The winds of October blew and just like last year, signalled something important. How crucial the consequences are going to be, I still do not know as of yet. But, surely, I'll be missing something by the time this month ends.
And so the day started with what would be our final complete meet up at the entrance (or that's what we thought at that time because we didn't foresee the meet ups during certain days after that day). It wasn't the usual happy one. There was an air of sadness surrounding us, albeit our efforts to make it epic.
Epic has become a strong word to use now, after the unparalleled success in terms of being epic the previous day. Inspired by the wrestler CM Punk, one of my friends planned to redo the act, on a much larger scale. I do not know the history behind it but then it was something that had captivated the mind of my friend.
He planned something like this last year while we were in school. We, who call ourselves Prodigy, decided to join and support him. However, what we got was rather harsh criticism and boos from some other people who were most probably just jealous with the fame that we were garnering.
This year, my friend boldly planned the event, expecting about 20 people to join. That didn't start off on a happy note as my friend wasn't satisfied with the number of people who were willing to join. At that time, there were only about 10 people who were willing to do it. I guess it must have been a huge predicament for my friend at that time.
The event was initially planned for 2.00 p.m. but then at that time, he was still looking for more people to join. Since my class that day was to finish at 3, I asked my friend to try and postpone a little longer till 3.
Once my class was over
Me: Where are you know?
Friend: Kavi, come down to the guardhouse (at the entrance of my college) right now. It's happening now!
And so I walked as fast as possible to the entrance. As I reached the flight of steps that led down, I was taken by surprise. The number of people gathered there really did shock me. There were just so many people who had turned up for the event. I knew that that would have surely given my friend the extra push to make this event an extraordinary one.
A few moments later, the unthinkable just happened. I found out that 2 lecturers were going to join us. That was one of the craziest things that happened because I have never imagined lecturers joining in super crazy fun stuff like this. That really made everyone even more eager to start.
3 2 1. And then we took off. Snow Angels. That's what we were doing. The only difference from the normal snow angels was that there was no snow in this event and all of us mimicked the movements. We swung our arms and legs like just like making real snow angels. After 10 seconds, it was over.
Everyone gave a big round of applause for my friend who planned the event and for everyone else who joined in to make this event an extraordinary one. I would daringly say that this was one of the most epic events ever held in Taylor's College Subang Jaya.
15 hours later, there we were standing at the entrance, facing reality as we know it. Pictures was the way to go in storing our memories. We took snapshots with the whole gang and even took a video of my friend doing a WWE wrestler's entrance.
After that, most of them returned to class except for 3 of us (including me) who decided to play table tennis in the Canadian Pre-University building. Table tennis was a game I picked up after joining Taylor's. I was never really exposed to this game while in school, or I should say I never really exposed myself to it. After playing table tennis for a few weeks, I realized that it was actually kinda simple and fun to play.
Class that day somehow seemed very uninteresting. I wasn't really concentrating and to make it worse, it was a Friday, which meant I had no break until 1.00 p.m. After lunch, I went to look for these guys.
I finally found them, sitting in somewhat tatters, all with mixed emotions. An aura of sadness just filled their classroom. It was like something really emotional just happened and people had just left and it was coming to an end. I walked in in a rather cheerful manner, not sure if I was really happy for them or trying to hide my sadness.
There they were, with tear prints left on their faces, pondering about life after college, leaving the place where they had so much fun. Skipping classes, last-minute assignments, group study before tests and their laughter that accompanied all those moments were all too familiar to them. But, who were these guys to me???
I came into this new place expecting fantasies to be realized only to be brought down by a completely different atmosphere. And then came these guys who helped me live back some of my old moments of laughter and consequently easing my passage into college life.
These were the guys whom I went out for lunch with almost every day. These were the guys whom I was able to talk crap with, as they shared this common habit of my close friends and I. As some of them wept thinking about their final days in college, I gave them a short speech to thank them for what they had done for me.
Wonderful moments such as these should not be wasted. We sat in a circle and started talking about ourselves. We talked about our personal experiences, who we liked, who we hated and who were the hottest girls in college. There was just so much to say but time wasn't on our side. There was still one more thing we had to do.
It's a place we call the cradle for our mischief, the place where my SAM friends hung out during their free time-or in some cases during boring classes-while in college. It's the place where they played wrestling and watched movies.
Lecture theater 1 and 2. Here, one of my friends did a promo, something like what they do during wrestling shows, where wrestlers go into the ring and speak their mind out. We kinda had fun listening to that guy's promo as it was really quite funny and also because we made fun of a big teddy bear.
Half an hour or so later, it was time I said goodbye to a few of them. We gave each other our last hugs and said our final words. But, why only to a few of them??
And there we were the remaining ones, 5 of us, the Klang boys, who took the train back home that day. We were on our final walk to the train station. Just one last time, all of us walked together thinking about the times we had had together. We took a few more snapshots on the way.
The train ride was rather funny. It was a sad moment but we tried to make it as normal as possible. As they alighted one by one, there I was left alone to think about how my life had been for the past 4 months.
Good things always come and go. I would really like to thank all those guys whom I knew from SAM for easing my transition from school to college life. At times, I do miss them especially during lunch breaks. Life still moves on and I would want to wish my SAM friends good luck in their future undertakings!
P.S. This blog post is a little outdated as it had to be postponed due to the recent robbery and my semester 1 examinations.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Dark Clouds That Follow
"Wake up. It's already 5.10"
I open my eyes slowly as the light from the hall breaches my tired pupils which was derived of sleep. I see something different in the distance, something unfamiliar. A black spot with pieces of wood hanging by a few pieces of wood. Next moment, a bullet train hit me.
The memory of what happened hours ago returned. I lived through the horrifying experience again, from the screams to the part where I was tied. The horrifying screams in my head virtually broke the silence of pre-dawn. I was up awake as if I never slept.
I mustered my way out of bed. A few steps later, I saw the image again-two guys wearing black clothes and blue masks running up the staircase. That feeling of sudden heart stop hit me again. I shrugged it off and took another few steps to the bathroom.
Hot water flowed over my face. The feeling of emotionless was still there. The screams kept playing in my head. Soon, I realized that I was taking too long in the shower. After bathing I went downstairs for breakfast. Gloominess still filled the aura at home and there was constant worry.
I let my eyes pierce the little freckles of light which made it's way through some parts of the wooden front door to check for any movements. Still and sound. I put on my shoes and made my way out of the house to my father's car. A car passed by. I looked at the car till it passed by my house, out of suspicion. Thank God, nothing happened.
I sat there by the chair and saw no train was anywhere to be seen. I had to take the train that day as my father decided to stay home. As my eyes looked at the early streaks of sunlight breaching the dark sky, my thoughts flew to the incident again. The whole event just played in my head like I'd just seen it.
In the train, one of my friends sat beside me. I told him the story as detailed as I could as the event was still fresh in my head. He, who understood my feelings, decided to give me my moment of silence after I regurgitated the event for him.
I reached college in gloomy mood. I had a Further Maths test that day. Even at home, I was thinking about telling my teacher that I didn't want to take the test. My classmates recognized my drastic change in mood. They only received words of denial from me. I wasn't ready to tell them.
Somehow, I didn't have the strength to tell my teacher about the test and I just decided to take it. First half an hour, I barely completed anything, even the simple proving mathematical equations questions. Somehow, in the second half an hour, my brain started working a little. As soon as the test was over, I headed over to the music chamber to meet my friend who was having a jamming session there.
I told him the story, living through the experience again, especially the screams. I got my subway sandwich and settled to watch my friend play with his friends. After I was done, my friend and I got a pair of drumsticks and I simply beat the drums to shrug off the traumatizing feeling. I went to class 20 minutes late but without a single pinch of regret as I my head felt lighter after the jamming session. I revealed the whole story to my classmates later.
After college, I headed straight to the Canadian Pre-U building to play table tennis with my friends( The one's whose SAM final exams had ended). Another great way to feel better. Then, as my other friends joined us, I retold the story. At times, the shrieks during the robbery played in my head again, making me to stop momentarily.
I reached home. HOME isn't a suitable word to use now. Home seemed so different. Everything was all closed up. The gate and door were locked even though everyone else was at home. Waiting in front of the gate, instinct told me to look around to see if there was anything suspicious. Every step had to be followed by a moment of cautiousness.
Once inside, we were disconnected-physically-from the outside world. It had never been like this before. All this while, the cool evening breeze together with the warmth of the setting Sun would fill the hall. Now, it's all gloomy inside. Sometimes, I equate it with staying in jail, all trapped up.
Every single day, I think of what I could have done during the robbery. What would have happened if I was in a different place, what if I had fought back, what if I got out of the room I was tied in to take a look at the number plate of the car that ferried the robbers, what if I had observed the guys a little more, what if I had switched on the recorder in my phone so that I could record their voices, what if, what if...........
Sometimes, when my thoughts fly, I ask myself how come my life has changed so much from last year. It's such a drastic change that living with it everyday can be a burden by itself. Every single day, I pick up the pieces of my sorrow just to tell myself to move on. Sometimes, even that is not enough.........
I open my eyes slowly as the light from the hall breaches my tired pupils which was derived of sleep. I see something different in the distance, something unfamiliar. A black spot with pieces of wood hanging by a few pieces of wood. Next moment, a bullet train hit me.
The memory of what happened hours ago returned. I lived through the horrifying experience again, from the screams to the part where I was tied. The horrifying screams in my head virtually broke the silence of pre-dawn. I was up awake as if I never slept.
I mustered my way out of bed. A few steps later, I saw the image again-two guys wearing black clothes and blue masks running up the staircase. That feeling of sudden heart stop hit me again. I shrugged it off and took another few steps to the bathroom.
Hot water flowed over my face. The feeling of emotionless was still there. The screams kept playing in my head. Soon, I realized that I was taking too long in the shower. After bathing I went downstairs for breakfast. Gloominess still filled the aura at home and there was constant worry.
I let my eyes pierce the little freckles of light which made it's way through some parts of the wooden front door to check for any movements. Still and sound. I put on my shoes and made my way out of the house to my father's car. A car passed by. I looked at the car till it passed by my house, out of suspicion. Thank God, nothing happened.
I sat there by the chair and saw no train was anywhere to be seen. I had to take the train that day as my father decided to stay home. As my eyes looked at the early streaks of sunlight breaching the dark sky, my thoughts flew to the incident again. The whole event just played in my head like I'd just seen it.
In the train, one of my friends sat beside me. I told him the story as detailed as I could as the event was still fresh in my head. He, who understood my feelings, decided to give me my moment of silence after I regurgitated the event for him.
I reached college in gloomy mood. I had a Further Maths test that day. Even at home, I was thinking about telling my teacher that I didn't want to take the test. My classmates recognized my drastic change in mood. They only received words of denial from me. I wasn't ready to tell them.
Somehow, I didn't have the strength to tell my teacher about the test and I just decided to take it. First half an hour, I barely completed anything, even the simple proving mathematical equations questions. Somehow, in the second half an hour, my brain started working a little. As soon as the test was over, I headed over to the music chamber to meet my friend who was having a jamming session there.
I told him the story, living through the experience again, especially the screams. I got my subway sandwich and settled to watch my friend play with his friends. After I was done, my friend and I got a pair of drumsticks and I simply beat the drums to shrug off the traumatizing feeling. I went to class 20 minutes late but without a single pinch of regret as I my head felt lighter after the jamming session. I revealed the whole story to my classmates later.
After college, I headed straight to the Canadian Pre-U building to play table tennis with my friends( The one's whose SAM final exams had ended). Another great way to feel better. Then, as my other friends joined us, I retold the story. At times, the shrieks during the robbery played in my head again, making me to stop momentarily.
I reached home. HOME isn't a suitable word to use now. Home seemed so different. Everything was all closed up. The gate and door were locked even though everyone else was at home. Waiting in front of the gate, instinct told me to look around to see if there was anything suspicious. Every step had to be followed by a moment of cautiousness.
Once inside, we were disconnected-physically-from the outside world. It had never been like this before. All this while, the cool evening breeze together with the warmth of the setting Sun would fill the hall. Now, it's all gloomy inside. Sometimes, I equate it with staying in jail, all trapped up.
Every single day, I think of what I could have done during the robbery. What would have happened if I was in a different place, what if I had fought back, what if I got out of the room I was tied in to take a look at the number plate of the car that ferried the robbers, what if I had observed the guys a little more, what if I had switched on the recorder in my phone so that I could record their voices, what if, what if...........
Sometimes, when my thoughts fly, I ask myself how come my life has changed so much from last year. It's such a drastic change that living with it everyday can be a burden by itself. Every single day, I pick up the pieces of my sorrow just to tell myself to move on. Sometimes, even that is not enough.........
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Terror On A Wednesday Night
A ride of terror, I would call it. Horrifying, heart-stopping, panic, "fight or flight" decision making, fear of death. How else would you describe it? Describe what, you may ask.
There I was in my room upstairs, just after having my bath, wiping water from my wet long hair. As soon as I was done, I reached for the door. Then, I remembered that I wanted to read an interesting article from the newspaper which I had kept on my dressing table. After reading the article, I reached for the door knob to get out. After that, everything was like a dream.
I heard a very loud scream. A scream like no other. It wasn't the scream of fright, not a scream of excitement. A scream, a scream of fear of life. I knew something had to be wrong.
So many things were running in my mind. Maybe someone broke their hands or legs, A deep cut, or maybe something like heart attack or stroke. I quickly opened my room door to run down only to be stopped in my tracks a fraction of a second later.
Two guys wearing blue face masks were running up the staircase with parang (long knife) in their hands. I screamed like I've never done before in my whole life. I knew they were robbers. Fight or flight? Instinct told me that flight was the best solution as they were holding dangerous weapons.
I rushed back into my room and slammed the door, locking it. I pushed my body against the door. A fraction of a second later, I felt a force acting on me form outside. Those guys were kicking the door so hard that by 2 kicks, the lower part of the door was already broken. I knew they were surely going to make it in. SO, I just opened the door slowly and put my hands up in the air.
One of the robbers pointed the long knife at me. I immediately handed over my hand phone to him to show him I had no intention of doing anything stupid. He ordered me to sit beside the trophy shelves. Moments later, I saw my mum walking up, followed by one of the robbers.
The robbers ordered both of us to go into the master bedroom. One of them asked me to sit in a corner. I just followed because the idea of fighting back never crossed my mind due to the fact that they had dangerous weapons. And then, they started to ask my mum to reveal the location of the money and jewelry.
My mum kept on saying that she didn't know and was saying that the jewelry was in my grandfather's house. They didn't believe and then started ransacking the room. When they found the jewelry and money, they started hurtling bad words towards my mum.
As one of the robbers took a small piggy back, my mum pleaded to them to not take it as it was my little brother's savings. The guy just asked my mum to shut up. Then, my mum was saying that the money they were taking was all hard earned money. They replied by saying that they too were working hard, working hard to rob by risking their lives.
Then, they received a call. Their friend reminded them that their 20 minutes time to rob (planned before the robbery) was over and it was time to go. They heard the sound of a car and knew it was their friend's car. They put the valuables in a bag and ordered us to walk downstairs.As I reached the playroom, I saw my dad, sister, brother and the maid sitting in a corner. My dad and the maid were tied up.
They ordered my mum and I to sit in the same place. They tied our hands using a type of tape and made their way out. No one dared to move except for the maid. She was insisting that she go out and get some information about them, like the car number plate. But then, my father stopped her because we didn't know how the situation was outside the room.
I immediately started trying to take out the tape. It wasn't a sticky tape. It was more like the plastic strip which is used to tie plastic bags in shopping, only that this one was way thicker. Luckily for me, mine wasn't tied to the point where it can't be taken out, so mine came of easily.
About 10 minutes later, my dad decided to go out of the room and make sure that no one was there in the house. As he confirmed the absence of the robbers, we made our way out of the room. I got the scissors and tried to cut of the tape form everyone's wrist. Next immediate thing we did was to call the police.While waiting for the police, my family members told me the story that I missed.
My family members were all in the kitchen. My mum was making jam tart with my sister, brother and maid. My dad was also in the kitchen, looking for snacks. The three robbers quietly made their way inside. The first thing they did was they increased the volume of the television.
My sister actually saw that guy holding the remote and thought that one of my friends were playing some stupid trick (for I don't know what reason). When she saw the parang in the guy's hand, she knew it was a robber. At that moment when the robber saw my sister looking at him, he ran towards my father. And that's when she let out a scream that I heard upstairs.
My mum who was shocked threw the egg that she was holding in her palm. It missed the robber and broke as it landed on the floor. According to my dad, the guy that was holding him was a little unstable, maybe drunk. The robber was swinging his parang in the notion of slashing my dad, maybe just to injure him so that he won't fight back. My dad who had some knowledge in martial arts managed to avoid the slashes.
He then started asking what the robbers wanted. His main fear was that those guys were hired to kill us. Then, he guy who was holding my dad asked him to sit down and told my dad that they just want money and valuables. And that's when they took my mum upstairs.
After my mum went up, one of the robbers came down again to ask my dad if there was any other jewelry. My dad, who was worried about my mum and I upstairs immediately revealed the location to them. After that, they were pretty satisfied and their planned time was up anyway.
What an experience. It was totally unexpected. It was horrifying, terrifying and scary. It just happened like that in a flash. I was still trying to grasp the reality that robbers actually came into our house. I lost all emotions. I tried to switch on the TV and watch Mr.Bean but even that didn't help. The only thing I thought of was the robbery. Traumatized, that's exactly how I'd describe myself.
The whole scene just replayed countless number of times in my head. I just could not stop looking at it in my mind. The arrival of the police barely changed anything at home. They surveyed the place and took pictures.
About 12.30, my family went to bed. I asked my brother to sleep next to me because I knew he would be scared. I tried to sleep but the broken door in front of my eyes just brought me back to the robbery. I forced myself to sleep but then ended up dreaming about robbers. After just 4 hours of sleep, I woke up fresh, because the image of the 2 guys running up the staircase hit me like a bullet train as soon as I woke up.
I felt pity for my brother the most because he is only 8. Can you imagine an eight year old kid watching his dad defending himself from a guy who was swinging long scary weapons to slash him? It's difficult and sad to realize that my very own little brother was put into such a situation.
Everyone at home is gripped with fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of the unexpected, fear for life of family members. What has been done has been done. We can't do anything to change our history. I feel so angry towards them, I feel like just hitting them with all my might if I were to see them. But, I think the right thing to do as a human being is to pray so that someone, or God himself will show them the right path.....
P.S. The blogger apologizes for any spelling or grammatical errors (if there are any) because he didn't want to read the blog post again. He wrote this blog post to store his memory of the incident and to try and forget it after this. The blogger sincerely hopes that you will take this incident as an example of why we should be more careful these days. He also hopes that such things will never happen to you. Please be safe
There I was in my room upstairs, just after having my bath, wiping water from my wet long hair. As soon as I was done, I reached for the door. Then, I remembered that I wanted to read an interesting article from the newspaper which I had kept on my dressing table. After reading the article, I reached for the door knob to get out. After that, everything was like a dream.
I heard a very loud scream. A scream like no other. It wasn't the scream of fright, not a scream of excitement. A scream, a scream of fear of life. I knew something had to be wrong.
So many things were running in my mind. Maybe someone broke their hands or legs, A deep cut, or maybe something like heart attack or stroke. I quickly opened my room door to run down only to be stopped in my tracks a fraction of a second later.
Two guys wearing blue face masks were running up the staircase with parang (long knife) in their hands. I screamed like I've never done before in my whole life. I knew they were robbers. Fight or flight? Instinct told me that flight was the best solution as they were holding dangerous weapons.
I rushed back into my room and slammed the door, locking it. I pushed my body against the door. A fraction of a second later, I felt a force acting on me form outside. Those guys were kicking the door so hard that by 2 kicks, the lower part of the door was already broken. I knew they were surely going to make it in. SO, I just opened the door slowly and put my hands up in the air.
One of the robbers pointed the long knife at me. I immediately handed over my hand phone to him to show him I had no intention of doing anything stupid. He ordered me to sit beside the trophy shelves. Moments later, I saw my mum walking up, followed by one of the robbers.
The robbers ordered both of us to go into the master bedroom. One of them asked me to sit in a corner. I just followed because the idea of fighting back never crossed my mind due to the fact that they had dangerous weapons. And then, they started to ask my mum to reveal the location of the money and jewelry.
My mum kept on saying that she didn't know and was saying that the jewelry was in my grandfather's house. They didn't believe and then started ransacking the room. When they found the jewelry and money, they started hurtling bad words towards my mum.
As one of the robbers took a small piggy back, my mum pleaded to them to not take it as it was my little brother's savings. The guy just asked my mum to shut up. Then, my mum was saying that the money they were taking was all hard earned money. They replied by saying that they too were working hard, working hard to rob by risking their lives.
Then, they received a call. Their friend reminded them that their 20 minutes time to rob (planned before the robbery) was over and it was time to go. They heard the sound of a car and knew it was their friend's car. They put the valuables in a bag and ordered us to walk downstairs.As I reached the playroom, I saw my dad, sister, brother and the maid sitting in a corner. My dad and the maid were tied up.
They ordered my mum and I to sit in the same place. They tied our hands using a type of tape and made their way out. No one dared to move except for the maid. She was insisting that she go out and get some information about them, like the car number plate. But then, my father stopped her because we didn't know how the situation was outside the room.
I immediately started trying to take out the tape. It wasn't a sticky tape. It was more like the plastic strip which is used to tie plastic bags in shopping, only that this one was way thicker. Luckily for me, mine wasn't tied to the point where it can't be taken out, so mine came of easily.
About 10 minutes later, my dad decided to go out of the room and make sure that no one was there in the house. As he confirmed the absence of the robbers, we made our way out of the room. I got the scissors and tried to cut of the tape form everyone's wrist. Next immediate thing we did was to call the police.While waiting for the police, my family members told me the story that I missed.
My family members were all in the kitchen. My mum was making jam tart with my sister, brother and maid. My dad was also in the kitchen, looking for snacks. The three robbers quietly made their way inside. The first thing they did was they increased the volume of the television.
My sister actually saw that guy holding the remote and thought that one of my friends were playing some stupid trick (for I don't know what reason). When she saw the parang in the guy's hand, she knew it was a robber. At that moment when the robber saw my sister looking at him, he ran towards my father. And that's when she let out a scream that I heard upstairs.
My mum who was shocked threw the egg that she was holding in her palm. It missed the robber and broke as it landed on the floor. According to my dad, the guy that was holding him was a little unstable, maybe drunk. The robber was swinging his parang in the notion of slashing my dad, maybe just to injure him so that he won't fight back. My dad who had some knowledge in martial arts managed to avoid the slashes.
He then started asking what the robbers wanted. His main fear was that those guys were hired to kill us. Then, he guy who was holding my dad asked him to sit down and told my dad that they just want money and valuables. And that's when they took my mum upstairs.
After my mum went up, one of the robbers came down again to ask my dad if there was any other jewelry. My dad, who was worried about my mum and I upstairs immediately revealed the location to them. After that, they were pretty satisfied and their planned time was up anyway.
What an experience. It was totally unexpected. It was horrifying, terrifying and scary. It just happened like that in a flash. I was still trying to grasp the reality that robbers actually came into our house. I lost all emotions. I tried to switch on the TV and watch Mr.Bean but even that didn't help. The only thing I thought of was the robbery. Traumatized, that's exactly how I'd describe myself.
The whole scene just replayed countless number of times in my head. I just could not stop looking at it in my mind. The arrival of the police barely changed anything at home. They surveyed the place and took pictures.
About 12.30, my family went to bed. I asked my brother to sleep next to me because I knew he would be scared. I tried to sleep but the broken door in front of my eyes just brought me back to the robbery. I forced myself to sleep but then ended up dreaming about robbers. After just 4 hours of sleep, I woke up fresh, because the image of the 2 guys running up the staircase hit me like a bullet train as soon as I woke up.
I felt pity for my brother the most because he is only 8. Can you imagine an eight year old kid watching his dad defending himself from a guy who was swinging long scary weapons to slash him? It's difficult and sad to realize that my very own little brother was put into such a situation.
Everyone at home is gripped with fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of the unexpected, fear for life of family members. What has been done has been done. We can't do anything to change our history. I feel so angry towards them, I feel like just hitting them with all my might if I were to see them. But, I think the right thing to do as a human being is to pray so that someone, or God himself will show them the right path.....
P.S. The blogger apologizes for any spelling or grammatical errors (if there are any) because he didn't want to read the blog post again. He wrote this blog post to store his memory of the incident and to try and forget it after this. The blogger sincerely hopes that you will take this incident as an example of why we should be more careful these days. He also hopes that such things will never happen to you. Please be safe
Friday, October 5, 2012
The Only Bright Spark
I walked back into my cradle of happiness. This is the place where it all started, the formation of an awesome group of friends called Prodigy. The place where a lot of interesting, astonishing, outrageous, mind-blowing (you can name it all and it won't end) things happened.
It was supposed to be a surprise for 3 of my friends who were studying in my previous school. And a good surprise it was. The 4 Taylorians among Prodigy were free today as there was a training conducted for teachers in college. So, we knew that this would be the best oppurtunity to visit our school on a schooling day.
We walked in wearing our school sports T-shirts just so that we could blend in with the students. What made our plan better was that the Form 3 students were arranging the tables in their classes for the PMR examinations. So, every other kid was wearing a shirt identical to ours.
The first thing that took me by surprise was that the teachers didn't really recognize us. I guess the effect of having long hair and piercings didn't overpower the effect of the school sports T-shirt. Well, so we just made our way to the Form 6 block where we thought our friends would be studying. We walked past each class but our friends were no where to be found.
The thought that they might have not gone to school because of their trials next week hit us like a bullet. We then decided to look for them in the Science labs. Again, we were left disappointed. We tried asking a friend but he wasn't of much help either.
We didn't want to call our friends as it would have spoiled the surprise. So, we decided to give it one more try and headed to the Form 6 block again. We climbed to the top most floor, even looking for their names in the duty roster of certain classes which were empty. Our last resort was to ask my former class teacher, who was surprisingly teaching Mathematics for Form 6 students, if she knew anything about my friends' class.
As we were looking down from the 3rd floor, we suddenly saw our friends whom we came to meet. Apparently, they had found out about us in school because the guy that we had asked for info for earlier told them that Prodigy members were in school.
The feeling that I felt at that moment when we meet each other is something I can't explain in words. It was such a great moment of reunion in the place where we left a legacy. I can bet that no one would have ever lighted firecrackers inside the school compound, climbed up walls, jump from buildings, and spray the school buildings and take photographs with our masterpiece in it. We left a legacy, no doubt about that.
After that, we planned to go out for lunch. So, my friends wanted to come out earlier from their classes. While waiting for their chemistry class to end, we from Taylor's decided to visit our school teachers. I'm still quite astonished that my own class teacher during the last 2 years of my secondary school life couldn't recognize me. When she saw us for the first time, she talked to the other guys but didn't even look at me. That's why, I decided to visit her first in the staff room to to tell her that I'm the student she taught for 2 years. When she saw me, she said "oh, it was you". I just laughed.
After lunch, we decided to play basketball in the field nearby one of our friend's house. It was 1 in the afternoon but we still stuck to the plan as it wasn't very hot and we rarely get chances to meet each other. It was fun for me although I didn't really move much because of my leg injury. I was just basically walking around. After that, they played football while I became the referee for the match (how pathetic....but I didn't mind).
Then, it started raining. We decided to stop playing but no one seemed intent on going back except for a friend who had a complicated issue. We were just sitting there and talking about how's things going on in our lives and some funny topics. I guess I was the only one with emo stories about how I hated my class.
My life now just sucks. Nothing is going my way. For the first time in my life, I feel so lifeless. It was that period of about a month last year that I lost everything, everything except my friends. My life is in disarray now.
To be honest, I'll get straight to the point. I'm undergoing mild depression. I've read so many articles recently and it all the symptoms I'm having now points to depression. The feeling of irritability, the prolonged sadness, the loss of appetite, loss of concentration and just about everything else. I've read that if depression gets too serious, I might get thoughts of suicide. I'm worried about that and I'm trying my level best to not get there.
I've considered so many options. Time and time again, I think about going for consultation in the counselling centre in college. But, how will they ever understand how I'm feeling? Only people close to me would understand it. It would be difficult for me to explain to people who barely know me about my problem.
My parents have been my biggest letdown. I don't know if you know the feeling but being letdown by your own parents when it concerns the thing that matters most to you is really depressing. They seem to not care of my condition. I've told a few friends about it. I'm fed up of trying to explain to them about my leg injury. There are too many things to state here about them.
It's embarrassing but I don't care anymore. I feel so depressed at times that I sit in the room and cry. I keep on asking myself what more can I do as I've tried everything I can think of. I feel so helpless at times. I feel confused because I don't know what to do.
Everyday, I smile and laugh like any other boy. But, actually, I'm trying my best to feel happy, to take my mind away from things. I'm not even entirely happy at college. I always try to initiate conversations with my chinese-speaking classmates but I'm fed up with that. Once I'm done with college, the emptiness and confused feelings follow me again on my long journey back home.
It sucks to think that bad luck hit me at the wrong time in life. I was at the peak that time. When I was training in Bukit Jalil at the end of Form 4, a few weeks after I got my injury, the coach there told me that I would be able to run 50 seconds come March if I continued to train the way I did. However, because of that injury and an additional 2 to my quadriceps, everything was ruined the. Nowadays, so many people look down on my struggle to recovery.
It sucks you know, seriously. My life has never been like this. Everyday, I look for inspiration to continue working hard. Most of the time, I get it from random strangers. The only thing that still keeps me going is my will power. That desire to achieve my goals is still burning inside me. But, that desire is slowly but surely eating my life away.
That's why I need my friends. They have been the only bright spark in my life for a long time. I feel happy when I'm with them because I can take my mind of all the struggles I'm facing in life. They constantly fill up my empty life. That's why I feel quite sad whenever I want to go back home after an outing with friends. They truly mean a lot to me.
These are difficult times for me but I know that I have to work hard to recover quickly. Whatever that has happened to me so far, I only blame myself. This is my struggle and I just have to keep going......
P.S. The blogger would like to apologize for turning this supposedly happy blog post into an emotional one. He feels that his blog is one of the only places where he can say anything he wants and he really needed an outlet to release some of his burden.....
It was supposed to be a surprise for 3 of my friends who were studying in my previous school. And a good surprise it was. The 4 Taylorians among Prodigy were free today as there was a training conducted for teachers in college. So, we knew that this would be the best oppurtunity to visit our school on a schooling day.
We walked in wearing our school sports T-shirts just so that we could blend in with the students. What made our plan better was that the Form 3 students were arranging the tables in their classes for the PMR examinations. So, every other kid was wearing a shirt identical to ours.
The first thing that took me by surprise was that the teachers didn't really recognize us. I guess the effect of having long hair and piercings didn't overpower the effect of the school sports T-shirt. Well, so we just made our way to the Form 6 block where we thought our friends would be studying. We walked past each class but our friends were no where to be found.
The thought that they might have not gone to school because of their trials next week hit us like a bullet. We then decided to look for them in the Science labs. Again, we were left disappointed. We tried asking a friend but he wasn't of much help either.
We didn't want to call our friends as it would have spoiled the surprise. So, we decided to give it one more try and headed to the Form 6 block again. We climbed to the top most floor, even looking for their names in the duty roster of certain classes which were empty. Our last resort was to ask my former class teacher, who was surprisingly teaching Mathematics for Form 6 students, if she knew anything about my friends' class.
As we were looking down from the 3rd floor, we suddenly saw our friends whom we came to meet. Apparently, they had found out about us in school because the guy that we had asked for info for earlier told them that Prodigy members were in school.
The feeling that I felt at that moment when we meet each other is something I can't explain in words. It was such a great moment of reunion in the place where we left a legacy. I can bet that no one would have ever lighted firecrackers inside the school compound, climbed up walls, jump from buildings, and spray the school buildings and take photographs with our masterpiece in it. We left a legacy, no doubt about that.
After that, we planned to go out for lunch. So, my friends wanted to come out earlier from their classes. While waiting for their chemistry class to end, we from Taylor's decided to visit our school teachers. I'm still quite astonished that my own class teacher during the last 2 years of my secondary school life couldn't recognize me. When she saw us for the first time, she talked to the other guys but didn't even look at me. That's why, I decided to visit her first in the staff room to to tell her that I'm the student she taught for 2 years. When she saw me, she said "oh, it was you". I just laughed.
After lunch, we decided to play basketball in the field nearby one of our friend's house. It was 1 in the afternoon but we still stuck to the plan as it wasn't very hot and we rarely get chances to meet each other. It was fun for me although I didn't really move much because of my leg injury. I was just basically walking around. After that, they played football while I became the referee for the match (how pathetic....but I didn't mind).
Then, it started raining. We decided to stop playing but no one seemed intent on going back except for a friend who had a complicated issue. We were just sitting there and talking about how's things going on in our lives and some funny topics. I guess I was the only one with emo stories about how I hated my class.
My life now just sucks. Nothing is going my way. For the first time in my life, I feel so lifeless. It was that period of about a month last year that I lost everything, everything except my friends. My life is in disarray now.
To be honest, I'll get straight to the point. I'm undergoing mild depression. I've read so many articles recently and it all the symptoms I'm having now points to depression. The feeling of irritability, the prolonged sadness, the loss of appetite, loss of concentration and just about everything else. I've read that if depression gets too serious, I might get thoughts of suicide. I'm worried about that and I'm trying my level best to not get there.
I've considered so many options. Time and time again, I think about going for consultation in the counselling centre in college. But, how will they ever understand how I'm feeling? Only people close to me would understand it. It would be difficult for me to explain to people who barely know me about my problem.
My parents have been my biggest letdown. I don't know if you know the feeling but being letdown by your own parents when it concerns the thing that matters most to you is really depressing. They seem to not care of my condition. I've told a few friends about it. I'm fed up of trying to explain to them about my leg injury. There are too many things to state here about them.
It's embarrassing but I don't care anymore. I feel so depressed at times that I sit in the room and cry. I keep on asking myself what more can I do as I've tried everything I can think of. I feel so helpless at times. I feel confused because I don't know what to do.
Everyday, I smile and laugh like any other boy. But, actually, I'm trying my best to feel happy, to take my mind away from things. I'm not even entirely happy at college. I always try to initiate conversations with my chinese-speaking classmates but I'm fed up with that. Once I'm done with college, the emptiness and confused feelings follow me again on my long journey back home.
It sucks to think that bad luck hit me at the wrong time in life. I was at the peak that time. When I was training in Bukit Jalil at the end of Form 4, a few weeks after I got my injury, the coach there told me that I would be able to run 50 seconds come March if I continued to train the way I did. However, because of that injury and an additional 2 to my quadriceps, everything was ruined the. Nowadays, so many people look down on my struggle to recovery.
It sucks you know, seriously. My life has never been like this. Everyday, I look for inspiration to continue working hard. Most of the time, I get it from random strangers. The only thing that still keeps me going is my will power. That desire to achieve my goals is still burning inside me. But, that desire is slowly but surely eating my life away.
That's why I need my friends. They have been the only bright spark in my life for a long time. I feel happy when I'm with them because I can take my mind of all the struggles I'm facing in life. They constantly fill up my empty life. That's why I feel quite sad whenever I want to go back home after an outing with friends. They truly mean a lot to me.
These are difficult times for me but I know that I have to work hard to recover quickly. Whatever that has happened to me so far, I only blame myself. This is my struggle and I just have to keep going......
P.S. The blogger would like to apologize for turning this supposedly happy blog post into an emotional one. He feels that his blog is one of the only places where he can say anything he wants and he really needed an outlet to release some of his burden.....
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Awesome Birthday!
21st of August is indeed my special day. I wait for it every year but don't expect anything much out of it. My birthday has always been celebrated in the simplest of manners. However, this year, for the first time, I experienced it in a different way.
As in my last blog post, I was in Cameron Highlands during my birthday. On the night prior to my birthday, everyone was sitting in the living room. The kids were playing with the iPads and the rest were just watching television.
After sometime, I realized that the situation got a little awkward because everyone was just sitting around and no one was really doing anything. That kind of gave me the hint that they were waiting to wish me on the stroke of midnight.
The alarm on my sister's watch signalled that it was 12 and officially my birthday. Then all my relatives wished me one by one. Deep down my heart, I was hoping that there would be some surprise or something like that but it never came. I was quite ok with it because I'm used to not having surprises during my birthday.
A few minutes later as everyone was making their way into their beds, I received a text message from one of my friends. The text was pretty long and it came as a surprise because I've never seen him typing long messages before. It was quite a meaningful message to me. Then, as I was about to sleep, another friend rang up to me to wish me for my birthday.
I woke up on the morning of my birthday as usual, breathing in the cool high altitude air while doing my morning stretching exercises. After lunch, my family planned to go to the waterfall after checking out of our apartment. I wasn't really interested in joining in because I would have to change my clothes again if I got wet but it turned out to be the total opposite.
As we reached the waterfall, I thought that maybe I should just go and see the kids playing. When I was at the waterfall, I told myself "I should just go dip my leg in the water for a while". Then, I guess you know what followed. I joined in with the kids and made all my family members wet as well. It's kind of fun being childish once in a while. Since I wasn't that wet, I was too lazy to change and decided to just return home in the same clothes.
After a tiring journey due to the traffic jam, I finally reached home sweet home. As I was in my room, my mum knocked on my room door and asked me to come out. When I opened the door, there stood my whole family clutching their presents for me in their hands. My mum gave me a T-shirt and my sister gave me two. This came as a surprise to me as I thought that they wouldn't have gotten me anything as we were in Cameron Highlands.
The next day, my friends called me out for dinner. It was supposed to be a Prodigy reunion. I was really happy to meet up with some friends whom I hadn't met for quite some time.. We talked for a while before ordering our food.
As the food arrived one by one at the table, I was getting really hungry. Why wasn't I eating? It's because we friends decided to wait for everyone's food to be served at the table before we started eating. The food was there but the 2 of my friends were missing. They said that they wanted to buy something and hadn't returned and I was getting freaking hungry.
Then, I saw two figures walking towards the restaurant from quite some distance away. One of them was holding a box in his hand. I gave a guess and a good guess it was. It was a birthday cake for me.
When my friends called me out for dinner, I wasn't expecting them to buy a cake for the occasion. So, for the first time ever in my life, my friends had celebrated my birthday. That was one of the happiest moments of my life.
After dinner, while having the cake, all of sudden, we came up with an idea. I can't really recall how it happened but we just started talking about some important stories in our lives. Everyone took turns to be asked one question and he had to answer it. The questions were mostly on why we made certain decisions in life and about our past relationships. During that time, all of us really got to know each one of us even better.
Wondering how come my family didn't celebrate my birthday with a cake? Well, first, they were tired after returning from Cameron Highlands. Secondly, for my birthday celebration at home, I always want the cake to be baked by my mum and not to be bought form the shop. So, on Saturday, my mum baked a wonderful orange cake for me and we celebrated it at home.
My birthday this year was a totally different affair compared to the previous years. It has always been simple and specially for me. This year, there were quite a number of surprises and I have to say I enjoyed every bit of it. I just want to say thank you to my family members and friends for making this year's birthday my most awesome one so far.................
As in my last blog post, I was in Cameron Highlands during my birthday. On the night prior to my birthday, everyone was sitting in the living room. The kids were playing with the iPads and the rest were just watching television.
After sometime, I realized that the situation got a little awkward because everyone was just sitting around and no one was really doing anything. That kind of gave me the hint that they were waiting to wish me on the stroke of midnight.
The alarm on my sister's watch signalled that it was 12 and officially my birthday. Then all my relatives wished me one by one. Deep down my heart, I was hoping that there would be some surprise or something like that but it never came. I was quite ok with it because I'm used to not having surprises during my birthday.
A few minutes later as everyone was making their way into their beds, I received a text message from one of my friends. The text was pretty long and it came as a surprise because I've never seen him typing long messages before. It was quite a meaningful message to me. Then, as I was about to sleep, another friend rang up to me to wish me for my birthday.
I woke up on the morning of my birthday as usual, breathing in the cool high altitude air while doing my morning stretching exercises. After lunch, my family planned to go to the waterfall after checking out of our apartment. I wasn't really interested in joining in because I would have to change my clothes again if I got wet but it turned out to be the total opposite.
As we reached the waterfall, I thought that maybe I should just go and see the kids playing. When I was at the waterfall, I told myself "I should just go dip my leg in the water for a while". Then, I guess you know what followed. I joined in with the kids and made all my family members wet as well. It's kind of fun being childish once in a while. Since I wasn't that wet, I was too lazy to change and decided to just return home in the same clothes.
After a tiring journey due to the traffic jam, I finally reached home sweet home. As I was in my room, my mum knocked on my room door and asked me to come out. When I opened the door, there stood my whole family clutching their presents for me in their hands. My mum gave me a T-shirt and my sister gave me two. This came as a surprise to me as I thought that they wouldn't have gotten me anything as we were in Cameron Highlands.
The next day, my friends called me out for dinner. It was supposed to be a Prodigy reunion. I was really happy to meet up with some friends whom I hadn't met for quite some time.. We talked for a while before ordering our food.
As the food arrived one by one at the table, I was getting really hungry. Why wasn't I eating? It's because we friends decided to wait for everyone's food to be served at the table before we started eating. The food was there but the 2 of my friends were missing. They said that they wanted to buy something and hadn't returned and I was getting freaking hungry.
Then, I saw two figures walking towards the restaurant from quite some distance away. One of them was holding a box in his hand. I gave a guess and a good guess it was. It was a birthday cake for me.
When my friends called me out for dinner, I wasn't expecting them to buy a cake for the occasion. So, for the first time ever in my life, my friends had celebrated my birthday. That was one of the happiest moments of my life.
After dinner, while having the cake, all of sudden, we came up with an idea. I can't really recall how it happened but we just started talking about some important stories in our lives. Everyone took turns to be asked one question and he had to answer it. The questions were mostly on why we made certain decisions in life and about our past relationships. During that time, all of us really got to know each one of us even better.
Wondering how come my family didn't celebrate my birthday with a cake? Well, first, they were tired after returning from Cameron Highlands. Secondly, for my birthday celebration at home, I always want the cake to be baked by my mum and not to be bought form the shop. So, on Saturday, my mum baked a wonderful orange cake for me and we celebrated it at home.
My birthday this year was a totally different affair compared to the previous years. It has always been simple and specially for me. This year, there were quite a number of surprises and I have to say I enjoyed every bit of it. I just want to say thank you to my family members and friends for making this year's birthday my most awesome one so far.................
Friday, August 24, 2012
Finally, Time Off!
It's been more than a month since I joined the A-Levels programme in Taylor's College. Seriously, life is hectic. The first problem was that I didn't have any books for the first month which was way against my study style which is to prepare beforehand for classes. So, I was struggling to keep up and always anticipated the weekend to catch up on work in class.
Second problem, there were just too many things to think of. Besides the normal things, I was having a hard time mixing around with my classmates. They are so used to conversing in Mandarin that they even do that in class. So, at times, especially when they're discussing something important or laughing about a joke, I feel left out.
This one week holiday was the timely boost I needed. I had gotten most of my books. But before indulging on pages after pages of theories and formulae, I needed some time off from my college life. The best way to kick start the holiday-hanging out with the best friends I can ever have....my school friends!
My sister was the one who first told me about the book fest in KL Convention Centre. I wanted to go because I was on the lookout for certain books to complete some of the series of books that I have read. After getting my dad's permission on Friday night, I decided to invite my friends to join me.
Four friends, one of my friends' family, my sister, her friend. There were ten of us in total. The plan was to take the train as that was the easiest way to get there. We were supposed to take the train to KL Sentral and from there on take a LRT to KLCC. The last time I went on this journey, I was alone. This time around, it was a whole different story.
As usual, when my friends and I get together, we just love talking and a lot of the things we say will turn out to be funny. After an awesome 1 hour journey, we reached KL Sentral. Surprisingly, there was a book sale there and I managed to get one of the books that I was looking for-Angels & Demons by Dan Brown-for RM10. After that, while taking the LRT, one of my friends reminded me about how packed the monorail was when we boarded it to the Bukit Jalil Stadium last year to watch the Malaysia vs Arsenal match. (by that, I mean the perverted side of the journey)
To be honest, the book fest was a big letdown, for me at least. I didn't find the books I wanted at the price I was expecting plus most of the books there were just priced at the normal 25% discount. It wasn't that surprising as Popular book fairs are always like that. However, I did buy one book that my friend recommended to me. When I exited the book fest, I was met by a astonishingly wonderful surprise.
Packets after packets of currency notes and colourful stamps displayed. I stumbled upon a shop selling stamps and currency which set up a stall at the exit of the book fest. I was just amazed as I had finally found the kind of shop that I had been looking for for the past few years. I spent all that remained form the RM50 (my budget for the book fest) to buy currency notes. The best part was that the original shop is in Amcorp Mall. I'll surely pay frequent visits to the mall after this.
At the end of the day, I felt a little tired. I told my mum that I would reach home at around 6 something but I only reached home at 8. I was satisfied with my discovery that day and glad I wasn't lectured by my mum for coming back home late. I slept early because another journey awaited me the next day.
A few hours after day break, I was on my way to Cameron Highlands. It was a trip with my family from my dad's side. I personally love Cameron Highlands because it fits everything I look forward to during a holiday-wonderful weather, relaxing environment and a laid back, small town kind of place. On the first day, the only thing we did was just eat and relax.
Day 2 was just awesome with a mix of emotions. We started of by visiting the the strawberry farm. The strawberries were just the same as ever. This time however, I got a chance to indulge on some strawberry jam topped cheese cake.
Next up was the butterfly park. I love nature and for that reason alone, I don't mind visiting these places again, especially this park. It's nice to have big and beautiful butterflies on your hands plus getting a chance to view snakes and insects. It gives a kind of bonding sensation with nature.
Just before lunch, for some reason, my family wanted to go the place which I was hoping not to go-the place where I used to train during my training stints there. I've still not recovered form my injury to the adductors. So, for an athlete who is injured, it's painstaking to get the feel to run when you're temporarily disabled.
The basketball court where I used to warm up as the chilly wind swept through my running shorts, the track where I used up every ounce of energy to run, the hill where I worked that difficult sprint up, the field where I played football on the final day of each training stint and the small river where I dipped my legs in after running to prevent injuries. Hmm, all those memories......
The next day, we visited the Boh Tea Estate before we left the place. Cameron highlands has undergone some changes compared to the last time I was there (2 years ago). One of the chicken rice shops that I wanted to recommend to my family was closed down and the seafood restaurant which charged RM10 per person for a variety of dishes was missing too.
What a way to get myself away from college life. Hanging out with friends and a holiday in my favourite holiday destination managed to take off all the stress from my mind. I tried to study in Cameron Highlands but it just didn't work. Maybe, sometimes, it's good to take the foot of the pedal for a while......
P.S. The blogger's birthday was actually on the third day of his trip to Cameron Highlands. More of that to come in the next blog post. Stay tuned!
Second problem, there were just too many things to think of. Besides the normal things, I was having a hard time mixing around with my classmates. They are so used to conversing in Mandarin that they even do that in class. So, at times, especially when they're discussing something important or laughing about a joke, I feel left out.
This one week holiday was the timely boost I needed. I had gotten most of my books. But before indulging on pages after pages of theories and formulae, I needed some time off from my college life. The best way to kick start the holiday-hanging out with the best friends I can ever have....my school friends!
My sister was the one who first told me about the book fest in KL Convention Centre. I wanted to go because I was on the lookout for certain books to complete some of the series of books that I have read. After getting my dad's permission on Friday night, I decided to invite my friends to join me.
Four friends, one of my friends' family, my sister, her friend. There were ten of us in total. The plan was to take the train as that was the easiest way to get there. We were supposed to take the train to KL Sentral and from there on take a LRT to KLCC. The last time I went on this journey, I was alone. This time around, it was a whole different story.
As usual, when my friends and I get together, we just love talking and a lot of the things we say will turn out to be funny. After an awesome 1 hour journey, we reached KL Sentral. Surprisingly, there was a book sale there and I managed to get one of the books that I was looking for-Angels & Demons by Dan Brown-for RM10. After that, while taking the LRT, one of my friends reminded me about how packed the monorail was when we boarded it to the Bukit Jalil Stadium last year to watch the Malaysia vs Arsenal match. (by that, I mean the perverted side of the journey)
To be honest, the book fest was a big letdown, for me at least. I didn't find the books I wanted at the price I was expecting plus most of the books there were just priced at the normal 25% discount. It wasn't that surprising as Popular book fairs are always like that. However, I did buy one book that my friend recommended to me. When I exited the book fest, I was met by a astonishingly wonderful surprise.
Packets after packets of currency notes and colourful stamps displayed. I stumbled upon a shop selling stamps and currency which set up a stall at the exit of the book fest. I was just amazed as I had finally found the kind of shop that I had been looking for for the past few years. I spent all that remained form the RM50 (my budget for the book fest) to buy currency notes. The best part was that the original shop is in Amcorp Mall. I'll surely pay frequent visits to the mall after this.
At the end of the day, I felt a little tired. I told my mum that I would reach home at around 6 something but I only reached home at 8. I was satisfied with my discovery that day and glad I wasn't lectured by my mum for coming back home late. I slept early because another journey awaited me the next day.
A few hours after day break, I was on my way to Cameron Highlands. It was a trip with my family from my dad's side. I personally love Cameron Highlands because it fits everything I look forward to during a holiday-wonderful weather, relaxing environment and a laid back, small town kind of place. On the first day, the only thing we did was just eat and relax.
Day 2 was just awesome with a mix of emotions. We started of by visiting the the strawberry farm. The strawberries were just the same as ever. This time however, I got a chance to indulge on some strawberry jam topped cheese cake.
Next up was the butterfly park. I love nature and for that reason alone, I don't mind visiting these places again, especially this park. It's nice to have big and beautiful butterflies on your hands plus getting a chance to view snakes and insects. It gives a kind of bonding sensation with nature.
Just before lunch, for some reason, my family wanted to go the place which I was hoping not to go-the place where I used to train during my training stints there. I've still not recovered form my injury to the adductors. So, for an athlete who is injured, it's painstaking to get the feel to run when you're temporarily disabled.
The basketball court where I used to warm up as the chilly wind swept through my running shorts, the track where I used up every ounce of energy to run, the hill where I worked that difficult sprint up, the field where I played football on the final day of each training stint and the small river where I dipped my legs in after running to prevent injuries. Hmm, all those memories......
The next day, we visited the Boh Tea Estate before we left the place. Cameron highlands has undergone some changes compared to the last time I was there (2 years ago). One of the chicken rice shops that I wanted to recommend to my family was closed down and the seafood restaurant which charged RM10 per person for a variety of dishes was missing too.
What a way to get myself away from college life. Hanging out with friends and a holiday in my favourite holiday destination managed to take off all the stress from my mind. I tried to study in Cameron Highlands but it just didn't work. Maybe, sometimes, it's good to take the foot of the pedal for a while......
P.S. The blogger's birthday was actually on the third day of his trip to Cameron Highlands. More of that to come in the next blog post. Stay tuned!
Sunday, August 12, 2012
A Sudden Flash Of Memories
A walk in the park, chit chatting with my old friends from my first primary school about how things were and how things are now, went back home, and a sudden flash of memories. Dark, mysterious, frightening, I don't know how to describe them.
A small entrance to my first primary school within sight. Somehow, I hesitated to make my step towards the school. I had something with me that I know I couldn't take into school. Maybe toys, or sticker books or junk food, I can't really remember. The teacher at the gate was checking the students bags. I turned back and walked somewhere else.
I walked between rows of houses looking to pass time. I knew that if it was way past 1 p.m., the teacher would not be at the gate. I walked and walked alone in the quiet neighbourhood, ideas of being kidnapped never crossing my mind. I see a playground a few metres away. I sit on the swing and just play around staring at my watch. It's 1.30 p.m. I make my way back to school and just go in without being checked as only the guard was there.
Another flash of memory. I walking around a restricted area in school. I see a huge concrete bath tub-shaped structure. I think that's the place that the rubbish is thrown. I see a few guys playing around there. I can't remember their faces, except for one. But I know that they were elder to me.
How did I end up there? I don't find any answers but I think I knew them somewhat. They call me to go and see them catching grasshoppers. I knew that students were restricted there but I just followed the 3 boys. Then, all of a sudden, the headmaster catches us red handed hanging around. I stood the furthest from him and behind me was a coridor heading to the front of the school.
Instinct told me to run. I turned back and dashed. I can't remember if the teacher was yelling at me. My nightmare in school started form that day onwards. Whenever I saw the headmaster, I tried to get away and go somewhere.
My class was very near the office. Everytime I saw him outside the office, I would bend down form my seat in class so that my head was under the table. I was terrified whenever he walked by my class. I still remember his face. So intense was the fear in me that I was freaked out at the sight of him.
Somehow, my father found out about my fear. I can't remember if I told him what really happened. Or maybe, it was parent-teacher day in school and when I saw the headmaster, I hid behind my father. Somehow, the next thing that flashed across my mind was me sitting in the headmaster's office facing the headmaster himself.
I think my father explained to the headmaster about why I was scared of him. The headmaster then called me to him. He asked me to sit on is lap. He uttered kind words about his intentions that day and reassured me that he wasn't the monster I imagined him to be.
Another flash of memory. I was again getting away from somebody, but this time it was not the headmaster. I made my way through scores of students just to distance myself from his searching eyes. However, my eyes caught his terrifying figure.
He was a year older to me. He was slightly taller and possessed a piercing stare. However, the scariest thing abut him that made so many students scared of him was that he had no fingers in one of his hands. He used this disability to scare students and demand for money. I was one of those victims.
Everytime I saw him, he would call me and ask me for money. I didn't know why but I was just to scared to resist him. I never really told anyone. But somehow, again, my father found out about my fear in school.
The next day, after school, my father was there waiting. He saw the boy and asked him why was he threatening me to get money. He did not budge from his silent stance. Then slowly, he revealed that he was form a very poor family and his parents never really gave him any money to eat. I still remember how that small scared boy (me) felt so sympathetic for him.
Another flash of memory and I remembered where he stayed. His home was a small hut by the side of the road. I remember seeing him going into his house one day when I was on my way back from school. I did see him a few times after that but then he just smiled at me. I was still scared on one hand but sympathy filled my heart for the disabled and disadvantaged boy.
Memories start pouring in again. This time, I'm sweating. I'm standing in my between my classmates in a line during the after-recess assembly. One of my friends' was called out. My heartbeat raced. I knew I did something I should not have done, something the school prohibited. Finally I remembered. We were not supposed to play football during recess. But that was something my friends and I couldn't stop doing.
Another flash showed me running away from a teacher who had seen us playign football. I think that's why the teacher decided to take action all of a sudden. The disciplinary teacher asked my friend whom he called out to call out the names of others who were playing football with him.
In my old school, soem of them used to call me 'kavia' instead of Kavi. I heard this friend of mine mentioning the former name. I jus stood in my place. My classmates were staring at me. I recall telling them that my name was Kavi and not Kavia. That day, my named saved me and I escaped the caning that my friends experinced.
The sudden flash of memmories that day as I was standing in front of the mirror brought me back to my darkest memories during my time in my first primary school. The friends whom I met in Botanic Park that evening were actually caned by my teacher that unlucky day.
When I look back at all things I used to do, it's quite ahrd to imagine how naughty I used to be when I was in my first primary school. Going late to school to escape the spotchecks, running away from the headmaster and playing football during recess which was strictly restricted
A small entrance to my first primary school within sight. Somehow, I hesitated to make my step towards the school. I had something with me that I know I couldn't take into school. Maybe toys, or sticker books or junk food, I can't really remember. The teacher at the gate was checking the students bags. I turned back and walked somewhere else.
I walked between rows of houses looking to pass time. I knew that if it was way past 1 p.m., the teacher would not be at the gate. I walked and walked alone in the quiet neighbourhood, ideas of being kidnapped never crossing my mind. I see a playground a few metres away. I sit on the swing and just play around staring at my watch. It's 1.30 p.m. I make my way back to school and just go in without being checked as only the guard was there.
Another flash of memory. I walking around a restricted area in school. I see a huge concrete bath tub-shaped structure. I think that's the place that the rubbish is thrown. I see a few guys playing around there. I can't remember their faces, except for one. But I know that they were elder to me.
How did I end up there? I don't find any answers but I think I knew them somewhat. They call me to go and see them catching grasshoppers. I knew that students were restricted there but I just followed the 3 boys. Then, all of a sudden, the headmaster catches us red handed hanging around. I stood the furthest from him and behind me was a coridor heading to the front of the school.
Instinct told me to run. I turned back and dashed. I can't remember if the teacher was yelling at me. My nightmare in school started form that day onwards. Whenever I saw the headmaster, I tried to get away and go somewhere.
My class was very near the office. Everytime I saw him outside the office, I would bend down form my seat in class so that my head was under the table. I was terrified whenever he walked by my class. I still remember his face. So intense was the fear in me that I was freaked out at the sight of him.
Somehow, my father found out about my fear. I can't remember if I told him what really happened. Or maybe, it was parent-teacher day in school and when I saw the headmaster, I hid behind my father. Somehow, the next thing that flashed across my mind was me sitting in the headmaster's office facing the headmaster himself.
I think my father explained to the headmaster about why I was scared of him. The headmaster then called me to him. He asked me to sit on is lap. He uttered kind words about his intentions that day and reassured me that he wasn't the monster I imagined him to be.
Another flash of memory. I was again getting away from somebody, but this time it was not the headmaster. I made my way through scores of students just to distance myself from his searching eyes. However, my eyes caught his terrifying figure.
He was a year older to me. He was slightly taller and possessed a piercing stare. However, the scariest thing abut him that made so many students scared of him was that he had no fingers in one of his hands. He used this disability to scare students and demand for money. I was one of those victims.
Everytime I saw him, he would call me and ask me for money. I didn't know why but I was just to scared to resist him. I never really told anyone. But somehow, again, my father found out about my fear in school.
The next day, after school, my father was there waiting. He saw the boy and asked him why was he threatening me to get money. He did not budge from his silent stance. Then slowly, he revealed that he was form a very poor family and his parents never really gave him any money to eat. I still remember how that small scared boy (me) felt so sympathetic for him.
Another flash of memory and I remembered where he stayed. His home was a small hut by the side of the road. I remember seeing him going into his house one day when I was on my way back from school. I did see him a few times after that but then he just smiled at me. I was still scared on one hand but sympathy filled my heart for the disabled and disadvantaged boy.
Memories start pouring in again. This time, I'm sweating. I'm standing in my between my classmates in a line during the after-recess assembly. One of my friends' was called out. My heartbeat raced. I knew I did something I should not have done, something the school prohibited. Finally I remembered. We were not supposed to play football during recess. But that was something my friends and I couldn't stop doing.
Another flash showed me running away from a teacher who had seen us playign football. I think that's why the teacher decided to take action all of a sudden. The disciplinary teacher asked my friend whom he called out to call out the names of others who were playing football with him.
In my old school, soem of them used to call me 'kavia' instead of Kavi. I heard this friend of mine mentioning the former name. I jus stood in my place. My classmates were staring at me. I recall telling them that my name was Kavi and not Kavia. That day, my named saved me and I escaped the caning that my friends experinced.
The sudden flash of memmories that day as I was standing in front of the mirror brought me back to my darkest memories during my time in my first primary school. The friends whom I met in Botanic Park that evening were actually caned by my teacher that unlucky day.
When I look back at all things I used to do, it's quite ahrd to imagine how naughty I used to be when I was in my first primary school. Going late to school to escape the spotchecks, running away from the headmaster and playing football during recess which was strictly restricted
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Double Day Awesomeness : Part 2
IF YOU HAVE STILL NOT READ PART 1, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS FIRST. SCROLL DOWN AND YOU WILL SEE PART 1....
It had to be one of the most epic things that Prodigy (my group of friends) have done. It had to be one of a kind, something never attempted before by us and never usually seen by people. It had to be one of the most memorable days of our lives.
I started planning this about 2 weeks ago. The idea just came out of no where. The initial blueprint was quite simple. Tim, Eong Wei, Thaven, Eric, Dirvik, Sarivin and I were supposed to watch The Dark Knight Rises on the 21st of July. My plan was constructed surrounding this fact.
Tim and Eong Wei's birthday was on July the 17th and 7th respectively. I was planning to hold a double birthday celebration for them after the movie. During lunch after the movie, Sarivin was supposed to say that he was going to the toilet but then he would be going to the cake shop to get the cake and then we were supposed to celebrate their birthdays before having lunch.
The idea was a little exciting at first but I felt that it wasn't good enough to be epic. A few days later, another idea struck me. This was crazy and risky at the same time. There were so many things to take into consideration. But, we are Prodigy because we do crazy stuff.
I called my friends to explain their roles for that day. Eong Wei had bought 3 tickets for Row I and 4 tickets for Row J. Thaven was supposed to convince Eong Wei so that Eong Wei would sit in the Row I with him. And he was supposed to convince Eong Wei to convince Tim to sit in the same row. I suggested that Thaven try to convince Eong Wei by saying that they 3 were the ones who were really interested in the movie so they should sit in Row I so that there would be no disturbances from the others.
I also called up Dirvik and Eric to discuss a few things. Sarivin was supposed to act like he was coming late that day. The plan was that he had to buy the cake and keep it with him. He was supposed to SMS me saying that he will be late so that I can wait for him outside while the others go in so that they won't miss even a single part tof the movie. And I was going to say that I don't mind waiting outside for Sarivin as I'm not that interested in the movie.
And once Sarivin joined me, I was supposed to pass the cake to the person sitting at the highest row in the cinema to keep the cake for us. Once the movie was over, we were going to get the cake from the people from the highest row and celebrate their birthday.
A week later, another friend, Janus decided to join us. However, he could only get a seat far away from us as he bought the ticket much later. It was perfect because I was confident that I could convince him to exchange seats. And his birthday is on July 23rd. So, it was going to be a triple birthday celebration. Sounds like a nice sweet plan but almost everything went wrong.
On that day, all of us were supposed to take the train to Sunway Pyramid except Sarivin. Sunway Pyramid because we wanted to watch the movie in IMAX and except Sarivin because he was supposed to buy the cake. Eong Wei kept on asking me why Sarivin didn't take the train and I had to tell him that it was more convenient for Sarivin to drive. I sent Sarivin a message and even called him but he wasn't picking up.
The train ride was fun. We were joking around as were pretty happy to be together again. I tried calling Sarivin a few times but he was still not answering. I was feeling nervous because the whole plan depended on him. And that's when I realized that we had no Plan B.
We got off the train and took a bus to Sunway Pyramid. I started to try and convince Janus to let me have his ticket but he was a tough nut to crack. I tried telling him that I owed him one for not inviting him earlier but he just didn't want to let me sit alone. Ok, that was one problem. But even worse was that Sarivin, who was supposed to bring the cake, was still not answering the calls.
The movie was supposed to start at 11.45. At 11.30, still no reply from Sarivin. Eric suggested that we buy a cake ourselves in Sunway Pyramid. We were starting to think that Sarivin might have forgotten about the movie and was still sleeping at home. I was cursing him because the plan was about to fail. I just didn't know how to prevent the 3 birthday boys from figuring out our plan. I knew what I was going to do next was going to be awkward but I was keeping my fingers crossed.
We walked as a group to the entrance of the cinema. As soon as the person at the entrance tore a section of our tickets off, I told Eong Wei that I needed to go to the toilet. Then he told me why not I go to the one inside the cinema. Then I told him that I needed to buy popcorn as well. He got quite angry because of 2 reasons. First, he didn't want me to miss the movie. Second, he was thinking that I was going to wait for Sarivin whom we were all pissed off with.
I knew he was angry with me but I had to do it. Then, Dirvik decided to follow me so that I would buy my stuff and be on time for the movie as Eong Wei knows Dirvik wouldn't want to miss any part of the movie. Then, Eric volunteered to follow me as a replacement for Dirvik as he had watched the movie the previous day. And so, we started off on our unexpected and unplanned Plan B.
We went looking for a cake shop. It was quite difficult to find a cake shop as we didn't know the names of any cake shops except Secret Recipe. We found Secret Recipe after asking around and bought a cheese cake. We rushed back to the cinema and I had to convince to person at the entrance to allow us to take the cake in. And then, Sarivin sent me a message saying that he had forgotten that we were supposed to watch the movie today. How easy of him to say that.
As planned earlier, I was supposed to pass on the cake to the random person sitting in the highest row. So, after Eric went in, I sneaked it and asked the person at the highest row, Row L, to keep the cake for me. I was quite pissed off when the person said he didn't want to keep the cake for me. I mean, there's no harm and he just had to hold it or put it down without crushing it. I had no choice but to leave the cake at the back of the cinema.
I went to my seat hoping that everything would be fine. And, everyone wasn't sitting according to plan. So, I was a little nervous. But, the movie kept my mind off the cake as it was just plain awesome. I loved the scenes and the villain's acting was super good. As the movie was nearing the end, I knew the time had come.
As soon as the movie ended, I ran back to the back of the cinema to get the cake. Thank goodness it wasn't crushed. I wanted to curse that guy who refused to keep the cake but I didn't want to spoil the occasion. I brought the cake to our seats and Dirvik lit up the candle.
Tim, Eong Wei and Janus were totally caught off by surprise. We started singing the birthday song for them. Quite a number of other people in the cinema sang along with us. After the song, almost everyone in the cinema clapped as the three of them blew the flame on the candles. They cut the cake and then we made our way out of the cinema. Sarivin joined us for lunch after the movie.
This occasion was special because The Dark Knight Rises was THE movie of the year and to do it at a time when everyone is in a happy mood after the wonderful movie was just the perfect setting. I sighed in relief as my plan worked although it didn't really go exactly to plan.
I regard my friends very highly because they have been with me during my happy and sad times. They were the main reason I really enjoyed my school life. And without them, my life wouldn't be the same now.
They have done a lot for me in the past and I've always wanted to give something back to them. Paying back my unending debt to them wasn't in my mind when I was planning this surprise but I was just happy to have played a bigger part in their happiness on this awesome day......
P.S. If you had realized, the blogger used his friends' names in this blog post, something which he rarely does. He wishes to dedicate this blog post to his wonderful friends. He also wishes to thank his friends who had helped him in organizing the surprise birthday celebration.......
It had to be one of the most epic things that Prodigy (my group of friends) have done. It had to be one of a kind, something never attempted before by us and never usually seen by people. It had to be one of the most memorable days of our lives.
I started planning this about 2 weeks ago. The idea just came out of no where. The initial blueprint was quite simple. Tim, Eong Wei, Thaven, Eric, Dirvik, Sarivin and I were supposed to watch The Dark Knight Rises on the 21st of July. My plan was constructed surrounding this fact.
Tim and Eong Wei's birthday was on July the 17th and 7th respectively. I was planning to hold a double birthday celebration for them after the movie. During lunch after the movie, Sarivin was supposed to say that he was going to the toilet but then he would be going to the cake shop to get the cake and then we were supposed to celebrate their birthdays before having lunch.
The idea was a little exciting at first but I felt that it wasn't good enough to be epic. A few days later, another idea struck me. This was crazy and risky at the same time. There were so many things to take into consideration. But, we are Prodigy because we do crazy stuff.
I called my friends to explain their roles for that day. Eong Wei had bought 3 tickets for Row I and 4 tickets for Row J. Thaven was supposed to convince Eong Wei so that Eong Wei would sit in the Row I with him. And he was supposed to convince Eong Wei to convince Tim to sit in the same row. I suggested that Thaven try to convince Eong Wei by saying that they 3 were the ones who were really interested in the movie so they should sit in Row I so that there would be no disturbances from the others.
I also called up Dirvik and Eric to discuss a few things. Sarivin was supposed to act like he was coming late that day. The plan was that he had to buy the cake and keep it with him. He was supposed to SMS me saying that he will be late so that I can wait for him outside while the others go in so that they won't miss even a single part tof the movie. And I was going to say that I don't mind waiting outside for Sarivin as I'm not that interested in the movie.
And once Sarivin joined me, I was supposed to pass the cake to the person sitting at the highest row in the cinema to keep the cake for us. Once the movie was over, we were going to get the cake from the people from the highest row and celebrate their birthday.
A week later, another friend, Janus decided to join us. However, he could only get a seat far away from us as he bought the ticket much later. It was perfect because I was confident that I could convince him to exchange seats. And his birthday is on July 23rd. So, it was going to be a triple birthday celebration. Sounds like a nice sweet plan but almost everything went wrong.
On that day, all of us were supposed to take the train to Sunway Pyramid except Sarivin. Sunway Pyramid because we wanted to watch the movie in IMAX and except Sarivin because he was supposed to buy the cake. Eong Wei kept on asking me why Sarivin didn't take the train and I had to tell him that it was more convenient for Sarivin to drive. I sent Sarivin a message and even called him but he wasn't picking up.
The train ride was fun. We were joking around as were pretty happy to be together again. I tried calling Sarivin a few times but he was still not answering. I was feeling nervous because the whole plan depended on him. And that's when I realized that we had no Plan B.
We got off the train and took a bus to Sunway Pyramid. I started to try and convince Janus to let me have his ticket but he was a tough nut to crack. I tried telling him that I owed him one for not inviting him earlier but he just didn't want to let me sit alone. Ok, that was one problem. But even worse was that Sarivin, who was supposed to bring the cake, was still not answering the calls.
The movie was supposed to start at 11.45. At 11.30, still no reply from Sarivin. Eric suggested that we buy a cake ourselves in Sunway Pyramid. We were starting to think that Sarivin might have forgotten about the movie and was still sleeping at home. I was cursing him because the plan was about to fail. I just didn't know how to prevent the 3 birthday boys from figuring out our plan. I knew what I was going to do next was going to be awkward but I was keeping my fingers crossed.
We walked as a group to the entrance of the cinema. As soon as the person at the entrance tore a section of our tickets off, I told Eong Wei that I needed to go to the toilet. Then he told me why not I go to the one inside the cinema. Then I told him that I needed to buy popcorn as well. He got quite angry because of 2 reasons. First, he didn't want me to miss the movie. Second, he was thinking that I was going to wait for Sarivin whom we were all pissed off with.
I knew he was angry with me but I had to do it. Then, Dirvik decided to follow me so that I would buy my stuff and be on time for the movie as Eong Wei knows Dirvik wouldn't want to miss any part of the movie. Then, Eric volunteered to follow me as a replacement for Dirvik as he had watched the movie the previous day. And so, we started off on our unexpected and unplanned Plan B.
We went looking for a cake shop. It was quite difficult to find a cake shop as we didn't know the names of any cake shops except Secret Recipe. We found Secret Recipe after asking around and bought a cheese cake. We rushed back to the cinema and I had to convince to person at the entrance to allow us to take the cake in. And then, Sarivin sent me a message saying that he had forgotten that we were supposed to watch the movie today. How easy of him to say that.
As planned earlier, I was supposed to pass on the cake to the random person sitting in the highest row. So, after Eric went in, I sneaked it and asked the person at the highest row, Row L, to keep the cake for me. I was quite pissed off when the person said he didn't want to keep the cake for me. I mean, there's no harm and he just had to hold it or put it down without crushing it. I had no choice but to leave the cake at the back of the cinema.
I went to my seat hoping that everything would be fine. And, everyone wasn't sitting according to plan. So, I was a little nervous. But, the movie kept my mind off the cake as it was just plain awesome. I loved the scenes and the villain's acting was super good. As the movie was nearing the end, I knew the time had come.
As soon as the movie ended, I ran back to the back of the cinema to get the cake. Thank goodness it wasn't crushed. I wanted to curse that guy who refused to keep the cake but I didn't want to spoil the occasion. I brought the cake to our seats and Dirvik lit up the candle.
Tim, Eong Wei and Janus were totally caught off by surprise. We started singing the birthday song for them. Quite a number of other people in the cinema sang along with us. After the song, almost everyone in the cinema clapped as the three of them blew the flame on the candles. They cut the cake and then we made our way out of the cinema. Sarivin joined us for lunch after the movie.
This occasion was special because The Dark Knight Rises was THE movie of the year and to do it at a time when everyone is in a happy mood after the wonderful movie was just the perfect setting. I sighed in relief as my plan worked although it didn't really go exactly to plan.
I regard my friends very highly because they have been with me during my happy and sad times. They were the main reason I really enjoyed my school life. And without them, my life wouldn't be the same now.
They have done a lot for me in the past and I've always wanted to give something back to them. Paying back my unending debt to them wasn't in my mind when I was planning this surprise but I was just happy to have played a bigger part in their happiness on this awesome day......
P.S. If you had realized, the blogger used his friends' names in this blog post, something which he rarely does. He wishes to dedicate this blog post to his wonderful friends. He also wishes to thank his friends who had helped him in organizing the surprise birthday celebration.......
Double Day Awesomeness : Part 1
Friday's in college are the worst. My class starts at 9 and ends at 1 with no break in between. Usually on Fridays, I'll be waiting for the classes to end so that I can have lunch. But on this particular day, things were a little different.
Well, the South Australian Matriculation Student Council and WHACKY (a charity club) organised the Heart Rock Carnival. It was a carnival of music and games for students of Taylor's College, Subang Jaya. The organizers had been trying to sell their coupons for the carnival during the last 2 weeks.
I had been approached a few times to buy the tickets. However, I didn't want to buy because I really didn't know what was the carnival all about at that time. I thought it was going to be like some boring canteen day. Now when I look back, I think that I should have bought the tickets because the money was going to charity and I had a lot of fun that day.
I was making my way down a flight of stairs that particular Friday (yesterday) when I heard a very familiar sound. As the song reached it's chorus, I realized that it was 'Thunder" by Boys Like Girls, the song my friend Tim and I performed in school, during Form 2. The best part was that the song was being performed by students.
After lunch, I had to meet my class teacher to ask about a few things. After our discussion, she asked me whether I was going to join the carnival and I said no because I still wasn't sure what was really interesting about the carnival. What I didn't know at that time was about the next couple of hours of crazy entertainment.
I started to make my way back home when I heard one of the bands performing a really nice song. I sent a message to my friend who loved music to come join me on the first floor where the view of the carnival was clear. I don't know how or why but I just got sucked up into the carnival atmosphere.
I was truly enjoying myself listening to my favourite songs such as American Idiot and Welcome to The Black Parade. I had not heard these songs for some time and hearing them being played live was just awesome.
There were other really 'eye-catching' performances as well. By that, I actually meant hot dance performances from hot girls. Believe me, they were really hot and I'm sure all the boys loved it. It wasn't something that I could appreciate but they were somehow seductive. A few friends of mine were really excited. It was kinda fun to watch because we don't always get to watch these things.
The main highlights of the carnival were performances by our very own Malaysian bands. I got to see An Honest Mistake and Once Upon A Time There Was A Sausage Named Bob perform live. I was pretty excited to see them as I've never been to a music concert so far and the atmosphere at that time was like the concerts I sometimes watch on television.
Once Upon A Time There Was Sausage Named Bob were jamming to the max at maximum volume. Some of the teachers were also following the music. That band were even giving out free CDs to students who wanted them.
I, who was supposed to go back at 2 after lunch only left my college at 5. I reached back home late and tired and a satisfied person. I just felt like lying down and relaxing. However, things took an unexpected twist.
My mum's friend called a few minutes after I reached home. She said that she had a free ticket for the Queens Park Rangers vs Kelantan match which was scheduled for 9.15. So, I quickly took my bath and excruciatingly stuffed dinner into my mouth which had ulcers.
Two hours later, I was in the Shah Alam Stadium watching QPR control the match and while they battered Kelantan 5-0. It was nice to get a chance to watch Barclay's Premier League players in action but I have to admit that the match was kinda boring. They was no excitement at all.
I reached home feeling so tired and sleepy. I enjoyed my day but I seriously needed a rest. I laid my head down on the pillow not knowing about twists and turn I was going to experience the next day.....
Well, the South Australian Matriculation Student Council and WHACKY (a charity club) organised the Heart Rock Carnival. It was a carnival of music and games for students of Taylor's College, Subang Jaya. The organizers had been trying to sell their coupons for the carnival during the last 2 weeks.
I had been approached a few times to buy the tickets. However, I didn't want to buy because I really didn't know what was the carnival all about at that time. I thought it was going to be like some boring canteen day. Now when I look back, I think that I should have bought the tickets because the money was going to charity and I had a lot of fun that day.
I was making my way down a flight of stairs that particular Friday (yesterday) when I heard a very familiar sound. As the song reached it's chorus, I realized that it was 'Thunder" by Boys Like Girls, the song my friend Tim and I performed in school, during Form 2. The best part was that the song was being performed by students.
After lunch, I had to meet my class teacher to ask about a few things. After our discussion, she asked me whether I was going to join the carnival and I said no because I still wasn't sure what was really interesting about the carnival. What I didn't know at that time was about the next couple of hours of crazy entertainment.
I started to make my way back home when I heard one of the bands performing a really nice song. I sent a message to my friend who loved music to come join me on the first floor where the view of the carnival was clear. I don't know how or why but I just got sucked up into the carnival atmosphere.
I was truly enjoying myself listening to my favourite songs such as American Idiot and Welcome to The Black Parade. I had not heard these songs for some time and hearing them being played live was just awesome.
There were other really 'eye-catching' performances as well. By that, I actually meant hot dance performances from hot girls. Believe me, they were really hot and I'm sure all the boys loved it. It wasn't something that I could appreciate but they were somehow seductive. A few friends of mine were really excited. It was kinda fun to watch because we don't always get to watch these things.
The main highlights of the carnival were performances by our very own Malaysian bands. I got to see An Honest Mistake and Once Upon A Time There Was A Sausage Named Bob perform live. I was pretty excited to see them as I've never been to a music concert so far and the atmosphere at that time was like the concerts I sometimes watch on television.
Once Upon A Time There Was Sausage Named Bob were jamming to the max at maximum volume. Some of the teachers were also following the music. That band were even giving out free CDs to students who wanted them.
I, who was supposed to go back at 2 after lunch only left my college at 5. I reached back home late and tired and a satisfied person. I just felt like lying down and relaxing. However, things took an unexpected twist.
My mum's friend called a few minutes after I reached home. She said that she had a free ticket for the Queens Park Rangers vs Kelantan match which was scheduled for 9.15. So, I quickly took my bath and excruciatingly stuffed dinner into my mouth which had ulcers.
Two hours later, I was in the Shah Alam Stadium watching QPR control the match and while they battered Kelantan 5-0. It was nice to get a chance to watch Barclay's Premier League players in action but I have to admit that the match was kinda boring. They was no excitement at all.
I reached home feeling so tired and sleepy. I enjoyed my day but I seriously needed a rest. I laid my head down on the pillow not knowing about twists and turn I was going to experience the next day.....
Sunday, July 15, 2012
So Far So Good
Orientation week was over and it was back to doing the same stuff that all students have to do in school or colleges-studying. It had been 7 months since I actually studied anything. So, getting back to school work was a little drag at first.
Here, in my new college, we study quite differently compared to school. In school, we always start off with textbooks and then notes. However, here, we start off with notes and then books. The assistant principle asked us to take a month to decide what books we want. But in my case, since I'm a scholar, I can't really choose as the books will be provided.
Many things are done online here. And my iPad comes in very handy. For example, during some classes when I don't have enough time to copy down the notes, I just snap a picture of the notes and go back home and to write it again. Some of my teachers also post the notes and exercise in or online portal. So, with the campus fully Wi-Fi-ed, I can access them anywhere.
My Physics lecturer has not come in so far. He's off somewhere and is only coming during week 2. His replacements during week 1 were contrasting in nature. One lecturer was really boring as he was old and was pretty much used to the old teaching style. Another was slightly younger and that was a little less boring. Another teacher was even younger and her class was the best so far. Last week was quite an insight into how much teaching has progressed during the years.
For Chemistry, I've got quite a good teacher. The subject is pretty interesting as well. The teacher decided to start off from where we left off in Form 5 to refresh our memory before going deeper. So, I didn't really feel like I was in whole new world.
My Mathematics teacher is the most awesome one so far. He left a very good impression on me on our first day with him. He's jovial and makes tonnes of jokes to keep us awake in his classes. According to him, Further Mathematics students find Mathematics too easy. I have to agree, but partially, because some of the questions are quite tricky. I really think my classmates and I are going to have a great one-and-a-half years studying Mathematics.
Now, for Further Mathematics. Some people think that I'm crazy to take this subject. To be honest, I think I love the subject for the same reason I used to love Additional Mathematics in school. It's a little difficult and takes time to understand. Like during my first class, my teacher gave us a general formula with about 13 unknowns as constants. It sounds crazy but I'm quite OK at it now. For that exact reason, I used to like Add Maths and now Further Maths.
My Further Maths lecturer is also my Mentor. A mentor is someone who monitors our personal development plan and advises us on certain things. A personal development plan is something like a plan for our future, like planning where we want to go after A-Levels and what course should we pursue according to our interest. My PDP session is starting this week.
I've not yet started my Malaysian Studies classes but I think that I'm finally adapting bit by bit to my new life. I try not to think of the fun I used to have in school because college life isn't anywhere close to that. Things are different but I'm willing to stay optimistic. So, so far so good........
The blogger will most probably write blog posts fortnightly due to his busy schedule. Even now, he's typing this blog post with a lot of unfinished Further Maths homework. So, stay put.....=)
Here, in my new college, we study quite differently compared to school. In school, we always start off with textbooks and then notes. However, here, we start off with notes and then books. The assistant principle asked us to take a month to decide what books we want. But in my case, since I'm a scholar, I can't really choose as the books will be provided.
Many things are done online here. And my iPad comes in very handy. For example, during some classes when I don't have enough time to copy down the notes, I just snap a picture of the notes and go back home and to write it again. Some of my teachers also post the notes and exercise in or online portal. So, with the campus fully Wi-Fi-ed, I can access them anywhere.
My Physics lecturer has not come in so far. He's off somewhere and is only coming during week 2. His replacements during week 1 were contrasting in nature. One lecturer was really boring as he was old and was pretty much used to the old teaching style. Another was slightly younger and that was a little less boring. Another teacher was even younger and her class was the best so far. Last week was quite an insight into how much teaching has progressed during the years.
For Chemistry, I've got quite a good teacher. The subject is pretty interesting as well. The teacher decided to start off from where we left off in Form 5 to refresh our memory before going deeper. So, I didn't really feel like I was in whole new world.
My Mathematics teacher is the most awesome one so far. He left a very good impression on me on our first day with him. He's jovial and makes tonnes of jokes to keep us awake in his classes. According to him, Further Mathematics students find Mathematics too easy. I have to agree, but partially, because some of the questions are quite tricky. I really think my classmates and I are going to have a great one-and-a-half years studying Mathematics.
Now, for Further Mathematics. Some people think that I'm crazy to take this subject. To be honest, I think I love the subject for the same reason I used to love Additional Mathematics in school. It's a little difficult and takes time to understand. Like during my first class, my teacher gave us a general formula with about 13 unknowns as constants. It sounds crazy but I'm quite OK at it now. For that exact reason, I used to like Add Maths and now Further Maths.
My Further Maths lecturer is also my Mentor. A mentor is someone who monitors our personal development plan and advises us on certain things. A personal development plan is something like a plan for our future, like planning where we want to go after A-Levels and what course should we pursue according to our interest. My PDP session is starting this week.
I've not yet started my Malaysian Studies classes but I think that I'm finally adapting bit by bit to my new life. I try not to think of the fun I used to have in school because college life isn't anywhere close to that. Things are different but I'm willing to stay optimistic. So, so far so good........
The blogger will most probably write blog posts fortnightly due to his busy schedule. Even now, he's typing this blog post with a lot of unfinished Further Maths homework. So, stay put.....=)
Sunday, July 8, 2012
First Week In College
Countless offer letters, many calls from various tertiary education institutions. One after another, I had to respond to those calls. And I actually started receiving letters like my dad every day during the holiday. And I'll take a look and most of the times, just put it away.
I got an offer to do a matriculation program in Malacca and Diploma in civil Engineering in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn (IPTA). I had applied for 2 scholarships and even got a response from them. The Axiata company didn't want to offer me their scholarship after they knew that I was getting a scholarship from the government. The Ministry of Education of Singapore asked me to go for a test for the Asean Scholarship.
They sound like nice offers but they do have their pros and cons. So, in the end I chose the scholarship from the government, which was the safest choice to make. The government wanted us (scholars) to choose the course that we wanted to do, whether it was matriculation, A-Levels, International Baccalaureate, foundation or Form 6. As soon as the government made their announcement of the Bursary Programme, I knew which choice I would make.
It was like the dawn of a new era. I sat on one of the benches early in the morning on the first day thinking about my new life. How the people and the environment will be so different. No more crazy friends, time to grow up and how I'll have to live differently after this.
I met a few ex-class and school mates before my first day in Taylor's College was about to begin. I got to meet up with my close friends who were studying there as well. The day continued with the orientation programme.
I got my class on the same day. My class teacher seemed like a very nice person. Then, we had an ice-breaking game. All my classmates sat in a circle. Then, one person had to start by saying their own name. Then, the next person had to say his/her name and the name of the first person. Then, the third person would have to say his/her name, followed by the second and first person's name. And it just continued until the last person who had to say his/her name followed by the names of everyone before him/her. That game was fun.
The orientation continued in the Multi-Purpose Hall after that brief ice-breaking session. I really missed school that day. It was an unexplainable feeling that I hated the A-Levels course that I had chosen to take. The teachers were kind of like scaring us about the course.
It was like a culture shock. Things were just so different from school. So many new faces. I had only 3 or so friends taking the same course and on the same intake, something that I'm really not used to as I've always had many friends around me. Questions like "did I make the right choice" and "should I have just taken Form6" kept propping up in my head. I went back home a very unsatisfied and slightly dejected person that day.
Day 2 of orientation was slightly better. We were introduced to the differences that we would face in college compared to school. All I was hearing was stuff like "SPM is over", "you have to study yourself a lot", "you have to be independent" and "They (subjects) will be difficult". It was kinda demotivating listening to stuff like that without friends to crack up a few jokes in between. However, I went back home feeling slightly better that day, for reasons even I don't know.
Day 3 was kinda fun. People from the Student Development Centre had an ice-breaking game for us. It was called the toothpick game. Each on of us got one-third of a stick (which was as thick as a satay stick). We were supposed to find a partner, hold that stick vertically between the thumb and pointer-finger and push it against the stick of your partner to see whose stick breaks first.
Before the "stick war", we had to introduce ourselves and find out more about the partner. So, me being the naughty boy I love to be, wanted to use this opportunity to meet some new hot girls. I already had a target in mind but I was going to just introduce myself to any one of the hot girls. Coincidentally, when I was making my way down the hall the 'target girl' turned around and was facing me.
So, I just introduced myself to her and she did the same in return. We had our "stick war" after that. When one of our sticks broke, both our sticks fell to the ground. We didn't know whose stick actually broke. So, I decided that one hot girls was going to be enough and gave the unbroken stick to her so that she could go and meet other people. The rule was that if your stick broke, you have to get back to your place and the last one standing with the unbroken stick would win. Whatever I did was just for fun as I knew that it was a good chance to get to know people. I knew that I might never even talk to that girl again. So, it was a one-off thing...:P
Day 4 was mainly about university placement and the requirements. Some of the staff gave speeches about applying for universities and the need to take IELTS or TOEFL. At the end of the day, we had to write a short essay for evaluation by the English Placement Test Centre. My brains were pretty rusty but I still managed to come up with something to write.
Day 5 was the day we were to get our real classes. Many students had opted to change their subject combination. So, timetables had to be changed and some students had to be placed in different classes. I remained in the same class.
I've made quite a number of new friends. They are from all over Malaysia. I even have 2 friends from Korea. I'm sitting right at the back of the class (my preferred peaceful place). It's de ja vu as my friends around me like to converse in Mandarin. I've been used to it since secondary school so I was fine with it. Their quite friendly as well.
There are quite a number of impressive facilities in Taylor's College. There's a University Placement Centre to help students to get information and to apply to universities abroad. There's also a gymnasium (although not very nice), dance studio, music chamber, The Web (Internet cafe) and quiet study rooms. The most impressive thing about the college is that the whole campus has Wi-Fi.
Things started off pretty badly but I think I'm settling in slowly. I usually take time to settle into a new environment. I've still not been able to grasp the idea that I'm all so grown up and have to do so many things differently. My heart still feels a lot warmer when I think of my school life......
I got an offer to do a matriculation program in Malacca and Diploma in civil Engineering in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn (IPTA). I had applied for 2 scholarships and even got a response from them. The Axiata company didn't want to offer me their scholarship after they knew that I was getting a scholarship from the government. The Ministry of Education of Singapore asked me to go for a test for the Asean Scholarship.
They sound like nice offers but they do have their pros and cons. So, in the end I chose the scholarship from the government, which was the safest choice to make. The government wanted us (scholars) to choose the course that we wanted to do, whether it was matriculation, A-Levels, International Baccalaureate, foundation or Form 6. As soon as the government made their announcement of the Bursary Programme, I knew which choice I would make.
It was like the dawn of a new era. I sat on one of the benches early in the morning on the first day thinking about my new life. How the people and the environment will be so different. No more crazy friends, time to grow up and how I'll have to live differently after this.
I met a few ex-class and school mates before my first day in Taylor's College was about to begin. I got to meet up with my close friends who were studying there as well. The day continued with the orientation programme.
I got my class on the same day. My class teacher seemed like a very nice person. Then, we had an ice-breaking game. All my classmates sat in a circle. Then, one person had to start by saying their own name. Then, the next person had to say his/her name and the name of the first person. Then, the third person would have to say his/her name, followed by the second and first person's name. And it just continued until the last person who had to say his/her name followed by the names of everyone before him/her. That game was fun.
The orientation continued in the Multi-Purpose Hall after that brief ice-breaking session. I really missed school that day. It was an unexplainable feeling that I hated the A-Levels course that I had chosen to take. The teachers were kind of like scaring us about the course.
It was like a culture shock. Things were just so different from school. So many new faces. I had only 3 or so friends taking the same course and on the same intake, something that I'm really not used to as I've always had many friends around me. Questions like "did I make the right choice" and "should I have just taken Form6" kept propping up in my head. I went back home a very unsatisfied and slightly dejected person that day.
Day 2 of orientation was slightly better. We were introduced to the differences that we would face in college compared to school. All I was hearing was stuff like "SPM is over", "you have to study yourself a lot", "you have to be independent" and "They (subjects) will be difficult". It was kinda demotivating listening to stuff like that without friends to crack up a few jokes in between. However, I went back home feeling slightly better that day, for reasons even I don't know.
Day 3 was kinda fun. People from the Student Development Centre had an ice-breaking game for us. It was called the toothpick game. Each on of us got one-third of a stick (which was as thick as a satay stick). We were supposed to find a partner, hold that stick vertically between the thumb and pointer-finger and push it against the stick of your partner to see whose stick breaks first.
Before the "stick war", we had to introduce ourselves and find out more about the partner. So, me being the naughty boy I love to be, wanted to use this opportunity to meet some new hot girls. I already had a target in mind but I was going to just introduce myself to any one of the hot girls. Coincidentally, when I was making my way down the hall the 'target girl' turned around and was facing me.
So, I just introduced myself to her and she did the same in return. We had our "stick war" after that. When one of our sticks broke, both our sticks fell to the ground. We didn't know whose stick actually broke. So, I decided that one hot girls was going to be enough and gave the unbroken stick to her so that she could go and meet other people. The rule was that if your stick broke, you have to get back to your place and the last one standing with the unbroken stick would win. Whatever I did was just for fun as I knew that it was a good chance to get to know people. I knew that I might never even talk to that girl again. So, it was a one-off thing...:P
Day 4 was mainly about university placement and the requirements. Some of the staff gave speeches about applying for universities and the need to take IELTS or TOEFL. At the end of the day, we had to write a short essay for evaluation by the English Placement Test Centre. My brains were pretty rusty but I still managed to come up with something to write.
Day 5 was the day we were to get our real classes. Many students had opted to change their subject combination. So, timetables had to be changed and some students had to be placed in different classes. I remained in the same class.
I've made quite a number of new friends. They are from all over Malaysia. I even have 2 friends from Korea. I'm sitting right at the back of the class (my preferred peaceful place). It's de ja vu as my friends around me like to converse in Mandarin. I've been used to it since secondary school so I was fine with it. Their quite friendly as well.
There are quite a number of impressive facilities in Taylor's College. There's a University Placement Centre to help students to get information and to apply to universities abroad. There's also a gymnasium (although not very nice), dance studio, music chamber, The Web (Internet cafe) and quiet study rooms. The most impressive thing about the college is that the whole campus has Wi-Fi.
Things started off pretty badly but I think I'm settling in slowly. I usually take time to settle into a new environment. I've still not been able to grasp the idea that I'm all so grown up and have to do so many things differently. My heart still feels a lot warmer when I think of my school life......
Monday, July 2, 2012
End Of My Long Holiday
It was supposed to be a break. But I guess getting away from studies for 7 months sounds more like a holiday away from the responsibilities of the world. Well, you can call it one sweet holiday. don't get the wrong idea though. I didn't just laze around but did lots of stuff that I've always wanted to do.
As I've posted before in this blog, I worked in a car workshop for a month and in the process learned a lot about cars. I didn't manage to learn everything but just some important things about cars. It also increased my hands-on skill by ten folds. More importantly, I learned that in the same field, there can be people with totally opposite characteristics (as in my first compared to my second experience).
I managed to read many books during the 7 months as well. I don't know why but there were quite a number of book fairs last year. So, I managed to get my hands on the Twilight Saga books together with quite a number of books by famous and not-so-famous authors. Since I was busy with SPM last year, I knew I had to use to the time after SPM to read all the books. Well, I read everything except for the odd sequal books that my mum accidentally bought.
After I stopped watching it in Form 3, I never thought that I would start watching Naruto episodes again. I had already watched all the Naruto episodes but I was way behind in the Naruto Shippuden episodes (when Naruto, the main character, grows up). Since I knew that I was going to have a lot of time during the holidays, I decided to watch the episodes. And currently, I'm just 10 episodes away from the latest episode which is episode 269.
I even managed to hone my cooking skills. I managed to learn how to make pizza. Well, I started off with using bread slices as the base. First, I tried with just mozzarella cheese. Then, I slowly added tomato puree, sliced sausages, mushrooms and onion. I only didn't have the chance to use dough as the base. I even managed to learn how to bake a cake. I baked my first cake-with my mum's help-on Father's Day.
During that time, I also watched many movies. And since I have Astro Beyond and PVR at home, I just recorded the movies which were played during unsuitable times and watched it when I was free. Treasure Island, The 4 old Batman movies, Lord Of The Rings trilogy, The 7th Harry Potter movie and the list goes on and on.
Towards the end of the holiday, I embarked on a new project. I had decided to build my own hurdles, like the ones I used in training. After some online research, I got the measurements and started to draw a sketch of what I was going to build. Then, I bought the PVC pipes and started working. It took me more than a week to build 10 hurdles. It could've taken less time if it wasn't for certain delays. I was totally satisfied with my work once the 'project' was completed.
If there's one thing I regretted during the holiday, I would have to say running. The only thing I had planned to do after my SPM examinations was to train hard. But because of my injury (adductor tendonitis), that was the only thing I couldn't do. Even now, my right adductors are in the process of healing but it has gotten a lot better than last time. Sadly, cycling just didn't satisfy my lust for extreme and aggressive sports.
I might have not be able to run and therefore not been able to have maximum fun, but I'm grateful enough that I did have some fun at least.I learned quite a number of diverse skills which I think will be important in the future. And now, my holiday has come to an end and it's time for me to embark on a new journey in life......
As I've posted before in this blog, I worked in a car workshop for a month and in the process learned a lot about cars. I didn't manage to learn everything but just some important things about cars. It also increased my hands-on skill by ten folds. More importantly, I learned that in the same field, there can be people with totally opposite characteristics (as in my first compared to my second experience).
I managed to read many books during the 7 months as well. I don't know why but there were quite a number of book fairs last year. So, I managed to get my hands on the Twilight Saga books together with quite a number of books by famous and not-so-famous authors. Since I was busy with SPM last year, I knew I had to use to the time after SPM to read all the books. Well, I read everything except for the odd sequal books that my mum accidentally bought.
After I stopped watching it in Form 3, I never thought that I would start watching Naruto episodes again. I had already watched all the Naruto episodes but I was way behind in the Naruto Shippuden episodes (when Naruto, the main character, grows up). Since I knew that I was going to have a lot of time during the holidays, I decided to watch the episodes. And currently, I'm just 10 episodes away from the latest episode which is episode 269.
I even managed to hone my cooking skills. I managed to learn how to make pizza. Well, I started off with using bread slices as the base. First, I tried with just mozzarella cheese. Then, I slowly added tomato puree, sliced sausages, mushrooms and onion. I only didn't have the chance to use dough as the base. I even managed to learn how to bake a cake. I baked my first cake-with my mum's help-on Father's Day.
During that time, I also watched many movies. And since I have Astro Beyond and PVR at home, I just recorded the movies which were played during unsuitable times and watched it when I was free. Treasure Island, The 4 old Batman movies, Lord Of The Rings trilogy, The 7th Harry Potter movie and the list goes on and on.
Towards the end of the holiday, I embarked on a new project. I had decided to build my own hurdles, like the ones I used in training. After some online research, I got the measurements and started to draw a sketch of what I was going to build. Then, I bought the PVC pipes and started working. It took me more than a week to build 10 hurdles. It could've taken less time if it wasn't for certain delays. I was totally satisfied with my work once the 'project' was completed.
If there's one thing I regretted during the holiday, I would have to say running. The only thing I had planned to do after my SPM examinations was to train hard. But because of my injury (adductor tendonitis), that was the only thing I couldn't do. Even now, my right adductors are in the process of healing but it has gotten a lot better than last time. Sadly, cycling just didn't satisfy my lust for extreme and aggressive sports.
I might have not be able to run and therefore not been able to have maximum fun, but I'm grateful enough that I did have some fun at least.I learned quite a number of diverse skills which I think will be important in the future. And now, my holiday has come to an end and it's time for me to embark on a new journey in life......
Monday, June 4, 2012
Can Love Solve All Our Problems?
That's a weird question. Or at least that's what I thought of it when my friend asked me that question a few days ago. The answer seems so obvious but it can seem so different to others. The first thing that comes to our minds is "yes" but then in some people, they reluctantly, or rather willingly due to current circumstances, say "no". Confusing?
What does love really mean? Is it just your feelings for another person? Or is it just a first-time swarm of emotions when you think you've met Mr./Mrs. Perfect? Or does love apply to anything else in life? Is it just restricted to living things?
Problems are always there in our lives. Well, there's always the famous saying that life would be dull without problems. Most of the times, those problems seem to eat up the fun and excitement of our lives and we blame it on as many factors as there are around us. Has it ever occurred to you that love is the main cause of our problems?
For example, let's look into work stress. People experience stress because they are put under immense pressure at their work places. And they feel all stressed up because they don't like the job they are asked to complete. In addition to that, there's that ticking time limit that is getting shorter and shorter. Can you see why love is the problem here?
The fact is that many people these days work for the sake of money. They don't and don't plan to live their extraordinary dreams because they're just worried-or scared-that they might not live a luxurious life. At the beginning, no matter what the job, all seems fine because big money's just rolling in. But then, time takes it's toll and they get fed up with the boring stuff that they're doing and feel like they hate everything about whatever is happening. And nothing will seem right.
If only they had chosen an occupation in the field that they love, things would be very different. If someone who has a passion for teaching took up a job as a teacher, they would persevere in all the tasks they do. Instead of complaining about naughty students and tonnes of paperwork, they would find a way to make their classes interesting. All because of the love they have for their job. Doesn't love solve the problem here?
What about relationships? Ever wondered why divorce rates are on the rise when couples spend tonnes of money for their loved ones (which actually sounds like a show of affection for many)? Is it because they don't love each other enough or was it because they lost all the feelings they felt for each other?
In my point of view, many young people think that love is all about the splurge of exciting feelings when they are with their partner. They think that as long as it is exciting, they're still in love with each other. And when the excitement is gone and small arguments surface, everything is finished and it's time to go separate ways. The truth is, that's not the meaning of love at all.
The feelings have to be there but that's not all there is to it. Loving another person is about being comfortable with them. They have to form an understanding with each other. And from that deep understanding comes the act of giving in and compromising with each others needs. When there's a small problem, it's about understanding each other and talking things out. If one party is not doing that, it goes all wrong.
Sometimes, it might seem unfair to us for being the one that's always compromising. But compromise and deep affection for another person is something that comes out of realization and self reflection. It doesn't happen through force or drastic actions. Until that, we should play the role of the wiser one to maintain our relationship and teach our partner to compromise on certain occasions.
Again, the problem can be solved with love. If we just change our perception about love, a lot of things will seem easier. Patience, deep affection, understanding and compromise are all parts of love that we overlook. If your relationship still doesn't work out, that means you just chose the wrong person. And even that is a problem that you could have solved with love if you had loved yourself enough to know what kind of person would be good for you.
Why is our world becoming hotter and heading towards a global climate catastrophe? Don't you think it's because we don't love nature enough? Don't deny that statement because all of us either directly or indirectly have contributed to the state of our world today. And the ones who are really suffering are those poor homeless children, NOT us who always complain that the weather is so freaking hot.
I've banned air-conditioner in my bedroom because that's a small part I think I can play to help Mother Nature and poor children. Whenever I feel like switching on the air-conditioner, I think about the poor, homeless children in Africa who have to experience the sweltering heat every single day without a place to call home.
I may never know them but my love for them is just overwhelming. I always ask myself, "is it right for me to enjoy the cool air-conditioned air when the CFC it releases makes the weather hotter and increases the suffering of those pitiful kids?" Why is it that human beings have become so selfish until causing suffering to others seems like a normality?
If everyone of us could spread our love to the needy, their lives will become much more comfortable. The children would not be robbed of their childhood. Love for the needy might just be catalyst that could change the course of our world. If you're not a coward, ask yourself this question, "Am I really doing justice to those homeless kids who are already suffering from famine?"
I think by now you should already know my answer to the question my friend asked me. Taking that small step towards understanding the true meaning of love might just be the key to solving our problems. Don't you think so???
What does love really mean? Is it just your feelings for another person? Or is it just a first-time swarm of emotions when you think you've met Mr./Mrs. Perfect? Or does love apply to anything else in life? Is it just restricted to living things?
Problems are always there in our lives. Well, there's always the famous saying that life would be dull without problems. Most of the times, those problems seem to eat up the fun and excitement of our lives and we blame it on as many factors as there are around us. Has it ever occurred to you that love is the main cause of our problems?
For example, let's look into work stress. People experience stress because they are put under immense pressure at their work places. And they feel all stressed up because they don't like the job they are asked to complete. In addition to that, there's that ticking time limit that is getting shorter and shorter. Can you see why love is the problem here?
The fact is that many people these days work for the sake of money. They don't and don't plan to live their extraordinary dreams because they're just worried-or scared-that they might not live a luxurious life. At the beginning, no matter what the job, all seems fine because big money's just rolling in. But then, time takes it's toll and they get fed up with the boring stuff that they're doing and feel like they hate everything about whatever is happening. And nothing will seem right.
If only they had chosen an occupation in the field that they love, things would be very different. If someone who has a passion for teaching took up a job as a teacher, they would persevere in all the tasks they do. Instead of complaining about naughty students and tonnes of paperwork, they would find a way to make their classes interesting. All because of the love they have for their job. Doesn't love solve the problem here?
What about relationships? Ever wondered why divorce rates are on the rise when couples spend tonnes of money for their loved ones (which actually sounds like a show of affection for many)? Is it because they don't love each other enough or was it because they lost all the feelings they felt for each other?
In my point of view, many young people think that love is all about the splurge of exciting feelings when they are with their partner. They think that as long as it is exciting, they're still in love with each other. And when the excitement is gone and small arguments surface, everything is finished and it's time to go separate ways. The truth is, that's not the meaning of love at all.
The feelings have to be there but that's not all there is to it. Loving another person is about being comfortable with them. They have to form an understanding with each other. And from that deep understanding comes the act of giving in and compromising with each others needs. When there's a small problem, it's about understanding each other and talking things out. If one party is not doing that, it goes all wrong.
Sometimes, it might seem unfair to us for being the one that's always compromising. But compromise and deep affection for another person is something that comes out of realization and self reflection. It doesn't happen through force or drastic actions. Until that, we should play the role of the wiser one to maintain our relationship and teach our partner to compromise on certain occasions.
Again, the problem can be solved with love. If we just change our perception about love, a lot of things will seem easier. Patience, deep affection, understanding and compromise are all parts of love that we overlook. If your relationship still doesn't work out, that means you just chose the wrong person. And even that is a problem that you could have solved with love if you had loved yourself enough to know what kind of person would be good for you.
Why is our world becoming hotter and heading towards a global climate catastrophe? Don't you think it's because we don't love nature enough? Don't deny that statement because all of us either directly or indirectly have contributed to the state of our world today. And the ones who are really suffering are those poor homeless children, NOT us who always complain that the weather is so freaking hot.
I've banned air-conditioner in my bedroom because that's a small part I think I can play to help Mother Nature and poor children. Whenever I feel like switching on the air-conditioner, I think about the poor, homeless children in Africa who have to experience the sweltering heat every single day without a place to call home.
I may never know them but my love for them is just overwhelming. I always ask myself, "is it right for me to enjoy the cool air-conditioned air when the CFC it releases makes the weather hotter and increases the suffering of those pitiful kids?" Why is it that human beings have become so selfish until causing suffering to others seems like a normality?
If everyone of us could spread our love to the needy, their lives will become much more comfortable. The children would not be robbed of their childhood. Love for the needy might just be catalyst that could change the course of our world. If you're not a coward, ask yourself this question, "Am I really doing justice to those homeless kids who are already suffering from famine?"
I think by now you should already know my answer to the question my friend asked me. Taking that small step towards understanding the true meaning of love might just be the key to solving our problems. Don't you think so???
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
A Matter Of Minutes
It was match day 38, the last match day of the Barclays Premier League 2011/2012 season. Almost every match was important that day because so many things were still undecided before that day. Which teams will be relegated, which teams will be playing in European competitions next season, whether Liverpool will finish below Everton and most importantly, the league champions itself.
The 2 Manchester clubs, United and City, were at the top of the table. Both were on same points before their final matches but Man City were above Man United on goal difference (number of goals scored minus the number of goals conceded). So, there was everything to play for for both teams on the final match day.
Man City had a comparatively easier match as they faced relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers. Man United on the other hand had a slightly difficult team to play against-Sunderland. Honestly, both the opponents can be considered tough as QPR were really going to fight to stay in the Premier League and Sunderland's manager, Martin O'Neil isn't the kind of person who gives up games easily.
Like every other football fan should, I was all ready for the big match day. I really wanted to watch Big Momma 2 which was being aired on HBO at 10 but then decided to wait for it to be aired another time as the timing clashed with the football matches. For the record, all the matches were played at the same time on the final day (as it has been for the past few years) to avoid foul play by teams.
And the match kicked off. I was watching the Man United match although I knew that the result of the Man City match was the one that would determine the premier league champions. If Man City won the match, they would surely win the title as they had a superior goal difference of 64 over Man United's 56. So basically, we (Man United fans) were hoping for a slip up in the match at the Etihad stadium (Man City's stadium).
Man United were the first one of the two to score. A cross came in from Phil Jones from the left and Wayne Rooney headed the ball into the back of the net. The Sunderland defender who should have cleared the ball away made the wrong move to stop the ball and Rooney took advantage. At that point, Man United fans were still feeling that their hopes were alive as Man City had yet to score.
Then, a few minutes later, the Man United fans became quiet in the Stadium of Light (Sunderland's stadium) as Paulo Zabaleta struck one for Man City (this is how effective technology is in communication). It was good teamwork by Man City's players. The shot was a little lucky to go in as the QPR goalkeeper had deflected the ball a little. And half-time ended with both the Manchester clubs leading 1-0 in their respective matches.
Second half was when the real drama started. Around the 60-something minute mark, the corner where the Man United fans were seated in the Stadium of Light erupted as Djibril Cisse scored the equaliser for QPR against Man City. A few minutes later, we were jumping with joy as QPR scored another goal through a header. All of this was happening despite QPR being reduced to 10 man after Joey Barton (QPR) was sent off.
The 70th minute passed. The 80th minute passed. The 85th minute passed. I couldn't believe that this was happening. Man United, despite all odds stacked against them, were in the run to lift their 20th Premier League title.
It was insane to watch. The pressure of waiting for the clock to tick by was just immense. I couldn't sit while watching. I was punching my own hands and walking around as if in anticipation to the biggest upset in Premier League history if the score was to remain the same.
The 90th minute mark arrived. 3 extra minutes were added for the Man United match and 5 extra minutes were added for the Man City match. We were so so close to clinching our 20th league title which was thought almost impossible prior to this match because nobody predicted that Man City would slip up against a struggling QPR side.
Then in the 91st minute, Man City,s Edin Dzeko scored an equaliser at the Etihad. Man United were still in the running to lift the title as they had more points than Man City at that moment. It was pretty worrying for me as there was still 2 minutes left to play in the Man United match and a slip up by Man United would mean that all their efforts would go to waste.
Man United's match ended with 1-0 as the scoreline in Man United's favour. Our match was over and we just had to wait for the final result from the Etihad. We were actually half celebrating as there were only 2 minutes remaining in the Man City match. But, no one at that time would have ever predicted what would happen next.
Disaster struck. As the Man United match was over, I switched to the channel where the Man City match was aired. Mario Ballotelli had the ball with him at the edge of the penalty box. He slipped a little but managed to pass the ball to Sergio Aguero who was free on his right. And Aguero completed to unthinkable by dribbling past a QPR defender and shot the ball into the QPR net.
I sunk down on the sofa. I told myself, "Oh my God, this can't be happening". I couldn't believe it. It was heartbreak for all Man United fans and players. One moment we were jumping with joy, another staring at one of the most astonishing finishes in the history of the Barclays Premier League.
Man City were totally delighted. Aguero running off while taking off his shirt after scoring the winning goal just proved how important the goal was. Man City fans were crying in joy as they themselves couldn't believe what had happened.
Man City finished as champions. QPR were not relegated as Bolton drew 2-2 against Stoke City and remained in the bottom 3. Liverpool, for all their relief as Man United's title tally remained 19 (Liverpool have 18) had to face the embarrassment of finishing below Everton and in the process accumulated their all time lowest points in a single season.
Everything changed in a matter of minutes. From joy to despair for some and vice versa for many others. And this is the kind of uncertainty that time and time again makes me believe that football is indeed the best game to watch in the world......
The 2 Manchester clubs, United and City, were at the top of the table. Both were on same points before their final matches but Man City were above Man United on goal difference (number of goals scored minus the number of goals conceded). So, there was everything to play for for both teams on the final match day.
Man City had a comparatively easier match as they faced relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers. Man United on the other hand had a slightly difficult team to play against-Sunderland. Honestly, both the opponents can be considered tough as QPR were really going to fight to stay in the Premier League and Sunderland's manager, Martin O'Neil isn't the kind of person who gives up games easily.
Like every other football fan should, I was all ready for the big match day. I really wanted to watch Big Momma 2 which was being aired on HBO at 10 but then decided to wait for it to be aired another time as the timing clashed with the football matches. For the record, all the matches were played at the same time on the final day (as it has been for the past few years) to avoid foul play by teams.
And the match kicked off. I was watching the Man United match although I knew that the result of the Man City match was the one that would determine the premier league champions. If Man City won the match, they would surely win the title as they had a superior goal difference of 64 over Man United's 56. So basically, we (Man United fans) were hoping for a slip up in the match at the Etihad stadium (Man City's stadium).
Man United were the first one of the two to score. A cross came in from Phil Jones from the left and Wayne Rooney headed the ball into the back of the net. The Sunderland defender who should have cleared the ball away made the wrong move to stop the ball and Rooney took advantage. At that point, Man United fans were still feeling that their hopes were alive as Man City had yet to score.
Then, a few minutes later, the Man United fans became quiet in the Stadium of Light (Sunderland's stadium) as Paulo Zabaleta struck one for Man City (this is how effective technology is in communication). It was good teamwork by Man City's players. The shot was a little lucky to go in as the QPR goalkeeper had deflected the ball a little. And half-time ended with both the Manchester clubs leading 1-0 in their respective matches.
Second half was when the real drama started. Around the 60-something minute mark, the corner where the Man United fans were seated in the Stadium of Light erupted as Djibril Cisse scored the equaliser for QPR against Man City. A few minutes later, we were jumping with joy as QPR scored another goal through a header. All of this was happening despite QPR being reduced to 10 man after Joey Barton (QPR) was sent off.
The 70th minute passed. The 80th minute passed. The 85th minute passed. I couldn't believe that this was happening. Man United, despite all odds stacked against them, were in the run to lift their 20th Premier League title.
It was insane to watch. The pressure of waiting for the clock to tick by was just immense. I couldn't sit while watching. I was punching my own hands and walking around as if in anticipation to the biggest upset in Premier League history if the score was to remain the same.
The 90th minute mark arrived. 3 extra minutes were added for the Man United match and 5 extra minutes were added for the Man City match. We were so so close to clinching our 20th league title which was thought almost impossible prior to this match because nobody predicted that Man City would slip up against a struggling QPR side.
Then in the 91st minute, Man City,s Edin Dzeko scored an equaliser at the Etihad. Man United were still in the running to lift the title as they had more points than Man City at that moment. It was pretty worrying for me as there was still 2 minutes left to play in the Man United match and a slip up by Man United would mean that all their efforts would go to waste.
Man United's match ended with 1-0 as the scoreline in Man United's favour. Our match was over and we just had to wait for the final result from the Etihad. We were actually half celebrating as there were only 2 minutes remaining in the Man City match. But, no one at that time would have ever predicted what would happen next.
Disaster struck. As the Man United match was over, I switched to the channel where the Man City match was aired. Mario Ballotelli had the ball with him at the edge of the penalty box. He slipped a little but managed to pass the ball to Sergio Aguero who was free on his right. And Aguero completed to unthinkable by dribbling past a QPR defender and shot the ball into the QPR net.
I sunk down on the sofa. I told myself, "Oh my God, this can't be happening". I couldn't believe it. It was heartbreak for all Man United fans and players. One moment we were jumping with joy, another staring at one of the most astonishing finishes in the history of the Barclays Premier League.
Man City were totally delighted. Aguero running off while taking off his shirt after scoring the winning goal just proved how important the goal was. Man City fans were crying in joy as they themselves couldn't believe what had happened.
Man City finished as champions. QPR were not relegated as Bolton drew 2-2 against Stoke City and remained in the bottom 3. Liverpool, for all their relief as Man United's title tally remained 19 (Liverpool have 18) had to face the embarrassment of finishing below Everton and in the process accumulated their all time lowest points in a single season.
Everything changed in a matter of minutes. From joy to despair for some and vice versa for many others. And this is the kind of uncertainty that time and time again makes me believe that football is indeed the best game to watch in the world......
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Do We Really Need This?
It's a taboo subject here in Malaysia, or at least that's what they say. I call it an epidemic, something that has been affecting many. And just like an epidemic, they try to hide it from the public so that they are not condemned, criticized or isolated.
Racism was something that was hotly debated among football fans world wide at the beginning of the year after Luis Suarez, a Liverpool player, threw racist accusations at Patrice Evra (Manchester United) and John Terry (Chelsea) at Anton Ferdinand (Queens Park Rangers). Due to their unruly behaviour, they had to pay a heavy price.
Suarez was banned for 8 matches and Terry was stripped of his England captaincy. The English Football Association had to scrap off the pre-kickoff handshake due to them when their teams met. And the worst part was that the fans of Liverpool and Chelsea actually tried to defend their players in the racism row.
If England is too far for an example, Malaysia itself will be a perfect place to start. One of the most astonishing things about racism in Malaysia is that people do it but pretend like it's so damn fine to do it. I've already come across many, many stories and here are a few of them.
One of my friends who was out of job went to a bookstore nearby to ask if there was a job vacancy. The person in charge there said that there was a job vacancy there but it was only preserved for one race. I used to hate that bookshop since last time because many employees there couldn't speak proper basic English. When my friend told me about that experience, the only thing that came to my mind was "what the f*** is wrong with people these days?"
Here's another interesting story. There was this market near my friend's house where some old lady sells some food stuff. One day, while we were sitting in the school canteen during a break, my friend advised us to never buy anything from that woman because she charged almost double the real price for people who bought things from her stall but was from a different race than her. My friend knew that because he spoke the language the woman spoke.
And the government have their own sense of racism. They call it protecting the rights of the original inhabitants in this country at the cost of public university places and job opportunities to thousands. Just look at America. They are miles ahead in front of us because everyone with an American passport gets equal rights and there's no quota for natives or Latinos or french with an American passport.
The roots of this epidemic , sadly, stems from our very homes. It might not be the case in every one's house but I'm sure it is in most. It happens in my home as well. I just hate it when sometimes, my parents criticize people because they are of a certain race.
I, for some reason, have never been influenced by what my parents have said about race and religion. I seriously don't know why but I have been quite neutral from race and religion. I'll be honest with you, I'm not a religiously strong person and I ain't planning to change that.
The reason is I believe in God and I respect other people. In my point of view, that's what religion really is about (no offence to you). Instead of looking at it in a negative way, I perceive it as something positive as my non-affinity to religion or race has made me breach so many different boundaries and made me to see the world in a different way.
Your parents might have forbade you from mixing with other races. A a skeptic of my blog post, you could say that your parents might have behaved in that way because they might have been worried about us being with the wrong group.
They might say bad things about others and try to make themselves right. Influence is indeed a worrying factor and your parents might be right in that sense. But, one thing that always, trust me, always, skips our mind is that we, as people, can make choices.
And the choices we make today is something that will shape our future. There's no point blaming a race because of what some people in that particular race did. In a family of thieves, there might be a young son of a thief lord who doesn't steal but he is judged based on his family.
Do not think that you should do good so that your family has a good name. Think about changing your attitude on viewing a certain person based on who he isn't but what his surrounding is. It really does a lot of injustice when you discriminate innocent people because of what people around them have done.
Stop for a moment and ask yourself, "If a person does not choose the race he is to be born into, is it right for you judge him on his race or ethnicity?" Maybe, it's time for us to start respecting each other as a human beings first......
Racism was something that was hotly debated among football fans world wide at the beginning of the year after Luis Suarez, a Liverpool player, threw racist accusations at Patrice Evra (Manchester United) and John Terry (Chelsea) at Anton Ferdinand (Queens Park Rangers). Due to their unruly behaviour, they had to pay a heavy price.
Suarez was banned for 8 matches and Terry was stripped of his England captaincy. The English Football Association had to scrap off the pre-kickoff handshake due to them when their teams met. And the worst part was that the fans of Liverpool and Chelsea actually tried to defend their players in the racism row.
If England is too far for an example, Malaysia itself will be a perfect place to start. One of the most astonishing things about racism in Malaysia is that people do it but pretend like it's so damn fine to do it. I've already come across many, many stories and here are a few of them.
One of my friends who was out of job went to a bookstore nearby to ask if there was a job vacancy. The person in charge there said that there was a job vacancy there but it was only preserved for one race. I used to hate that bookshop since last time because many employees there couldn't speak proper basic English. When my friend told me about that experience, the only thing that came to my mind was "what the f*** is wrong with people these days?"
Here's another interesting story. There was this market near my friend's house where some old lady sells some food stuff. One day, while we were sitting in the school canteen during a break, my friend advised us to never buy anything from that woman because she charged almost double the real price for people who bought things from her stall but was from a different race than her. My friend knew that because he spoke the language the woman spoke.
And the government have their own sense of racism. They call it protecting the rights of the original inhabitants in this country at the cost of public university places and job opportunities to thousands. Just look at America. They are miles ahead in front of us because everyone with an American passport gets equal rights and there's no quota for natives or Latinos or french with an American passport.
The roots of this epidemic , sadly, stems from our very homes. It might not be the case in every one's house but I'm sure it is in most. It happens in my home as well. I just hate it when sometimes, my parents criticize people because they are of a certain race.
I, for some reason, have never been influenced by what my parents have said about race and religion. I seriously don't know why but I have been quite neutral from race and religion. I'll be honest with you, I'm not a religiously strong person and I ain't planning to change that.
The reason is I believe in God and I respect other people. In my point of view, that's what religion really is about (no offence to you). Instead of looking at it in a negative way, I perceive it as something positive as my non-affinity to religion or race has made me breach so many different boundaries and made me to see the world in a different way.
Your parents might have forbade you from mixing with other races. A a skeptic of my blog post, you could say that your parents might have behaved in that way because they might have been worried about us being with the wrong group.
They might say bad things about others and try to make themselves right. Influence is indeed a worrying factor and your parents might be right in that sense. But, one thing that always, trust me, always, skips our mind is that we, as people, can make choices.
And the choices we make today is something that will shape our future. There's no point blaming a race because of what some people in that particular race did. In a family of thieves, there might be a young son of a thief lord who doesn't steal but he is judged based on his family.
Do not think that you should do good so that your family has a good name. Think about changing your attitude on viewing a certain person based on who he isn't but what his surrounding is. It really does a lot of injustice when you discriminate innocent people because of what people around them have done.
Stop for a moment and ask yourself, "If a person does not choose the race he is to be born into, is it right for you judge him on his race or ethnicity?" Maybe, it's time for us to start respecting each other as a human beings first......
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Once In A Lifetime
It was just noisy. There was no one on stage but the microphone was still there. It was like the microphone was calling me to hold it and speak. I shut myself from the world and was reluctant to get up. Moments later, I slowly opened my eyes and looked right into my handphone. Oh damn, I was late!
It was supposed to be a big day. My school was having a function to celebrate the students who had scored straight As in last year's SPM and STPM examination. I had asked my sister to wake me up at 5 o'clock in the morning but she didn't.
I've always had this problem of waking up from sleep in the morning. Even when a few years ago when we felt the tremors of an earthquake happening in Indonesia at home, I was sleeping soundly until my mum woke me up. Don.t ask me why but I just can't hear the alarm (most of the times) when I'm asleep. And my reliance on others doesn't pay much dividends either.
Everything was in a rush that morning. I skipped a few exercises in the morning. I had to gush in my breakfast because I need to eat a lot in the morning so that I won't feel hungry easily. And that wasn't even the worst part of that morning.
The previous afternoon, as I was watching Naruto Shippuden episodes, I received a call from my school. I didn't recognize the voice but the person just asked me if I wanted to give a speech during the function the next day. I thought it would be ok to just go up there and speak. How wrong I was!
I always have a problem with self confidence when I have to speak to a big group of people. I stutter and sometimes sweat and have jelly legs. About 2 years ago, I knew that this had to stop and I decided to boost my self confidence. Ever since then, I've been trying to take up challenging confidence boosting tasks to complete. I knew that this speech would just be the right tonic to further increase my confidence.
I did feel the pressure though. I purposely refused to prepare a script because it would've been too troublesome to write it down and memorise and then talk while trying to look at the paper and the crowd at the same time. I just decided to speak out my mind.
With one mind on my speech, I was drove a little too fast to school. My mum took the car back home as she had to go to work after that. As I laid my feet right outside my school, I decided to forget everything I was preparing (like I always do before exams) and enjoy the moment with my friends.
It was so good to be seeing old faces again. Some have changed but many were pretty much the same. Some were surprised to see me as I had changed my hairstyle to suit my longer hair. I received lots of good reviews about my longer hair but I'm sure many were startled when they saw me at first because I've never kept my hair long before.
About half an hour after after the supposed starting time (haizz.....Malaysian just love to maintain their insanely bad timing), we were asked to take our places in the hall. Just out of curiosity, I asked the teacher in charge about when I was supposed to give my speech. And she gave me quite a shocking answer.
My speech was going to be the first thing on the agenda after we sang the school song. My pre-speech blues were creeping up on me again. But, thanks to one of my friends who kept on giving me the encouragement I needed, I managed to remain calm as the moment just kept inching closer.
And then as it was supposed to happen, I was called up to give my speech on my secret to success in the SPM examination. To put it exactly, I just said what came to my mind that time. I did prepare of course but I wasn't thinking about the order or anything like that. I just said what I wanted to say (the typical me).
I told them about how important it was to set a goal in life. Then I gave a few tips about how they can work towards their dreams and added a few study tips afterwards. I also touched about the common misconceptions among students these days.
Maybe the teachers didn't know about it when they decided to ask me to give a speech but I've got a very unorthodox, out of the world, style of studying. I went to school to have fun and listen during lessons, had lots of fun doing stupid stuff in school, only studied at home and that too after finishing every ounce of energy while training and never bothered burying my head in books right before the exams. I used to think that some people might have been happy if I had done badly in exams because I just did the things I love while they researched the entire book. But......too bad for them. :P
Once I was done with the speech, I was relieved and happy. As I took my seat again, one of the teachers in front of me told me that I spoke like a motivational speaker. I received lots of good reviews from my friends. One of my friends whom I considered the best one could ever be on stage told me that my speech was really good and admitted he wouldn't have been able to do the same thing.
After my speech, there was another speech, this time by an ex-student who was representing the STPM top scorers. Then, there was the prize giving ceremony as the top scorers were given plaques and certificates and the ones with the straight A+ were given an additional RM100. The last part of the function was the photo session.
As my friends and I were making our way to the canteen to fill out hungry tummies, one of my friends said this "Dei, damn chun lah." ('dei' is like the casual 'bro' in Tamil, 'chun' is awesome in I-don't-know-what language, and 'lah is just a Malaysian slang which means nothing). And then I replied "What is chun?". And then he told me something that took me back through years and years of joy, laughter and tears.
He said " Damn chun lah seeing you in Standard 4 (the year I met him, my first ever friend in my new school) and now up that stage". I can't put the tone or the feelings he put in that sentence in this blog post but what he said was just nostalgic because he was the one who had been with me through all these years. And the words he said really made me realize that I had grown up a long long way from that little boy who used to read Harry Potter books to the matured (ok, maybe half-matured) teenager I am now.
Although I thought my speech was quite ok, I didn't want to type it back in my blog because I considered it a once in a lifetime speech. It was a once in a lifetime speech for me to tell my school friends how I did it in examinations and a once in a lifetime speech that my friends will hear from me about the kind of person that I was. Honestly, I'm just happy I left high school with a bang and gave the students there something to ponder upon for a long long time........
It was supposed to be a big day. My school was having a function to celebrate the students who had scored straight As in last year's SPM and STPM examination. I had asked my sister to wake me up at 5 o'clock in the morning but she didn't.
I've always had this problem of waking up from sleep in the morning. Even when a few years ago when we felt the tremors of an earthquake happening in Indonesia at home, I was sleeping soundly until my mum woke me up. Don.t ask me why but I just can't hear the alarm (most of the times) when I'm asleep. And my reliance on others doesn't pay much dividends either.
Everything was in a rush that morning. I skipped a few exercises in the morning. I had to gush in my breakfast because I need to eat a lot in the morning so that I won't feel hungry easily. And that wasn't even the worst part of that morning.
The previous afternoon, as I was watching Naruto Shippuden episodes, I received a call from my school. I didn't recognize the voice but the person just asked me if I wanted to give a speech during the function the next day. I thought it would be ok to just go up there and speak. How wrong I was!
I always have a problem with self confidence when I have to speak to a big group of people. I stutter and sometimes sweat and have jelly legs. About 2 years ago, I knew that this had to stop and I decided to boost my self confidence. Ever since then, I've been trying to take up challenging confidence boosting tasks to complete. I knew that this speech would just be the right tonic to further increase my confidence.
I did feel the pressure though. I purposely refused to prepare a script because it would've been too troublesome to write it down and memorise and then talk while trying to look at the paper and the crowd at the same time. I just decided to speak out my mind.
With one mind on my speech, I was drove a little too fast to school. My mum took the car back home as she had to go to work after that. As I laid my feet right outside my school, I decided to forget everything I was preparing (like I always do before exams) and enjoy the moment with my friends.
It was so good to be seeing old faces again. Some have changed but many were pretty much the same. Some were surprised to see me as I had changed my hairstyle to suit my longer hair. I received lots of good reviews about my longer hair but I'm sure many were startled when they saw me at first because I've never kept my hair long before.
About half an hour after after the supposed starting time (haizz.....Malaysian just love to maintain their insanely bad timing), we were asked to take our places in the hall. Just out of curiosity, I asked the teacher in charge about when I was supposed to give my speech. And she gave me quite a shocking answer.
My speech was going to be the first thing on the agenda after we sang the school song. My pre-speech blues were creeping up on me again. But, thanks to one of my friends who kept on giving me the encouragement I needed, I managed to remain calm as the moment just kept inching closer.
And then as it was supposed to happen, I was called up to give my speech on my secret to success in the SPM examination. To put it exactly, I just said what came to my mind that time. I did prepare of course but I wasn't thinking about the order or anything like that. I just said what I wanted to say (the typical me).
I told them about how important it was to set a goal in life. Then I gave a few tips about how they can work towards their dreams and added a few study tips afterwards. I also touched about the common misconceptions among students these days.
Maybe the teachers didn't know about it when they decided to ask me to give a speech but I've got a very unorthodox, out of the world, style of studying. I went to school to have fun and listen during lessons, had lots of fun doing stupid stuff in school, only studied at home and that too after finishing every ounce of energy while training and never bothered burying my head in books right before the exams. I used to think that some people might have been happy if I had done badly in exams because I just did the things I love while they researched the entire book. But......too bad for them. :P
Once I was done with the speech, I was relieved and happy. As I took my seat again, one of the teachers in front of me told me that I spoke like a motivational speaker. I received lots of good reviews from my friends. One of my friends whom I considered the best one could ever be on stage told me that my speech was really good and admitted he wouldn't have been able to do the same thing.
After my speech, there was another speech, this time by an ex-student who was representing the STPM top scorers. Then, there was the prize giving ceremony as the top scorers were given plaques and certificates and the ones with the straight A+ were given an additional RM100. The last part of the function was the photo session.
As my friends and I were making our way to the canteen to fill out hungry tummies, one of my friends said this "Dei, damn chun lah." ('dei' is like the casual 'bro' in Tamil, 'chun' is awesome in I-don't-know-what language, and 'lah is just a Malaysian slang which means nothing). And then I replied "What is chun?". And then he told me something that took me back through years and years of joy, laughter and tears.
He said " Damn chun lah seeing you in Standard 4 (the year I met him, my first ever friend in my new school) and now up that stage". I can't put the tone or the feelings he put in that sentence in this blog post but what he said was just nostalgic because he was the one who had been with me through all these years. And the words he said really made me realize that I had grown up a long long way from that little boy who used to read Harry Potter books to the matured (ok, maybe half-matured) teenager I am now.
Although I thought my speech was quite ok, I didn't want to type it back in my blog because I considered it a once in a lifetime speech. It was a once in a lifetime speech for me to tell my school friends how I did it in examinations and a once in a lifetime speech that my friends will hear from me about the kind of person that I was. Honestly, I'm just happy I left high school with a bang and gave the students there something to ponder upon for a long long time........
Monday, April 30, 2012
I'm Finally Legal
After months and months of illegal driving, I finally managed to get my driving licence. Just to get the licence, I had to go through various processes for about 3 months. And it was pretty troublesome.
The first thing I had to do after registering in my driving school was to go for a 5-hour lecture on road rules. 5 hours sounded like a day when my driving school told me about it. Luckily for me, the speaker had a lot of jokes up his sleeves and I really enjoyed my 5 hours in the lecture hall.
The next step after the speech was to take a test on road rules. The purpose of the 5-hour speech was to provide some guidance for the test. But, as it sounds in the previous paragraph, the person giving the speech filled our heads with loads of crap. Anyway, the test was quite easy and I managed to pass.
After passing the test, I had to attend another 5-hour speech a week later. This time, it was really boring right from the start. This speech was supposed to brief us about driving. I was feeling sleepy during the speech and barely paid attention. Fortunately, my driving school decided to take us (students from my driving school) back (illegally) during the lunch break.
Finally, I could start my driving classes. The rule was that I could only take my driving test one month after attending the second 5-hour speech. So, I had to space out my classes. I had the first 2 classes far apart and cramped my remaining 3 classes during the last week.
I really liked the person who was my driving instructor for the first 2 classes. When I told him I could drive, he taught me everything that I needed to learn for the test during my first class. During the second class, he just asked me to take him around to his house and to pay his bills.
I had my remaining classes in the exam centre in Kapar. Well, I was doing pretty much the same things there. I learned a few extra things from an instructor who gave me a 20-minute lecture on driving during my third class. During my fifth class, there was a trial test and I passed it pretty easily.
Next up was the real thing-my driving test. I was feeling pretty ok before the test except for the hill section. I don't know why but I was just a little worried. I sat in the car and tried to calm myself down. I did everything slow and steady and managed to pass the hill test. Once that was over, I knew for sure that I was going to pass the remaining parts.
After the hill test was the parking and 3-point-turn tests. That was quite simple and I passed them easily. After I was done with those, I had to take the road test, where I had to drive on the main road. Again, I was just driving slowly-not exceeding 50 km/h- which was very unlike me. Again, I passed the test. The best part was that I didn't have to bribe any officers like how so many other people (I just call them lousy) had done.
To be honest, I don't think what is taught in driving classes is enough for new drivers to take the roads. The kind of parking taught during the driving classes just don't apply most of times in real life. And, they don't teach the students how to face emergencies on the road. Maybe, just maybe, its a trick so that the government officers can make more money through bribes and tickets. Whatever their motives, I'm just happy I can finally drive without any worries while on the road......
The first thing I had to do after registering in my driving school was to go for a 5-hour lecture on road rules. 5 hours sounded like a day when my driving school told me about it. Luckily for me, the speaker had a lot of jokes up his sleeves and I really enjoyed my 5 hours in the lecture hall.
The next step after the speech was to take a test on road rules. The purpose of the 5-hour speech was to provide some guidance for the test. But, as it sounds in the previous paragraph, the person giving the speech filled our heads with loads of crap. Anyway, the test was quite easy and I managed to pass.
After passing the test, I had to attend another 5-hour speech a week later. This time, it was really boring right from the start. This speech was supposed to brief us about driving. I was feeling sleepy during the speech and barely paid attention. Fortunately, my driving school decided to take us (students from my driving school) back (illegally) during the lunch break.
Finally, I could start my driving classes. The rule was that I could only take my driving test one month after attending the second 5-hour speech. So, I had to space out my classes. I had the first 2 classes far apart and cramped my remaining 3 classes during the last week.
I really liked the person who was my driving instructor for the first 2 classes. When I told him I could drive, he taught me everything that I needed to learn for the test during my first class. During the second class, he just asked me to take him around to his house and to pay his bills.
I had my remaining classes in the exam centre in Kapar. Well, I was doing pretty much the same things there. I learned a few extra things from an instructor who gave me a 20-minute lecture on driving during my third class. During my fifth class, there was a trial test and I passed it pretty easily.
Next up was the real thing-my driving test. I was feeling pretty ok before the test except for the hill section. I don't know why but I was just a little worried. I sat in the car and tried to calm myself down. I did everything slow and steady and managed to pass the hill test. Once that was over, I knew for sure that I was going to pass the remaining parts.
After the hill test was the parking and 3-point-turn tests. That was quite simple and I passed them easily. After I was done with those, I had to take the road test, where I had to drive on the main road. Again, I was just driving slowly-not exceeding 50 km/h- which was very unlike me. Again, I passed the test. The best part was that I didn't have to bribe any officers like how so many other people (I just call them lousy) had done.
To be honest, I don't think what is taught in driving classes is enough for new drivers to take the roads. The kind of parking taught during the driving classes just don't apply most of times in real life. And, they don't teach the students how to face emergencies on the road. Maybe, just maybe, its a trick so that the government officers can make more money through bribes and tickets. Whatever their motives, I'm just happy I can finally drive without any worries while on the road......
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