantee me a job in the future?". In case you were living under a rock, let me enlighten you a little, there is no such thing as "guarantee" or "for sure" in this life. ANYTHING is possible. So if a crook can think of 500 ways to con RM 100, 000 from you. I'm sure you A1 students can do better in looking for jobs. If not, you don't deserve those A1s. So stop worrying. However, when I say this, I don't mean you can do anything. It means you can find some other way to find a job or earn money. Picking rubbish is a very lucrative business. Sure, some of you may look down or find it weird, but EVERYONE produces trash. Think about it. Some people just back stab and push their way to the top, but do you really feel satisfied after that? Can you sleep well at night? I'm not saying that there is no hope for students who don get strings of A1s. Why not? Look at all the successful people, Robert Kiyosaki, Donald Trump, they didn't do so well in school, look how they turned out. The key is determination. How badly do you want to succeed in life? Don't make excuses and constantly drown yourself in self-pity. How far is that going to get you?

As for those who are going to make this "big" decision soon, let me tel you the same thing I always tell those who ask me for "advice". It may be the same as what you normally hear. It is pretty standard actually. It's just the matter of whether you want to apply it. You feel so afraid that you make the wrong choice, there is no such thing.

1. Just do what you can imagine yourself doing.

So what if you can't imagine yourself being some big shot person with some fancy titled job. What would this world be if everyone wanted to be boss? Just do what you feel like doing, but there is the question of your parents. Sure, they want whats best for you. So you have to calmly explain to them what you want to do. Don't let it turn into a debate. So what if you are a teenager and "My parents just don't understand me". That is just nonsense. All this is just over dramatized by movies. Of course your parents won't understand you if you don't tell them. Parents are human too. They can't read your mind. It's like the same way why parents reject some of your propositions without telling you why. You can't read their mind. So, don't try to be 'cool'. Just talk to your parents. What does 'cool' get you? Just so you can go on ranting to your friends about how your parents don't understand you.

2. Find out what you wanna know.

There are many different opinions to this. One is that you should find out as much information as you can then make a decision. Another is to find out what you wanna know. Finding out as much information possible can take the rest of your life. Though some people may say you must find out everything. It really depends on you . I mean you can ask all the experts in the world a 101 questions, but in the end, you are going to have to decide for yourself what you want. It's like this. You are going shopping for a watch. You screen through few shops but you already got your eyes on one. It's got everything you are looking for, but you go see all the other shops anyway, just to make sure, but in the end, deep down in your heart, you know you are going to buy that watch anyway. You get what I'm trying to say? Just find out what you need to know. So what if it's the most popular course? Does it mean you will be popular? Does it guarantee you will get a job? Does it make you any happier? So what if your friend is going for that course? What happened to making new friends?

3. Now, one of the most favourable question, local-U, overseas or form 6? Private or government?

This is all really up to you. The thing with form 6 is, you really have to be determined and disciplined to study. Not that you don't have to be determined elsewhere, but if you fail form 6, you have to start all over again. If you have the resources, try to go overseas, it will broaden your perspective about things. Now, the money right? If you really want to go overseas, study harder and try your best to get scholarship. If you can't, then look for alternatives, there are over 1000 scholarships if you look carefully. When all else fails, there is FAMA. (FAther and Mother scholarship) Unlimited amounts. Trust me, if you really want it. There are thousands of legal ways to do it. You can work part time overseas to pay for it and many more. It's not that local-U's are damn inefficient, it's personal preference. It's not like there are no successful people from local-U's. Again, it's really up to you.

There are so many different options and the case differs in everyone, but the concept and principles are the same. I know I'm not an expert, and you must be thinking I have gone nuts for writing all this. What's the point right? It's cause I have repeated myself more than 10 times about this when people ask me what to do. I don't mind repeating, but this post if just for future reference. It's probably the same advice anyone would give anyway. Sorry if I have offended anyone in anyway in this post, I didn't intend to do so. If I wanted to, I would insult you directly to your face, but what's the point in insulting anyone, it's not like I'm perfect. In the end, it is just another chapter in life, why get so worried over it, just trust God and just do it. Life is not all about us. It is not all about making money and our career. Life is so much bigger than that.

TRUST GOD, always

WORLD MILK DAY

2009-06-01T22:37:00.002+08:00

I know it's kinda late notice, but today is WORLD MILK DAY! Malaysia doesn't participate in it though. So to all the cows out there, today is a tribute to you! I know you can't read my post, but I just want to thank you for providing milk. I know there are many other sources of milk, but you are our main provider. Ok, enough of me trying to communicate with something that won't reply back.

http://www.milkproduction.com/Library/Articles/world_milk_day.htm

Why milk rocks?

It tastes damn good.

Why you should drink milk?

So many good reasons why

Why you shouldn't drink milk?

If you hate milk and puke after drinking it, save yourself the trouble and embarressment and do yourself a favor by not trying to act macho and drink it.

Some facts about milk:

1. It takes 29 cups of milk to make 1 pound of butter.

2.A cow can't give milk until she has given birth to a calf.

3. A cow drinks over 117 gallons of water in a week, no wonder cow farms smell.

4. The average cow produces 90 glasses of milk each day — or about 200,000 glasses of milk throughout her life.

5. A cow's udder can hold 25 - 50 pounds of milk.

6. Cows were first brought to Plymouth Colony in 1624.

7. American dairy farmers produced 156.6 billion pounds of milk in 1997.

8. Most cows give more milk when they listen to music.

9. Blue whale calves drink as much as 132 gallons of milk a day. A baby whale can increase its weight by 200 pounds in one day.

10. Yak's milk is pink.

11. Camel's milk does not curdle.

12. Cows have an amazing sense of smell — they can smell something up to 6 miles away, like food.

13. Milk is better for cooling your mouth after eating spicy food. (Milk products contain casein, a protein that cleanses burning taste buds.)

14. Most cows chew at least 50 times per minute.

15.There are approximately 340-350 squirts in a gallon of milk not worth the effort for like six dollar an hour.

16. Milk is the official state beverage of North Dakota, California is wine or should.

From : http://lams.slcusd.org/pages/teachers/negranti/battleprojects06/michaelweb/Milk%20Fun%20Facts.html

MOOO!!!

PLASTIC BAGS

2009-05-27T22:11:00.003+08:00

If you are just buying one item and you don't need a plastic bag, just say no. If you don't want the flier just say no. If you don't need the air cond, just say no.

Why? Simply because global warming is all our fault. YES. Do you think the earth has nothing better to do but just heat up so everyone feels warm? So stop complaining why the temperature is increasing and do something.

Buying something and taking the plastic bag does not add more value to your item. Who cares if you spent RM 1.50 on a pack of nasi lemak and you want a plastic bag so you feel your RM 1.50 is well spent. What do you do with the plastic bag later on? You don't even bother recycling it. What about fliers? So what if its a promoters job to hand you fliers. You have the right to say no. What's the point of taking the paper when you don't even bother reading it. What's worse is you don't even bother recycling it.

I'm sure all of you know about our environmental crisis. I'm also sure that each of you also have your own reasons to object or support this cause. Supporting this cause doesn't mean that you have to do violent protests against the building of a dam or the such. Start where you can. By saying no to plastic bags. This is the most common and reasonable thing that all of us can do to reduce the amount of unbiodegradable products. Just say no. How hard can it be? It won't embarrass you, it won't take much effort, it doesn't even cost you anything to say No, thank you. If everyone rejects 3 plastic bags a day, they reduce 21 plastic bags a week and if a group of 10 people rejects it, we can already reduce 210 plastic bags. Wow, right? So if everyone plays their role, then who knows, the current global warming wouldn't continue to pester everyone. If everyone takes a slight more initiative to recycle their recycable items, who knows, it might even start to snow in Malaysia. Recycling items may also get you some money. It may seem like too much of an ideal world, but hope can never be lost or take away. If we all just do our best, maybe we can make a difference in this world.

There is no point going for campaign after campaign or having exhibitions to help save the environment, when you don't truly believe in the cause. It's like reciting an oath to which you don't know the meaning. It must be a long term commitment. I know I sound so naggy and ridiculous right now, but if I can change your mind to stop using plastic bags, I think its worth it. Please note that I mean when I said no to plastic bags, it's when you don't need it, but if you really have no choice, please don't be a smart alec and try to carry a mountain load of groceries without it. Though, many major shopping complexes have now started playing their part by selling those bags where people buy to put their stuff in to be reused. Now, you can't blame everyone for not doing their part, everyone plays an important role. Don't overlook it. It may seem small to you, but everything matters. You can make a difference.

SAY NO TO PLASTIC BAGS

SOME THOUGHTS

2009-05-18T10:40:00.004+08:00

These are just some random thoughts.

1. Technically, rich people can buy time. Example, if they wanted to use the highway, they could just go at 220 km/h to reach their destination in probably 1/4 the time. If they get caught, they would probably have to pay a RM 300 fine. So technically they are buying time.

2. How can you say that you want to do missions overseas, or do some social welfare in Africa when you can't even help the orphanages or old folk's home in Malaysia?

3. Traffic jams. Go check out what Jeff Dunham and Peanut say about traffic report.

4. Some philospohy like thing, I hope I thought up of my own, which is "If you believe that opposites attract, then stop asking why good things happen to good people and bad things happen to good people." I hope it's original.

ATHEISM

2009-05-11T10:43:00.002+08:00

This, yet again, might be quite a controversial post. I'm not quite so sure about this topic, so I would like to request some opinion and advice. PLEASE READ THIS POST WITH FULL CAUTION. IT IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE REFERRED TO. IT'S JUST OPINIONS AND THOUGHTS FROM ME.

According to Wikipedia:

Atheism is the position that deities do not exist,[1] or the rejection of theism.[2] In the broadest sense, it is the absence of belief in the existence of deities.[3]

The term atheism originated from the Greek ἄθεος (atheos), which was derogatively applied to anyone thought to believe in false gods, no gods, or doctrines that stood in conflict with established religions. With the spread of freethought, skeptical inquiry, and subsequent increase in criticism of religion, application of the term narrowed in scope. The first individuals to self-identify as "atheist" appeared in the 18th century. Today, about 2.3% of the world's population describes itself as atheist, while a further 11.9% is described as nontheist.[4] Up to 65% of Japanese describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, or non-believers; and up to 48% in Russia.[5] The percentage of such persons in European Union member states ranges between 6% (Italy) and 85% (Sweden).[5]

Well, it goes something like this. Just the other week. My friend who is sort of an atheist asked me about why I don't watch Harry Potter or the Da Vinci Code or the Golden Compass. It got me really thinking for awhile. Actually why do I really not watch those shows? For awhile, I felt a bit stupid for following someones instructions blindly, again. Well, the senior pastor of my church strongly advised (more like commanded) us not to watch that show. (if he could, he would want us to smash all the TV sets from our homes).From what I know, it's because all these shows are against the existence of God. I have no problem from refraining myself from watching all these shows. I think it's something about boycotting these shows, I have no problem going against these shows, but not every show is good anyway. If I were to follow being a Christian strictly, I think I wouldn't be able to watch any movie. Even Pocohantas, because the tree is some kind of spirit. Sure, it sounds silly to you. Then again, the devil will never tempt you obviously, he will do it subtly. The analogy will be this, a frog put into hot, boiling water, obviously it will jump out, but, put a frog into room temperature water and slowly heat it up, it will adjust to the temperature.(this analogy is constantly used by my father).

So yes, you are now really confused. So am I. Then my friend asked, how come other Christians watch it and you don't? It was followed by another list of questions which I could not answer, and felt like the conversation was leading to a debate. So what should I do as a Christian? Some people say that it's OK, as long as you don't get involved with the show, and some say, avoid all temptation, and that the eye gates are the windows to your soul, guard them well. (I think this is from the bible) I told my friend that I don't watch these shows because it was an atheist way of going against God. So my friend asked me back, just because I'm an atheist, are you not going to any of my opinions, once again, speechless.

What do atheist really have against the existence of a truly caring God up there who really loves us and sent His only son to die PAINFULLY? For someone to say there is no God, he is telling you that he has searched the entire earth at the same time and could find no God, so indirectly, he is telling you that he is God. (That's what I heard from a seminar once, I know you are surprised I pay attention) I hope one day, they will find it in their hearts to accept the truth. Which might be painful to some considering it's their pride at stake. To finally admit that what they have been believing in all this while is all fake and far from the truth.

So my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, where do we stand? The right thing to do, would be to understand God's word and obey His commands. I personally think that there are no grey areas, but this, I don't know. Should we really bash up our TVs? I can live without it, but is it really necessary to segregate ourselves from the world?

We are not physical beings in search of a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings immersed in physical experiences.

MY FAMILY IS JUST AWESOME

2009-05-03T23:31:00.001+08:00

The world is just awesome.-Discovery Channel- (awesome song too)

SO IS MY DAD! He was always my hero, and last Sunday, he did something so awesome, it was like having a glimpse into how the French Revolution. I don't know much about the revolution, but my dad was just so awesome. It's not like my mom and bro aren't awesome, they are equally awesome, but my dad did something that was not his normal routine. Something quite sudden. He stood up and spoke out. Got his point across. Whoa. It was inspirational. I have never seen my dad with such passion before. It was not like he was trying to start a violent campaign with an angry mob, it was more like one of those moments in movies where a sports coach inspires his team, it may sound harsh to some, but at the end, spirits are lifted up high, and they win the battle. Some of you may be wondering whether I have gone nuts, let me assure you and reassure you, I haven't. I'm just so super proud of my dad. More than I ever was. His actions last Sunday will be a long lasting memory for motivation and inspiration. The power of speaking up, unleashed. I hope other people, especially the musicians felt the same way I did, gained some inspiration and passion to speak up and voice out in the future. What is the purpose of that voice and ideas if it is not brought across?

Anyway, I'm just very proud of my dad and I want the whole world to know that my dad is just awesome.

I don't care what other people may think of my dad or my family, I love them so strong, just the way they are. If you can't love your own family, how can you care for anyone else?

PROGRAM LATIHAN KHIDMAT NEGARA (PLKN)

2009-04-30T14:02:00.006+08:00

This will be quite a controversial post, including within myself. I'm not trying to complain or rant, I just want to know what all of you think about it. I'm briefly going to tell what I know about it. I don't really understand much about National Service, but recently I personally went to the campsite. I have camped in a National Service campsite before, but that was when it was relatively new. I personally would have loved to been selected for NS but after I found out what really goes on, I'm glad I wasn't.

First off, what was the objectives of PLKN? If it was to train "wira's" and "wirawati's", I personally think they failed to do it.

Let me enlighten you on what I found out when I went to the campsite. Their daily activities consists of classes. I'm sure that in a real army they would have classes too, but these classes were about muhibbah, integrasi and the such. Not that it is wrong to teach good moral values, but what is the point of forcing so many young talented people who have actually better things to do and go for NS to teach them moral education. Don't you think it's a bit of a waste of young people power.

I also found out that they hardly train, and have never used the obstacle course before. They also have not been jungle trekking and camping. After almost 1 and half months, they haven't even done it once. It's a waste of money preparing the obstacle course. The trainers are probably frustrated that if they give too hard of a training, people will complain and if they don't fully utilize the equipment, they will also get it. I think the trainers should just be hard to the campers. I mean, after so many people (especially parents) making such a big fuss about going to camp, it doesn't matter if they complain a little bit more. Besides, after so much complaining about how hard it's going to be, they only go there to the educated about moral values, that's just a waste of complaining. Trainers shouldn't be so worried about hurting the child, unless they do it on purpose of course, but if they really want people to be tougher, I seriously doubt that feeding them 6 times a day will help. A camp should be like, well, a camp. If this camp fails to serve it's purpose, then it's just a waste of 3 months and a lot of money. If people really want to complain, give them something to complain about. Not trying to compare, but, really, people in Singapore National Service have to go through it for 2 years and it's tough, that's something real to talk about, this 3 months of moral education just is embarrasing to compare.

On the other side, I heard of some people who have enjoyed this camp very much, I'm not very sure why, but they just enjoy it. Maybe it's because it's their first time camping, out of the house or meeting new friends. I'm sure everyone who went learnt some good thing that will change their life. Like how to be more independant, wash your clothes and etc.

Anyway, this is all very subjective. Sorry if I have invoked or insulted anyone's memories of National Service. I didn't mean to do so. Sorry if I sounded whiny to some too. Please leave your opinions.

PKTR 08-THE SILENCE

2009-04-22T21:12:00.002+08:00

I forgot to mention that I was silent for the last few days of PKTR. Plus I ended up losing my voice. I don't know how that happened, even when I shut up for so long. I guess it's because I didn't get enough water. The last few days, I just drank cordial and teh O. Anyway, just to share with you all who don't know what happened.

I, Stefanie Sim, just decided on the spur of the moment to stop talking. I don't know why, just felt like shutting up or maybe I got lazy to talk. I learnt a lot from the silence which I declared on myself.

1. I learnt to really think thought before I try to "say" something because when you are "speaking" in actions, you really have to think properly about the actions. This also gives me time to think through something before just blurting something out.

2. I also learnt to listen more. This is simply because when you are silent, you pay more attention to what you are hearing, so even when you are trying to "say" something, your mouth is still shut without any noise and you have to listen to what everybody is saying, still.

3. I also learnt that actions speak louder than words. It's not that words are so useless, but then you wouldn't have to say it because people would already know. I know I'm not making any sense, but I hope you will understand after some thought.

I actually learnt a lot of other things, but I can't really remember it now because it was mostly spur of the moment inspirations which I failed to write down. If I remember anymore I will try to update it.

PKTR 08-THE LANGUAGE

2009-04-21T23:39:00.002+08:00

Few new words or statements I learnt to be added into my dictionary:

1. Yes, korek hidung dalam dalam sampai hidung berdarah
2. Adding -ionalizationsme, sme, sme sme to the back of any big word and remember to bob your head to the left or right while saying sme, sme, sme. (pronounced as zem)
3. I love you, so strong ( or any other sentence, but instead of saying very much you say so strong.)
4. Booth. Pronounced as Booth, th, ss. To say this, say booth, then say th, then stick your tongue out and the ss sound will come out naturally. This can also be applied to any word that ends with th.
5. My brother/sister from another mother.

If I remember more, I will write it in comments.

PKTR 08-THE ADVICE?

2009-04-21T22:58:00.003+08:00

I'm not that good of an advisor as the advice/advise i give doesn't really apply directly I think. Anyway, to those who get chosen, try your best to go. Go with an open mind and open heart, don't try and find out too much as you will just destroy the impact of the modules, especially Gunung Berapi. Just go all out during the camp. Be the best you can be.

If you really want some reasonable and practically advice/advise, don't bring so much stuff, you can wash it there.

PKTR 08-THE PEOPLE

2009-04-21T21:02:00.003+08:00

This program and my posts will be incomplete without sharing with you the 48 wonderful people I met on this journey. I know it's not my style of blogging about other people because it wouldn't make sense to those who didn't go to the camp, but it doesn't matter because I don't know of any other way to show my gratitude to them for allowing me the chance to know them.

I will try my best to make it short and sweet. I know it doesn't make any sense to you, it doesn't to me either but I'm going to try to describe each of them in one word. Try. Note that this is just my assumption of them and we all know what happens when we assume too much. We make an ASS. out of U and ME, ASS.U.ME. I learnt this from Nasser Baker (TM General Manager). Nor am I trying to judge my friends, I just want them to know what I think of them after being with them for 16 days in a good way. I hope you all don't take this the wrong way because I think all of you are equally awesome.

1. Ch'ng Choi May (May)- Willing

2. Anis Syazwani Basri (Anis)- Enchanting

3. Yin Zheng Dao (Kelvin)- Alert

4. Tan Yuet Yang (Tan)- Helpful

5. Kuai Chen Chuan (Daren)- Calm

6. Muhamad Hanif Kamail (Hanif)- Jolly

7. Jocinda Wong Jia Heng (Jo)- Wonderful

8. Lee Julin (Julin)- Responsible

9. Ding Lik Suong (Ding Dong)- FUNNY

10. Lee Ji Ching (Ji Cheng)- Bright

11. Yashini Mohan (Yashini)- Dynamic

12. Vijeyatharzhini Bathmanathan (Vijeya)- Excited

13. Siti Asfarina Nizamuddin (Siti)- Witty

14. Ngai Chin Hong (Gary)- Nicest

15. Loh Sin Toun (Sin Toun/Ester)- Entertaining

16. Alya Amirah Azman (Alya)- Naive

17. Maryam Arina Mohamad Mahyuddin (Maryam)- Blur

18. Panier Selvam Devarajan (Panier)- Pleasant

19. Tarsha Subramaniam (Tarsha)- Delightful

20. Fadhilah Najahi Iberahim (Najah)- Warm

21. Mohamad Baihaqi Mohamad Basri (Bai)- Spiritual

22. Tan Jih Tze (Jasmine)- Receptive

23. Hafiz Burkhan (Hafiz)- Agreeable

24. Asha Venkatramanan (Asha)- LOUD

25. Mohd Azim Mohd Taib (Azim)- Comfortable

26. Nisshanthan Dhanapalan (Nisshan)- Sensitive

27. Glorian Paul Bosco Velusamy (Bosco)- Determined

28. Siti Fatimah Kamis (Fatimah)- Strong

29. Nishamalar Ann Sebastian (Nisha)- Ambitious

30. Nik Nur Adila Mat Zaidan (Adila)- Obedient

31. Ahmad Nur Azrul Che Rezali (Azrul)- Eager

32. Saiful Azmi Mohd Salahuddin (Saiful)- Joyous

33. Syarifah Fatin Amalin Syed Amran (Fatin)- Gentle

34. Chua Chia Ern (Alicia)- Diligent

35. Muhammad Zainurin Mohamed Zin (Bobo)- Unusual

36. Lim Sue Rin (Sue Rin)- Well-mannered

37. Nurul Sakinah Zabidi Azhar (Sakinah)- Polite

38. Wong Kin Chun (Danny)- Zany

39. Jaramier Cobrado Joibi (Jara)- Dramatic (in a good way)

40. Tracey May Dompok (Tracey)- Mature

41. Abdul Rahim Abdul Razak (Rahim)- Loving

42. Arrharatnasari Kachong Ma'arof (Ratna)- Calm

43. Ryner Lai Wei Chuen (Ryner)- Logical

44. Hilda Anak Kolony (Hilda)- Thoughtful

45. Muhammad Ikhwan Zubir (Ikhwan)- Soft-hearted

46. Chan Kim Fung (Kim Fung)- Delightful

47. Muhamad Ridhwan Mohd Muhaimin (Ridhwan)- Encouraging

48. Candy Ting Ya Lee (Candy/Cindy)- Sweet

I'm sorry if I repeated the descriptions. I really hope you guys do well in the future and achieve your goals!

PKTR 08-THE 16 DAYS

2009-04-21T19:11:00.004+08:00

How can I summarize 16 days into a post? Program Kepimpinan Tun Razak ke-16 Tahun 2008 (the year is based on the year we took our SPM exam). How should I start this? How can I tell you what happened so it also makes sense to everyone including those who didn't attend this program? I guess I can only say so much, but if you are really interested to know more, please contact me at my email (stefsports@hotmail.com) and don't use the comments section because it's not meant for messages. Let me suggest to those who might be chosen to go for this program in the future, don't read too many blogs or information about this as it will somehow reduce the impact this camp. I realise that you are damn curious about what will happen and all, but let me share some advice in another post. I'm not saying you CANNOT read at all, just try not to.

Week 1

On the first day, Abang Ayaz (Pengerusi Persatuan Alumni YTR) said " What you get out of this program depends on you". I couldn't agree more with him. It doesn't just apply with this program, it applies for mostly everything else. It somehow relates to the golden rule "Do to others what you would have them do to you". On the first day, it was like a whole day of ice-breakers. I guess you can say that it was pretty successful because on the second day, it felt like everyone knew each other for 5 years already, well, at least that was how I felt. The second day, we were brought to 5 and 6 star hotels. We ate there, we had talks there. This program is small prove that each of us are worth spending RM 4081.63 on. This amount is based on RM 200 K divided by 49 people. Rest assured to all tax payers that your money was well spent. Mostly we had talks on the first week. Many rich and famous people, whom I mostly didn't know. We stayed in Majlis Sukan Negara the first week, met famous badminton players, whom, I also didn't know until people pointed out. (this is what happens when you don't read the newspapers, but I don't regret it). I guess the main highlights for week 1 that I mostly remember was:

11 Copies

Kak Nadiah Hanim came and conducted a very different approach to soul searching. It was unlike other seminars in secondary school where you sat down and listen to someone talk about something that does relate, but put in a very boring manner. This however was different. I learnt and was reminded of a lot of values like being H.U.M.B.L.E. She also taught a lot of different things that were mostly hand on that you have to attend and do to understand.

Meeting the AYTR

I enjoyed the AYTR modules very much. It's also a different approach to leadership training. It was conducted in a very professional manner. I got the message that they were trying to bring across and I hope that I will apply it whenever I can in the future. Skills like how to think out of the box (especially this). I used to think that I think a lot out of the box, but this is where you test your ability.

Project: Lead and Inspire

We were given a project to Lead and Inspire orphans. Given limited time and resources, we were suppose plan an event that will entertain orphans. We were divided into 2 groups and I personally think we did a good job until we were careless and ignorant of small issues that are big issues for us a leaders. It was mistakes like not throwing rubbish that looks small, but us, as chosen leaders, who did that mistake, which is unforgivable. I personally think that we deserved to be scolded, but it's more important that we learn from our mistakes. I'm sure in the future we will think twice before leaving any rubbish or stuff around.

Basically, we met a lot of rich and famous people who thought us many different values. I don't think I can actually write it all in one post. I can't decide whether I'm too lazy or I forgot everything. Just kidding.

Week 2

This week was more of an outdoor week. Main highlights:

Camping at Kota Khubu Baru

Camping! My play field! The clean air, the tents, the outdoors! We went jungle trekking and water rafting but it's to my greatest disappointment that I couldn't join the water rafting due to sickness. That, however, will not stop me from going in the future!

Homestay at Kampung Lonek

It's not that I'm so jakoon till I have not seen a kampung before, but I have certainly never stayed in a kampung with people I have never met before. It was certainly an enriching experience. I stayed with Sakinah. I got a new grandmother. Nenek Khatijah. I was so happy because I miss my grandparents who have went to be with the Lord. Meeting Nenek Khatijah was cool because it was good to feel love from a grandparent again. I'm making it sound like I never get love at all. Sorry, I was just giving the dramatic effect. I found out she had 5 successful children and 16 grandchildren which I only met 1. Her life was like what we normally read in story books, but for me to experience it was just different. What inspired me was that she never complained once about how her children never visited her. One of her grandchild who came to fetch us from her house to the Balai Raya (where we all gathered) was kind of inconsiderate to me (but who am I to judge) because he couldn't be bothered less about his grandmother and he was willing to let his grandmother cycle in the heat. I was so inspired by Nek because she didn't complain one bit. She could live with her children, but she didn't like their lifestyle, but I guess it's good that she can stand on her own 2 feet and prove to the world that old people are not all that helpless. Rock on!

Last few days were spent on knowing each other better. We also went jungle trekking again when we were staying in Casa Rachado. We were given tasks like writing about each other and stuff like that. Somethings that my friends had to say to me will be treasured.

Main event-Closing event

It all had to come to an end eventually, we had to come up with a performance in a week that is suppose to impress people like Tun Razak's wife, YAB Tun Hjh Rahah with limited resources. I am beginning to miss the challenges in camp. Anyway, the performance was commented to be the best the AYTR has seen so far, so I'm guessing it's good. The director is Jara and assistant is Asha, my homie. It consisted of acting, singing, dancing, poems and all into a medley.

I guess that is how the 16 days was. If I remember anything important I should add, I will add it to this post in comments. Sorry for the inconvenience

FRIEND FOR LIFE

2009-03-29T18:36:00.003+08:00

On the 28th and 29th of March 2009, Royal Rangers Melaka #1 had a Ranger Kids Slumber Night. If you ever want to know what it's like when you give children a whole bunch of chocolate chip muffins with a lot of toppings, ask me. It's like feeding squirrels a bowl of sugars then releasing them from their cage into a small room. Hyper activity off the charts. They run around and go wild.

Anyway, I think overall the camp went quite well. The camp commander was Stephen Raj, assistants were John Ng and Foo Joa Wee. The plans were a little vague and messy, but overall I'm sure the Ranger Kids enjoyed themselves. It's not their fault nor is it a mistake, it's simply because they didn't have enough experience running camps. Everyone has to start somewhere. No one is perfect. I believe in the Royal Rangers ministry being able to train good leaders. The leaders grow up to be realistic and able to lead in any other ministry. It becomes second nature.

Here is my short and simple "5 ways to control children". I don't really believe in those children books on how to educated them with negotiating and crap like that, it may work for some, but it's not a universal solution, because there are different families, different children, different needs. You have to discover on your own, this are my own theories and methods, but first you have to understand the top 3 things that most children want.

Number 3: To have fun
Number 2: To have fun
Number 1: To have a lot of fun

So the methods to stop children from crying, throwing tantrums, motivation, etc:
Way 5: Carry them, throw them in the air.
Way 4: Carry them, turn them upside down.
Way 3: Put them on your shoulder and PRETEND to drop them (make sure you catch them)
Way 2: Pat them on the back, real hard. (in a way it's to reaffirm that you are there)
When all else fails, use the universal children crowd control.
Way 1: Stuff them with sweets! Anything with sugar.

If they get more hyperactive, stuff them with more sugar. It's been tested and proven at camp. When this boy, Johnathan Yip was running around like a chipmunk on caffeine, we sprayed a load of whipped cream into his mouth and he just toned down. Explanation for this phenomenon still to be discovered.

Anyway, kids can say the funniest things. One of them was when Cmdr Steven Chia was sharing on how Jesus is our best friend for life. When he was asking, "Do you know who is always there for you, wants to be your best friends and is willing to sacrifice his life for you?" (attempting to get the answer Jesus)" Then from the crowd a smart Alec shouted out "Pastor Les!". Anyway, if you have any more interest in finding out more about the camp head on down to Cmdr Ivan or our official Royal Rangers Melaka #1 blog. The links are at the right side of my blog.

WHAT DO YOU WANT IN LIFE?

2009-03-23T14:33:00.001+08:00

This is going to be quite a deep post.

Last Saturday, Ps Rachel from Praise City church came to our church to share. It was eye-opening a good reminder for all of us as growing Christians. It was about Staying on Course. As we all know, God has set out a course for us to follow, but many of times, we stray away from our course mostly to satisfy our own wants and desires. We have to constantly remind ourselves that we are not a physical being in search of a spritual experience, but we are a spritual being immersed in physical experiences. (or at least that is what I remember). Then, she asked a very important question, WHAT DO YOU WANT IN LIFE? Have you really sat down and think sincerely about what you REALLY want in life? I'm not just talking about material things. After you have a latest handphone, big car, big house, big pay check, then what? What's next? Have you ever heard of anyone on their dying bed who asks you to count how much inheritance they have left or how much assets do they hold? I'm sure there are few, but in general, I don't think there are a lot. Material things can only satisfy the flesh for awhile, until another cool gadget comes along. So, technically, we can't be truly satisfied with what we have. What about life after death? Have you ever wondered how long you want to live for? What is your purpose on this earth? What other things do you want in life besides the material things? Is there something worth living for?

That brings me to my friends who have just finished form 5 and just got their results. All of them are in different situations which require them to take different measures. There are some who don't know what to do at all. Then there are those who can't decide. Then there are those whose parents don't agree with their choices and there are those who don't have the chance to continue studying at all. What ever the situation may be, there is one thing that is for sure, there is no right or wrong choices no matter what they decide unless they start to stop studying to learn to steal, kill and destroy. To me, if you really find yourselves able to imagine what you would be doing in the future, by all means, go for it. Sure, there may be some obstacles like finances and parents and what God wants you to do, but if God is in control, everything will somehow fall into place. When it comes to finances, there are 1001 ways to find it. There are scholarships, loans, bonds and FAM (father and mother). When there is a will, there is a way. It all comes down to how badly you want it. If you are unsure of what to study or what to do in the future, pray and listen to what God has to say. Then think about what you want to for the rest of your existing life. If you know what you want to do, but can't seem to find a course that can suit your future career, study something that is in somehow related. Besides, as of the late, degree holders don't seem to apply what they learn in degree to their current job. So fear not, don't be alarmed, just do your best and live in the moment.

If you are not in the moment, then you are gone. (Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby).

I think I have said enough, now it's up to you to give your ideas and thoughts.

KELONG

2009-03-18T10:40:00.003+08:00

There are so many reasons why sea fishing rocks. Just recently, I went on to a Kelong for a fishing trip.

According to Wikipedia:

Kelong (sometimes spelt Kellong) is a Malay word to describe a form of offshore platform built predominantly with wood, and can be found in waters off Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, while only a handful remains around Singapore due to rapid urbanisation.

Kelongs are built by fishermen primarily for fishing purposes, although larger structures can also function as dwellings for them and their families. They are built without the need for nails, using rattan to bind tree trunks and wooden planks together. Anchored into the sea bed using wooden piles of about 20 metres in length and driven about 6 metres into the sea, they are usually sited in shallow water, although some can be found in deeper waters. Some kelongs are less isolated, and are connected to land via a wooden gangway. Other variants of Kelongs can be mobile, or may involve a large groups of Kelongs joined together into a massive offshore community.

Sea fishing is 10 times more the excitement compared to pond fishing. Why? Mainly because, you kind of never know what you might catch. While in a pond, you roughly know what fish might come out. Plus, pond fish has a weird mud smell when you eat it. Even after you wash it and cook it. It's also more thrilling to pull the fish out of the sea. It's like a huge sense of achievement. It may be a small fish, but it's a nice edible small fish. I'm not making any sense, you just have to try it.

It's not a 5 star hotel. It's just a hut in the middle of the sea. Toilets? Your waste just goes straight to the sea and it gets eaten by the fishes. I'm not complaining. Just giving a fair warning to those of you who want to try.

PRIMATE IQ TEST

2009-03-13T08:57:00.002+08:00

Do it in less than 10 seconds, this will make your I.Q. very high and you very smart. Be honest with yourself then you will be brilliant in your near future !!! Personality test, very interesting!

There is a very very tall coconut tree, and there are 4 animals:

-King Kong, ape, orang utan, monkey passed by. They have a competition to see who is the fastest to get the banana. Who do you think will win? Your answer will reflect your personality.

Try and answer within 30 seconds only, if you are SMART, 10 secs. Quick your answer!!

A ) King Kong

B) Ape

C) Orangutan

D) Monkey

Got your answer? Scroll down to see the analysis.

If your answer is

Orang utan = dull / stupid

Ape = foolish

Monkey = idiot

King Kong = brainless moron

Why ? Coconut tree, where got banana?

Obviously you're stressed by your work

KELUARGAKU

2009-03-10T14:48:00.002+08:00

I think he deserves more marks for his creativity.

WHY STUDENTS FAIL?

2009-03-05T15:03:00.003+08:00

It's not the fault of the student if he fails, because
the year ONLY
has 365' days.

Typical academic year for a student:

1. Sundays-52, Sundays in a year, you know Sundays are for rest.

Days left 313.

2. Summer holidays-50 where weather is very hot and
difficult to study.

Days left 263.

3. 8 hours daily sleep- 130 days GONE..
Days left 141.

4. 1 hour for daily playing- (good for health) means 15
days.
Days left 126.

5. 2 hours daily for food & other delicacies (chewing
properly &
swallowing)-means 30days.

Days left 96.

6. 1 hour for talking (man is a social animal)-means
15 days
days left 81.

7. Exam days- per year at least 35 days.
Days left 46.

8. Quarterly, Half yearly and festival (holidays)-40
days.

Balance 6 days.

9. For sickness- at least 3 days.

Remaining days=3.

10. Movies and functions- at least 2 days.

1 day left.

11. That 1 day is your birthday.

How can you study on that day??????!!!!!!!!!!
Balance = 0

"How can a student pass ?????"Readers discretion:
This was not an original post. It was a forwarded email and I'm not even sure if the counting is accurate.
Please note that this is for your entertainment, the publisher (Stefanie Sim) is not encouraging the misuse of this information in any way. Studying is important, but it is not the only thing. So enjoy your life

HIGHER

2009-03-05T14:50:00.004+08:00

“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” Oprah Winfrey

ONLY people who lift you higher? What about those who want to but are unable to? Maybe Oprah doesn't mean it that way, but it certainly does make me question it. Honestly, what about those people who can't lift you higher? What if all they do is influence you wrongly? Are you suppose avoid them? What makes you think that YOU are so much better than them in the first place? What makes you think that you deserve to surround yourself with people who are going to lift you higher? What makes you think those people WANT to be around you?

I know I sound so angry and one sided, not thinking about what Oprah is trying to bring across, but I really just don't get it. I know this world is unfair and biased. Our world revolves around imbalances. This world won't be interesting without it, but just think about this quote. Maybe you will find your own interpretation.

KANGKUNG IN MY LIFE

2009-03-03T13:19:00.004+08:00

Regarding a post by my good pal, Miss Tan Wei Yi about the horrible taugehs, here is the song she was talking about.

This song was remixed when we were in form 3 (15 years old) due to certain boredom and love for water cunculvus also better known as KANGKUNG

TUNE: Welcome to my life (Simple Plan)

An original remix by Bad Dad (Tan Wei Yi) and Sonny Boy (Stefanie Sim)

TITLE: KANGKUNG IN MY LIFE

VERSE 1:

Have you ever had a bite of it?

Have you really ever savoured it?

Like somehow its just super good, but no one appreciates it

Do you wanna have a bite of it?

Are you really that desperate?

Or are you just one hypocrite, who doesn't care about it

PRE-CHORUS:
Cuz you don't know it's vitamins and its really healthy too

Cuz you don't know it's minerals are good for you

CHORUS:

To feel strong, to feel good

To eat kangkung in the crowd

To have them, envy you

To feel that you are right on top

When you have them on your plate you'll be, the greatest superhero

Cuz taugehs really suck (they really suck)

There's kangkung in my life.

We did not manage to complete it. If you have any great suggestions, feel free to leave some.

Kangkung rocks!

NEWSPAPERS

2009-03-02T08:48:00.004+08:00

According to Wikipedia:

A newspaper is a written publication containing news, information and advertising, usually printed on low-cost paper called newsprint. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on political events, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page containing columns which express the personal opinions of writers.

I really do not understand why some people just love to read the newspaper. Honestly, it's like they are attracted to chaos or something. This is what I typically view of newspaper readers. First they read, then they start saying how dangerous this world has become, and how bad everything is. It's like the whole newspaper, cover to cover is filled with death and corruption. Well, I think, it's simply because, the newspaper really has nothing else to write. Don't you think so? Honestly, what else can the newspaper write about? It is their job to make things sound like, well, news. It's suppose to make people curious and interested enough to buy their paper. You don't expect the newspaper to write about someones daily routine do you? Besides, how can you be so sure that everything they write is true? Sure they have procedures and all, but how can you be exactly 100% sure that the things they write have not been corrupted in any way?

If you get so alarmed by every single news, worrying that someone is going to kidnap or harm you in anyway all the time, why don't you go live in a bank vault? I don't understand why should we live in fear of these people at this times. So what if the economy is so called in "bad times"? Do people really have to resort to killing and stealing just to survive? Ever heard of living within your budget? Besides, if times were really THAT bad, how come more and more teenagers seem to be having better model hand phones, more than one hand phone, better cars and the such. If times were really THAT bad, why don't you just save all your money and eat rice only for every meal? Come on, enough of F.E.A.R (False Evidence Appearing Real). We are children of the all High and Mighty, the All-Knowing, All-Providing God. What do we have to fear? If God cares for every single, minuscule creature, what more us? Humans with more wants and needs than a sparrow. God will never put you through something He knows you cannot handle. So if you think you are going through a tough time, and the problem seems too hard to solve, just think, God must really think highly of you to be able to solve that problem. Of course this is all my deductive logic. If you ask me for the reference from the bible, I'm sorry but I don't think I can provide you with it.

I'm not saying that you should just live blindly. We are suppose to be discerning in the spirit. Cast all our cares upon God, but this doesn't mean that you should all give up your jobs to go up to the mountains to meditate hoping the rocks will turn into cash. It is possible, but highly unlikely to happen. You should just go on with your lives and live to do what God has designed you to do. You may be so angry with what you have right now, but be grateful that you are still alive and you have another day to view this world because, This World Is Just Awesome. You may be a floor sweeper or a toilet cleaner, but you serve a purpose. You cannot expect this whole world to be full of CEO's right? Who is going to clean the toilet then? Be happy that you have a legitimate job. If you really want to earn more money, I'm sure you can think of a better way besides robbing and kidnapping. Life has to have a balance, when there are winners, losers have to be there. It sounds harsh, but it's part of life. If life was just one sided, God would have just let there be light all day long. That would be well, unbalanced right? If life was so smooth, how would we appreciate the good times?

I'm sorry, I have gone way off course from newspapers, but it relates. In a way. I just really hope that you can find peace in your hearts and stop worrying about the unnecessary. Your life is more than just worrying about your survival. It's much more fun and exciting than that. It is full of surprises that God has provided for us to enjoy and go through to mould us to become who we are. Stop wasting time because when you die, and live eternally, your life on this earth would just seem like a breath.

"We are always getting ready to live, but never living" Ralph Waldo Emerson

MY STORY OF ADVENTURE

2009-02-26T18:19:00.005+08:00

Some of you may be wondering why this story was posted. I personally posted this because I feel that it is an awesome story told spontaneously just based on a short experience. Enjoy.

It was a bright sunny day like any other. I decided take a stroll on my manual motorbike to the park in Ayer Keroh. I got my stuff and started on my journey. Before I knew it, I found myself racing with a dark cloud above me. Usually, if I sense rain coming I would head back home, but on that very day, my guts were challenged by the situation. I felt something that I never knew I could feel before. It was this strong feeling of determination of reaching my destination. A strong will to accomplish my important mission, which was, to jog. A sudden burst of energy came with this strong determination. As I rode, I saw myself beating the dark cloud.

With all that I had, I finally reached my destination, before it started to pour. So, I embarked on my task to complete my mission which I came for. To jog. As I started on my first round, the sky started shedding big teardrops. It was getting harder and harder to complete my other rounds. The sound of thunder and streaks of lightning that threatened to tear the sky into a million pieces made me reconsider the taught of abandoning the mission as it was not worth the risk to trade my life for a jog. The taught of a falling tree was not very appealing.

As I was charging out of the forest. Something caught my eye. A damsel in distress under a half torn shed. She was slender in figure and sweet looking. I dashed to her immediately to assist her. It seemed that she had twisted her ankle and could not make it out of the forest until the rain had subsided. Being the macho person that I am, I used the biceps and triceps that I have built to carry her out. It was an easy task accomplished. When we arrived outside at the car park, she gave me a light peck on my cheek to show her gratitude and headed back home.

A slight tingle went down my spine and I gained a whole new energy source to start my journey back home. I knew that it was not going to be an easy one. I took my manual motorbike and started pedalling with all my might. Even when I was using all my strength, I couldn't feel a thing. All my hard work and training had in some way paid off. The hard drops of rain and mud shooting to my precious body was no match for my energy. As I continued my journey, I was weary of idiot drivers who might want to kiss my ass. I paid close attention to the road when true enough an accident involving both cars occurred before my eyes. Due to the slippery condition of the road, I almost skidded and drifted, but with my expertise as a cyclist, I avoided it smoothly. As I gained my momentum back again, it felt like I was going at such speed to the point that all the cars around me were at a standstill, but to my realisation, it was just because they had hit a traffic light. I paused at the side to take a moment to laugh at myself till my stomach crammed.

Then, as the rain started to soften, I was at my nearing my house, when it felt like I was seeing a bright light ahead of me, only to realise once again that I deceived myself. It was only a mere lamp post. Gladly, I entered my house, welcomed by it's warmth and comfort. I took at hot bath, ate and went on with my life.

Before I slept at night, I took a short moment to ponder on the events that happened and how I was glad to have made the decision to continue my journey or I would have not gained such a valuable experience.

In conclusion, all I can say is, "Pheww, the rain is refreshing"

An original, spontaneous story by MR. RIDER, Chee Ki Shen a.k.a cheeky.

*Certain parts of the story may be fictional

DIRTY JOBS (MALAYSIAN NATIONAL ZOO EPISODE)

2009-02-23T18:54:00.005+08:00

If you have not eaten, or just ate, and you are sensitive to all these taboo words like shit at the eating table, you might want to digest a little before continuing on reading.

Just yesterday, I was part of a project where I was to become a volunteer at the National Zoo. Well, if you think that it was more a compulsory thing where the word volunteer doesn't apply, you may be right, but it was a great experience which I personally feel everyone should have the chance to go through.

Honestly, when I was preparing the day before the event, I really expected to be cleaning tons and tons of shit. Which didn't bother me considering the fact that there are much worse things that could happen. Excretion is a normal process. You shit, I shit, every living thing excretes stuff. It's just the difference of size, colour and smell.

Though, to my sup rise, when we arrived, there was really nothing much to do. It feels as though this whole volunteering has become real commercialised. It's like the zoo keepers just let us have the experience of helping to play a small part in the zoo. I'm not trying to complain. It's just that I feel they have not fully utilized the full man power resources of 62 youth. Then I realised, maybe what they really needed was actually cash. It was like an episode of Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe where we got to catch a glimpse of what a zoo keeper really does. Due to safety precaution, we were only allowed to do the minor stuff like raking leaves, feeding the animals, cleaning the cages(not with animals inside) and stuff like that. It is a humbling experience to see how these people work their heads off only to get paid a small amount of salary. Compared to models who just walk around, pose and get paid by the millions. I know it's not simple to be a model, but I'm just comparing the daily activities. If physics is applied, I'm pretty sure a zoo keeper has more work done(where force applied is multiplied by the distance) than a model. Anyway, I got the great chance to work under a zoo supervisor who has worked in the National Zoo for 33 YEARS. He is going to turn 50 this year. It was interesting to hear about his experiences. He also told me that his children were in tertiary education on their way to be a doctor and a lawyer. You may find it hard to believe considering that he is just a zoo keeper. I mean he is even going to send his daughter to Germany to study medicine. According to him, it only costs about 16 K or something like that. This is to prove that if you want to continue your studies till tertiary level, money is most definitely not a problem. Even a zoo keeper can send his children. So, I'm pretty sure there is no excuse that can top that. When there is a will, there is definitely a way.

Anyway, the zoo is in need of help. It is not owned by the government, just in case some of you are wondering. That is why they opened this volunteer system. If you can, try to donate some money to the zoo for the animals. I'm not very with the idea of animals inside cages, but if they have to, at least let them have a comfortable life since they are already revoked of their right of freedom. Many species of animals are now on the brink of extinction and we should do our best to help prevent this from happening. They are also living and breathing creatures. You may think the world is coming to an end, so who cares? Let me tell you, we were given a great gift of a spirit, mind and sound judgement. We are responsible to care for these animals who don't have a mind. They have a brain, but not a mind. (I sound like a tree hugger, but I'm not) I'm also against the killing of sharks for shark's fin soup. WHY? Why would you hurt a shark? They cut of their fins and throw it back into the ocean, in which it will most probably get eaten by other sharks. People around the world who die of shark accidents in a year is less than those who die of getting their heads knocked by a coconut. It really is a rare incident. Honestly, the only reason a shark would attack you is simply because it mistaken you for a seal or a penguin. Those people who eat shark's fin and enjoy it so much don't even know why. When I ask them , they even say it's tasteless! Why bother putting it in the soup then? SAY NO TO SHARK FIN SOUP! WHEN THE BUYING STOPS, THE KILLING CAN TOO!

I'm slightly off track, but it's vital information you should know too.

"It's a dirty job, but someones gotta do it"

HOW TO SLEEP IN CLASS

2009-02-23T18:25:00.003+08:00

Due to a certain request. I'm going to impart what I know about how to sleep in class. Usually I just lie down and sleep, but my good buddy Foo Joawee has come out to share a few of his own tips.

Technique 1 (mostly applicable for girls):

1. Before you do anything, inform the person sitting next to you that if teacher asks anything say that you are having "stomach aches" or "crams".

2. Just put your hands on your table and use put a jacket or t-shirt on top for more comfort. Then, lie down on either your forehead or cheek.

Technique 2 (by Joawee):

1. Put your book up, but don't lie down behind it. It's too common and too many teachers know it.

2. Instead, put both your hands below your cheeks and pretend to read your book. Then shut those sleepy little eyes of yours.

Technique 3:

1. This one is a bit tricky. First, you got to really look sick. If you have, you can apply just a light layer of powder to your face to look a little pale. Then ask permission from the teacher to go to the toilet. Make sure to tell your friend to inform the teacher that you are sick in case the teacher wonders why you haven't come back to class after so long.

2. Then, look for the quietest area in the school which has hardly anyone passing by. If possible, enter an unused room or so. Then, sleep away.

Word of caution:

This technique is best applied during the middle of the class or so. If you go for a whole period, the teacher might send a search party to the toilet looking for you.

Tips:

1. Try to find a few good friends and do a rotating system where one sleeps another can watch out.

2. If possible, bring a jacket or t-shirt so the sleep is more comfortable.

3. Try and get a seat under the fan if it's in the afternoon.

Warning:

1. Make sure there are no visitors coming to the school on that day.

2. Make sure no one who dislikes you finds out that you are lying.

3. Make sure you learn to wake up when you friend warns you!

There are many other techniques. Feel free to share your ideas and thoughts.

TANAH TUMPAHNYA DARAHKU

2009-02-21T21:57:00.004+08:00

Today is International Mother Language Day.

Wikipedia:

21 February was proclaimed the International Mother Language Day by UNESCO on 17 November 1999. Its observance was also formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution establishing 2008 as the International Year of Languages.[1]
International Mother Language Day originated as the international recognition of Language Movement Day, which has been commemorated in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) since 1952, when a number of Bangladeshi university students were killed by the Pakistani police and army in Dhaka during the Bengali Language Movement.
International Mother Language Day is observed yearly by UNESCO member states and at its headquarters to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism

So for that, the rest of the post shall be in Bahasa Melayu. Just kidding, it will take too much brain juice for some of you to translate and understand. So I will just continue in English.

Malaysia, a.k.a Boleh-land. The place where I was born and bred. Just the other day, someone was talking about migrating somewhere else. This is a very interesting subject. Many Malaysians nowadays try to find every opportunity to migrate a.k.a escape to another country. It's typical of Malaysians. We try to escape everything, National Service, summons, taxes and the such. It's probably not just a Malaysian thing, it's just that a lot of Malaysians do it. There are probably a million and one reasons why someone would think of migrating. Politics, economy and mostly social I guess. Look at it this way. If everyone runs away, i mean migrate, who is going to defend Malaysia, politically, economically and socially. One pastor once told me this. If every Christian migrates, who is going to help Malaysia? (once again, I'm not forcing everyone to convert to Christianity, it's just a reminder for the Christians.)

Many Malaysians (including me) complain or comment a lot about everything. Mostly everything that involves the government seems to have a huge flaw. I don't know anything about the politics side but I just don't get some of the ridiculous things the government does at times, like why they changed the road system in Melaka, or why they keep replanting flowers (means they plant, let it die by not watering it, the plant new ones), why they don't spend money wisely in hospitals and the such. I know some people just give up on cursing the government and migrate. I mean why not? There is a better life overseas. Even a rubbish picker in New Zealand gets a higher pay than an average working person here, but look at this way. Why should we run? Why don't we just try to change something. It may seem impossible. A lot of people blame this on race. Let's not be racist and realise that the only race in Malaysia is MALAYSIANS. The only difference is the colour of the skin. Why should we define what we do, think, wear, etc just because the majority of the same colour does it?

Many people claim how unfair the government is especially when it comes to the special rights of the bumiputeras. It is a bloody sensitive issue and I think it's really ridiculous to fight about it. I think sometimes they deserve to have special right since they are originally the people staying in this country. Our ancestors came here from either China, India or some other place. So technically we are migrating here, but that was then, we are all now Malaysians. If they want to still have it, it is not a crime, nor should we complain about it. We should respect the constitution. If we migrated overseas, I'm sure the people there would have special rights too. We would probably be treated differently too.

Politics may be one of the dumbest things to have ever existed on this planet earth. It not only exist in the government but it now exists in everything possible.

Wikipedia:

Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behaviour within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions. It consists of "social relations involving authority or power"and refers to the regulation of a political unit, and to the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy.

It's like a watching a bunch of people fight for who knows what like a bunch of children on the media. It's so freaking ridiculous it should be stupid. I mean it even starts in school. Teenage girls start backstabbing each other to get a higher post on the prefect's board or stuff like that. Why? To wish for this world to be peaceful is like wishing for an ideal world, but nothing is ever perfect. It is imperfection that makes this world so interesting, fascinating and beautiful.

Sorry, I have gone way off course, but it sort of relates in a way. I love Malaysia. Sure it has flaws in everything, that's why we as Christians are given responsibilities to make change here in Malaysia. There has to be a reason why Malaysia is not suffering as much as other countries. Honestly, think about it, besides all the so called political and economical instability, when it comes to natural disasters, wars and the such. Somehow Malaysia is just protected. I'm sure there is a purpose for this. Let us play our part in finding our purpose. We don't have to look far, I'm sure opportunities are just lurking around the corner. I'm sure God has placed different people around the world to reach out to their surroundings. If you can't even reach out to your next door neighbour. I don't think you should bother reaching out to someone half way round the world. Logically speaking. I know I sound super harsh considering the fact that I don't seem to give good impressions to people around me. There is nothing to justify my actions but I shall do everything I can do within my abilities.

If you despise Malaysia so much, think about what you have done to help Malaysia in the first place besides adding to the pollution and the mess before running away a.k.a migrating. I know I sound so pro-Malaysia now when I most of the time complain about the stupidest things, but at least for now, I want to be loyal to my country and try not to migrate before doing my best. Which is quite far away for now.

"Malaysia BOLEH!"

FUNERALS

2009-02-18T17:27:00.003+08:00

Well, I went for my cousin's funeral. It's been a long time since I last went for a funeral. It's just fascinating to watch people's reactions. It's not that I am fascinated by my cousin's mishap. Many people may wonder why does God allow this to happen. Why would God take away a life of a 17 year old who has a bright future? Why would God put her through so much suffering then just to end it? I'm sure her family is filled with thoughts of questions like this. They are wondering how unfair this is and the such. I'm sure God has His own devine plan and purpose for our life. Don't question Him. He is God and He knows what He is doing. (remember it's the same principle when you don't question the person you love about the things they do.)

According to Wikipedia:

A funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour. These customs vary widely between cultures, and between religious affiliations within cultures. In some cultures the dead are venerated; this is commonly called ancestor worship.

In a general funeral, there are many different cultures and traditions. Especially in Malaysia, depending on your race and religion. As for Christians, I don't think we have any special tradition of any sort. It's just that in Malaysia, and being a Chinese, you have many superstitions that are so unnecessary. Honestly, I don't see the point why some things just HAVE to be done and when you don't do it, people start to complain about how it is so wrong and how angry they are. (this applies more for the older generation.) I'm not complaining about anybody, I'm just wondering what the big fuss is about. As for Tabitha's funeral, it was quite a different experience for me. All her friends and family wore green as it was her favourite colour. Her coffin was filled with scribbles of her friends and love ones. Her friends sang "Always be my baby" on the last night of the funeral. In general, her funeral was slightly different than the normal dull, solemn atmosphere. Maybe it's the different generation or something. I personally don't find any of it wrong. Some people do, they just go "I'm not trying to complain, or am I bound by any superstition, BUT that girl really should have....". That's kind of contradicting. If you people are not trying to complain, why are you gossiping in such an angry manner?

Teachers came to visit her too. A lot of people came, but it was mostly school mates. Funerals is like an impromptu family gathering. I don't really get why people do it. Maybe it's just to pay your last respects to the family, but I see it more of morally supporting the family who is still alive. There is nothing wrong with crying nor is there anything wrong with not crying. Who ever made it a rule that says you must cry at the funeral or that means you don't care about the deceased. (I'm not saying this to defend those who don't cry at funerals) It's just a general statement because people I know in general normally ask when I return from funerals "Did you cry?", "Did you see anybody cry?", "Was (so and so) crying?", "Yer, why he never cry? So heartless!". I'm sure you get the picture. I guess it's just a Malaysian thing. Anyway, funerals are interesting in a certain way. If you related to the person or you are close to the person, the funeral will be anything but fascinating. It will be torturing and depressing and the such. It really depends on you. There is nothing wrong with how you feel or how you choose to express it. Unless you have something against the deceased and wish they revived again so you could put them in the grave yourself.

The burial was short, quick and advanced. They actually used a bulldozer to cover the grave. That's new for me. Normally I see people use spades and shovels. Maybe it's too long since my last funeral. All her friends made small paper cranes to put in the grave before covering it. I'm not very sure what they are trying to do. According to my friend Asha they do certain things to make it mean something. (or something like that). I guess if it makes them feel any better, go ahead. Plus, the family took pictures by the grave. It's a new tradition since cameras came along I guess. I think it was super taboo last time.

So, good bye for now my dear cousin, Tabitha Ho May Mei (1992-2009)

“While we are mourning the loss of our friend, others are rejoicing to meet him behind the veil.” John Taylor (1753-1824)

HOW TO USE THE TOILET

2009-02-18T09:26:00.003+08:00

Referring to one of my friend, Jaslyn Ng's very interesting post. I'm gonna shine some light of my own on the subject.

Toilets and toilet bowls have a very interesting history of their own. I'm not gonna share it with all of you because I'm guessing most of you will skip the history anyway. Anyway, in this modern world, people (mostly in the eastern world) are starting to depreciate the value and importance of toilets.(I'm not saying that the western world is super clean, nor am I saying how superior they are, I'm just saying this based on statistics) Especially clean toilets. It's just so disappointing and humiliating when tourists and foreigners recognize us for dirty toilets. It's like we have degraded from having toilets to become barbarians(in general) who can't even aim our waste into a huge bowl. Honestly, HOW CAN YOU MISS? I can honestly and proudly announce that I have never left a toilet without flushing or making it dirty. (I guess it's because of Royal Rangers, always leave a campsite cleaner than before). I'm just so curious how some people can be so inconsiderate considering the fact that they always want clean toilets but they don't seem to do anything about it.

You may think, all toilets are dirty anyway. You can make a change because change is possible. If everyone plays their part in keeping toilets clean. All toilets will be clean then. What's so impossible. All you have to do is just make sure the toilets are clean before you leave them. Clean the mess you make.

Steps:

1. Remove your pants and underpants. If you are in a squatting toilet, you might want to fold your pants or hold your long skirt higher in case it gets wet. If you are in a sitting toilet, it should be fine.

2. If you are in the squatting toilet, position yourself directly above the hole. Notice that its shaped in a pear, so you know where your butt should be at. If you are sitting, make sure that your butt fits the seat just nicely. As for guys, in any toilet, please aim. I'm sure the holes are big enough for you to see.

3. Fire away. When you are done, notice that there is a big tank of water above or beside the toilet bowl. It's called a FLUSH. Do you know how awesome a flush functions? You don't have to pour or spray water, its just a pull of a lever and the toilet bowl cleans AUTOMATICALLY. Amazing right? Advancements in technology as also made it easier, there are also buttons now instead of levers. Some may also have automatic flushes, but just to be sure it flushes, just push that small button.

Tips:

1. Bring toilet paper. There may not be toilet paper at all toilets.

2. Practice makes perfect! So keep practicing

Warnings:

1. People may knock on the door if you take too long, so be snappy.

2. If you come out of the toilet with a big mess inside, you may get weird looks from the next user.

I'm not trying to be feminist or trying to make fun of guys, but I just find this quote really funny and just wanted to share it with all of you. If you want to make it into a girl version, it's up to you.

"Men are like toilet bowls, the good ones are always taken and the rest are just full of shit" -Anonymous

CAM WHORE

2009-02-16T18:26:00.003+08:00

Ok, first of, the definition according to Wikipedia:

A cam whore (sometimes cam-whore or cam-slut) is an individual who performs sexual services on the Internet with webcam software in exchange for money or goods, usually by a fixed per minute fee or by encouraging viewers to purchase items on their wish lists or add to their online accounts.While the label is usually considered derogatory and insulting, it is also used by these people to describe themselves, occasionally in a self-deprecating manner.

The term "cam whore" is also used to refer to individuals who post pictures or videos of themselves on the Internet to gain attention. The term disparages those who post pictures of themselves at inappropriate times or places, and usually implies self-absorption. This second usage of the term, deriding vanity and histrionics, is overtaking the prior, more intuitive definition. It is usually synonymous with attention whore.

The reason for this post is due to the increase in huge numbers of people who simply enjoy cam whoring and can proudly announce to the world how proud they are to be one. (without knowing what it actually meant.) I first came to know this word when I was 16 or 17, which was not too far back. Then, it took the world by storm ( world being in general or majority of the youth population, I'm not trying to stereotype), people started taking pictures of themselves and if they could, they would video every second of their life and post it on the internet. There is a difference between enjoying cam whoring and being obssessed with it. I'm not sayin who is wrong and who is right. I'm going to do this post from a third party perspective with no interest whatsoever in the matter, like I mostly do all the time. If you like cam whoring, do it all you want. If you don't like cam whoring, you don't have to curse and swear at those who like it. Just state your opinion in a way that they would understand. To those who like cam whoring and curse and swear at those who do, please think again, they'd probably do the same thing about you. (The Golden Rule: Do to others what you would have them do to you)

Ok, I'm not totally against cam whoring (not that I do it, I strongly dislike having my picture taken). Nor am I enjoying this phenomenon. It's just so weird how people can just proudly announce that they are cam WHORES. Ever wonder why it has the word WHORE in it? (refer to the definition above). Honestly, it's ok for you to take pictures of yourselves, take it every second for all I care, but please spare yourself some dignity and pride. This is concerning those who reveal themselves a bit too much all in the desperate name of getting attention. There are so many ways to do it. You don't have to post yourself in the nude just to get attention. Do you know that there are currently more than 2/3 of the world's population has Internet connection? Don't you feel ashamed that your body and your sancity is the best give you can share with your spouse? Imagine that the whole world has already saw you in your birthday suit. Your spouse has to share your body with all of the Internet users. I don't think that's a very appealing thought, don't you?

This is just for fun, please use common sense while reading.

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=cam_whore

"You are a pest, by the very nature of the camera in your hand." Princess Anne

OF VALENTINE'S DAY AND FUNERALS

2009-02-15T22:04:00.003+08:00

It was a normal day like any other, just so happen it was 14 February, a.k.a. Valentine's day, one of the most overrated day that ever existed. I'm not going to talk about Valentine's day for now. I'm going to talk about what happened.

In the morning, a few teachers started calling me and asking me (more like telling me) that my cousin, Tabitha Ho, had just passed away. She had been in a sort of coma like condition for the past 3 weeks due to some bacterial infection.(from what I know). To reconfirm, I called my parents to check. They said that she is still alive, just that her liver and kidney had just failed and that she is in a very critical condition. So, I called the teachers back to tell them and their sincerely apologized for assuming her death.

Later in the evening, my dad called me to tell me that my cousin had just passed away. Melaka, being quite a small place, doesn't make it very difficult for you to know about funerals. Very soon, quite a number of people were calling to ask where was the funeral being held and stuff like that.

According to Wikipedia:

A funeral is is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour. These customs vary widely between cultures, and between religious affiliations within cultures. In some cultures the dead are venerated; this is commonly called ancestor worship. The word funeral comes from the Latin funus, which had a variety of meanings, including the corpse and the funerary rites themselves.

This whole ordeal and event suddenly made me realise that funerals shake people. I mean, even people who weren't close to her wanted to know about her. They sometimes come up with the dumbest reasons to relate themselves to the person. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing to feel sad, cry or mourn for the dead. I'm just trying to say this. When the deceased was alive, have you done everything you can to cherish the moments that you were together? If you were not very close, was your relationship with the deceased in the right before he/she left? (This is why it's so important to ask for the person's forgiveness when you did something wrong, even though it's just a stranger. Remember the verse, "Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold, Ephesians 4:26-27". This verse applies a lot)

Anyway, it's just so weird for me to see some people in her school get so busy body even though they don't know her. It was this incident where few girls, whom I don't know, forced a boy whom I know to ask me whether or not my cousin has passed away. If they really wanted to know so badly, (like the information would have somehow affected their life anyway) they should have just asked me straight. (During this time, my cousin was still alive.) It's just so fascinating how people get so busy body about things that don't even concern them, then they get all so frightened about it. Especially death. Why? Is death really that frightening of an idea? If you believe Jesus as your personal Lord and saviour and that you will go to heaven when you die, what is it that you fear most? (I'm sorry if I sound harsh to all the non-Christians out there, I'm not trying to force you to be a Christian or trying to be sarcastic in any manner, it's just a reminder to all the Christians out there)

Death is unpredictable. You can die at anytime. If you were meant to die there and then, you will die there and then. So, appreciate every moment you have alive. Don't wait for a funeral to remind you how short life is, then start mourning and regretting how you didn't spend enough time with the deceased. You might think I'm so cold-blooded and unrespectful for not going to her funeral, or not looking sad or mourning. (I'm not trying to defend myself for feeling guilty, because I don't). I have done my best and cherished my moments with my cousin. I don't regret anything and I'm sure she is in a better place now. To all those who really knew Tabitha Ho, and is affected by her absence, especially her family, let us do our best to help them and move on with our lives, while respecting her absence.

"People living deeply have no fear of death, Anais Nin"

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE BORED

2009-02-12T09:22:00.004+08:00

According to Wikipedia:

Boredom is an emotional state experienced during periods lacking activity or when individuals are uninterested in the activities surrounding them. Boredom has been defined by C. D. Fisher in terms of its central psychological processes: “an unpleasant, transient affective state in which the individual feels a pervasive lack of interest in and difficulty concentrating on the current activity.”M. R. Leary and others define boredom similarly, and somewhat more succinctly, as “an affective experience associated with cognitive attentional processes.”These definitions make it clear that boredom arises not from a lack of things to do but from the inability to latch onto any specific activity. Nothing engages us, despite an often profound desire for engagement.

To those who are bored, even though you have a lot of work to do, yet you feel bored, feel free to check this three sites out, they have quite interesting suggestions on what to do.

Though, please bear in mind you still need to use your common sense about certain suggestions.

http://www.urban75.org/useless/bored.html

http://www.cs.earlham.edu/~jimg/reading/bored.html

http://www.zutroy.com/stuff/

"Boredom comes from a boring mind, Metallica"

HOW TO EAT IN CLASS

2009-02-11T09:15:00.001+08:00

STEPS:

1. During recess or breaks, buy the food you want and hide it in your Tupperware, bag, pocket, etc.

2. With your food in your hands, pretend to yawn, while doing so, slip the food in your mouth.

3. Pretend to sleep with your head parallel to the floor with a gap between you and the table. Then insert food into your mouth.

4. Put a large text book or hard book(make sure it can stand on it's own) and eat behind it.

5. When your teacher turns away or is not looking, stuff food in your mouth.

TIPS:

1. It is easier to sneak small finger foods like chips and sweets than "nasi lemak" or "char kuay teow", but, it is possible.

2. Try bribing the teacher with food so everyone can eat openly.

3. Try getting a place at the back of the class when you want to eat. (make sure your teacher does not like walking around)

4. Try to get food that dissolves and doesn't need much chewing. Chew with your mouth shut and don't chew big chunks of food at once so you can answer your teacher in case he/she calls you.

WARNINGS:

1. Make sure the people sitting around you are no prefects or people who plan to sabotage you.

2. Make sure your teacher doesn't smell your food.

3. If your teacher is kind enough to let you eat, but the principal steps in, STOP EATING!

CAMP ROCK

2009-02-10T08:36:00.001+08:00

I thank God I was born a generation sooner than the current.I wonder how I would have ended up if I was so influenced by all this. I will be stereotyping a lot in this post. It may contradict some of my principles, I know.

High School Musical 1, 2, 3, Camp Rock, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody are some examples. I am personally quite the opposite of a big fan of all these shows. No, I didn't judge this movie based on their covers, I actually watched some of them. Disney Channel has changed! What happen to the good old days of Hakuna Matata with Timon and Pumbaa? (I sound old)

I'm not trying to judge these movies or say they are super bad. It still has the same moral values that Walt Disney tries to instill in children, BUT, with too much unnecessary drama sometimes.

For instance, yesterday, out of sheer curiosity, I watched Camp Rock which aired on Disney Channel. Whoa, this Blondie girl in the movie, excessive DRAMA! It really makes you wonder, do people in real life actually respond to circumstances THAT dramatically? The girl in the movie (I don't remember her name) apparently acts that way due to lack of love from her parents. So, are you saying that we should totally blame our parents for trying to work hard to support our existence? What about orphans then? I'm not saying that our parents' love is unimportant, but the way the girl responded was, a bit unreal for me. Maybe we should learn to impress our parents in our own capacity and not get so diva like by going around making other people's life miserable.

According to Wikipedia:

Stupidity (also called fatuity) is the property a person, action or belief instantiates by virtue of having or being indicative of low intelligence or poor learning abilities. Stupidity is distinct from irrationality because stupidity denotes an incapability or unwillingness to properly consider the relevant information. It is frequently used as a pejorative, and consequently has a negative connotation. The term has fallen out of favor in medical journals as it is seen as a generic term used to describe a wide variety of conditions.

I'm still quite unsure whether to call these type of people stupid or plain irrational. Sometimes, these type of shows also somehow promotes quite a dumb idea on how teenage relationships really are. Not to say that everyone has a perfect love life, but it just somehow promotes this idea of love at first sight and somehow, teenagers tend to feel that their love life is not correct, simply because it's not the same way as how it was on television. (This is one of my many hypothesis which I am still testing.) Though, a lot of adults in my generation would definitely be against teenagers falling in love.

Well, these shows are not all that stupid, Alyson Stoner was in Camp Rock, although I preferred her when she was younger, her dancing still kinda rocks. The songs in all these movies nowadays seem kind of self centered. I mean "This is me, this is me, I'm exactly where I'm suppose to be, gonna let the light SHINE ON ME". (In IJC idol 2008, so many people sang this song. I guess the lyrics appeal to them) I'm sure they mean it in a good way and they are trying to promote believing in yourself and achieving your dreams, but in a certain Christian context, it does sound a bit wrong to put yourself first. Other songs from all these shows also mostly promotes one-self. By the way, The Jonas Brothers, look gay and sound gay. They also sound constipated when they sing. It's not that I have never heard them or looked at them before, but damn, after seeing them act, and the way they dress. I'm sure a lot of people like them, and the current generation probably thinks they are the the new phase of music, but damn man. I know I'm judging them, but they are celebrities, it is their job to receive criticism and such to improve and all.

I'm not totally against these movies neither am I totally for them. I don't understand why some people HATE is SO much and I don't understand why some people LOVE it SO much. This post was done based on a third point opinion with no personal interest whatsoever in this matter, but mostly I disagree with most of the little things that have changed that accumulate up to a lot.

This post has a lot of flaws and is not whole and complete, but this is all I can think of for now.

"The difference between genius and stupid is that genius has it's limits, ALBERT EINSTEIN"

FIRE!!

2009-02-05T19:40:00.001+08:00

"RRRIINGGGG!!!, RIINNGGG!!!, RRIIINNGG!!!". "What's that?! Drill ar?!"

Yesterday, 4th February, the current institution which I'm studying in caught fire. It was just a small portion I think. I don't really know the real story, but it was interesting and I guess all of you needed a break from reading all my "essay-like" posts. Well, it started when the alarm went off. We all thought it was just a drill, since there was this paper pinned on the board saying there will be a fire drill. Anyway, the lecturer asked another lecturer, and we all headed downstairs, by stairs.

Went we were out, we saw the other block on fire. I think this is the first time I ever had to evacuate the building because of a real fire. Anyway, the fire was really far away, but safety comes first. There was smoke coming out of some kind of vent. Thick, black smoke, but really small.

It reminds me of the time when I was in primary school. It was an annual thing to have fire drills. So when I was 11 years old, in primary 5, while I was on my way downstairs after a fire alarm, the teacher asked me to stay back. (We always liked fire drills, especially during boring lessons.) Then, the teacher told me to stay in class to see whether the monitor realises whether I'm gone. After everyone returned from lining up on the field, I got comments like, "Stefanie died in the fire!", "We are talking to Stefanie's ghost!", "Stefanie is roasted!" and stuff like that. It was normal for a primary school.

Ever wonder about the phrase "Liar, liar pants on fire"?

GIRLS AND BOYS

2009-01-27T23:25:00.001+08:00

Referring to the two very interesting posts by Cmdr. Vive and Anna Teoh, I have decided to give my comment on this ongoing debate that will most probably never end. The very interesting and ongoing debate about girls and boys. What makes these two types so different? Well, scientifically and biologically there are many different ways to differentiate these two, but speaking from a more mental, socially and emotionally point of view, what really is the difference? I do not hate homosexuals, but I'm certainly not supporting the idea. I don't believe that God created them that way. Does it sound right when people tell you that they are actually a girl stuck in a man's body? Are you trying to say that a perfect God made a mistake and that you are actually smarter than Him up there to know that you are actually a girl stuck in a man's body?

Sorry if I sound harsh, but honestly I don't see how some people can actually just change their gender due to "environmental factors" and such. I'm sure they have been through a lot. I'm not saying that we should abandon them or treat them like a disease. We should still love, care and respect them as normal humans, but not accept the idea of homosexuality. I don't care if you think I am so conservative about this, but this is wrong. There is no grey area about it. It's purely black and white.

Sorry, I went off track. Back to the boys and girls (there should be nothing in between). I know you may think I'm being very contradictory about writing this post. You may wonder how can I judge gays and lesbians and say that they are wrong when I act like a tomboy. I don't judge them nor do I deny the fact that I am not the most ladylike person around. First of all, how do you define a lady or a man. They are the same but yet different. There are millions of debates on how each gender outsmarts the other or is stronger or faster, etc. To me, it really boils down to the individual. You can be a boy or a girl, but if you put your mind to it, you can be better or succeed. I used to be a strong feminist thinking that girls rule the world and that we can beat boys at everything. I have not given up on the idea, but now I believe in the idea of individualism more than just stereotyping the gender. Some of you may be thinking, have I gone soft or started liking a guy so I'm saying this. Well, let me assure you. I am writing this post as a third party with an objective point of view with no interest whatsoever in the particular matter (I can't remember which show this line is from). So as of now. I'm not on any gender's side. Let's just be open for awhile and really see what really is the difference between male and female.

Girls, for one, I must agree are much more complex and complicated creatures. I agree that males have only an on and off switch, but times have changed. Males can also be rather picky and self-conscious when it comes to their looks nowadays. When it comes to schools, is a all-boys or all-girls school better or a co-ed school? Sometimes, I really think that both have their own strong points. It really is the indivuals decision on how he or she should choose to react to the situation. It

I personally agree with Cmdr Vive that Men and Women are interdependant and God is above both and all of creation. Neither gender can survive without the other.

“Woman was taken out of man; not out of his head to top him, nor out of his feet to be trampled underfoot; but out of his side to be equal to him"

HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL CELEBRITY BLOGGER

2009-01-20T20:19:00.001+08:00

This post may sound sarcastic and that I'm jealous of other people being famous from blogging, but I'm not, I'm just simply trying to come up with a general hypothesis (few actually) on my observation on how famous bloggers get, well, famous.

1. Exaggerate every little stupid detail that exists in your boring daily life.

2. Curse, swear and use the 'F' word as much as possible in every sentence.

3. Be as vain as possible!

4. If you are a girl, act as bimbo as possible, and if you are a guy, act as gay or himbo as possible.

5. If you have the extra time, go cause havoc on another person's blog who is just as popular as yours, but beware, this may cause some of your readers to follow their blogs too.

6. Critisize EVERYTHING, complain about EVERYTHING, make fun of EVERYONE

7. Use less words, use more pictures. Again, if you have to use words, refer to number #2.

8. Even if you go on ranting, you can still say sorry (sorry means you are asking for forgiveness and you will try very hard not to repeat your mistake) and continue ranting.

9. Camwhore as much as you can and produce as many videos on guide to life as possible.

10. When you are famous enough, people may actually hire you to give advice and write columns in magazines, so who knows, YOU, may be the next celebrity blogger to rock this web!

It's so simple to become a celebrity blogger, don't you think? The more you reveal in the blog, the better, who cares about privacy these days, the more in detailed you describe your personal life, the more readers. After all, that's all that matters right? Getting people to read your blog and click on advertistements. Suddenly your opinion about blogging changes what other people think about in life too. If you think clubbing is awesome and right, so will everyone who is a fan of yours. I personally find all this very amusing. I'm not making fun of anyone nor am I trying to complain about anything. I am just stating my view from a third party in a very objective manner with no interest whatsoever in the particular matter. I'm not trying to say that being a celebrity blogger is bad, nor am I trying to judge them. It's just a small observation of mine and a small reminder to my friends that not everything they say is true and final.

PERSONALITY DISORDER

2009-01-19T10:41:00.004+08:00

I was searching for the meaning of mental disorder when I came by this article of Personality Disorder in Wikipedia. It was fascinating to see how psychology could classify the emotions in such a professional manner. I mean, everyone can classify, but to do it in that manner, it takes skill.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_disorder

There is too much stuff to cut and paste.

Then, out of curiousity, I tried classifying others and myself. It was funny to try and remember and realise that ya, a lot of people I know possess that kind of character. Then, try and imagine all those people hugging themselves in mental hospitals. Sometimes, these people (including me at times) are not much different from people who have difficulty mentally. Really, we should be inside instead of these special people (mentally slow people but it's rude to call them by this). Honestly, we who have the capability to realise our situation and have the choice to react accordingly should use that God given wisdom to change, but, instead, we behave worse than those special people.

We behave like it's the end of the world when all that really happened was a small miniscule misunderstanding. Then later, we look back and go, I wish I did that sooner. Sometimes, our stupidity is unbelievable. As once so brilliantly said by Albert Einstein "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits." Wake up! Smell the roses. Stop being so problematic. We deserve to live a happy life, not be classified under some personality disorder. Think about it, you may not want to have personality disorder or you may strongly deny that you have personality disorder (I'm not saying that you do have personality disorder, I'm just saying that you might have some that you didn't know of.) . Just ignore it, just don't keep thinking about the problems and make life miserable for yourself. Ya, yourself, you make life miserable for yourself. Why should you allow yourself to give yourself a bad time? Why don't you just give that poor unfortunate soul of yours to take a break and HAVE A KIT KAT. Just smile and enjoy all the little happiness you have left to enjoy because tonight, the world will be invaded by human-eating ANTS! Just kidding, but honestly, we never know when we might die, so STOP being so, well, DISORDERED.

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results." - Rita Mae Brown (this is a famous psychology quotation).

HOTMAIL

2009-01-16T19:38:00.001+08:00

I just realised, my hotmail account is a decade old. I'm not implying I am old nor am I denying that I am growing old. It's just fun to reminiscence the memories I have of opening my first ever email account. It was not to far back when I was small, my cousins one day came to my dad's office to take us out. Lo and behold, they introduced me to this new word. EMAIL. They opened one on the spot for me. A HOTMAIL account. Yes, it may seem quite insignificant then, but now, an email account (which is electronic mail) seems like a neccessity for everyone. It's like communication is dysfunctional without it. Who wouldn't like the convienience of being able to send a message across the globe without having to pay a single cent? Sorry, I'm making my blog post sound like a factual essay, again.

Yes, back to the HOTMAIL account. With the new launch of email era, came the chatting and the social networking websites, etc. Still, sometimes, I think it would be quite fun to receive some snail mail (a.k.a traditional mail) from the post box that does not comprise of bills and warning letters. (No, I have never gotten a warning letter if you are wondering, I got warnings straight to my face. That's how I roll.) It reminds me of one time where my friend sent my the most useless snail mail wasting her few cents on postage stamp and etc. In the envelope there was a letter written with the most unreadable handwriting attempting to blackmail me. (we were in primary school and yes, i knew whose handwriting was it.) It's funny to think of it now again.

It would be quite cool to try one day to communicate like the olden days with smoke signals, well, I'm not sure who started it (It wasn't just the North American Indians). We'd probably just add to the unending amount of pollution that is already here.

“One day soon the Gillette company will announce the development of a razor that, thanks to a computer microchip, can actually travel ahead in time and shave beard hairs that don't even exist yet” Dave Barry

HEALER

2009-01-13T19:52:00.003+08:00

Something miraclous happened today. It just happened. I had a horrible pain in my left side of my stomach. Then after praying a simple prayer and believing with my whole heart. The pain just left me. It just felt like someone went straight to my stomach and pulled out every single pain. It was this awesome feeling. It shows how much can happen when you trust God completely. It's not that it is a crime to go to the doctor. Then why would God create doctors? But I just want to share with you all how much relief I felt. In less than 15 minutes. It didn't feel right to not blog about it. It may just seem like a small problem. Just a mere stomach ache to you, but the relief. It's just awesome.

Jehovah Rophe our Lord who heals.

TRANSPORTATION

2009-01-13T19:52:00.002+08:00

Now, on a not so holy note. I want to share with all of you about public transportation, which I have been taking this whole week. No, I'm not trying to boast, gloat, or complain about it. Just want to share my thoughts.

Thought 5: I'm glad we have KTM and Rapid KL. They may not be systematic, but at least, we have some form of way to move around

Thought 4: I'm happy Malaysia adopted Touch 'N' Go system, it may not be perfect and can be improved, but it's still so convienient to have it.

Thought 3: I'm glad KL is loaded with taxis. You can seem to find one everywhere. They may be expensive, but it gets me home.

Thought 2: I'm glad that we have school buses. They may come and fetch you at 6.30 a.m., but it gets me to school on time.

Thought 1: I'm glad that I have time to wait for public transport so I can watch people do the darnest things.

Things may not always go our way. There are a lot that we can't control but we can chose how we want to react to it right? Free will

BADMINTON

2009-01-11T21:48:00.001+08:00

Today, 11 January 2009, I went for Malaysian Badminton Open 2009. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of watching or playing badminton. I just somehow enjoy the thought of being a part of the crowd that helped cheer for my country. Yes, I love my country. No, I didn't go just to watch Datuk Lee Chong Wei hit a shuttle over the net. I had a free invitation ticket courtesy of my friend Tan Jien Lee. It was a new experience for me. It was quite fun to watch the reaction of so many badminton fans. There was one guy who dressed up in a Malaysian flag. Which, according to Malaysian law, should not be allowed. According to Jien Lee, he goes for every match and gets free tickets. It's quite amazing that he is able to somehow control some portion of the crowd. Honestly, his patriotism somehow just makes others listen to him for some weird apparent reason. The whole competition was actually held from 6 till 11 of January.

A lot of people left after Men's single match. Including me. I don't really find someone passing a shuttle to one another over a net really interesting. That doesn't mean i hate it or don't like it. I respect it as much as any other sport. One man's meat is another man's poison. I don't believe in making fun of another sport or person just because we have different tastes. I may think that squash is just hitting a small ball in a room, same way some one else may think that fencing is just trying to poke someone else with a long sharp object.

I'm sorry, I'm going off topic again. Anyway, if you ever have the free time to go for any of this kind of matches. Just go and support Malaysia. It's quite fun and if you are tryin to save money, I would strongly advice you to eat before you go because they really charge you for the food.

SMOKING

2009-01-05T22:48:00.001+08:00

Attention all smokers! Every one second, one person in this world dies of smoking! I sincerely hope that one of your year 2009 resolution is to quit smoking.

According to Wikipedia:

Smoking is a practice where a substance, most commonly tobacco, is burned and the smoke tasted or inhaled. This is primarily done as a form of recreational drug use, as combustion releases the active substances in drugs such as nicotine and makes them available for absorption through the lungs. It can also be done as a part of rituals, to induce trances and spiritual enlightenment. The most common method of smoking today is through cigarettes, primarily industrially manufactured but also hand-rolled from loose tobacco and rolling paper. Other forms, though not as common, are pipes, cigars, hookahs and bongs.

RECREATIONAL DRUG USE? Are you serious? Smoking is recreational? Even if you don't care about yourself and can't find some decency to respect yourself, please grow some brains (courtesy of Asha's cousin) and some courteousy to know that second hand smokers die faster than first hand. I'm not afraid of dying young, but honestly, do you think people enjoy the smoke around them when they are eating or trying to enjoy themselves? Come on, do you think it's so cool to be caught with a cigarrette in your mouth? Especially girls, do you think your status is upgraded? There are millions of other ways to beat guys at their own game, smoking is not one of them. So what if you think I'm old fashioned, close minded, conservative, scared, gutless, etc. I'm not the one who is causing my lungs to turn black and polluting the environment.

There are so many other ways to show that you are cool, have guts, or to release stress. Seriously, ever heard of sleeping or exercising? It helps you release stress and burn calories. It also saves you a lot of money, I mean a lot. Still finding it hard to quit? You must be determined to quit. That is the most important factor. Humans not bound by any law is able to do anything. In short, impossible is nothing. So if you want to quit, find a way. If you can find 100 ways to get a packet of cigarrette, I'm super sure that you can find a way to quit. So what if you have redrawal symptoms in the early stages? What is that compared to the benefits when you quit smoking? If people can quit smoking, so can you. What makes you so different? How bad can your case be? Think about it. Honestly. Make a difference. Go against the smoking trend. Be someone special.

Be nice to smokers, their next puff could be their last one.

EMO

2008-12-31T10:36:00.001+08:00

What is EMO?

According to Wikipedia*:

Emo is a genre of music that originated from hardcore punk and later adopted pop punk influences when it became mainstream in the United States.
It has since come to describe several variations of music with common roots and associated fashion and stereotypes.

Today emo is commonly tied to both music and fashion as well as an inspiration toward the emo subculture, and the term "emo" is sometimes stereotyped with tight jeans on males and females alike, long fringe (bangs) brushed to one side of the face or over one or both eyes, dyed black, straight hair, tight t-shirts (sometimes short sleeved) which often bear the names of emo bands (or other designer shirts), studded belts, belt buckles, canvas sneakers or skate shoes or other black shoes and thick, black horn-rimmed glasses.This fashion has at times been characterized as a fad.

In recent years the popular media has associated emo with a stereotype that includes being emotional, sensitive, shy, introverted, or angst.It is also associated with depression, self-injury, and suicide.

*For those who don't know, Wikipedia is actually an open source dictionary which anyone can edit. Even though so, it is not that bad. Information is most of the time filtered and quite accurate.

My friend, Jaslyn tried tricking my other friend Alysha once about what Emo is. Jaslyn told Alysha that Emo means Electronic motion. Dear Alysha being the naive genius that she is completely believed that. Anyway, that was just for laughs.

Back to EMO. I don't really agree with judging someone to be Emo simply because they dress that way. Maybe they just like that type of clothing. So stereotyping them isn't exactly something I strongly agree with. It's just that sometimes, some people dress that way, then start adapting the subculture into their lifestyles. Honestly, sometimes it gets real sickening. Especially in my school or maybe it's the current trend where people actually think that self-injury or suicide can solve the solution. In my point of view, I think people who do this are self-centered and pathetic. Sometimes, I even wonder whether we should bother caring about them. I mean, your parents brought you into this world so you could someday find the most ridiculous thing to commit suicide about? Cutting your wrist does not get you attention. It just makes you look really pathetic. Although sometimes it gets on my nerves, it just doesn't seem right to abandon them, I'm sure somewhere something went wrong and they weren't exposed to the right ways to solve their problems so the resulted to this. So as people who are able to help, we should care and lend a helping hand. I admit to sometimes making fun of these people as I don't understand how someone can ever think of taking their own life.

How do we help someone with depression a.k.a emo? Sometimes the best thing to do is to leave them alone to try and sort it out on their own yet let them know that you are there to help if they need it, especially if it is a conflict between to people, especially couples, try your best not to get involved in the matter totally. In other words, don't be middle man. You can just state your point of views and do your best, but don't say or do things that you are not sure of. For me, I would strongly suggest you seek advice from a Pastor or experienced adult. For those of you who think this is cheesy or stupid, think of it this way. When you are trying to advice your friend who is committing suicide, and you don't succeed, you are the one who becomes responsible. How are you going to explain yourself to his or her parents? So, if you get help, it won't kill you or make you seem "uncool". Even though I don't strongly agree with the whole "you should listen to me because I have eaten more salt then you eat rice" idea, sometimes, we just have to listen to more "seasoned" people, which means, people who have training or have gone through the same problem, not just some random "seasoned" person.

The reason why I'm posting this is due to the rising statistics in suicide and the sometimes sickening stories of people around me who are trying to commit suicide or get depressed just to get attention (more of the second). Please people, don't be statistics! Get a life! Stop moaning about things that don't really matter. It's ok to be dramatic, but at the right time and the right place. Not on a daily basis. I'm not saying everything about emo is wrong, just don't adapt the bad things like the depression and things of the sort. So chill. Live life to the fullest. Learn to trust God fully. He knows what's best for you

Live the life you love, love the life you live.

PAPA JIT

2008-12-26T14:39:00.001+08:00

It's always an eye opener for me to hear what Papa Jit has to say. His real name is Lim Jit Pang. Honestly, the first time I heard his name, I thought he was an Indian, really, Ps Jit sounds Indian to me. I'm not being racist. I believe in being a Malaysian. I am a Malaysian. Not a chinese, a Malaysian.

Sorry, off topic again. Anyway, we met up and he was talkin to me about character building. It is very informative and eye opening. He was talking about suffering. It's not because he is pessimistic, but about life in general. Life is never totally smooth. Which is very obvious for everyone. No matter how much we try to make life as simple and easy for ourselves, it doesn't work. We must learn to be Dependant On God (DOG). He is Jehovah Jireh and Jehovah Shammah, which means that He provides and He gives peace. So if we are self sufficient and able to be peaceful with what we have, we push God aside. It's when everything we love is taken away then we turn to God. So before that happens, you wonder, what should you do? Well, I'm still kind of figuring that out. Sorry to get you excited. Well, according to me (when I say this, it means that it's only my theory, hypothesis, or MY logic explanation, which is sometimes not proven right.) I think that we should learn to serve God and trust Him more. Don't question what He wants us to do. Look at it this way. When you are in love with your other half (it means when you have a crush or in a relationship, etc.) you do anything, in the name of Love. You will spend all that money you have been saving for something important for yourself on something as ridiculous as a huge teddy bear for your other half, just because he or she thinks it's really cute. I'm not saying that it is wrong to buy presents nor am I encouraging you to be selfish. What I'm trying to bring across is the principle. Why did you do it in the first place? Simply out of love and affection right. No reason at all right? So, why can't we do certain things simply out of love and devotion to God? No one said it would be easy, but With God's help, all things are possible.

If every ministry work to think like this, every task will be accomplished with a lot of fun and excitement. Seriously. We must learn to put God first and the rest will fall into place. Sorry if I'm not making sense to some of you. Just wanna bring a point across. Trying to practice this. So I hope this has been useful. Time spent with Papa Jit is normally refreshing. It's like a machine being updated. He has updated my mental and spritual side. He is a very fun guy to be around. Just listening to his life experience is also funny. He has a loud laugh and very interesting stories about himself. You can learn a lot from him.

"Wisdom comes through suffering" Aeschylus

2008

2008-12-26T09:19:00.001+08:00

As we close in on year 2009, we reflect on this year, all that we have been through. For me, I reflect as a total considering this is my last year in secondary school. After 12 years of schooling, this is it. The moment has arrived, simply because, when we were in Year 6, there is still PMR, and after that we say that there is still SPM, but now what? There is nothing we can push to anymore. It's not a bad thing or anything. It's just simply anew adventure. Life is one really big adventure. Looking back on 2008, I don't think I would have done anything else differently. I think that everything that ever happened, happened for a reason. Every small gesture you think about doing, or did, effects something one way or another. This is according to Newton's third Law of Motion which has been simplified into, "To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Think of it this way, every choice you make effects something else, even though it's small. Example, if you chose not to wake up someday and just stay in bed the whole day, you may save money because you didn't eat anything, save energy because you are not moving, save water because you didn't brush your teeth. I'm sure you get the point.

If I were given a chance to do things differently, I guess I would have taken more time to enjoy life. Who knows what could happen, some day, some random piano can just fall from any building and knock you out cold. Honestly, it's hard to find a person that can honestly and sincerely tell you that he or she is glad to be where they are now. It's human nature I guess, we can never be truly happy with what we have. Not all though. It's just me trying to make a general statement. I can never find a statement that everyone in this world can truly agree on, but after years of tedious research and dedication to find a general statement which everyone can agree on, I have finally come up with one. "The only thing we succeed to agree on is that we can never agree on anything." I know it's common sense but I'm a slow thinker, so I came up with this after awhile. I thought for awhile whether we can agree that everybody needs water and air, but science these days are finding more and more alternatives to support life form. So technically, they don't agree that we need water and air to survive.

I'm sorry, I have gone way off topic. Now back again to 2008. I have learnt a lot of new things. Not just academically, but physically, emotionally, mentally and socially. (This is 4 way a Ranger boy or girl should be growing) I have grown, even though sideways, it's still growing. I have developed more and more positiveness for my outlook on life. Mentally, I have become stronger and developed more leadership abilities I hope. Socially, I got to make some new friends and get to know some friends better. I don't believe in judging people or friendships, except models though, cause they are being paid to get judged. So friends and relationships are a very subjective matter. It is different for everyone, everyone has their own ideals and princinples, so sometimes the advice you give can't apply, it may help them, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. I'm not saying that you should not help them, I'm simply saying, just do your best and show your friend that you are there and you care.

So, as a conclusion, we should learn to take time more often to smell the roses. It's figurative speech for those of you who don't know. We should learn to appreciate every little thing that happens, because most of the times, it's the little things that make life interesting. If you dread doing everything, of course life will be a bore and frustrating. Example traffic jams, take time to look around you, after all, you most likely jus have to wait for 90 seconds. So don't fret. Look around you and you might find some weird incident. Seriously.

Enjoy life.