Thursday, November 30, 2006

30-11-06 Piano eh?

I was just thinking of how I stopped learning the piano.

Thinking back on all those famous, talented piano players I've seen many and everywhere, it dawned on me that... What makes one a talented player? One who can make people feel what THEY'RE feeling through their music alone, that they can communicate through the sound of music? Or is it the one who plays like one is possessed? I mean, I can just go over to the piano start bashing around, flinging my head everywhere... Does THAT make me a good pianist? heheh... I mean.. They're playing stuff like Chopin or sth else is nothing else but a flurry of notes. Maybe it's just me who doesn't appreciate those type of songs but.. I really don't think they're that nice... Hehehe...

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

28-11-06 Very soon already!!

Yesterday I was wishing we counted using binary codes and today I wished 9 was written upside down. The curtain's drawing for SPM already!!

These few days we've been like going through every single exercise we've done for the past 2 years to prepare for the upcoming paper. This simply remins me of that chinese proverb, translated, it simply goes like this, "train soldiers for a thousand days for the use of a single day." Makes me really wonder whether this is all worth it. Does this sort of education system actually work?

Saturday, November 25, 2006

25-11-06 First impressions

At i-Youth today, I kinda came to realize sth. First impressions make all the difference in people's response to you as you are about to lead them. If you give them a feeling of excitement, they'll definitely feel jived to respond and get themself into what you're offering but... Do otherwise and... You're AAAAALLLLLL alone... For those who've tried making children do stupidly cute stuff, I'm sure you know what I mean...

Can it be true that always having leaders around will prevent OTHER possible leaders from growing and showing their leadership? Will they shrink under the shadow of the superior leader?

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

22-11-06 Where does all our tax go to?

With more or less one quarter or our income being paid off as tax to the government, it leaves us wondering how come our government is taking so much yet Malaysia is still advancing at this rate. After today's Mathematics paper, I finally found out what our money is being wasted for... Check it out...

Nice cover eh...? This is high quality paper. At least 80 gsm IMHO... The interesting part is the bottom part... Take a closer look...

Can you see it? Another closer look...

43 printed pages and 1 unprinted page... That's not just it...

This is what's inside... The question in Malay and another exact replica of it in ENGLISH... Don't they remember that we were taught using Malay medium? Maybe they expected us to go like 'Hmmm... I think I'll take the REALLY REALLY long time they give during our exams to slowly learn some English. Better yet... I'll attempt the questions in Eng first and then see how well I fare!'

My my... And to think that they're putting off illegal logging. How many trees DO they cut down just for 1 SPM exam I wonder. Not to mention the PMR, UPSR, STPM...

Another interesting fact of our education system that I came to realize is this: We spend many, MANY days of our childhood just to sit for exams.

After some calculation, I came up with a sum of 45++ hours of sitting in the exam room for all my SPM papers. Others aren't far off, let's just say the average is 40 hours. So... With the Sem. exam, 1st and 2nd Mocks and monthly exams... It more or less adds up to 200 hours, which is 8 days 8 hours. Wow... Let's not forget Form 4 and before that, yeah?

Saturday, November 18, 2006

18-11-06 New Fung Ling at Permyjaya there...

Somehow jz felt inspired to show some stuff from that 'restaurant' in Permyjaya... New Fung Ling...

I think that if someone were able to taste ALL the food all over the world, it'd be one GREAT feat... Think about it, hors d'oevres(whatever way u spell it, it's jz snail...), frog's leg(tian2 ji1 over here...), monkey's brain, silkworms... My my...

Somehow I found this amusing... If i were jz 5, i MIGHT have asked, 'Mom, what does the head of a curry fish look like?'

Local kang kong belacan.. DELICIOUS!!

Doesn't look very appetizing eh? This 'jagung' soup was quite nice. It's true, Aaron... hehe...

Nestum Chicken... Nice sauce.. Not much focused on the looks as much as its flavour tho...


The final dish that arrived. Saved the best for last. A small taste of heaven! Hehehe... Crabs cooked with eggs..


Just took time to take a picture of the beautiful sky there too. This pic is very Miri, eh? No skycrapers to block the sky, rectangular buildings with glass windows peeping at you...

I enjoyed myself thoroughly that evening. I think just being with my parents adds to the experience too. I still receive numerous comments from my friends on how my parents love me and how caring they are. I guess it's just the 'sometimes' when i'm angry that blinds me from the 'all the time' that they're so loving to me, eh?

Some awesome pics i took at night during all the lightning and thunder... amazing what cameras can do... These are actually just split-second flashes that lit up the clouds... Unbelieveable?
Believe it.

18-11-06 Cycling...

I got some thoughts after i went cycling the last few days...
It seems that some Mirians do enjoy leaving their mark wherever they go...

RIGHT SMACK in the middle of the road... Did someone die here recently?

... Interesting idea of 'romantic'...

You know those e-mails that go like,
"... When was the last time you stopped staring at the computer screen or the idiot's box and went out to cycle?
When was the last time you stopped pigging out at your dining table and went out to cycle?
When was the last time you stopped quarreling with your parents and went out to cycle?
When was..."
You get the point...

These are some TALL, TALL grass! Crikey!!

Just some nice views of the sky here in Miri... Gonna miss it... 4 a while. Heheh...

I never realized that just the places around my home are so amazingly beautiful... What abt you? Do you still cycle? Or is it too slow, driving is the ONLY choice of transport now, eh?

This 1 was just 4 fun... can you guess where and what this is? Maybe i'll gif u a mystery digital gift like kennysia.com... my old pair of shoes? heheh...

Sunday, November 12, 2006

12-11-06 Even HowStuffWorks.com agrees


"When you start to look closely at how the human body works, it is truly an amazing machine!"
Quoted from...
How Exercise Works
by
Craig C. Freudenrich, Ph.D.

God IS creative and detailed, ain't He? Who else can make such an 'amazing machine'? The robots humans TRY to make are not a fraction close to the actual human being! With such complexity inside us alone, what more proof do those atheists and others need that there HAS TO BE a God...? No offence intended, yeah... :P

Friday, November 10, 2006

10-11-06 Terrible, terrible trend..

"(CNN) -- It's over for Britney Spears and Kevin Federline.
The pop singer, known for hits such as "Oops ... I Did It Again" and "Toxic," is divorcing her husband of two years and one month. Spears and Federline, one of the singer's former backup dancers, married October 6, 2004, according to the divorce papers."


... And this news was on EVERY major newspaper. Is it a matter worth being SO proud of?

"Oops... I did it again. I just got divorced. Lasted longer this time. Oh, Kevin, Kevin..."

Has it become a trend to get married for a few hundred days then divorce them to find a new one?

No wonder why the world is turning so bad. All the influence from the pop 'stars' have got everyone going,"Let's get married and after we get sick of each other... Get divorced. No big deal, right?" Of course, let's not generalise...

What happened to the marriage vow? Now they take it so lightly that they don't realize that they're lying not just to the audience but also to God! PREPOSTEROUS!! It'd be better for them to not even COGITATE marriage if they have any intentions of divorce. Selfish people!! What abt the children!!

"Getting divorced just because you don't love a man is almost as silly as getting married just because you do." ~ Zsa Zsa Gabor(1919-????)

4"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' 5and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." ~ Matthew 19:4-6

Obviously, it's a SIN, right?

Thursday, November 09, 2006

09-11-06 Body language

I quote from http://www.mrotoday.com/progressive/online%20exclusives/BodyLanguage.htm

"By Lydia Ramsey

...Studies show that your words account for only 7 percent of the message you convey.

The remaining 93 percent is non-verbal. Fifty-five percent of communication is based on what people see and the other 38 percent is transmitted through tone of voice..."

I think a lot of philosophies and truth comes from this...'leadership through example';'do what i do, not what i preach'(or was it the other way round?)...

Anyway... I realize that this is why a smile does A LOT in whatever you do.
When you smile at an old man cycling along, you're saying,"Hey there, you old chap! Try not to fall down and land flat on your butt, eh? Have a great day because I smiled at you."
When you pick up a piece of rubbish along the ground, you're telling everyone,"It's NEVER wrong to do good. Being laughed at for doing sth good? That sounds plain ridiculous."

I thank God that he has blessed me to learn how to manage my body language BETTER(not well but better) after entering SMKCH. Much have I learnt and many have I taught. Well... More INFLUENCED slightly than taught I think.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

08-11-06 Of food and barbecues...

Just had the Annual Food Fair last Sunday. It was sooooo... Tiring... Had quite some fun tho...

Had to carry THIS much stuff from car to stall! Thank God for those great assistants!

Rebecca:... It's true! I hate those sly cameramen who just take pictu...
Joseph: Rebecca!
Rebecca:...tures... Wha?

Watch out, hot doggers... Here comes JT's Dogs!!
*not too appetizing from this view eh? but it's very nice in real life! Cheap again ah! how much better can it get?

Later that night, 5A '06 had its own farewell party. Honestly, I didn't really enjoy much but I really got to get drunk in God's beauty! I'd say this is my FIRST time to the post-renovation Taman Awam.

Some nice scenes from our OWN Taman Awam. I never knew we had such nice places in Miri le...

Some bunga-bunga pics I tried to take during our 'stay' that evening/night.

"He who labors diligently need never despair; for all things are accomplished by diligence and labor." ~ Menander (342 BC - 292 BC)

Friday, November 03, 2006

03-11-06 Amazed at mom...

We had this meeting specially for the Form 5 students for Ms Tiong to say her goodbyes and for teachers to give any last advices they have to give. Nothing much of interest happened until the end...

... My mom was actually brave enough to ask everyone to stay back for them to pray. She did NOT forget to add that those who wished to leave first may do so. Now... The fact that she BROUGHT UP the idea alone was amazing enough, what more that she dared to pray PUBLICLY in front of EVERYONE right there! I salute thee, mom! I sure hope I can be as bold in the future!