I'm speaking as a third person perspective, not judging, just observing.
The human race is one that I find most odd. They find delight in everything and find every possible way to express their emotions, in their terms, 'party' or 'celebrate'. Take for example, a very common ritual among the humans is 'countdowns' especially on the eve of significant events. What they do is, shout and scream at the top of their lungs ignoring all concerns in ethics without any particular reason. This is because it is 'fun', 'cool' and 'the trend'.
Earth Hour is one big step against global warming. This is one of those 'significant events' that the human race find important enough to gather together and perform their ritual of shouting. As this writer is from Malaysia, let me direct your attention to a video taken in KL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLkdUtRjju4
Hear all the screams and shouts? Yes, that is what I'm trying to say. Do they have to shout at everything? It's just the KLCC without lights. Global warming is not something to be celebrated. We have to take actions. They should save the petrol which I have to add, contributes to the carbon footprint, by not driving all the way to KL just to shout and scream at each other. They are saying no to global warming by switching off lights and there they are, outside producing greenhouse gases. I just have to add that they probably feel hyper afterwards and will go to some restaurant to have supper. What will they have? Let's see...how about beef steak? Cattles contribute more greenhouse gases-in this case, methane and carbon dioxide-than cars. Surprising? It's a whopping 18% of global warming. So, next time you choose beef steak, you choose global warming.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
SPM
My SPM results....(drum rolls)
It's not 14 A1s (Like Gai) but it's alright. At least I didn't fail Add Math or BM which means I don't have to take Finite Maths or BM in college.
Going back to high school for the results was fun. I got to meet all my ex-schoolmates again. And we can definitely feel 'the vibe' when we waited for it. Some teachers even cried. Anyway, I just wanna say how proud I am of my friends, especially Gai, Ding, Joolz and Kyeng. They all got straight A's!! I said it before, I'm gonna say it again, Gai got 14 A1's!! She's the 2nd highest Indian scorer in Malaysia! And she's not from some bestari/boarding school either. She's from our humble, ulu, no-one-will-ever-know SMKBTHO2. Her name's gonna be in the Hall of Fame for a long, long, long....time.
6 A1s, 1 A2 and 4 B3s!!!
It's not 14 A1s (Like Gai) but it's alright. At least I didn't fail Add Math or BM which means I don't have to take Finite Maths or BM in college.
Going back to high school for the results was fun. I got to meet all my ex-schoolmates again. And we can definitely feel 'the vibe' when we waited for it. Some teachers even cried. Anyway, I just wanna say how proud I am of my friends, especially Gai, Ding, Joolz and Kyeng. They all got straight A's!! I said it before, I'm gonna say it again, Gai got 14 A1's!! She's the 2nd highest Indian scorer in Malaysia! And she's not from some bestari/boarding school either. She's from our humble, ulu, no-one-will-ever-know SMKBTHO2. Her name's gonna be in the Hall of Fame for a long, long, long....time.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Not My Best Day
0730: Woke up late for second driving lesson. Drove up to Hulu Langat with instructor. All the way I was still kinda blurr... Learned how to do parking and 3 point turn today. Normally, I won't have to wait long to do parking but because it's a Sunday, I had to wait in line with the others to get a spot for parking. Then this guy cut the line in front of me and as the pushover that I am, I didn't do anything. Not even honk..but my instructor did. He literally got down the car and scold the poor guy. I was so afraid that all I did was sit in the car with my hands over my ears. After that, I just answer questions with monosyllable answers.
1000: Went to church with sis. We talked about Psalm 67-A Great Commission. I learned that God wants to bless us-all of us. We don't have to earn it. Our purpose in life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. May the peoples praise You and all nations glorify You!
Joined a talk called Sex & Sensibility that's on the 15th. I think it's going to help a lot, especially in the marriage and relationships conundrum.
1230: Drove all the way to Pavilion for lunch so that we can go to the National Library to study. What a disappointment that was.
1. The National Library has no proper parking area; we had to park at the Hospital beside.
2. We have to pay RM5 to bring our laptop in. (which we didn't after all cos Alex was too pissed-off with the whole thing that she threw the form we have to fill up for payment.)
3. The books are very disorganized.
4. People there are mostly high school students talking and adults with nothing to do, they read crappy old magazines like 'Wanita' and 'Jelita' that are bound by the library. (Seriously, why would the library want to bind magazines? They should bind more useful stuffs.)
And it's the National Library! What would foreigners say when they see it? What did they say? It looks pretty good on the outside with a rotten interior. Look at the website and compare it with the actual thing. You'll know what I mean.
1000: Went to church with sis. We talked about Psalm 67-A Great Commission. I learned that God wants to bless us-all of us. We don't have to earn it. Our purpose in life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. May the peoples praise You and all nations glorify You!
Joined a talk called Sex & Sensibility that's on the 15th. I think it's going to help a lot, especially in the marriage and relationships conundrum.
1230: Drove all the way to Pavilion for lunch so that we can go to the National Library to study. What a disappointment that was.
1. The National Library has no proper parking area; we had to park at the Hospital beside.
2. We have to pay RM5 to bring our laptop in. (which we didn't after all cos Alex was too pissed-off with the whole thing that she threw the form we have to fill up for payment.)
3. The books are very disorganized.
4. People there are mostly high school students talking and adults with nothing to do, they read crappy old magazines like 'Wanita' and 'Jelita' that are bound by the library. (Seriously, why would the library want to bind magazines? They should bind more useful stuffs.)
And it's the National Library! What would foreigners say when they see it? What did they say? It looks pretty good on the outside with a rotten interior. Look at the website and compare it with the actual thing. You'll know what I mean.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Making A Difference
Watched Slumdog Millionaire today with my mum and sis. Lots of Indian supporters at the cinema. It's the first time ever I felt like we're the only Chinese there and we're not in Malaysia anymore. At first, I thought it'll be some common Bollywood film which involves the main actress dancing around some (incidently there) tree. The guy and his 'geng' will woo the girl and her 'geng' with singing and dancing. Yeah, that's Bollywood alright!
But no, the movie is very real. It depicts real life scenes from Mumbai with actors facing real life situations similar to their characters. The plot shows how a typical life is in India with the caste system. It makes the audience think. Basically, it changed how I see the world. I feel lucky to be born here with a real family and great friends. I now know why God put me here. We complaint almost on a daily basis about our job, our life, our studies. What we don't realize is that people in places like India, Africa, Iraq or even the sidestreet beggar outside your house don't even have a chance to complaint. Often, we are too self-absorbed to realize that the world does not revolve around us.
I've been worrying about SPM results these few days but I don't anymore because I know it's no use worrying. Why would I wanna worry about these tedious things when God has it all planned out? It's not like worries will change it. That is why I want to make a difference. I want to help, even in the smallest of ways. I've decided to sponsor a child through World Vision. I just have to send RM50 per month to them and they'll take care of everything else. It's that easy! I have an allowance more than enough and I work. I'm pretty sure I'll survive without and extra RM50 a month. On the other hand, that single most important 50 ringgit bill will help a child in food, education, living.
Now I know why Slumdog Millionaire won the Best Movie in the Academy Awards. It's real. It may not be pretty, but it's real...it's everyday life in the world. I don't hope for you guys to join a missionary to war or something like that but at least try not to think life as what it is now. Think of the bigger picture and know that each of us is but a small dot in it.
But no, the movie is very real. It depicts real life scenes from Mumbai with actors facing real life situations similar to their characters. The plot shows how a typical life is in India with the caste system. It makes the audience think. Basically, it changed how I see the world. I feel lucky to be born here with a real family and great friends. I now know why God put me here. We complaint almost on a daily basis about our job, our life, our studies. What we don't realize is that people in places like India, Africa, Iraq or even the sidestreet beggar outside your house don't even have a chance to complaint. Often, we are too self-absorbed to realize that the world does not revolve around us.
I've been worrying about SPM results these few days but I don't anymore because I know it's no use worrying. Why would I wanna worry about these tedious things when God has it all planned out? It's not like worries will change it. That is why I want to make a difference. I want to help, even in the smallest of ways. I've decided to sponsor a child through World Vision. I just have to send RM50 per month to them and they'll take care of everything else. It's that easy! I have an allowance more than enough and I work. I'm pretty sure I'll survive without and extra RM50 a month. On the other hand, that single most important 50 ringgit bill will help a child in food, education, living.
Now I know why Slumdog Millionaire won the Best Movie in the Academy Awards. It's real. It may not be pretty, but it's real...it's everyday life in the world. I don't hope for you guys to join a missionary to war or something like that but at least try not to think life as what it is now. Think of the bigger picture and know that each of us is but a small dot in it.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Day 5 without tech
Today is the final day! I’m so happy I can finally watch my ‘Ouran’ and text my friends. Yesterday was my best friend’s birthday and I couldn’t even wish him. I felt so bad! I just e-mailed him and said I was sorry. I can’t take showering in cold water anymore! Thank heavens today is the last day!
This week actually taught me a lot of things. I can’t believe how much we are dependent on technologies these days. It’s surprising and disturbing to realize that because if we depend on it too much, what happens when it doesn’t work anymore? Hurricane Katrina taught us exactly this. When the connections in Gulf Coast were down, the citizens were desperate for any form of line to the world. Okay, let’s say technologies will never fail us, but we still face the risk of virus spreading through the entire world in the matter of minutes. A terrorist can easily take over everything.
I also learned that without technologies distracting me all the time, I can actually do more work. I’m more focused, therefore productive. If this experiment was to be held for a whole month, I might have changed the amount of technologies I use daily. However, since it’s such a short period of time, I have no inclination to change but it definitely has change how I think of technologies. I won’t take it for granted anymore. I learn to listen more to other people by not constantly occupying myself with technologies. I thank you for that!
This week actually taught me a lot of things. I can’t believe how much we are dependent on technologies these days. It’s surprising and disturbing to realize that because if we depend on it too much, what happens when it doesn’t work anymore? Hurricane Katrina taught us exactly this. When the connections in Gulf Coast were down, the citizens were desperate for any form of line to the world. Okay, let’s say technologies will never fail us, but we still face the risk of virus spreading through the entire world in the matter of minutes. A terrorist can easily take over everything.
I also learned that without technologies distracting me all the time, I can actually do more work. I’m more focused, therefore productive. If this experiment was to be held for a whole month, I might have changed the amount of technologies I use daily. However, since it’s such a short period of time, I have no inclination to change but it definitely has change how I think of technologies. I won’t take it for granted anymore. I learn to listen more to other people by not constantly occupying myself with technologies. I thank you for that!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Day 4 without tech
Had my first driving lesson today!! It was quite fun…and exciting that I just couldn’t help smiling the whole time I drove. This doesn’t count as breaking the rules, right? I mean, I drove myself and all but it’s part of learning.
When I came back, read a little ‘Pride and Prejudice’ then I slept for an hour. I’ve been sleeping a lot lately. Just didn’t have the initiative to start a new hobby or exercise. I’ve been telling myself I need to do some exercise but between work, college and assignments, I can’t seem to fit some time to exercise. Maybe I should quit my job and spend more ‘me time’.
My laundry is piling up. I actually piled all of my laundry for the past few days so that I can wash them all at once tomorrow. It’s just easier that way than to wash them everyday. I don’t think I broke any rules today unless you consider taking a glimpse at ‘The Dark Knight’ when my sister was watching. I just realized yesterday that I’m not even supposed to listen to the radio. Except, of course, if it’s someone else listening to it and I just happened to be in the same room.
Tomorrow is the final day. I sure hope I won’t break any more rules than I already had.
When I came back, read a little ‘Pride and Prejudice’ then I slept for an hour. I’ve been sleeping a lot lately. Just didn’t have the initiative to start a new hobby or exercise. I’ve been telling myself I need to do some exercise but between work, college and assignments, I can’t seem to fit some time to exercise. Maybe I should quit my job and spend more ‘me time’.
My laundry is piling up. I actually piled all of my laundry for the past few days so that I can wash them all at once tomorrow. It’s just easier that way than to wash them everyday. I don’t think I broke any rules today unless you consider taking a glimpse at ‘The Dark Knight’ when my sister was watching. I just realized yesterday that I’m not even supposed to listen to the radio. Except, of course, if it’s someone else listening to it and I just happened to be in the same room.
Tomorrow is the final day. I sure hope I won’t break any more rules than I already had.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Day 3 without tech
I went to campus today and the first thing my friend, Dhinesh told me was, “I give up.”
“Give what up?” I asked.
“The week without tech thing.”
“Why?”
“I couldn’t take it anymore. I went online yesterday and the day before that. It’s just so hard.”
One question went through my mind at that moment. What has happened to our generation of youth? No offence, but it’s only day 3 and honestly, I’ve broken a couple of rules too. I can understand him because I face the same temptations and when I say youth, I include myself in that category too.
I know kids and youth these days are pretty dependent on technologies but I didn’t know it was this bad. I know for a fact that kids now are playing with Playstations, Xboxes and can’t survive a day without watching ‘Ben 10’ while kids my time only plays with Barbie dolls, Tamiya cars and watches ‘Dragon Ball’ and ‘Pokemon’. Teaching at Kumon has taught me one valuable thing; kids these days are spoiled! Even my 8-year old cousin has a Nokia handphone more expensive that mine. Youth nowadays wants the best in everything; they compare their handphones, laptops and cars with their friends. They get bored easily like changing phones every month because it’s not ‘the best’ in the market.
It’s not that I don’t depend on technologies, I do. To prove my point, I have a confession to make. I watched ‘Mulan’ today on the telly. My friend texted me that it’s on and I immediately switched it on. It’s breaking the rules but it’s only like my favourite movie ever since I was 10. I get tempted sometimes but I still know my priorities. I can survive 5 days without technologies. It just depends on whether I want to. I may get tempted sometimes but I know I can say no to tech.
“Give what up?” I asked.
“The week without tech thing.”
“Why?”
“I couldn’t take it anymore. I went online yesterday and the day before that. It’s just so hard.”
One question went through my mind at that moment. What has happened to our generation of youth? No offence, but it’s only day 3 and honestly, I’ve broken a couple of rules too. I can understand him because I face the same temptations and when I say youth, I include myself in that category too.
I know kids and youth these days are pretty dependent on technologies but I didn’t know it was this bad. I know for a fact that kids now are playing with Playstations, Xboxes and can’t survive a day without watching ‘Ben 10’ while kids my time only plays with Barbie dolls, Tamiya cars and watches ‘Dragon Ball’ and ‘Pokemon’. Teaching at Kumon has taught me one valuable thing; kids these days are spoiled! Even my 8-year old cousin has a Nokia handphone more expensive that mine. Youth nowadays wants the best in everything; they compare their handphones, laptops and cars with their friends. They get bored easily like changing phones every month because it’s not ‘the best’ in the market.
It’s not that I don’t depend on technologies, I do. To prove my point, I have a confession to make. I watched ‘Mulan’ today on the telly. My friend texted me that it’s on and I immediately switched it on. It’s breaking the rules but it’s only like my favourite movie ever since I was 10. I get tempted sometimes but I still know my priorities. I can survive 5 days without technologies. It just depends on whether I want to. I may get tempted sometimes but I know I can say no to tech.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Day 2 without tech
-Continue from last post-
So far, I haven’t broken any set of rules. Washed my clothes yesterday by hand and haven’t had any access to the internet except for e-mail and college purposes. I’m getting sick of showering with cold water, thought. I was really tempted to switch on the water heater but didn’t. It’s just 5 days, I will survive.
Okay, I broke some rules today. I watched a music video clip with my friend on her laptop. Couldn’t help it, I was bored out from having to wait two hours between classes. The only entertainment I can find is reading my book, ‘Lolita’ and writing in my diary. Lolita is somewhat hard to understand because of the French words and English words from the Victorian era (I think). Plus, my friend played music on her laptop and technically, I’m listening to it. If we look at this logically, I didn’t ask her to play them, right? However, I did like the songs and even asked her to Bluetooth them to my phone.
When the rules say that I can’t use the mobile except for emergencies, I’m expecting calling my mum to pick me up from the LRT station as an emergency. So far, that’s the only thing I use my phone for and as an alarm clock to wake me up in the morning. I realized that I wear my clothes a couple of times more than usual to avoid having to wash them so often. It’s just that between balancing my time for college, travelling and work, I really can’t find much time to do the laundry.
I did something crazy today. I actually walked home which is 1km away from my work place (Kumon centre) after work at 9.30pm. Which is pretty crazy in my context because I usually asks my mum to pick me up but seeing as I can’t ride anyone’s car unless for long distance, I took up the challenge. It’s not like my neighbourhood is dangerous or anything but there have been cases of robbery and kidnapping. Well, not after the security guards beef up the patrols.
Anyway, I was walking home and I saw this African American man walking ahead of me. No offence, but at that time, any man of any race would’ve been suspicious to me. Fortunately, there were some people around us standing outside their porch. Nothing happened but I was so freaked out that time I prayed and sang worship songs the entire way home. I know, I’m a sacredly cat.
So far, I haven’t broken any set of rules. Washed my clothes yesterday by hand and haven’t had any access to the internet except for e-mail and college purposes. I’m getting sick of showering with cold water, thought. I was really tempted to switch on the water heater but didn’t. It’s just 5 days, I will survive.
Okay, I broke some rules today. I watched a music video clip with my friend on her laptop. Couldn’t help it, I was bored out from having to wait two hours between classes. The only entertainment I can find is reading my book, ‘Lolita’ and writing in my diary. Lolita is somewhat hard to understand because of the French words and English words from the Victorian era (I think). Plus, my friend played music on her laptop and technically, I’m listening to it. If we look at this logically, I didn’t ask her to play them, right? However, I did like the songs and even asked her to Bluetooth them to my phone.
When the rules say that I can’t use the mobile except for emergencies, I’m expecting calling my mum to pick me up from the LRT station as an emergency. So far, that’s the only thing I use my phone for and as an alarm clock to wake me up in the morning. I realized that I wear my clothes a couple of times more than usual to avoid having to wash them so often. It’s just that between balancing my time for college, travelling and work, I really can’t find much time to do the laundry.
I did something crazy today. I actually walked home which is 1km away from my work place (Kumon centre) after work at 9.30pm. Which is pretty crazy in my context because I usually asks my mum to pick me up but seeing as I can’t ride anyone’s car unless for long distance, I took up the challenge. It’s not like my neighbourhood is dangerous or anything but there have been cases of robbery and kidnapping. Well, not after the security guards beef up the patrols.
Anyway, I was walking home and I saw this African American man walking ahead of me. No offence, but at that time, any man of any race would’ve been suspicious to me. Fortunately, there were some people around us standing outside their porch. Nothing happened but I was so freaked out that time I prayed and sang worship songs the entire way home. I know, I’m a sacredly cat.
Freedom
Yeah! I'm finally free from the tech hiatus. Going through those 5 days weren't easy. Especially showering in cold water and no texting. Nothing else better can explain how I felt those days like my diary. So...this is the first entry:
Day 1 without tech
Felt awkward today because I did not bring my mobile phone out. Even if I have it, it wouldn’t make a difference because I can’t use it at all. I had to call my mum from the public phone to come pick me up from campus on her way home. I have this theory; people are more approachable when they are not doing something else namely listening to iPod or talking on the phone. I was waiting at the bus stop for my mum, reading a book and this girl I’ve met only once before when we took the bus together sat by me and started talking. It was nice, getting to talk to real people instead of constantly texting someone probably miles away.
Radios are my only source of music now. I kept switching between channels for something suitable. The closest I can find to my mp3 is Fly fm. I went to take a nap right after working at Kumon because I was totally exhausted. Plus, I can’t exactly join my brother and sister in front of the tv. They were watching some new movie too! Usually, I would’ve sat on the couch to watch tv while eating dinner. Today, I just sat on the couch to watch the remote control thinking, “I want to watch Ouran!” I am totally addicted to anime, movies and sitcoms. Yesterday was like me packing for winter. I watched 10 episodes of Ouran, Madagascar 2, Eagle Eye and Made of Honor. I guess it’s to fill up the tank before the hunger starts.
I was literally hopping in the shower today because of the cold water. It reminds me of my camping trip at Sungai Congkak. Just not as dirty and awkward because all the girls use this public bath. I know, once I get used to it, it’s not that bad. I should really take a bath before the sun goes down, while the air is still warm. Showering like this at night is fine but doing the same thing in the morning may cause hypothermia. Morning showers are not my thing. Even with hot water, I will still shiver in the cold, humid air.
Yesterday was my last day to go online (at least for the week). It was really dramatic, I was leaving messages to my friends and they were all like, “I’ll miss you” and “Don’t forget this” or “Don’t forget that” It was like I’m going to live under a rock for several years and not coming back. I kept telling them that they can still call me during emergencies and we could still contact each other with e-mails. Not having technologies is close to getting cut off from civilization. I can live in a cave and it would feel the same.
I’m more focused now, though. I’m finally reading the books I got last month and catching up on my Psychology textbook.
Day 1 without tech
Felt awkward today because I did not bring my mobile phone out. Even if I have it, it wouldn’t make a difference because I can’t use it at all. I had to call my mum from the public phone to come pick me up from campus on her way home. I have this theory; people are more approachable when they are not doing something else namely listening to iPod or talking on the phone. I was waiting at the bus stop for my mum, reading a book and this girl I’ve met only once before when we took the bus together sat by me and started talking. It was nice, getting to talk to real people instead of constantly texting someone probably miles away.
Radios are my only source of music now. I kept switching between channels for something suitable. The closest I can find to my mp3 is Fly fm. I went to take a nap right after working at Kumon because I was totally exhausted. Plus, I can’t exactly join my brother and sister in front of the tv. They were watching some new movie too! Usually, I would’ve sat on the couch to watch tv while eating dinner. Today, I just sat on the couch to watch the remote control thinking, “I want to watch Ouran!” I am totally addicted to anime, movies and sitcoms. Yesterday was like me packing for winter. I watched 10 episodes of Ouran, Madagascar 2, Eagle Eye and Made of Honor. I guess it’s to fill up the tank before the hunger starts.
I was literally hopping in the shower today because of the cold water. It reminds me of my camping trip at Sungai Congkak. Just not as dirty and awkward because all the girls use this public bath. I know, once I get used to it, it’s not that bad. I should really take a bath before the sun goes down, while the air is still warm. Showering like this at night is fine but doing the same thing in the morning may cause hypothermia. Morning showers are not my thing. Even with hot water, I will still shiver in the cold, humid air.
Yesterday was my last day to go online (at least for the week). It was really dramatic, I was leaving messages to my friends and they were all like, “I’ll miss you” and “Don’t forget this” or “Don’t forget that” It was like I’m going to live under a rock for several years and not coming back. I kept telling them that they can still call me during emergencies and we could still contact each other with e-mails. Not having technologies is close to getting cut off from civilization. I can live in a cave and it would feel the same.
I’m more focused now, though. I’m finally reading the books I got last month and catching up on my Psychology textbook.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)