Finally.

 Finally. Remember this day, people, as the day I have gotten 'round to writing again! :D (Cue large applause track.) I thought I'd never touch the keyboard again. To write, that is. You're nuts to think I haven't been touching the laptop since the last post, which was... Wait, lemme see... Last September. Wow, that's long. I'm starting to think a simple apology won't suffice.

 But then again, what can I do? First of all, I would like to apologise for not updating my blog sooner. I know that there are impatient readers out there craving for more of my awesome anecdotes. :D (Haha, in my dreams.) It's not because I lost interest in blogging anymore, no. That happened last year, for a period of time. You have to understand, I'm tied up with SPM, which I admit is a very lame reason, seeing all my other mates updating quite frequently. Not all of us are geniuses, able to blog while revising till our head explodes.

 When the excruciating time finally ended in mid-November, I was finally able to blog again... Until my bed chained me with it's oh-so-velvety blanket. Because after two years of SUFFERING, it doesn't hurt to sit back and relax for a bit, no? I was also lazing 'round  finding some ideas to entertain my audience (You guys.), because I had a writer's block. To be frank, writing during school is way easier than during the holidays, since you're gonna be bored with nothing else to do, and when you fool around with your mates, lightbulb moments will always occur to you.

 When I slamdunked the backyard's basketball hoop so hard it crashed to the ground (Literally.), I thought 'Well, might as well start writing again.' (So random.) I don't want my blog to be like those dead sites that people leave at the outermost part of the Internet where it's cold and dark and damp. And here we are, with you reading this, and me probably lounging in front of the telly. I solemnly swear that I will update my blog from now on. I have some stuff in my heart to pour out here, hence the constant outburst of inspiration, thank goodness.

 With that, I bid you adieu. Adiue. Aduie? AHH I'll just stick with 'Goodbye'.

Yes, I Jog Barefoot.

 Who likes to jog? I know I do (When my bed doesn't entice me with its comfort.) But recently, I have been noticing a constant pattern whenever I go down my usual track, every single time; the trailing eyes of curious people on me. While I do love a bit of public attention, but even I feel pressured with this increasing affinity towards my not-so-daily routine. People, why stare at a guys leisurely doing his humdrum routine? Is it due to my fashion sense? (Yes, I have to admit; sometimes my shirt does not go with my trousers.) Or is the mere fact of ME even EXERCISING utterly shocking news to the world?

 Or is it because I jog barefooted?

 Yes, it’s true. I don’t jog with shoes. And yes, I go around school barefooted most of the time, out of laziness, plus the erstwhile lack of footwear, which I will elaborate another time. I wonder though, why do people tend to just assume that all quirky things are bad? Every time my friends see me walking around without shoes, they be asking, ‘Where’s your shoes, man?’ Normally I’d reply with an explanation, but when I get really tired of the questions, I just give them weird reasons. Either way, I get showered with bizarre ‘What-the-heck-are-you-spewing-out-boy?’ glances. Now, weary from all the agonising interrogation, I shall now give you ten reasons why barefoot running is good!

You’d have a sense of connectedness.

 Running with your shoes only allows you to feel the cool, refreshing air and eye candy. But barefoot jogging gives you a whole lot more – just think of it as shifting from 2D to 3D.

Strides are lighter.

 Ever feel like you jog too slowly sometimes? Try taking off your shoes – you’ll definitely feel the lighter and faster. Certainly advantageous when you’re trying run away from bullies and perverts.

Better landing guaranteed.

Footwear often tend to make people land on their heels. (Don’t ask me why. Just observe joggers.) And landing on heels is a big no-no. The correct way would be to land on the front and middle of your feet, and with your shoes, it won’t be comfortable.

You’d have a better posture.

 Running with your bare feet touching with the ground enables you to know whether your posture is correct or not. Contact of the ground will give feedback on how you to change your pose.

Give freedom to your feet.

 Notice how uncomfortable it is to have your feet movement restrained by your socks and shoes? I often find myself unconsciously trying to wriggle my toes, but to no avail. Jogging barefoot releases you from the burden of your feet binded by fabric. Be nice to your feet.

You’d be more alert.

 With bare feet, you’d be more vulnerable to sharp and dangerous objects lying idly on the ground, waiting to prick its victims to death. Your instincts would kick right in to avoid such an unfavourable fate.

Less stress will be exerted on your lower half.

 With running shoes, we tend to burden our ankles with our weight, which would heighten the probability of a sprained ankle. Bare feet lessens the possiblity of any leg injury, due to the better posture and lighter strides achieved.

Stronger feet.

 Our feet became too soft and weak, because of wearing shoes. Going barefoot increases our feet’s strength, though I warn you of the pain you have to endure the first few times trying this. But as they say: No pain, no gain.

It’s Fun!

 Jogging around with bare feet is very exciting! It reminds me of when I was still a child, running around outside without shoes and constantly worring my parents. Plus, it’s nice to have people look at you sometimes.

It’s also very, VERY cheap.

 How much did your fashionable, branded running shoes cost you? Now compare that price with your feet. Enough said.

 So there you have it, 10 perfectly good and logical reasons why barefoot jogging is good for you. I hope this would explain to every curious person why I do this stuff. For all you know, it might even become a trend in school! Right now, I have an appointment with my bed, so be seeing you soon! 

Raya Money Expedition

Finally, after a month of abstaining from food and and other wickedly wicked things, Ramadhan gives way for Syawal to shine. And you know what that means! It's RAYAAAAAAAA!!! :D Following our yearly routine, we excitedly ate our breakfast after the Raya prayers. Atuk's house was full of warmth and laughter, as it is the time of the year where everyone would gather at the house. Although celebrating is on everyone's mind, kids have prioritized  something else during the festivities; Raya money.

 'Tis a tradition for working adults to give out Raya money to the children, whatever the amount is (The minimum being RM1.) The living room was brim full of cousins, ages ranging from 5 - 20++ (Yeah we teens can also be considered as money-hungry children in this case. XD) lining up to receive the once-a-year colorful packets from aunts and uncles situated in different parts of the room. Laughter ensued as sly kids attempted to double their profit, and many snickered when I tried (and failed) to extort some Sterling Pounds from my older cousin. (He's currently vacationing in Malaysia during semester break.)

Yet, I felt that I was missing out on something. My dear mother enlightened me in the car on our way to visit open houses. 'Did you know,' she started. 'That when I was a kid, we would walk around the neighbourhood, visiting the neighbours and collect Raya money?'

Lightbulb moment.

 When we returned to Atuk's house (No house was open, which was expected, since the first day of Raya is always spent with family.) I headed to the back of the house, to find all my cousins dying of boredom in the dim room, with only the TV screen as a light source. After berating them for lazing about, watching TV ('Now you know the true meaning of Raya.' one of them smirked.), the 'Raya Money Expedition' team was formed, which consisted of me, the eldest of the group (My peers declined, due to them being 'too mature' for this activity, or what I prefer to call as their 'lack of courage'.), 4 girls and 4 guys, ranging from 5 - 15. God, I felt like a black sheep.

 So for all the houses we visited (Only three.), 17-year-old me would be forced to holler at open doors by the girls (Who kept their distance from the boys, to avoid embarrassment of being with a guy who hollers at open doors) in hopes that someone would notice and invite us in. When someone does invite us in, the girls would appear right behind us. We would then proceed to eat the kuih (Small delicacies.) and stare around the house in an awkward atmosphere as the the people of the house sit unblinking and throw around occasional questions at us. At the second house, however, somebody turned a little clumsy (Hint: ME) and dropped a jar of bahulu.
 Don't blame me. How was I supposed to know the lid wasn't tight enough to be lifted? Thankfully, they were all too far at the back of the house to be within earshot.

 Though we only collected RM4 from the expedition, we had a fun time. I sure did. It was due to the fact that it was a first time for me, as when I was younger, Raya was celebrated at a less festal atmosphere in the UK, and I never thought of doing so the past 4 years I've been back in Malaysia, because of the city, and citizens' attitude towards random strangers who holler at open doors isn't that warming (Increase of crime rates, wariness towards people etc.) So yeah, I had a really fun time.

 Next me, I'll force the others to join me so I don't have to wallow in awkward embarrassment alone. (Insert evil laugh.) >:D

Experimenting on Smart Nerve Wreck Friends During Exams

During the trials (Which ends tomorrow, thank God.), I noticed a peculiar thing about a friend of mine. I realized that this thing happens during all the examination periods. He is a smart guy, and yet his worrying attitude doesn’t match his grades. We all have that kinda friend, right? I decided to experiment on my assumptions:

Aim: To determine the effects of the level of worry of a person on the grade of their exam results

Hypothesis: The more worried the person is, the higher the grade of the exam result

Variables:

Manipulated: The difficulty of the exams

Responding: The level of anxiety of the person

Fixed: The person

Apparatus and Materials:

• A human lab rat nerve wreck anxious friend
• A chair
• A table
• Exam papers (Three subjects based on friend’s skill)
• Pen
• Clock
• Malicious laugh track or any anxiety increasing device (Optional)
• Rope (Optional)

Procedure:

1. Place the human lab rat nervous wreck friend on a chair.
2. Push the chair to the table.
3. Place easy exam paper on the table.
4. Give the friend a pen and order instruct him/her to finish the test within the allotted time. Another subject person (Me) is needed to take the exam as well.
5. Wait for an hour or so.
6. Collect the exam paper, whether he/she is finished or not.
7. Observe the subject friend and record on table.
8. Mark the exam paper and record the grade on the table.
9. Repeat the experiment with medium-level and hard-level exam paper.

Precautions:

•         If the lab rat friend is unwilling, tie him/her to the chair on the rope.
•         If he/she does not display much anxiety during the exam, the laugh track/anxiety-increasing device is used.

Tabulation of Data:

Level of Exam	Anxiety Level (%)		Exam Grade (%)
	Me	Nervous Wreck Friend	Me	Nervous Wreck Friend
Easy	20	48	75	84
Medium	46	63	69	89
Hard	52	82	64	90

Conclusion:

The hypothesis is accepted.  The more worried the person is, the higher the grade of the exam result.

However, the hypothesis does not apply to the normal subject (Me).

  I’m sure all of you can relate to this. It's not easy having this type of person as a best friend. But hey, what's the point of being called a best friend if you can't put up with the downsides of people, right? :)

 Plus, it's fun to fool around with his anxiety. XD

Aren’t They Too Young To Get Hitched?

 I've watched the most recent video that made it to every chatterbox’s (Well, it probably means every housewife in Malaysia.) ‘List of hot gossips to chatter about during the teatime get-together’. Now, you guys are probably wondering which video I’m talking about (Unless you’re a chatterbox, or housewife, or BOTH.) Answer: the marriage between 16-year old Syafiq and 14-year old Yana! Never heard of it? Now you do. For those of you whose attention I’ve captured with my answer, and wish to watch the seemingly interesting video (Obviously interesting enough to captivate me.), but fails to find it, fret not; I prepared the video beneath this paragraph. Enjoy:

Why now?

 Lovely, isn’t it? It had a sort of happily-ever-after mood going on there. But the beauty of the video is not the case in this post (Although it has good quality). What went through my mind the whole time was: Aren’t they a tad too young to get married? Now, don’t get me wrong. I approve of this marriage. It’s better for lovebirds to marry than to elope and making your parents worried sick about you. But isn’t it just too early? I heard that this ‘early marriage’ trend existed once. It ended DECADES AGO. I can’t seem to grasp any logical explanation to this, other than it being an arranged marriage. If it is so, then we can question the parents.

Married Life Needs Something

 My grandfather married my grandmother at a young age. They bore 7 kids, the 5^th being my father. I guess in the olden days, it was pretty normal to get hitched early. Jobs popped up everywhere. The prices of things in those days were probably a whole lot cheaper than it is now. In the 21^st century, however, we need a little extra something in order to survive in this materialistic world, and that something became the reason why many decline to wed at an early stage.

 I believe it is called education.

 Nowadays, it’s hard to find even mediocre jobs without it, let alone being the big boss of a worldwide company. If you were to get married at a crucial point of your life, how are you going to support your family AND study in school? Do they have the choice of dropping out? There are lots of jobs offered, such as being taxi drivers, stall vendors, construction workers, etc. But is it enough to work so hard to earn a wage that can barely feed the family?

And They Call It Puppy Love

 Other than education, there’s also something that teenage couple needs to make a happy married life: Love. Now, we all know what love is. It’s the desire to be with that special someone, even if they have no desire to do ‘it’. Yet most of us teens tend to misinterpret another feeling as love. LUST. Now, can anyone tell me what lust is? Simply put, it is the desire to do ‘it’ with someone, even if you have no desire to be with them. It’s true, many people get mixed up between the two, and that is the source of all the illegal babies and the rise in abortions in Malaysia. Teenagers have really, REALLY unstable hormones, and it sometimes cloud their judgement. If all lovesick teenage couples were to marry, I guarantee you that half of their new bonds would crash and burn in a short amount of time. And mostly for meaningless reasons.

 Nevertheless, not all marriages are a burden to couples. They probably have their financial problems covered and had their feeling sorted out before going through the once-in-a-lifetime event. Either way, I’m happy for them. Maybe I should get married too.


 If I had a girlfriend. T___________________________________T

Bringing Phones Legally to School: Good or Bad?

So, they decided to allow kids to bring hi-tech gadgets to school now, huh? I bet most of Malaysia knew this by now; I found out a few days earlier, when my eyes fell on the surprising article on the third page of the Star newspaper. I could not believe my eyes. Was this really happening? I could’ve sworn I heard high-pitched voices screaming with joy as they threw their cell phones in the air. Then there are the low grumbles and rants of the seniors, who would not be able to taste the sweet freedom of holding their iPads in class, if the law was to be implemented in 2013. I realised that I was also unconsciously complaining about the decision being far too late for us Form Fivers (Even though I had my phone safely tucked away in a place where no phone-snatching wardens would ever think to look.) This was the second time I had felt dissatisfied; the first being the time I found out that school students didn’t have to pay for their train tickets. Think of all the money I could’ve saved if I had known a year earlier!

The Pros

 Well, now that the cat is out of the bag, many students (excluding myself) are excited for the next school year. The presence of hi-tech phones and gadgets on one’s self could greatly benefit you. For instance, say some tech savvy kid (e.g. you) was kidnapped by an evil adult. With a phone in his/her grasp, two things could be done. One, call or text your parents your whereabouts without being noticed by the kidnapper. Two, pray that someone has the common sense to find your phone/gadget via GPS (And hope that your battery will be able to last long enough.)

 Children also claim that with technology, class can be more effective, not to mention fun. Nowadays, there are sites on the Internet that either encourage kids to learn more, or help them revise their subjects. Though I must say, wasn’t there a cheaper way of influencing kids to study? Oh yeah, now I remember. It was whipping the child with the rattan.

It’s Not a Flawless Plan

 Nothing’s perfect in life. That includes this whimsical law. Not every teen on the country supports the idea of bringing devices to school. Some even strongly opposes it. And with good reason too; it’s too much a distraction for a learning tool. Most people find it hard to study at home, what with all the disturbances around them. Even I have to admit, had I not gone to boarding school, I’d have been glued to the TV and laptop alternately 24/7. By approving the law, we’re just giving them more distractions, and at a place where they should be focused.

 I can bet you that students would put more effort on updating their Facebook or Twitter every few minutes with boring, insignificant nonsense (‘My History teacher is currently writing things on the whiteboard.’ ‘LOL I’m tweeting in the toilet’) There would also be an increase of students taking pictures of their food at the canteen and uploading it online just for the sake of informing the public what they’re eating.

 Pftt. As if the public cares.

 I’m not opposing the implementation, but I’m not on the bandwagon too. I don’t really care about it anyways. Perhaps you'll be seeing me grumbling to my friends about how people make decisions a tad too late to benefit me.

Why Our Classroom Teacher Threw Out Our Nilam Out the Window

 Nilam, a book record has been considerably infamous in the eyes of students nationwide for its lack of significance. Most teens, in the right state of mind, would think of Nilam as a pain in the arse, and would rather opt to do something more beneficial, for instance sleeping. Although the school rules emphasizes the fact that filling in our book records are compulsory, both pupils and teachers have agreed to just randomly fill in numbers of books they supposedly read at the end of the year. It's a normal yearly routine, and it has been so for the past few years.

 Then I realised that it doesn't apply to my school.

 My whole class was shocked when my class teacher, Mrs N. (A newlywed.), arrived with a gigantic load of photocopied Nilam pages. She said something by the lines of 'You have to complete 80 pages to get a certificate that will be essential for your future'. So yeah, we went into panic mode. She gave us 3 pieces of paper each time she came to class (That's 12 entries.), and she'd expect us to send it the next day. You could see everyone's jaws on the floor. And so, fast forward a couple of weeks, with our wily ways, we managed to send it on time.

 Unfortunately, earlier this week, Mrs N. blew into a fit of rage (After a hour of teaching us Physics.) and practically threw half the class's time-consuming (?) book records out the window. Yep, you read it right. Now why did she do so?

WHAT WE DID TO COMPLETE OUR NILAM:
1) We wrote in non-novel material
Well, since the library is off-limits at night, some people wrote down text books and reference books, articles from magazines like Newsweek and newspapers, plus Reader's Digest etc.. And then to create the impression of the so-called books being thicker than one measly page, they decided to put in a 3-digit number in the 'Pages' section. Very smart.

2)We borrowed Form 1's Nilam books (Better yet, the Form 1 students themselves)
We simply jotted down what the Form 1's wrote. There was one person though, who took it to the next level and asked the Form 1 student to help him with his Nilam. A cruel and heartless way of getting things done, but effective nonetheless.

3)We simply created our own books
We were inspired by another class's way of doing things. They simply glanced at their surroundings and made them into storybook titles. There are many believable homemade book titles that could fool teachers, but there were some that was too stupid. One such example that still burns into my mind was this:

My Classroom's Air-conditioner

PAGES: 600++

 Pftt, like seriously, what kinda teacher wouldn't fall for that one? 

 A smart one, duh.

Some also took song titles, as if they thought it wasn't obviously fake (E.g: 'Just the Way You Are by Bruno Earth). Others just used names as authors, such as our superprincipal's name. She was particularly mad about a spelling mistake, though. 'Reald Dohl.' I wonder who could that be? I found out that it stemmed from my own silly handwriting, which led to a string of people incorrectly writing it. It's their fault though, for not recognizing such a famous author.

 After Mrs.N's burst, we finally did things the right way. By the right way, I meant most of them copied my Nilam (Since all of the books on my list were real.) I'm glad we got through this obstacle already. I do wish to see someone wirte a book about air-conditioners, though.

How Come You Go To Tuition?

"How come you go to tuition?"

 That's the one of the few questions headed my way when I stepped into the air-conditioned classroom. In fact, it's the FIRST question asked. All the time. Followed by a bewildered 'Youweren'tsupposedtobealive' stare. Cue my reply: "Why, I cannot come to tuition anymore meh?" It was fun to see people react this way the first couple of times, but after a while, it's kinda irritating.

 Yes, I'm a fully residential school student. I stay in the school grounds 24/7. I practically breathe the boarding school. That does not mean I'm prohibited from joining tuition classes. Yeah, they're probably worried about me, spending time at the last place students would dare enter during a time where students could finally taste freedom (Yeah right, they will. I'd be a famous celebrity before the day arrives.)

 Yet, there's a tiny part of me that urges me to strive hard and makes use of the time to revise during the hols. And if that part isn't enough to make me work, there's always dearest mummy. Besides, I'm sure all of us have screamed out "I'm gonna make use of my time well during the holidays!" at least once before. I know I did, every single time a holiday's nearing. I also know that those times were lavishly spent on watching TV, computers and sleeping (Hey, you can't blame a kid for having needs, especially one that has been deprived of all basic entertainments.)

 But not this time. This year is very important for me, and all Malaysians my age. We're facing a major turning point of our lives, the SPM examinations. These exam results would determine our lives; whether we could soar into a bright future, or stay firmly on the ground, thinking of what would have happened had you studied. Of course, university life also plays a key part in determining your future, and so does working experience. Luck's also a large factor, but who cares? We needa hurtle through an obstacle at a time.

 So yeah, I do need to go for tuition, even though I study day and night every single day at school for the past month and a half. And if anyone asks me why, I'll just say "How 'bout you?"

A Whole Week of Fun and New Friends in Malacca~! Day 3 to 6

Due to midyear examinations, lagging school internet connections, and the lack of memory power, I forgot to post the continuation. XD Sorry for that. Here it is~ (The first part is here.)

Day 3: Wednesday

 We got to see the former Prime Minister in person today! Tun Dr. Mahathir gave a very nice and humorous speech about global unity. After that, while waiting for the bus to arrive, my friends and I chatted a bit with the Indian exchange students, and made friends with the SMS Sembrong people, whom, as I would find out later, will be with me throughout the rest of the week. (The two girls were taking part as presenter and copresentor. The other two, boys obviously, were useless people who got picked just to watch, like me.)

During the ice-breaking session with the international, I coincidentally met with a Portuguese who stayed at my school the day before, because of the number 8. (LOL, so lucky.) Fortunately, she said her stay there was very nice, and the tour guides very courteous. Phew.

At night, we were invited to go for dinner at the Malacca’s Chief Minister’s residence. It was BIG. MASSIVE. GIGANTUOUS. And it comes with its own separate gym. O.O Unfortunately, we weren’t able to enter and take a look around. But we were able to take pictures around the residence. :D I got to be in many people’s pics (I didn’t bring a camera, y’see. Had to be photobombing!) That also made up for the fixed seatings. Had loads of fun with the Italians, Giulia and whatshisname, and the STF girls. :)

Day 4: Thursday

 Today was the start of the two-day presentation of the international participants and fifteen local gold medalists. (Obviously my schoolmate and my old friend were included.) I felt very sorry for some of the international delegates, whose presentations were overshadowed by the locals’ experienced demonstration. After the three hour session, we had a workshop, in order to write our resolutions based on Tun’s keynote address. The captain was a Sabahan girl named Sahara (Who preferred to be called Sara) and a Lao girl, Susen was secretary. I became vice-captain reluctantly, due to my wrong timing to stand up and adjust my trousers while they were contemplating on their victim. In the end, I had to conduct everything (The leader used her veto power to force the whole leader work on me. XD) It was during this session that I realized people thought I was 16! (Technically, I still was, but coming to 17.) It was a very shocking compliment, to be called one year younger, but it was a compliment nonetheless. I think it was due to my cute boyish looks. (Though they pointed out that it was because of my immaturity. XD)

And finally, the most anticipated event of the day (And the whole week)… Sightseeing and shopping ‘round Malacca!!! It was the first time I  went sightseeing with a bunch of friends (And one with most, excluding me and another Form Fiver, being a year younger.) and teachers. We stopped at the Taming Sari Tower (The first gyrotower in Malaysia.) and went up 80m into the air, discovering a breathtaking 360-degree bird’s eye view of Malacca drenched in the evening sunlight.

Afterwards, we went off the beaten track (After listening to Madame Chin, a jolly Chinese teacher, and her lengthy explanation time constraints and the time-consuming schedule) and rode on the river cruise a half hour earlier than the others; that way we’d gain more shopping time. Alas, it was not meant to be; we ordered food at Chicken Rice Shop 15-20 minutes before departure, and the bus was far away. It was pretty ironic, because we had Madame Chin with us, who didn’t like people being late. Nevertheless, we had lotsa fun, and had plenty of laughs while eating.

Day 5: Friday

 Today was pretty uneventful compared to yesterday; it was like yesterday, sans the sightseeing. Once again, I had to commandeer the workshop, much to my leader’s glee. We learnt new games, one from Indonesia, and one from Malaysia (Yeah, I didn’t know. Awkward.) So many interesting things occurred (One of them being the international student’s fluency to say the word Buaya/Crocodile and Biawak/Lizard) And then came the gift exchange! I spent most the time yesterday night shopping for souvenirs (Only RM9) Then I saw some bringing in gifts from their schools. All of us went blur- headed, thinking whether what each other brought was wrong!

At night, we had the closing ceremony. Everyone used this time to talk with everyone else, since it was the last day, and the international delegates had to go back. You could see everyone bringing and exchanging books, jotting down contact infos, ensuring future contact with each other, even though they are states and countries apart. Stayed up late to mingle with people, learning new and interesting things ‘bout different languages and cultures. It was pretty sad though, as my 16 year-old mates had to leave that night too. But I shrugged it off, and had a fitful slumber.

Day 6: Saturday

 The morning started with a light drizzle, voicing the sadness and reluctance to let go of this moment. But nothing lasts forever, right? I just hope I could see them again, in the near future, if God wills it.

 So that’s it from me ‘bout this seemingly awesome weeklong adventure. J Will be uploading pics (If I have the time. And if I find some. I need to scour at friend’s FB accounts.)

It Was My BDay... And Nobody Remembered...

The Reading Room

I was in the reading room on the ground floor of my dormitory block, when I received a call from my mother. It struck me as weird, as I had only sent her a text asking her to check whether the deadline of the KFC Star Create competition falls on the 15^th, and she, being the typical cheapskate when it comes to words, would reply one word; ‘yes’ or ‘no’. I picked up the call, and surprise, surprise, my sister’s voice rang into one ear and out the other, screaming ‘Happy 17^th birthday, Abang!’ Utterly surprised, I was, and glancing at my watch, I realised that indeed, the long hand struck 12. Now, now, before you say it’s impossible to forget one’s birthday, I did know it’d be my birthday, but as I’d been complete absorbed in checking my essay during the whole hour prior that, I’d completely forgotten. After chatting with my family underneath the coffee table (The school rules states in black and white that phones are forbidden.), I took out my parents’ gift given to me a few days earlier, on a Wednesday, since they couldn’t be with me on my special day (A solid reason why I shouldn’t be able to forget my birthday.) – a brand new, glossy red camera!  

Busy with work, even on my BDay...

 I spent the day unlike my previous birthdays before this; busy being undetected and low profile. There’s a good reason for this. There’s a tradition at my school regarding birthdays. The said tradition involves a large group of people (Preferably 15+) beating up the birthday boy, if possible in a dark classroom, at night, during preparation class. And I don’t want the same happen to me. So obviously, I made sure all sources that hint at my birthday, however miniscule it were, halts before the precious information gets into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, my dorm mate teased me, telling me he knew my birthday.

 And that was why I wiped off my birth date from my Facebook account temporarily. That, and another reason; to find out whether anyone would care enough to remember my birthdate. It was a regrettable action, seeing as none of my friends bothered to wish me a happy birthday. Well, one did, a close friend and a sensei of mine, but it was a tad late, but I don’t mind. All the wishes I received were from family members. Well, serves me right for being curious. But at least I knew how dependant people are for Facebook.

 At the end of the day, no one dangerous knew it was my birthday. Yeah, my close schoolmates knew my birthday, but they 

weren't the type to get all excited over an ambush. What was surprising was that my knowing dorm mate didn’t wish me. Turned out he forgot it. Then he tells me that a Korean star’s birthday falls on Wednesday. Guess I’m less important than his idols.

A Whole Week of Fun and New Friends in Malacca~! Day 1 and 2

 Two weeks ago, on a fine Sunday night, in the reading room, I was given a difficult choice; either to go to Muzaffar Shah School (MOZAC) for the Fully Residential School’s International Symposium (FRSIS) for a WHOLE WEEK… Or stay in school, due to drama practice. I initially declined, but after talking ‘bout it with a close friend, and much, much consideration, I changed my mind and packed my bags.

 It was the best decision of my entire life.

 To tell you guys my awesome and fun weeklong adventure, I shall tell the tale day by day (Mind you, it’s a tad long. This is personally for my own reference, and sharing it with you guys seems more exciting.):

Day 1: Monday

 After arriving at MOZAC at ‘round 11 and checked ourselves in, we did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING (Other than eating and sleeping.) The reason for the lack of activity is to let all 63 residential schools’ representatives reach the destination.

 63!? I hear you scream in terror. Yup. That would make the number of participants, let’s see… 4 per school… Times 63… Ah, 252. Excluding the twenty-something Indian exchange students staying at the girl’s dormitories (The symposium is part of their two week stay in Malaysia.) How is it that they’re able to fit all the guests into the dorms, already packed full of MOZAC students? Simple: Give the MOZAC students a week’s holiday. Lucky them.

The boys' dormitory. The open shower's behind the stairs.

 During my exploration of the school grounds (Which usually occurs whenever I’m bored.), I find one of many shocking discoveries; their showers have NO DOORS! And there’s a roofless shower on the ground floor, for all to see~ How was I supposed to shower without people watching me?

This is MOZAC. Did I mention it was on a hill? :3

Day 2: Tuesday

 Today was the day of the competition. I left for the hall at ‘round 7.45… After taking a shower in the toilet (Hey, I ain’t weird. Half of the participants did the same thing.). It’s basically a public speaking kind, where all 63 presenters present their presentations (Duh), based on the theme ‘Global Culture Generates World Unity’, and what better place to have it but at MOZAC, one of few multi-racial boarding schools in Malaysia? Most were common, like how food can start unity of races, and only a few managed to catch my attention (Like the Kenyah tribe in Sarawak, and the miniscule, yet fascinating fact that Fijians love fat people.) I didn’t managed to see all of the presentations presented (What, you expect me to be able to be present at all ten sessions simultaneously?) and unfortunately, I didn’t get to see my friend’s one, as his session was held in a small classroom, and there were limited spaces.

This is Hazeem. :)

 The ice-breaking session, for me, was the best activity of the day. Not only did it give me a chance to mingle with other people, I also bumped into my old friend (Hazeem’s his name.)! Such a funny coincidence, to meet because of the colour red (We were grouped into four teams based on the piece of coloured paper behind our tags.) We were then grouped by the numbers on the coloured paper, and would stay in the same group during the ice-breaking session with the international students the next day.

 Later that night, I, my schoolmate and an acquaintance we got to know with this wicked British accent auditioned for Master of Ceremony. Unfortunately and surprisingly, all of us failed. And the weird thing is, the boys they chose were not that good compared to my friends. The girls were marvelous, though. And that made me a bit green with envy.

 I shall continue this tale on a later date, as it is too long. :) Ciao. :D

My Embarrassing Speech and What I Learned From It~!

I remember my first speech as if it was yesterday. Ah... Oh wait, it WAS yesterday. And it was disastrous, I can tell you that. I had it all planned in my head, what I was gonna do, what I was gonna say. And when I steeped on the stage and grasped the mike in my hands, it all went POOF. When I looked back, I realised I made too many mistakes, and gave the audience (The students.) too little info. And as soon as I stepped off the stage, I sank to the ground. Funny how my legs knew when to lose their strength at just the right moment.

 Simply put, it was a failure. I lost all my confidence back there. Being the emotional me, I finally broke down when I unexpectedly bumped into my English teacher, whom I avoided on purpose out of guilt for not doing better. It's okay now, though. I'll just have to... Find a dark corner... A-and weep my heart out quietly. *sniff*

 Still, I learned many things from the embarrassing incident:

•          i.            Never trust the timetable
    This was the main factor of the failure of my speech. Initially, as it was written on paper, my speech was due a week later. My teacher, however, had a sudden change of heart, and decided to bring it earlier as ‘there would be many future events , and there would be no time  during the coming weeks’.
  
  
         ii.            Never confide in your joker friend
   This is very much a must if you have doubts on your choice of topic. I had chosen my topic a week earlier (What was my topic, you ask. Wait for it. Read on.) had it all planned out. Then two days before my turn, I made the mistake of asking for my joker friend’s opinion. ‘Boring.’ Was his reply, which panicked me. As a result, I spent the final day trying  to think of other fascinating topics instead of focusing on my choice.
  
  
        iii.            Write your points down...
  ... Uness you’re sure your memory won’t fail, you however strong it might be, when you face the audience. Trust me, you do not want to hem and haw while you talk in front of them. If you think it’s annoying when other people do that, it’s annoying to them when YOU do that.
  
  
       iv.            Choose a suitable, tease-proof topic to talk about when you talk to a audience that's prone to teasing
   If you don’t mind being the centre of attention, don’t mind me, just carry on reading the next point. My topic was something you wouldn’t hear usually/ awkward at my school... It’s entitled... Ugh... ‘Puppy Love’. My audience was obviously the type who likes to tease their mates at every, and I mean EVERY chance they could get. Put the two together, and BAM! You get called Puppy for the rest of the day... And most probably the rest of the year.
  
  
   Heck, when I stepped into the library, the trainee teacher took one look at me and yelled, ‘It’s Puppy Love!’ Yes, even teachers called me that for the whole day.
  
  
         v.            Don't be too hard on yourself
   This is the most valuabe thing I learnt that day. All I thought after the speech was:
  
  
   OMG, IT WAS SO BAD. I’M DOOMED. IT WAS TERRIBLE, I COULD SEE IT IN THEIR EYES. THEY’RE DISAPPOINTED. I’M A FAILURE. I’M SO DUMB. WHAT A COWARD... ETC.
  
  
   Yeah, it’s true. I felt that negative the whole day. But, throughout the day, friends and teachers came up to me and said, ‘Hey, nice speech! It was funny! Even the headmaster lauged!’ (What, really? Achievement unlocked! :D), ‘You were very calm, despite the fact that you were panicking.’, ‘You had very nice points!’, ‘It’s okay, it was good enough. Your friends were like “Go, you can do it!” when you paused and cried.’(I didn’t realise they were cheering me on. I didn’t know I was CRYING ONSTAGE. My life is RUINED. D:) One even told me to stop being too hard on myself, and not to give up. It’s a relief knowing that they were feeling the opposite of what I thought. :)
  
  
  That’s all the lessons I could think of from that speech. It wasn’t all that bad in the end. At least it inspired me to write a short story. Have a nice day~! :D

Teens, is Becoming Pregnant the Norm Now?

Boy picks girl up at house ---> They eat ---> They talk ---> They walk ---> They do the 'thing' (If you know what I mean.)

 That's my friend's concept of what he thinks teenage couples usually do whenever they go out. I then asked him why he thought teenagers were shameless enough to do it in public, right after they finished walking. He revised his concept:

                                                                                                           They open door                

Boy picks girl up at house ---> They eat ---> They talk ---> They walk ^---> They do the 'thing'

I then replied by asking him why there was suddenly a door in the middle of the sidewalk? Did it fall out from the sky, or does Doraemon really exist? He answered by punching my arm.

 But he does have a point. As you all may or may not know, we live in the era where teen pregnancy and drunks are the norm, and virgins and sober are considered socially awkward. I remember a few years back, when the news of a 13 year old who became a father shocked me and my family.Go to Facebook. You'd find loads of pregnant teens in a certain country, whose name I shall not divulge *coughcoughUSAcoughcough*. I did see one going by the lines of 'Hooray, I'm finally 13! I can get pregnant and go on MTV and get drunk and wild now! :D' Well, it probably didn't go like that, but she was implying it in that sense.

 It's kind of sad to see them act like dumb bimbos, hating smart and goodhearted people. I hate to admit it (Since I'm also a teen), but though the present's technology has advanced, our moral values have been dying slowly. The way things are now, I'd hate to see what the future generations would do in their adolescence...

Wonder What It's Like To Be Famous

When I logged on to Facebook like I usually do when there's nothing else on the library's to-do list (I'm a librarian, in case you have guessed.), I was greeted with a fascinating post on my news feed. It instructed people to tune in to tune in to a radio station, as there was an hour long interview of someone we know. That meant I had less than 40 minutes to find a radio, plus a good place to hear the interview static-free. After barging into a third floor dorm (Apparently, the higher you are, the clearer the signal, and cursing to myself as I frantically flipped through the frequency countless times (Don't get me wrong. I knew the frequency. It's just that my school is in another state. Can you blame moi for not knowing it was the same frequency over here too?), I finally got through just in time to hear her cheery voice, seconds before a song came on.

 As I listened to the interview, a memory struck me. I reminisced the first time I heard her sing for a Hannah Montana competition at school a few years back. I thought, wow, cool, she's famous now. I'm listening to someone I know on radio. Then a question popped up in my mind; what is it like to be famous? I'm pretty sure famous people were always happy, right? I know if I could gain as much popularity as my friend's getting right now, I'd probably be able to snap my fingers while I'm writing this and a fan would somehow manage to break into my house and come rushing to me with a cuppa tea for me to sip on. I'd be able to ask for things that I couldn't ask for now because I'm rich. 'Hey, that's kinda true.', you people might say. 'I'm gonna try to be famous! Where can I sign up?'

 But have we actually wondered the other side of the coin? I never did. All I saw their pretty plasticlike faces, smiling as they greet fans. But then they'd have a lot of work to do in order to maintain their huge fanbase, right? Tight schedules, making music, acting in videos, trying to please other people. That's pretty stressful stuff for teenagers. With all the things I needa study, I suddenly lost my appetite of popularity. Probably gonna think 'bout it in the future, when I'm bored and there's nothing else to do. As of now, whether I'm popular or not, I'm content with my baby brother getting me a cuppa tea whenever I click my fingers. :)

Random vid!!!:

(Okay, maybe not so random. :D)

Of Annoying Siblings and Meaningless Arguments!

 I'm sure most of you reading this have siblings, whether they're older and younger than you. I'm the eldest, so I'd know what lil kids are made of. Sugar and spice and everything nice... NOT. It's more towards eye of newt, tongue of dog, wings of bat. The ingredients pretty much sums them kids up: NASTY. Yet I still love those lil impish children, no matter how much they try to break my eardrums with their repulsive screams.

 I was talking 'bout my bros. They're way too easy to read compared to my sis. Then again, it's probably because she's a girl, and girls are ALWAYS complicated, right? :) And most girls can't read boys very well too, that's a fact.
 We've fought over lil things all the times, (Like who controls the remote, whose turn is it to use the laptop, etc.), but it was always short. And she'd go very extreme at trying to annoy me, using many weird methods of hers. It kinda made me feel like she hates me. Which is pretty obvious, duh. :D

 But what I came to realise is, (With the help of my parents, of course.) it's that little sisters have their own ways of showing they're affection. My sister's way is to constantly bug me all the time. I still find the 'bickering equals care' quite hard to grasp, but at least I know that she cares, in a way. And to those of you who thinks fussy little fights are not good, think again. They bring kids closer, sort of. Which is better: 1) You hate and fight each other when you're young, and became stuck like glue in the end, or 2) You lead a non-fight-your-siblings life, and end up giving the cold shoulders to them in the near future?

 So, moral of this suddenly turned up piece of writing (In case you haven't noticed.): They (Annoying lil bros and sis, and arguments all year round) spice up people's childhood. It certainly did for me. I don't like my siblings to be goody two shoes all the time, because that's like having your fave meals daily: It's nice at first, but get dull and predictable after a while. And it's fun to bicker and argue... Especially when you know you're gonna win most of the time. ;)

 That's it from me. Now, go ahead and pick a meaningless fight with your siblings over the remote control! :D

Whatcha Gonna Do When the World Ends?

2012 arrived the same way for me as 2011 did: with fireworks blasting off in the night sky, with me watching from the bedroom window. New years are always the same with me. :) Speaking of 2012, what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear it? Most people would think, DISASTER, MAYAN CALENDAR, END OF THE WORLD!!! Y'know, that kinda stuff. To think all this widespread fear happened because of some Mayan calendar. Turns out they just couldn't fit all the dates into one circle thing, and the supposed apocalypse is the start of the new calendar. PSHAWWW. :D But many people still think the world's gonna die.

Hence the title. What are you gonna do, assuming the world is coming to a close? Would you think of all the things that you did in your past? Would you go all out to repent? Would you try to make the the world a better place (Even though it would explode in an awesome way.)? Would you do your best to get into Heaven?

Or would you throw away all your ethics and become a greedy little monster? Would you go 'Since the end of the world is near, might as well take all these, I'm sure no one would mind.' before robbing shops senselessly? Would you do all the things that you wanted (Bad things, of course.) with your reasoning a bit like this:

THE WORLD IS GOING TO END = RULES DON'T MATTER ANYMORE

Would you party all night long, dancing 'til the world ends? Popping bottles 'til you can't stand anymore? If you would, then you, my friend, are very foolish.

I'll let you people ponder on that. Just to note: RELAX. The world won't end on 21st December 2012. It's just rumours. Evidence ------> Here.

What you wanna do when the world ends, does not mean you don't have the slightest desire to do it even if it doesn't end. Control yourself, and lead a happy 2012. :)