Citizen Perspective

hmmm....

2009-09-16T23:47:00.005+08:00

Some time or another,
we've all watched at least one, or some of them in our lives.
& by watching them, i specifically mean an entire episode,
not just an accidental-few-second-glance when flipping through TV channels.
Cartoons. Anime. Animated series.
At a glance, one would say all three are the same.
Ah, that's where we're always mistaken.
Let's relook the definitions.
*Sources are from Wikipedia.

At a closer look,
When the word cartoon is applied to print media, it most often refers to a humorous single-panel drawing or gag cartoon, most of which have captions and do not use speech balloons. The word cartoon is sometimes used to refer to a comic strip.
Because of the stylistic similarities between comic strips and early animated movies, "cartoon" came to refer to animation, and this is the sense in which "cartoon" is most commonly used today. These are usually shown on television or in cinemas and are created by showing illustrated images in rapid succession to give the impression of movement. (In this meaning, the word cartoon is sometimes shortened to toon, which was popularized by the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit). Although the term can be applied to any animated presentation, it is most often used in reference to programs for children, featuring anthropomorphized animals, superheroes, the adventures of child protagonists, and other related genres.

Anime, an abbreviated pronunciation in Japanese of "animation", but typically is animation originating in Japan.

Animated series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs created or adapted for television broadcast with a common series title, usually related to one another. Cartoon series either appear once a week or daily during a prescribed time slot and are usually created to be open-ended, not with a predetermined number of episodes. These programs typically share the same characters and a basic theme.

I haven't really watched much of the animated series in the 2000's era.
But there has been a similarity that seems very obvious.
Most of them, in overall aspects, have come to be inferior to their counterparts in the 90's.
[i refer to those with a continuous plot, not stand-alone episodes like Tom & Jerry]
Usually i make the comparison by the show's intro scene.
Simple, nice & memorable tunes make them even more remembered.
X-Men, Rescue Rangers, Batman or Duck Tales ring a bell?
If u were a fan of those, u could take a stroll down memory lane with these videos...
Ah, the wonders of Youtube.

Duck Tales.

Chip 'N' Dale: Rescue Rangers

Disney's Gummi Bears

He-Man

Thundercats

Batman

X-Men

Dragon Ball.
As it was created by Akira Toriyama, a Japanese mangaka, it's best u see the original Japanese theme too. Catchy tunes =)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

At those times, the people behind the scenes emphasized on the makings of a good story.

These days, it seems that they're more focused on the merchandising power & the profits it'll bring in.

We seem it everywhere, really. Stickers, toys, video-game tie-ins.

A popular trend these days though, is Happy Meal collectibles. Welcome to McDonalds !

[think Monsters Vs Aliens]

I'm don't mind if they have movies about it too, as long as they have a good plot & good acting.

[x-men, x-men 2, x-men origins: wolverine]

15 Malaysia Part 3: The Last

2009-09-16T00:33:00.001+08:00

The finale of the 15 Malaysia short film project.
The 15th video.

Synopsis
A Rojak seller’s take on Malaysia’s multi-faceted social political tapestry. Made entirely with CGI special effects. Visually stunning.

15 Malaysia Part 2

2009-09-15T18:39:00.002+08:00

The 9th to 14th of the videos.
They're all quite interesting.

Synopsis
A comedic re-enactment of how one politician tries to entice another to switch party allegiance as DVD pirates look on.

Synopsis
Two secret lovers rendezvous in a plush hotel room while TV news is read in the background. A dark take on apathy in Malaysia.

Synopsis
The controversial head of UMNO Youth plays a taxi driver who is asked his views on some current Malaysian talking points. He ends up offering a keris to a Chinese boy as a gift

Synopsis
A man finds himself without small change in a cheap brothel. Many arguments ensue and problems faced by the Malaysian common man are discussed humorously.

Synopsis
An over-zealous public relations consultant advises the current minister of health how to discourage unhealthy lifestyles in Malaysia.

Synopsis
A haunting portrayal of a paedophile preparing to hunt, interspersed with metaphors on the state of Malaysian politics

15 Malysia Videos.

2009-09-15T18:29:00.002+08:00

These are the 2nd to 8th of the films.

Synopsis
A quiet tale that reminds us that, despite the multifaceted contradiction of Malaysia, life goes on – even if not all of it is sweet.

Synopsis
Malaysia’s most influential spiritual leader Nik Aziz offers commentary on the virtuous and Islamic way to conduct ethical commerce in his inimitable style

Synopsis
An Indian boy is asked to build a model of his house at school. A tale on the social economic plight faced by many Malaysians.

Synopsis
A very silly slapstick comedy demonstrating the proper Islamic way to slaughter chicken

Synopsis
A teenage Chinese witness to a racially motivated assault is being driven to the police station. A quiet reminder of the dangers of inter-communal suspicion and conflict.

Synopsis
A modern, poetic and beautifully constructed ode to Malaysia – its common people, places and enduring spirit.

Synopsis
An edgy and powerful science fiction story of a society where everything is perfect, except no one is allowed to speak

& what is your answer?

2009-09-15T17:30:00.007+08:00

Take a good look at this picture.

Now, as the saying goes, every picture is worth a thousand words.
Oh no no no, i'm not asking u to write an essay or do some research about it.
We all know that you,
[ YES, YOU. ]
are just going to glance throughout this post to see if there's anything of interest at all,
just like the average blog reader looking for posts worthy enough of his or her time.

All that i ask, is for u to take a few moments to ponder over the picture.
Then enlighten us with your views & opinions.
Now at this very moment, i'm sure you're having thoughts like these in your mind:
"What is its significance?
Why am i being given this question?"

& if i were to ask you the same question again,
we'd probably hear these sentences:
"Oh, that's easy. What we have here is geographic map of Malaysia. Its a multiracial country with a Constitutional King & Democratic Parliament, separated by the South China Sea into East & Peninsular Malaysia-"

Do stop right there & then. I'm not asking for scholarly answers. Everyone knows that you can find those through Google-ing or Wikipedia.
What i truly seek,
is on what are your thoughts about the country?
If you're a local, i'm sure u have lots to tell.
Please do. =)
If you're of a different nationality,
do share your views too. (^o^)
It doesn't matter if you have or haven't visited the country.

There's plenty of things that can be said of Malaysia.
If anyone were to make a collection of them,
I'd say it'll be able to fill up a section of any major bookstore.
Be it good, be it bad, or just trivia, anything goes.

Just recently, the 1 Malaysia concept was introduced as an idea of fostering unity throughout the country, regardless of race, culture, religion & status.
With the same idea in mind, a band of local filmmakers came up with a short film project, consisting of 15 short films by 15 Malaysian filmmakers.
On a personal review,
i'd say its worth your time to view them.
[Its viewable for free, all of them.]
Their tales portray the issues of the country in a simplified manner.
Their official website is http://15malaysia.com/

For starters, you can view the first video right here. *Be sure to mute the Naruto music first for best viewing. The pause button is where the moving columns are.*

Synopsis
A laugh-out-loud film about a Chinese boy’s misguided attempts at opening an Islamic bank account

& if my instinct is right,
you'll be asking me the same question i asked you earlier.
Well, if you want an answer,
here it is.

That is a picture of my homeland, Malaysia. It's where I grew up. It may not be a perfect country, but I am grateful for what I have. I've had a peaceful life, received decent education & given proper healthcare. That trait, is not something that every country in the world is able to give. In simpler terms, I'm proud to be a Malaysian.

JPA Pre-Departure Briefing

2009-09-15T16:08:00.006+08:00

All pictures are copyright of MAS officer, En Mohd Nasir Suhadi.

Low quality of this particular picture is sincerely regretted.

...

2009-09-14T16:27:00.001+08:00

Memorabilia of events long past...

Class Photo again...

2009-09-14T16:05:00.002+08:00

in the early days of Russian 15 D...

& on its last day...

INTEC Results

2009-09-13T17:02:00.004+08:00

INTEC course results.
So its filled with A's & B's.
That's decent.
But on closer inspection,

English + Russian History + Theology = 'A'
Biology + Physics + Chemistry + Russian Language = 'B'

HOw very ironic...
what doesnt matter to JPA, i attained an 'A'
what does matter to JPA, i got a 'B'..
*by matter, they consider the individual's performance in these subjects before approving one's further education to an overseas destination*
great, a subtle hint for me to reorganize my priorities, most likely...
am lucky to get 16 too..
that's JPA's cut-off-point for approval.

Winter Gloves

2009-09-07T22:25:00.001+08:00

by Thinsulate Tm
weighs 40 grams.

"Meekoo"

2009-09-06T17:29:00.002+08:00

Some sort of prayer day today...
& a souvenir for memories sake,
was a "meekoo" [Hokkien name]
*Not sure of its english name..
it's the kind of bread u usually find at places of Chinese prayers..
Hence, making it totally different from the 'mantou'
By the way, its usually moulded into the shape of tortoises =)
& usually pink

Yup, its big.
5kg 'meekoo' to be exact.
sold from a shop along Perak Road, Penang Island.
RM22.
They do have small ones too.

Being the kind of bread made for prayers,
Chinese inscriptions on the bread are the norm.

Its coloring, not ink, so the bread stays edible.

Stickers of deities are of course meant to be peeled off later.

Slight resemblance to the tortoise?

Nope, the eyes arent black marbles.

They're actually raisins.

The Last Dinner

2009-09-05T14:23:00.008+08:00

Us roommates went for our last dinner on 26th August..
its kind of like a farewell dinner for the 4 of us,
coz 27th was the Grand Dinner for all of us Russia-bound students,
& we could leave for home on 28th..
Went to Pak Li's at Ole-Ole Shopping Complex,
Hup Sheng's fondness for the lemon chicken rice was what made us go there..
note: very tasty food till we were just lazy to take a few shots of it

Find 2 umbrellas.

On the way back to our room,

we stopped by a fresh fruit shop.

& had fun pinching the grapes there. =)

& a sneak peek of later that night:

Reuben, minutes before sleep.

JPA's Pre-Departure Briefing

2009-09-05T13:49:00.003+08:00

For the events in July & August,
didn't really take much photos..
lost interest in photography for a while..
managed to retrieve some from friends, though =)

@ the JPA Headquarters for Pre-Departure Briefing
briefing on our living allowance ,
[we received lots of cash, US Dollars & travellers cheques ! ]
agendas at the day of departure at KLIA,
what to bring,
what not to bring,
what to wear,
blah blah blah, the list goes on & on..
& major emphasis on terms of scholarship agreement..
"At the end of your 6 years, u're supposed to come back & serve the 10-year-bond u agreed to"
"...if you do come back here, u'll get an end-of-studies incentive of 300 USD"
"& if u wish to marry, well, u'll have to be at least into your 4th year & above there.
Oh, & u'll need our permission too."
*everyone was like 'huh'?
with further elaborations:
"Janganlah your 1st year there, u're already married..
Studies come 1st, okay?"

that's Hup Sheng, Reuben, Me, Kee Seng & Shaun

Blazers were custom-made by a tailor who visited us @ Cemara-Akasia a few weeks back..

Not cheap, they are..

RM400 per person.

[Consisting of coat, pants, cover & hanger.]

Shoes not included.

Kee Seng with Eric

Kee Seng with Reuben.

& us 4 roommates together..

odd thing is,

all 3 of them are bound for Moscow.

With me heading towards Volgograd.

Winds Of A New Beginning

2009-09-05T12:56:00.006+08:00

Received these letters at JPA's pre-departure briefing at their HQ in KL..

Volgograd?
Twas hoping for Moscow..
but then again,
it's much better to be grateful for getting a place at all..

then the date of printing caught my attention.
17th August 2009.
Same date as the 1st day of the final exams...
Looks like our fates were independent of the results, both good & bad..

So where exactly is this Volgograd for the enthusiastic rookie traveller?
Well, for pin-point accuracy, it's in Russia...

In the Western Region, near Europe...

Can't find it?
It's circled with green...
The blue ones being the other locations of JPA - Russian Medical students.

Haven't heard of Volgograd, eh?
It was a major battle area in World War II,
[known as Stalingrad back then]
(& featured in the film "Enemy At The Gates")
& suffered much destruction & damages...
But as time passes,
It eventually recovered & had much progress,
becoming a town 80 kilometres long as of today.
Its most notable landmark is the statue of Mother Motherland that crowns Mamayev Kurgan.

& it's no ordinary statue either.

Think America's Statue Of Liberty is BIG?

Mother Motherland's 3 times larger.

On a different topic,
my aunt who deals with a travel & tours company,
highly recommended me to get an International Student Card.
Reason being: great discounts at places that accept the card.
There's a company in Malaysia that helps in applying for that card.
MSL.

Their innovative pamphlet technique.

For more info on the Card, check out http://www.isic.org/,

or http://www.msltravel.com/.

Return to BM.

2009-07-08T22:10:00.001+08:00

This just in.
Schools will no longer use English in the teaching of Science & Maths effective 2012,
excluding Form Six & Matriculation.
More here:
http://thenutgraph.com/article-4400.html

Badminton Practice

2009-07-08T21:22:00.005+08:00

Badminton practice at Akasia Hall...

Game Tactics Logic?

Should games be ended as soon as possible,

[minimises risk of losing, assuming its done through multiple shuttlecock-smash hits]

or wear out the opponent for the audience's satisfaction?

[a real test of skill, experience, endurance, agility & stamina to assess true badminton abilities..]

Twitchy Brows

2009-07-08T21:14:00.001+08:00

Advertisements are gettting creative as time passes..

Frisbee Practice

2009-07-07T20:46:00.007+08:00

News came about that every student has to join at least one sporting event for the upcoming INPRO at INTEC.
*Sports Festival, its the usual Sports Day at schools, but this one spans the duration of 3 weeks.*
So i chose frisbee and badminton.
Badminton's selection tournament wasn't on yet.
So i went for frisbee first.

Spot the frisbees.
They're in every picture.
=)

But seeing that fast movement was not a trait that the camera was designed to take still pictures of,

a video would tell a better story.

On a different note,

I'm kind of new to new to frisbee-ing.

Could anyone tell me how to effectively throw & catch it?

& emphasis on catching, please?

Catching proves harder...

Slight misjudgement,

& its sore arms due to the momentum of a whizzing frisbee.

Speaking from experience....

Makan Makan

2009-07-07T19:38:00.002+08:00

V had been taking multiple shots of her stuff.
Then i took my shot of hers.
=)

Had dinner in the evening at Cemara's cafeteria,
Koay Teow Kung Fu.
Fried onions are extras.

Combined with sweet corn from a-10-minute-earlier-trip-to-the-pasar-malam.

V: Can eat meh if u mix those 2 together?
Me: ......eh, memanglah they're 2 different dishes. Different prices, different tastes. But both are going to end up in my perut eventually.. =)
Not much difference lor if i mix them now.
*it turned out to be Koay Teow with a very crunchy texture. Nice!*

Now, what's a pasar malam picture without the 'malam' in it?
So took it at the appropriate time.

Random Shots.

2009-07-07T19:27:00.003+08:00

Flags of INTEC, Malaysia & Selangor blustering with the wind...

The Bank Islam ATM previously mentioned.

INTEC's Block F.

Memory Recognition Tips: The only place on-campus with a radio tower on top.

& INTEC's armada of buses.

That's the front row, by the way.

There's more at the back.

An Any Day Class.

2009-07-07T19:06:00.003+08:00

Scenes from Class Russian 15D, INTEC.
*Names will not be mentioned.*
Seeking clarification from our Russian Teacher over home tasks...

A light-hearted moment with 2 visitors to our class.

Neighbours from adjacent class, actually.

Diligently acquiring greater understanding of the fundamentals of advanced biology.

Meanwhile, physics is being deciphered in the background.

Another light-hearted moment with the class visitor.

Then suddenly notices the camera...

Random shot throught the wires of an LCD projector.

Teacher-student discussions.

& finally, a complete class picture.

[in terms of students]

Cafeteria Lagi...

2009-07-07T18:59:00.003+08:00

Scenes at INTEC main cafeteria again...
During the morning,
thus therefore no student customers yet.
The stall where drinks are made upon order.

& the counter where u pay the bill.

& the building itself as seen from afar...

Location: Opposite Block F, INTEC.

And the 2nd cafeteria.

Near Blocks V & W.

Kitchen has an open-air concept,

how they clean & prepare food visible to everyone.

A Dinner.

2009-07-07T18:28:00.003+08:00

An earlier weekend spent at a sushi restaurant.
1st thing obvious at the entrance was this notice.

A popular restaurant frequented by tired, hungry shoppers, it is.
Restaurant teeming with full capacity

*That table was previously occupied by a family of 3 just minutes ago..

Not that she could eat so many plates...*
The ordering system here is different than that of either Tao Cuisine's or even Sushi King's.

Every table comes equipped with a computerised menu.

& hot water spout for instant refilling-hot-water-for-green-tea moments.
or if u'd rather skip the hassle,

the traditional conveyor belt's just beside the tables.

Ended up with a set dinner.

Name forgotten..

Twas succulent mackerel, supple tofu, miso soup & the usual japanese rice u find in sushi restaurants...

An Evening...

2009-07-07T16:51:00.005+08:00

Spent an evening at a park a few weekends ago..
Kite-flying's popular there.
It's a bird,
it's a plane,
no,
they're kites!

Kite motifs these days come in wide variety to interest anyone from all walks of life.
They even have a design of Disney Princesses.

View around the area.
With a mini-lake.

And across the lake,

were a group of senior citizens gracefully moving here & there,

pivoting on one foot (or feet?) respectively...
Tai Chi-ing!

& the lake itself has a hungry population of fishes.

Species undetermined.

Camera's not designed for underwater experiences...

They're rushing for the bread crumbs tossed in by the sightseers..

& if u're tired,

there's a McDonald's restaurant nearby.

Cheapest solo item being cone sundae.

RM1.05 [inclusive of 5% government tax]

Basketball game.

Multiple species of flora,

including the pinang trees.

& the kite-sellers area.

With designs from popular cartoons like Ben 10, Dora The Explorer & Doraemon.

Disney's lovable Mickey Mouse not forgotten.

Random

2009-06-25T20:13:00.003+08:00

Just some random-ities to hone me photography abilities...
Flowers at Cemara.
Lunch earlier at INTEC.
Tomatoes,
Nasi putih mixed with a lil' nasi lemak,
a slab of potato,
& assorted vege with beef slices.
RM3.30

Dinner at Cemara.

Mee Goreng Basah.

Tomatoes & chillies custom added. No extra charges.

RM2.50

& a sleepy cat near Cemara's canteen.

Koperasi INTEC

2009-06-25T20:03:00.005+08:00

In need of stationery or some snacks between lessons?
Pay a visit to INTEC's Koperasi at Block F.
Its opposite the main cafeteria & near the library.

Out of cash?
No worries,
if u have a Maybank account & its ATM card,
your problems are over!
There's an ATM nearby!
*Bank Islam ATM's available, too*

In the Koperasi, there's snacks,
more snacks,

& stationery.

Plus services that could aid in the completion of last-minute-assignments.

For further details, please refer to the Shop Logo.

INTEC Library. [2]

2009-06-25T19:32:00.008+08:00

Before one enters the library,
all food, drinks & bags are barred.
Laptop bags are the only things permitted in.
Dont worry, one doesnt have to ask a friend to jaga his/her bag outside the library..
Lockers are provided.
For 1st-timers, there's a list of all floor pans near the entrance.

There's a mini-gallery on the ground floor.

View of the entrance from the 2nd floor.

View of 2nd-floor from exit.

Stairs leading to the 2nd & 3rd floors are visible.

Going up to the 2nd floor...
Where there's a place specially gazetted for newspaper reading,

& a computer lab,

free for usage by all students.

Computers all runnning on Windows Vista.

Sorry, no webcams.

That Lab was Lab A.

Once full,

Lab B is opened to meet demand.

& Lab B being the main gathering of the computers.

More shots of books.

Study corner on the 1st floor.

& on the top floor.

*U can see the roofs of some buildings*
& a slight view of the 1st, 2nd & 3rd floors.

When departing, there was this thing that was rather interesting.

Now what would a teenage kitten be doing on an ornamental plant?

Feeling tall, perhaps?

INTEC Library.

2009-06-25T18:59:00.006+08:00

Had to return a few books today...
so travelled to the library.

*FACT FILE: 4 stories tall.
Ground floor's management.
The others above it are flooded with books.*
To return these books.

I was only after a copy of The Art Of War, okay...

They have a digital system of borrowing books.

Touch-screen buttons.
As well as Student ID card scanners for security verification.

But i forgot,

it wasn't designed for the return of books.

So had to visit the "Kaunter Pemulangan"

The place is fully-covered by WIFI antennaes..

If u're observant enough, u'd spot them practically at every corridor.

The place even has an elevator!

But usage at own risk.....

Magazine section.

With a world map outside the room.

The Receiving Counter for books.

Returned ones are sent here from the ground floor....

to be placed back in its original locations soon.

By 3 floors of books, there's plenty of topics.

Basically everything from dictionaries to law, from biology to Harry Potter books.

Yup, entertainment books are in.

No, mangas & comicss not included, unfortunately.

Being fully-air conditioned,

the place is ideal for personal or group studies.

That too, has been covered by the librarians.

Ample seatings throughout the floors.

Not sure what to make of this book's genre, though..

Comical biography?

A panoramic view through the windows of the library.

A Thursday Class.

2009-06-25T17:57:00.008+08:00

2 hours Biology,

1 hour Physics,

1 hour Chemistry,

1 hour Russian.

No Biology today, though...

Teacher went for the Orientation For New Students Event back at Cemara.

So we were kinda free for 2 hours.

Everyone with their own way of killing time.
Suganti checking out Zafran's tracklist.

View through Zafran's shoulders.Sleeping was more popular, though,
Followed closely by small talks..
Reading today's papers,

& yes, sleeping again.
Eventually, we decided to embark to the library.
Group studies.

With V & Hanif noticing the camera beforehand..
With discussions,

& remarks.

Later, Physics.

Amir & Hafiz being very attentive.
Finally, a front view of the Chemistry teacher.

Still camera-shy, though..

What she's reading?

Page 3 of today's The Sun.

Our regular 10-minute-breaks between lessons.

At the end of the day...dismissal..

off to the bus!!

We had to wait for the driver to appear first, of course.

Then *POOF* he Apparates, Harry-Potter style...

Nah, he came from behind us.

Resting at the backseats, he did.

& our return to Cemara begins...

Multiple Shots

2009-06-25T17:43:00.007+08:00

Have been toggling with the camera's software,
in hopes of modifying the 1MB per shot pictures to smaller resolutions..
& succeeded!
Its now around 100KB per shot.
Meaning the average 20-23 shots for the memory card has ballooned 1000% to above 200 shots =)
Random scenery at INTEC...
Flags of affiliation are hung along the roads at INTEC. A concrete jungle philosophy is never implemented.

Corridors.

& more corridors.

& again.
INTEC's main water tank seen from afar.

See the building whose roof is purple in colour?
That's 4 stories high.

Random.

Sneak shot of the Korean Class from afar.

Batteries

2009-06-24T20:09:00.000+08:00

The Customer Service girl was very friendly..
Apparently, i bought batteries that were designed to cater to electical goods like alarm clocks & remote controls...
Not digital cameras...
& so, twas given a form...
& given the opportunity to swap for better batteries.
*How else could these pictures be here?*
But as the new ones were worth more than the old ones,
she had to issue credit vouchers.
Meaning they were like rebates to be added to the receipt to reduce the actual value.

& what i swapped them for...
Toshiba Batteries.
Heavy Duty.

The End Of 52 Hours.

2009-06-24T19:31:00.006+08:00

This day marked the last rites of the 52 Hours Non-Stop Multi-Lingual Public Speaking Event.
Students were required to attend the closing ceremony at Dewan Cemara, Kolej Cemara.
'The more, the merrier!' was the motto of the day.
VIP's were Deputy Minister Of Higher Education;
Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah,
The Founder of the Malaysia Book Of Records;
Datuk Danny Ooi,
Vice Chancellor of UiTM;
Dato' Seri Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Abu Shah,
Director Of INTEC;
Prof. Dr. Habibah Ashari,
& Deputy Director of INTEC;
Encik Mohd Hassan Awang Boon.

Dewan Cemara from an angle.

& the adjacent corner.

From the front.

& the front itself.
We were still waiting for the arrival of the VIP's.
Them being upstairs at the Dewan Seminar,
supposedly wrapping up the last of the speeches.
So off i travel to the 2nd floor.
On the way out of Dewan Cemara hall,
spotted these galleries.

Along with the very eye-catching plaque.

It's a 2007 achievement.

Arrival at the Dewan Seminar on top of Dewan Cemara.
Twas really lots of people there, it being the last speaker.
By a lot, i do mean a lot.

& the camera crew is still as strong as ever.

Last speaker of the day,
none other than Encik Mohd Hassan Awang Boon himself. =)

With the head of the organising committee too.
Standing & beaming with confidence.

Witness & signing ceremony.
Slight view of Prof. Ibrahim.

Deputy Minister of Higher Education,
Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

It should be him, right?
Google-ed pictures of him.
Results:

& the main witness to this significant event,
Datuk Danny Ooi,
Founder Of The Malaysia Book Of Records.

Everyone leaving for Dewan Cemara.

Along with the cultural show performers.

But alas!

My batteries ran out at this point....

Swapped the empty ones with the reloads..

"Please change batteries"

WHATTTT??????

Rushed back to the hostel & tried the rest of the stock...

History repeats itself.....

I just bought them less than an hour before the event!

& so, off to MyDin's Customer Service for some enlightenment...

Thus therefore,

the rest of the closing ceremony went unrecorded by me.....

Sorry....

INTEC Cafeteria

2009-06-24T19:20:00.003+08:00

Main INTEC Cafeteria opposite Block F.
Around lunchtime, 1.00-2.00 pm.
*there's a smaller cafeteria near Block V & W*

Lunch tah pau-ed again..

vege, a single slice of tomato,

fried potato slab,

some cuttlefish & nasi lemak..

RM3.00

A Wednesday Class.

2009-06-24T16:08:00.006+08:00

2 hours Russian History,
3 hours Russian,
2 hours Ethics,
better known as Theology & Philosophy...
History today was movie-watching,
pertaining to the Battle of Stalingrad,
Nazis',
& World War 2.

Vincent, Fauzan, Hanif, Zafran, Amir & Wong.
INTEC has almost everything,
but not a silver screen, of course.
So we had to settle for the small screen.
Not that we were complaining, anyway.
Sound & graphics were top-notch thanks to the excellent speaker system.

A screenshot of the movie.
Note, its a fictional movie based on real-life events.
"Enemy At The Gates", starring Jude Law.

Our History teacher, Miss Penny.
Discussing Tzai's Russian History Research Mind Map Draft.

& Vincent's.

Then the whole class.

Elaborating on an answer...
& back to square one.
Evaluating the mind map.
& no, the movie wasn't from a cetak-rompak disc..

Buy original, see original..

Our Ethics Teacher, Cik Wan Noorliza.

With a presentation on the development of a baby in the womb.
Passionate about her work.Teaching with a smile.. =)

Movie Plot.

~Wikipedia~
The story focuses on the exploits of Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law), a Ural peasant who was taught how to hunt and shoot by his grandfather, now fighting on the Eastern Front of World War II. A Red Army soldier, he is traveling in a train's cattle truck along with other soldiers and civilians, where he notices a young woman (Rachel Weisz) before the train is converted into a military convoy headed for Stalingrad, a city that is now under attack by the German Army. Upon arriving on the city's outskirts, the soldiers attempt to cross the Volga on unprotected river barges, bombarded by German dive bombers and artillery, resulting in many casualties. When the survivors disembark on the other side, only half of them are given Mosin-Nagant rifles; while the rest, among them Vassili, are given only a five round clip of ammunition. As their fellows are shot down, the men with the clips are to use the dead men's rifles. In a hopeless charge against the well-armed Germans, the Red Army soldiers are massacred both by the enemy, and by several Soviet NKVD machine gunners who cut down anyone who attempts to retreat.
After the battle, a car races through the streets, under artillery fire. Knocked off the road, the driver — Lieutenant Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), a Soviet political commissar second class — flees to the safety of a drained fountain and feigns death amongst the corpses within. Here he comes upon Vassili, also feigning death, and watches with amazement as the young soldier kills five nearby German soldiers with five shots from the M91/30 Mosin-Nagant rifle Danilov hands him. Later, Nikita Khrushchev (Bob Hoskins) arrives in Stalingrad to coordinate the city's defences. He demands suggestions to improve morale, and Danilov suggests publicizing "heroes" for the people to idolize ("we need examples yes, but ones to follow"). Vassili's exploits are soon national news, Danilov now a senior lieutenant and on the general staff tells Vassili that he is transferred from the regular forces to sniper division. As Zaitsev and his fellow snipers take their toll on the German forces; he and Danilov, the author of the articles, become firm friends. Vassili then learns that the girl he had seen on the train (Tania), is a private in the local militia. Danilov, smitten with the woman, arranges to have her transferred to an intelligence/intercept unit away from the battlefield, using her ability to speak German as the justification.
With Zaitsev's increasing fame, and the high casualties (especially officers) being inflicted by the Soviet snipers, Major Erwin König (Ed Harris) is deployed to Stalingrad to help counter this new threat. A renowned marksman himself, and head of the German Army Sniper School at Zossen, the aristocratic König immediately begins plotting how to best take out young Zaitsev.
The next day, Vassili, along with two other snipers, is tasked with killing a German sniper lurking in the Department Store sector. Zaitsev, now a sergeant, apparently dispatches the enemy with a single shot. When two of them go to retrieve the man's dog tags, they discover that it was only a decoy. The still-hidden König, having already killed their other team member without their knowledge, kills Ludmilla, the sniper accompanying Zaitsev, during an air raid after she panics; Zaitsev manages to escape. When the Red Army command had learned that Major König was sent to specifically kill Vassili, a fellow sniper (and former student of König's before the war) named Koulikov (Ron Perlman) is sent to assist Vassili in dispatching the major, however, and in a failed plan to draw him out, Koulikov is killed, shaking Vassili's spirits considerably.
After a drinking conversation with Khrushchev, in which Danilov is pressured into seeing the sniper business finished, Danilov goes to see Tania. After making an advance, Danilov realizes she is Jewish. She tells him about her father's wish to live in Palestine. Because they were Jewish, her father believed in their duty to defend Palestine, and in order to defend Palestine he taught her how to shoot. She requests a favour from Danilov: that he reassign her to sniper division. Subsequently Danilov asks a favour of Vassili: that he convince Tania that sniper division is not a place for her.
Vassili goes to Tania and attempts to convince her that sniping is more intimate then infantry fighting. Tania is not swayed and tells Vassili that she recently read a dispatch that listed Jewish people the Germans had rounded up to ship from Stalingrad to Germany. Her parents were on the list and were executed: the Germans stopped the train over a bridge and bound couples and families together in pairs. To save ammunition they only shot one person from each pair, the other being drowned in the river by the weight of their loved one's dead body. Vassili hands Tania a rifle, telling her it is Koulikov's - that it is a good rifle. She accepts and thanks him.
Danilov recruits a double agent, a young boy named Sacha Fillipov (Gabriel Marshall-Thomson) - a patriotic youth who occasionally does small jobs for the Germans. Danilov then goes to tell Vassili, and as Vassili is telling Danilov that he does not believe he is good enough to take out König, Danilov assures him that next time he will be one step ahead of König, since Sacha is positioned to give König false information about Vassili's whereabouts, allowing Vassili opportunities to ambush him. This leads Vassili to wait for the major at a chemical factory, where after many hours, Vassili, exhausted, falls asleep, during which his dog tags are taken by a looting German soldier. König is summoned to German army headquarters and is told by General Paulus that Zaitsev is dead and that König's job in Stalingrad is finished. König refuses to leave and is told to turn over his dog tags, also giving his fallen son's War Merit Cross to Paulus. Eventually König discovers that Sacha has been helping Vassili and tells Sacha that he is upset about what he has to do and the scene fades out. Sacha's corpse, which was hanging on a pole, was later found by Tania and Vassili.
Running alongside the main plot is Vassili and Danilov's attraction to Tania, which causes underlying tension between the two men amidst the chaotic atmosphere, especially when Tania finally chooses Vassili as her lover. This personal conflict comes to a head when Tania is presumed to be dead after being struck down by shrapnel. As Vassili and Danilov hunt for König to avenge Sacha, Danilov laments his jealousy for Vassili and his disenchantment with the communist cause as a result. Danilov then exposes himself in a final act of friendship; allowing König to shoot him, revealing the major's presence. König goes to inspect the body, assuming it is Vassili, but belatedly realizes he has fallen into a trap. He pauses, removes his field cap and turns to face Vassili before being shot down.
Two months later, it is revealed that Stalingrad is liberated and Zaitsev finds Tania in a field hospital, safely evacuated and recovering.

Monday Nights Near Kolej Cemara [3]

2009-06-23T21:07:00.004+08:00

Kebab Ayam in the making.

Koay Teow Goreng, Mee Goreng, Bee Hoon Goreng,

The 'Goreng' Stall for short.

The snacks stall.

Now, got almost all the food stalls...

forgot the keropok lekor one though...

Next up,

the other stalls.

Tuesday Evening, 23rd June 2009

2009-06-23T21:02:00.003+08:00

View of Cemara's canteen.

& Tuesday dinner, Nasi Kerabu. [RM2.50]

+ egg = extra 50 sen.

kicap was self-added.

The same amount of rice as was in the nasi pattaya.

INTEC Food...

2009-06-23T20:47:00.002+08:00

INTEC's cafeteria has a wider variety than at Cemara's.
Didn't get to take many shots though..
Low battery..
& the memory card thing again..
1st of the 4 shelves of food.
2nd in the background.
Looks little cause i went there with friends before lunch time,
so they haven't really cooked everything yet...
*it's not that i ponteng lah,
went there during the 10-minute break between classes."
No point going all the way there & going back to class empty-handed, right?
'Tah pau-ed" for lunch.

Those are tomatoes, cucumbers, egg with black pepper sauce & fried potato slabs. RM3.00 with the rice included.

A Tuesday Class

2009-06-23T20:35:00.005+08:00

Shots of the teacher teaching are gonna be rare.
Hey, i'm supposed to be learning & paying attention, u know?
Mostly shot at the end of classes.
Tuesday's schedule,
Chemistry 2 hours,
Biology 1 hour,
Russian Language 2+2 hours.
*2+2 meaning there are 2 different teachers for each session*

Miss Ekaterina checking her notebook.

Still checking.

This time looking at Azwan's completed homework.

Shirt label is purely coincidental. =)
Our 3rd Russian Language Teacher, Miss Anastasia Korobkova.

At the end of class....
Our Biology Teacher, Cik Harnita.

Apparently, some of our quiz answers were rather amusing...

Calling out the guilty person...

Sneak shot of our Chemistry Teacher, Cik Syazwani.

She's camera-shy.

Monday Nights Near Kolej Cemara [2]

2009-06-23T20:18:00.005+08:00

More to the Monday-ly pasar malam.
Eu cha kuih being fried to perfection.

'Eu cha kuih'

Murtabak stall.

Satay being grilled.

Nope, those aren't satay.

Those are chicken slabs.

Nasi Dagang!

*Kelantan cuisine specialty*

Chicken kebabs being BBQ-ed.
Yup, this one's satay.

Noticed me too, he did. =)

The chicken stall.

Get your fried chickens & nasi ayam here!

*Business just begun.*

Halal "yong tau foo" !

Basic Amenities At Cemara.

2009-06-23T17:56:00.007+08:00

Food supply isn't really a problem at the hostels..
(mine commonly known as Kolej Cemara)
There's a canteen just opposite my room.

Note, picture taken from room window.

Will get a closer shot sometime.

The place has 3 stalls.

Drinks.

Serving tembikai laici, mango, orange, kelapa muda, & some others.

small cup's 50 sen,

big one's RM1.

*The mango, orange & tembikai laici drinks are from real fruits,

not syrup.

Blended with too much water though....*
What about the remaining two?

Nasi ekonomi for lunch times.

& set dinners by evening.

Was feeling hungry already, so had my dinner. (Monday evening)

Nasi Pattaya, RM3.00.

*The usual one has less "eu chang" (fried onions) & tomato sauce....I had requested for more.*

Water supply?

Easily accessible & user-friendly.

The water cooler.

Its a drink-at-own risk though.

Double filters installed.

Tastes the same like any other water..

*What, is your household water filter any cleaner?*

Nope, one is limited to these options at Cemara..

There is the pasar malam on Monday nights.

&, there's shopping malls nearby..Mydin & Ole-Ole.

Shops like Baker's Cottage, Secret Recipe, Pak Ali, Nasi Kandar Restaurants, KFC, CIMB, Maybank, bla bla bla..

That, however, would be another story...

Tick, Tick, Tick

2009-06-23T17:29:00.006+08:00

As of lately,
& still concurrent,
INTEC is playing host to an event with tremendous effort invested in it.
Its not just the average speech by a guy, lady or ala competition style.

Its a marathon!
Spanning 52 hours non-stop,
with 10 different languages.
English, BM, Russian, Korean, Japanese, Arabic, Mandarin, etc etc..
Of course, they dont mean that a single person has to give a single speech non-stop..
*who could?*

Hundreds of voluntary speakers were roped in,
each with their time of 7 minutes.
At first glance,

it's impressive. Participants speaking in a way that could only be attained through one method. Genuine passion for what they spoke for, & not just any memorised-off-a-book scenario.
The event itself, while designed to improve the participants' confidence & fluency in delivering speeches in their respective languages, it also had an indirect agenda. To make it into the Malaysian Book Of Records.

Early next morning,
*i did get a valuable photo of a 'speech-er' with a pillow onstage...
but accidentally reformatted my camera there & then,
thus therefore losing it forever..
He wasn't sleeping on the job lah...
His speech was Discipline VS Sleepiness"
Now by early, i mean real early..

At the crack of dawn today,
close to 7 am.
No matter how tired or sleepy anyone else was,
the show must go on.

Ooohhhhhh, one of the committees' a little sleepy..

Reuben in serious, contemplating what to deliver mode.

Han Kee in stealth mode beside him.

*Didn't u see the 2nd tie & 3rd hand?*
Finally got him Han Kee. =)

& the event continues...

Monday Nights Near Kolej Cemara [1]

2009-06-23T13:43:00.008+08:00

Every Monday evening 'till night,
Kolej Cemara has temporary neighbours on the road beside it.
Pasar Malam!
*i went around 5.30pm..
business usually peaks around 8pm.*

A view from just outside Cemara's gate.

Kuih & jelly(s)!

Chinese-style pancakes!

"Ban chang kuih"

Nasi Melayu!

Jagung manis!

Nasi Ayam Kurma!

Assorted fast food!

*to be ready soon*

Popiah!

Assorted drinks!

& something that strikes attention,

B.Burgers!

~To be Continued~

A Monday Class

2009-06-22T19:47:00.011+08:00

Tiz a random depiction of Monday's class,
all shot with a 32 MB camera..
means roughly 20-23 photos per session before the memory card is full.
Nope, couldnt transfer the photos from camera-computer-thumbdrive at the library...
Installation of software without personnel authorization was banned..
& so,
a Monday Class at Russian 15 D.
2 hours English,
1 hour Russian,
2 hours Physics,
2 hours Russian.

Meet Zafran.

& our ever humorous English teacher, Cik Siti Hasnaa.

Meet Wong, the class representative.

*image is slightly distorted*

...a little awkward moment. =)
2 of the 18 in class, Suganti & Viphavadi.

*flash by mistake*

with the koala bears from that Cik Siti gave us earlier.

*they were in the purple bag that Wong held*

From visible left, Hanif, Wong, Tzai, Firdaus.

Getting ready for a presentation.

From left, Firdaus, Hanif, Wong & Fauzan.

They just love cameras.
Han Kee & Vincent, in Cik Siti's assignment, "Doctor-Patient" interaction.

With some action.

Our Russian Language teacher, Miss Marina Kochetova.

*image is slightly distorted*

Our Physics Teacher, Mr Hamizan.

We're waiting for our recent quiz results...

& he explains where & why we went wrong for some questions.

Our 2nd Russian Teacher,

*3 in all*,

Miss Ekaterina Volkova.

Group Discussion on Mai's homework.

Most of the class photo.

Random shot. From left, V, Suganti, Shin Ying, Insyirah, Mai, Wong & Tzai.

Han Kee, Azwan & Syamsoul.

With Vincent too.
Insyirah, Mai & Wong.

More shots sometime when there's time & a better memory card.. =)

Is It Still Okay?

2009-06-22T19:19:00.005+08:00

Lots of paperwork is the common tradition when dealing with the government of any country...
Not only the government,
practically everywhere.
Customs, courts, police stations, supermarkets,
bla bla bla...

In my case, scholarship documents..
Surat tawaran rasmi,
borang keselamatan,
medical checkup forms,

The process of filling up the form itself takes a long time if u go to government hospitals...

*Private hospitals are faster, yes.
But my allowance cant take the shock of RM300 gone in a day..
Mantoux Test=RM5,
the rest combined= RM130.00*

Most significant document sent by JPA,
to be filled in,
beli 'setem hasil' worth RM10 each,
dan kemudiannya matikan di pejabat LHDN terdekat.

Kontrak Perjanjian Biasiswa Persekutuan.

Had just one tiny little problem though..
A few days after getting everything done,
i just browsed through the documents again,
just in case i left anything out.
& what do u know,
i didn't.
Something dropped out instead...

The stamp was gone......
apparently, there was a lack of glue...
ouch..
Frantically grabbed the 3 copies by their spines,
shaked them to see if anything would flutter to the ground.
Negative.
Raided my stuff.
Nothing....

So went back to the office,
& there goes 'bye bye' to another RM10..
*sighs*
But would JPA officials accept double "stamp-ing"s?

Back at INTEC's hostel,
i simply flipped through the pages...
Oh, great.

The stamp was between the last page & back cover of the document, ironically located where my hand had previously held the spine of the document..

*Glue it back,

& have a combined valid stamp value of RM20.00 on a single document when it's supposed to be half that amount?

Gee, i'd be interrogated for wasteful spending..

& be reconsidered for the scholarship expenditures...*

Must be my unlucky day...

Sunday Night, 21st June.

2009-06-21T20:21:00.003+08:00

Dinner tonight's home made.
1)Prepare cooked spaghetti.

2) Prepare the pasta gravy.

3) A decent dinner.

*Sorry, turned off the flash by mistake..*

Voila, =)

Pasta with button mushrooms.

Sunday Noon, 21st June 2009

2009-06-21T19:18:00.013+08:00

This day was really gone to the wind…
Needed a Russian dictionary to aid in homework,
But couldn’t find it in lots of bookstores…
Sin Yan, a friend,

acknowledges that for any foray into a new language,
A dictionary is a mandatory aid in learning. Last solution: Off to a major one!
Kinokuniya at KLCC!
Departed from sister’s home.
Passed a Proton Centre.
Entered the urban area.
Nearing KLCC .
Going into the carpark.
With the usual toll barrier.
& the ever helpful signboards to keep us from losing our way in this labyrinth of cars..
*Then & there itself, I was flabbergasted.
Camera said “Memory-card full”???
Rechecked..
Yikes..memory card size of 32 MB, maximum.. *
It being a Sunday, there was plenty of people around,
Withs shops & stalls to be seen at every corridor we went.
Then I found Kinokuniya.
Alas, got told off for trying to take a picture of the Dragonball series..
I thought that applies only if I’m taking pictures of the pages within?
But managed to take a sneak shot of the place, anyway.
As I was leaving Kinokuniya,
There was this old, wise-looking man with an extremely long white beard.
*Till it reaches the belt buckle?*
Now, it’s not often u see people who keep beards for long,,
*white being self-explanatory…what,now who would dye their beards white?*
& only 3 people came to mind.
Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter films…
Gandalf the White from the Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King.
Last but most realistic, A.Samad Said, National Laureate.
Still wasn’t very sure…
So I just hung around close to him…think a bookshelf between us.
Hmm? Then his handphone rang..
& what do u know, his well-spoken Malay eradicated earlier assumptions of him being a Japanese.
While he answered his phone, he took a stroll to a different section..
Out of curiousity, I checked out his earlier browsings…
The “COMPUTERS” tag glared back at me from the top of the shelf.
Okay,,,,,,,,a closer look at the area he inspected earlier…
“Adobe Photoshop for the Digital Artist”, & plenty of names..
But one name just stood out from the others.
“A Dummy’s Guide to Facebook”

#######################################

Time constraints were nagging at me.
& so;
“Encik, adakah Encik ini A.Samad Said?”
*His eyes kind of sparkled at the mention of it*
“Ya, memang saya” in a humble way, smiling all the while..
“I’m just here to look around,
Seeing what’s new in today’s world”
“Oh…..Mr Samad, I’ve been looking for the published collection of your poems all this while,
But it seems hard do find. Do u know where I could look for it?”
“Poems, eh? It’s not ‘Collections’. Its an ‘Anthology’. By Utusan Melayu”
“……err, the pricing?”
“…..it should be printed at the back cover of the book. It’s easily recognizable.
My picture’s there.”
There he smiles again..
“Ohhh,, thanks Mr Samad..Do u mind if I take a picture with you?”
“Its okay,….but I don’t think u can take a picture in here, u know.”
Seeing a lady nearby,
“Hi, could u help me take a picture of us together?”
“Errr, sorry, but I think the guard may be able to help you.”
*We were all very near the Kinokuniya Entrance that was opposite the Petronas Science Centre.*
&….
“Sorry, but it’s Kinokuniya policy not to have pictures taken in here.
U could ask the store manager.”
“But I’m not taking pictures of the pages of any book?”
“Still the same.”
& there goes a missing shot with A.Samad Said..
Sure, I could ask him to step out of the place for a while,
But he seemed deeply engrossed with browsing at the bookshelf of “Highlights”..
It’d be rude to disturb…
& so I finally left..
Came across an impressive Lego-Version of the Taj Mahal.

Had a snack before leaving.
*The gap was where my snack previously was before purchase*
Stumbled across a promotional booth.
Ooooh, Iphone.
On the way home, made a pit stop at the petrol station.
Apparently, someone earlier made a huge purchase of fuel..
Back at sister’s home.
Now, what was previously needed is now available.

Time for some smooth sailing in Russian!

Chores, chores, it never ends...

2009-06-21T10:59:00.003+08:00

Lately,

the issue of the plight of foreign maids in malaysian households have garnered media attention.

*Scalded by water,

Beaten until badly bruised,

Hot iron pressed against skin,

sexual harassment & lots more.*

Creating public outcries against the inhumane acts,

calls for an amendment to be made on the employment contract specifically pertaining to maids,

stringent action to be enforced by the Ministry of Human Resources on the contract violators,

*by the employer, not the maid*

accompanied by a simple & subtle idea,

that all employed maids in the country are to be given a mandatory 1 day off per week.

From logical perspectives,

why not?

The maids do the typical domestic chores,

& most often double up as the kids' caretaker.

Leaving the employers free to pursue their careers,

that tempting paycheck,

& free from mopping out the floors of their homes,

taking out the trash,

or ironing wrinkled clothes,

tasks which they often consider demeaning to themselves & not worth their time.

~They deserve at least a day off a week.~

-No, they'll just end up mingling with the bad hats of society.-

~Would u work everyday on a full-time basis?

No rest days, confined to a particular area 24/7 & subjected to lots of stress non-stop?~

-..................................-

The culture of 'maid-ism' has greatly differed from its ancestral origins in the Western world.

Back then, it was regarded as a nice job,

*as during that time, there were few educated women and limited opportunities for working women ensured a labour source for domestic work*

Girls from the middle-families could work up-close with the rich & influential, & among the only ways they could help out their (the maid's) families financially.

But these days,

the concept of 'maid-ism' is getting blurry..

From what is being reported in the newspapers these days,

it is as though they are being treated as slaves.

What justifies my comparison to that term?

Do ponder on the nature of slavery:

Slavery is a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be, or treated as, the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will, and deprived of the right to leave, or to receive compensation (such as wages).

~Wikipedia~

& the issue of slavery leads to the debate of human rights.

With the most relevant:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris).

Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

*to be interpreted as physical, sexual, psychological, or wages abuse*

Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

"she's only a maid lah, no need to buy such good food for her..."

Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his/her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his/her honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

*Perverted employers beware*

Article 13
Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
Everyone has the right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country.

*No, i am not implying that maids can leave any time they want throughout the day or year according to their whim & fancy, & on paid leave..

It is to be understood that it be on special well-deserved occasions,

or if the employer is feeling generous.

Like a holiday, or visiting their own families back at their hometowns.*

Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Generally, the maids of today in Malaysian households deserve more, don't u think so?

Elsewhere in the world,

there's a group of 'maids' that don't experience the challenges & obstacles of a maid's life in the home.

Cosplay maids.

An idea inspired by mangas & animes.

Frequently seen in cosplay-themed restaurants.

By theme,

it means 'Maids' too.

....& one more thing.

2009-06-21T00:42:00.005+08:00

& the last LDK activity we had for Ko-PLN,

was having everyone in the group line up,

& from one person to another,

draw a depiction of that particular person's wishes for the neighbour.

All sorts of interesting depictions,

there's a donation towards charities,

the publication of academic books,

happy-go-lucky lifestyle,

happy & prosperous family..

"Semoga dia dapat anak setiap tahun,

kembar lagi best !"

& the reply?

"Saya bukan baby factory lahhhhhh......."

The last depiction of the day struck me the most.

It was a cute rendition of being a doctor....

Handsome & respectable,

Responsible & adorable.

The said picture:

Time for me to look at the bright side of life...

Russian Language!

I'm gonna be better at it!

"Woh Tze Wan Chan"

2009-06-21T00:25:00.006+08:00

Recently activated a camera,
Canon Powershot,
1st camera i ever had.
Thus therefore,
please dont expect excellent photography skills..
Recently went for dinner with sister's family.
A Bak Kut Teh place in Shah Alam...

The name of the place.

....& in Chinese letters too.

Kangkung fried with sambal belacan...i think its belacan..
the popular name when calling for this dish is "Eng Chai"

& what's a trip to a Bak Kut Teh Restaurant without having the main specialty onboard?
Bak Kut Teh, with straw mushrooms added for that noodle texture.

They even have cute looking mini-versions of a tea-set.
Do note the size of the teapot compared to the tea cup.
Regular teapots are usually twice the size.

A shot of the chefs at work, as seen through the reflections of a mirror.

The Two Sides Of A Coin

2009-06-20T13:21:00.012+08:00

Morning, June 20th, 2009.

INTEC's organising a "KO-PLN" program for us on this very day...

*Ko-kurikulum Pelajar Luar Negara*

I wasn't really looking forward to it at the crack of dawn,

*it being a Saturday too......

we're supposed to be catching up on our nap times sacrificed during the weekdays!!*

But then again,

a good student's gotta do what a student's gotta do.

Obey the rules, or be penalized.

Not really left with much options,

seeing that the most extreme action they could take,

was making an official request to JPA to retract my scholarship,

no further questions asked..

& off i go,

took the bus trip to INTEC (Seksyen 18),

from the hostel (Seksyen 17).

*Trivia: A 14 minute drive on traffic-jam-free days.*

Participants were derived from the short courses (3-9 months, depending)at INTEC,

namely the Koreans, Middle East Programs & Russians.

We were sorted into 20 groups of average 20 members...

Hmm...guess they're indirectly hinting at us to make the realities of Vision 2020 possible in the not too distant future.

Anyway, Ko-PLN is mostly about group-based activities,

similar to the LDK's conducted by the facilitators of PLKN & BTN.

*LDK = Latihan Dalam Kumpulan,

PLKN = Program Latihan Khidmat Negara,

BTN = Biro Tatanegara*

One LDK that perked my attentiveness was related to coins.

Yup, you read that right.

Malaysian coins.

Now of all things,

why would the humble Malaysian coins deserve so much attention,

u may ask?

Hmm....

Here's how it went.

My group's facilitator,

an Uztaz Rizhouddin,

took out a plastic bag with a handful of coins in it,

placed it in the middle of our group,

& said we were free to do anything with it.

"Anda boleh buat apa-apa saja dengannya.....U can have it...."

*Everyone's suddenly having a smile on their faces*

"...for a while."

*Plenty of groans were heard.*

So it went from counting the coins,

spinning them like a top (aka gasing),

& lastly random distribution between the group members.

*Some had little, some had a lot, some had none at all.*

I got a 50 sen coin with the wau behind it.

Then came Uztaz Rizhouddin's true agenda for that particular activity.
"Sekarang, tolong terangkan kenapa kamu mengambil...."

*notices some empty hands*

"...atau tidak mengambil syiling-syiling yang saya letakkan di depan kamu semua tadi.."

& so came multiple replies,

turn-based of course, to prevent chaos..

"Dapat duit kita ambilllah.."

"Syiling itu macam peluang melanjutkan pelajaran."

Jikalau diberi peluang keemasan untuk memajukan diri kita,

adakah wajar untuk kita mensia-siakan saja peluang tersebut?"

"Errrr, cikgu, saya sebenarnya tak ambil, tapi dia buang syiling itu kat saya tadi..."

*Laughter ensues*

Then came my turn..

I didnt just want to reiterate the same old verses..

I wanted to be a little different..

So i looked at the guy beside me's coin collection..

*He had the most, by the way..RM2.13

Others had only around 10 sen - 1 Ringgit.*

Then, i came up with this answer..

"Cikgu, saya telah mengambil syiling 50 sen ini tadi"

"Oh, kerana itu syiling dengan nilai terbesar, ya?"

".....tidak cikgu. Saya tidak mengambilnya kerana tertarik dengan nombor 50.

Saya mengambilnya kerana tertarik dengan gambar wau di belakangnya.."

*With this, everyone suddenly goes from 'bored' mode to attentive condition*

"...wau itu, macam lambang kebudayaan negara kita.

Lambang identiti, warisan bangsa, sesuatu yang kita semua sebagai rakyat Malaysia dapat banggakan.

Semua ini hanya akan kekal sekiranya Malaysia terus berdaulat....."

I think he saw through me right there & then.

"Hmmm...Jim, kamu pernah pergi PLKN, ya?"

".....ya, cikgu =) "

*Some 'ohhhhhh's' from the group"

"Ok, teruskan."

"Tentang kedaulatan negara. Macam mana hendak mempertahankannya? Ini hanya...possible, sekiranya kita semua kembali ke Malaysia setelah tamat pengajian..
Kita lihat sekarang...we're all here, untuk belajar sebelum ke luar negara. Masing-masing dengan sponsor-sponsor seperti JPA, MARA, MINDEF dan PETRONAS. *MINDEF: Ministry of Defence, sponsoring students from RMC, Royal Military College.* Tapi pengajian kita semua memerlukan wang. Dari mana duit itu semua datang? Daripada duit yang rakyat bayar dalam bentuk cukai pendapatan. In simpler terms, rakyat yang membantu kita... Oleh itu, kita haruslah mengenang budi. Bila pergi overseas nanti, kita harus belajar bersungguh-sungguh untuk berjaya, bila balik nanti berkhidmat untuk negara dgn ikhlas dan setia... janganlah macam kacang lupakan kulit"

*some dialogue between Uztaz & group members...forgotten most of it..*

"......dan setiap orang mempunyai pandangannya yang tersendiri. Ramai yang tengok sebagai syiling, ada yang tengok nilainya, Fatin mengibaratkannya sebagai peluang pendidikan, Jim pula melihat kraf tradisional di sebalik 50 sen itu sebagai lambang...kebudayaan negara. Ini sebenarnya mencerminkan perwatakan kita khususnya semasa fly ke overseas nanti.. sama ada balik, ataupun tak.. Kalau yang Mesir, Jordan dan Rusia itu, majoritinya balik sini.. Yang paling kerap 'breach contract' itu biasanya yang dapat New Zealand, Australia, UK itu semua lah.....haih.."

###############################

I've always had a fondness for traditional craft...
got a congkak from Melaka a long, long time ago..The leaf carvings were fascinating. So was the wau at the back of the 50 sen coin. Go get one now & have a closer look at it. It's finely carved with intricate details, right down to the outlines. Almost a close replica of its real life origins,

The wau bulan comes in a wide array of colours & varieties,

.....as well as in all sorts of sizes. It can go from one the size of a briefcase,
....to one the size of... a human with dimensions of height: head to toe, & width: arms fully stretched horizontally,

How all wau's under the guide of an experienced....'wau-er',

*'kiter' seems inappropriate*

regardless of weight & bulk,

manage to fly them through a lil' bit of speedy jogging in windy conditions,

with no reference to physics's stuff like rope tension, Bernoulli's Principle & air pressure,

will always continue to have a place in my soul,

for it is among the very things that define us as Malaysians...

Teacher, me English not good. SPM can still pass!

2009-06-09T12:27:00.007+08:00

Eh?

Passing SPM is still possible even though u fail English?

That's something i wasn't aware of...

Not that i'm being ignorant or anything,

i guess i took the Lembaga Peperiksaan's definition of certain subjects for granted.

Eg;

SUBJEK-SUBJEK TERAS:

["CORE SUBJECTS"]

English,

Bahasa Malaysia,

Mathematics,

Sejarah

& Pendidikan Islam/Moral

SUBJEK-SUBJEK ELEKTIF:
[Basically anything other than those mentioned in Core Subjects]
Additional Mathematics,
Biology,
Physics,
Chemistry,
Tamil Language,
Chinese Language,
Tasawuf,
Bible Studies,
Accounts,
Economics,
Science,
Geography,
Seni Visual,
Vocational subjects,
the list goes on & on,
blah blah blah..

The term "Core subjects" back in the 90's implied that they were compulsory subjects for SPM.
Therefore it was assumed that failing to pass these,
meant "Failing SPM with flying colours"
With recent headlines debating the issue,
memories of classes in Free School came flooding back to me...
"Kalau gagal BM itu, maksudnya automatik kamu gagal SPM..."
~Cikgu Hanif bin Abdul Majid, Guru Cemerlang~

If u don't really read newspapers, watch the news or go to online news websites,
here are the excerpts of the headlines.
Taken from The Star.

********************************
DPM: English not a ‘must pass’ for SPM?
By KAREN CHAPMAN

KUALA LUMPUR:
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin is surprised to learn that English is not a “must pass” subject for SPM and wants public feedback on the matter.
The Education Minister said it was a revelation to him as he had always thought that it was a prerequisite since students had to learn English in school.
He was also shocked to learn that national schools no longer taught English grammar.
“I don’t know how you can learn English without knowing grammar,”
he told newsmen after launching the Kirkby College alumni association.
Muhyiddin said students were now merely learning communicative English.
“This means they are picking up the language for communication purposes only,”
he said, adding that almost 70% of students who take English pass the subject.
The minister said he would seek public view on the matter.
“We may deliberate on it at the ministry level but as Education Minister, I want to give the public a chance to share their views,” he said.
(A pass in English has never been compulsory for SPM.
Since 2000, a pass in Bahasa Malaysia was sufficient to get the SPM certificate.
Previously, a credit was a must.)
Muhyiddin said he wondered if rural students would be at the losing end if a pass in English was required in SPM.
He also said he did not know if not having to pass English meant the standard of the language had gone down.
When announcing the SPM results in March,
Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said 89% of 178,751 candidates had opted to answer the Additional Mathematics Paper 1 fully in English.
Other subjects which students preferred to answer fully in English included Additional Mathematics Paper 2 at 86%,
Biology Paper 3 (81.5%) and Chemistry Paper 3 (76.8%).
A retired lecturer and teacher trainer said the teaching of grammar was integrated into four main language skills
– listening, speaking, reading and writing in English lessons for students.

Central role: Muhyiddin looking at the Chinese calligraphy art presented to him by several Chinese-based organisations which reads ‘Zhong Yong’ (to take the middle road). Looking on are (from left) Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia committee member Pau Chew Sing, Deputy Foreign Minister Senator Kohilan Pillay, Dr Wee, Dr Koh and Malaysian Translation and Creative Writing Association president Goh Hin San

*****************************

Dr M: Don’t forsake English and ruin children’s future
Tuesday, 09 June 2009

(The Star) Parents should think about the future of their children when deciding whether to agree or to oppose the Government’s proposal to make a pass in English compulsory for a student to pass the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, said former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He said, English was a necessary component for students to get good jobs once they leave school or for them to go overseas for further education nowadays.
He said that when commenting on Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement that the ministry was mulling the possibility of making English a compulsory subject for passing SPM.
He said if parents continued to reject the importance of the English language in their children’s education, then the future of the country would be at stake.
He also slammed those who oppose the move saying that these people were less concerned about education than politics.
“It is more like politics than education. They are not interested in education or acquiring knowledge. All they want to see is how many votes they can win. So I am afraid the country will go to the dogs,” he told reporters after being conferred a honorary Doctorate of Humanity by the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology yesterday.
Asked about the possibility that the policy on the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English would be scrapped Dr Mahathir said: “I feel very sorry. In future, all Malays and Malaysians will be stupid.”
Earlier, he received the honorary doctorate from university president Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing

Honoured: Dr Mahathir receiving the honorary Doctorate of Humanity from Lim at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Cyberjaya yesterday. Seated on the left is Dr Mahathir’s wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali.

Kursus Biro Tatanegara

2009-06-07T16:17:00.010+08:00

Just recently,
the whole bunch of us JPA Medicine - Russia students @ INTEC went for a 1 week course at Kota Meru.
Not exactly voluntary basis,
but compulsory.
Twas among JPA's prerequisite criteria before we are to be sent to Russia.

*excerpt from JPA's official letter"

"PENGESAHAN TAWARAN KE PERINGKAT IJAZAH PERTAMA"

3. JPA akan meneruskan tajaan saudara / saudari bagi mengikuti program ijazah pertama di Luar Negara hanya sekiranya saudara / saudari memenuhi syarat-syarat berikut.

3.1 Berjaya melepasi sesi temuduga yang ditetapkan.
3.2 Memenuhi rekod kehadiran kelas melebihi 90% di peringkat Kursus Persediaan.
3.3 Bebas dari sebarang tindakan disiplin di peringkat Kursus Persediaan.
3.4 Berjaya mendapat tempat pengajian di negara yang ditetapkan oleh JPA.
3.5 Berjaya meneruskan pengajian ke peringkat ijazah pertama dalam bidang yang telah ditetapkan oleh JPA.
3.6 Lulus pemeriksaan perubatan,
3.7 Lulus tapisan keselamatan,
3.8 Lulus Kursus Psikologi anjuran JPA; dan
3.9 LULUS KURSUS KENEGARAAN ANJURAN BIRO TATANEGARA (BTN)

Details on the course:

BIRO TATANEGARA (BTN)
JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI

Biro Tatanegara (BTN),
sebuah agensi kerajaan,
ditubuhkan pada tahun 1974 di bawah Program Belia dan dikenali ketika itu,
sebagai Unit Penyelidikan Belia, Kementerian Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan.
Pada Oktober 1981,
ia diletakkan di bawah Jabatan Perdana Menteri,
dan pada Jun 1982,
namanya ditukar kepada Biro Tatanegara.
Pada peringkat awal penubuhannya,
aktiviti BTN lebih banyak disertai oleh belia dan pelajar.
Bermula tahun 1981 fungsi BTN diperluaskan bagi memupuk semangat patriotisme setiap lapisan masyarakat, termasuklah belia, pelajar, kakitangan kerajaan dan sektor swasta.

We were attached to Kem Bina Negara Meru, Klang, Selangor, 1-5 June 2009.

The camp was set in a tranquil location atop a hill,

amongst an abundance of flora near the PLUS highway.

The lush greenery there, if my memory serves me right,

was mostly of virgin jungle & palm oil trees.

Not much civilisation around, nearest town being at least 5km away.

In a way, its an ideal place for learning.

From a different perspective,

there's nowhere to run if we got bored. (",)

Don't really have photos of the place or of the events there,

'cause the 1st thing we saw (& the authorities elaborated on)

was the restriction against tools, items & objects of ICT,

basically anything that could record pictures & sound, or provide contact with the outside world.

"Janganlah merungut...Tindakan ini mengikut Akta Rahsia Rasmi Negara, tahu?

Lagipun, kumpulan kamu bukannya yang pertama dikenakan tindakan ini.."

Throughout the days,

we were instilled with appreciation for our country,

what the freedom fighters of yesteryear did to attain the nation's independence,

& the blessings that came as the fruit of their labors.

Think of it,

it's been 52 years since the events of Tunku Abdul Rahman proclaiming "MERDEKA!" at Stadium Merdeka along with the rise of the Malaysian Flag.

Today, education is available & affordable for Malaysians from all walks of life,

be it those from the urban locations or rural areas,

regardless of race, gender, cultures, languages & religions.

Food is aplenty.

Peace & harmony is everywhere.

U may not think highly of these traits,

but do compare our country to some across the globe.

In Ethiopia, health services are rare.

The people succumb to illness on a frequent basis.

In Gaza & Palestine, supplies are strictly monitored by Israel.

Food & health kits are put on rations,

gradually making the people there so desperate that smugglers build underground secret tunnels for easier access to acquire these everyday necessities across the border.

Ironically, these tunnels frequently get bombed from the skies above.

Israel's justification:

"It's a weapons smuggling route!

We are doing this to prevent further armed retaliations from happening!"

Some emphasis on the Rukun Negara,

& on the Federal Constiution.

Examples, (simplified)

Perkara 3 = Agama Islam adalah agama rasmi persekutuan.

Perkara 10= Rakyat adalah mendapat kebebasan bersuara. Namun demikian, perbincangan yang mampu menimbulkan ketidakamanan antara kaum adalah dilarang sama sekali.

Perkara 152= Hak istimewa orang Melayu.

Perkara 153= Raja-Raja Melayu

In a nutshell, we were introduced to a wide range of group-based activities.

Here's an example of one.

RUMAH PUSAKA

Anda seorang pemegang amanah dan ditugaskan untuk mentadbir dan mengurus rumah pusaka dan penghuninya. Ketiga-tiga keluarga tersebut berhak unutk dibantu daripada harta pusaka yang diwakafkan. Harta pusaka yang diwakafkan berjumlah Ringgit Malaysian (RM) 1 Billion daripada seorang penderma budiman iaitu pemilik rumah tersebut yang telah meninggal dunia.

Keluarga A mempunyai 10 orang anak, B - 5 orang anak dan C - 3 orang anak.

TUGASAN:

Sebagai seorang pengurus dan pemegang amanah anda dikehendaki membahagikan dan mengagihkan harta pusaka yang diwakafkan itu kepada 3 keluarga tersebut.

Nyatakan bagaimankah caranya anda menguruskan pembahagian itu supaya dilihat adil dan nyatakan asas-asas pertimbangan anda.

Facilities were nice. Toilets were very clean. But the water quality was always "Teh O" or "Kopi O"....

Nope, no smell.

Thoughts to ponder about:

TIndakan Tun Mahathir dulu pada krisis ekonomi ASEAN tahun 1998 itu memanglah radikal..

tapi berwibawa.

Sungguhpun negara-negara maju kata dia gila kerana enggan terima bantuan IMF [International Monetary Fund], tetapi beliau melihatnya dari perspektif lain.

IMF itu merupakan pinjaman ...kira kira 40 billion, tapi syarat-syaratnya keras sangat.

1) Kurangkan perbelanjaan kewangan oleh kerajaan, iaitu secara tidak langsung mengurangkan Kadar Pertumbuhan Ekonomi Kasar Negara.

2)Institusi Kewangan dan Bank-Bank yang kecil atau tidak cemerlang akan dibubarkan.

3)Kadar pinjaman yang tinggi. [High interest rate on loans, something like Ah Long standards]

4)Syarikat-syarikat utama negara seperti PETRONAS, TELEKOM, TNB dan PROTON dicagarkan sebagai deposit pinjaman. [Not sure whether i heard this right..]

Kamu semua tengok sekarang,

Korea Selatan, Thailand dan Indonesia sampai sekarang ekonominya tak stabil..

? Thought the 2 Koreas are currently prosperous..or was that only for Japan, most respected for advancements in modern technology?

More information on The Asian Financial Crisis of 1998 at this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Financial_Crisis_of_1998

Another memorable point me group facilitator mentioned,

went something like this..

"Kamu semua tahu kan tentang Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan (PLUS)?

Itu sebenarnya antara idea jangka masa panjang Tun Mahathir.

Kelak, kalau negara diserang, Fighter Jets kita dapat menggunakan PLUS sebagai landasan berlepas dan mendarat."

Wow. Logical & a great improvisation to permanent military bases.

But we have an army of fighter jets?

Earlier National Budget Plans allocated roughly RM 7 billion to the Ministry of Defense...

that's really tiny if u compare it to countries like Russia, United States & other world superpowers..

National Service for about 80 000 trainees yearly would have taken a huge chunk out of that sum..

[NATIONAL SERVICE EXPENDITURE PER TRAINEE]

-2 pairs of Pakaian Kelas complete with belt, shoes & socks.

-2 pairs of Pakain Sukan complete with shoes & socks.

-A pair of Pakaian Celoreng complete will boot polish, spike boots & beret.

-6 meals a day , basic components being rice, meat, fruit,vege & drink

-Allowance of max RM450 throughout 3 months.

-Laundry services for all clothes with the PLKN insignia throughout the duration of the camp.

-Multiple bus services for Lawatan Sambil Belajars', sending students of a particular religion to their places of prayers...

Note= Market rate for a bus that seats 44 passengers is minimum Rm440 per trip.

http://www.btn.gov.my/peta/K126.pdf
Map of Kem Kota Meru.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbnSSitT2Rk

Video of the song we always sing in the mornings.

Visuals not the same as the original,

but the soundtrack & lyrics are intact.

POSTSCRIPT:

Done the Rumah Pusaka tugasan yet?

Satiesfied with your justifications?

Now change the terms "Keluarga A, B & C" to "Melayu, Cina & India" respectively.

I think u'll get the message they were trying to spread. =)

Hi, bla bla bla..

2009-06-07T14:43:00.008+08:00

Been getting lots of counsel this days...

"...good luck in russia n make free school proud.
Hopefully we can have a reunion someday."
~Kishok~

"study hard ya...Gambateh & jia u!"
~Sin Yan~

"...the Jim i knew is not a quitter.
This is unlike u, u can do it!
Now go out there & prove yourself!"
~Nicholas Ang~

"...u know or not that out of at least 15000 students in Malaysia who applied 4 PSD scholarship,
u're among d lucky 2000 u got it?
Now dont waste the opportunity lah Jim.."
~Mom~

"...let's say u do get JPA Dalam Negara & complete it 100%.
When will u have a chance to go to Russia?
or overseas, whatever...
Doctor's schedules rarely gives time for personal activities..."
~Sister~

"So what if Russian Language is tough?
U're not d only one who's learning it at INTEC right?
Besides, when u do get to Russia, u'll have seniors there as your guides.."
~Aunt~

TEOH CHUIN JIM!!! LISTEN CLOSELY!!! I WANT YOU TO KEEP ON GOING! GIVING UP IS NOT AN OPTION!!! AND I WILL BE EXPECTING GOOD NEWS FROM YOU... GOOD NEWS!!!
~Nicholas Ang again...~

"...are u sure u want to spend your whole life in Malaysia?

To never even spend some time abroad,
experiencing the cultures, cuisines & festivities of distant lands across the world..
Travel really opens up your mind."
~Sister's husband~

"...ooo, syoklah p Russia.
Dapat main salji.
Semoga berjaya, Jim. =)"
~Siti Fasihah~

Enjoy yourself at russia and all the best! :) ~Xin Ling~

"...Yup. Dr Jim will give us discounts when we see him next time."
~Nicholas Ang Qi Hao~

Hopefully i'll be able to go to Russia. =)

A Quitter or a Thinker?

2009-05-28T14:43:00.005+08:00

May 28th. That's about 12 days since the events of registering at INTEC..
[INTEC stands for International Education Centre, & is a part of Uitm]

The facilities here are kind of impressive.
Classes are fully air-conditioned,
[u'll need a jacket for maintaining warmth sometimes, seriously]
Lecturers are decent,
[They hire natives as teachers for the foreign language subjects]
Wifi practically covers almost the whole campus,
Bus services provided free of charge for students
[Campus & Hostel are in different locations]
& best of all,
INTEC has the most impressive library i've ever seen so far..
The place is 4-storeys tall,
comprising computer labs,
[around...minimum of 60 computers, all running on Windows Vista]
Online access system to help u find that ever elusive book,
Wifi-enabled,
fully-air conditioned,
great toilets,
& books, magazines, & encyclopedias of all varieties,
covering business, law, religions, biology, mysteries of life, newspapers, blah blah blah

Only worries now are on gaining fluency in a new language, Russian.
[Hey, it isn't as easy as u think, okay?]
The Russian Alphabet (@ Cyrillic Alphabet) is unique in the sense that its letters,
either printed or handwritten, differ.
Even the sounds are different.
[The phonetics is kind of hard if u grew up with an English mentality embedded in your mind & soul]

That troubles me.
JPA officials have been drilling us that all those going overseas,
must take a preparotory course before hand..
Early birds for JPA Overseas Students being the Russians, Egyptians & Jordanians..
I was like "Russia?!" when i got the phone call,
main concerns being the language barrier.
A prerequisite on overseas varsity access?
In the exam at the end of my supposedly 3 months here,
(till 31st August)
i've to surpass the cut-off boundary of 16 points in the subjects
Physics,
Biology,
Chemistry
& Russian Language.
A= 5 points,
B= 4 points,
u can guess the grading system.

No, the exam isnt just about 4 subjects.
There's still English,
[no, not like secondary school,
it mostly deals with medical jargon.
1st lesson was about Hippocrates' Oath]
Theology & Philosophy,
the last one i've forgotten at the moment...sorry

& the worries just keeps haunting my conscience.
Yes,
I've attained a scholarship that hundreds of post-SPM Malaysian students would do anything for,
& in a field that's supposedly popular, yeah..

But then again,
my main objective when i applied for medicine,
was in hopes that perhaps someday,
i could bring much aid to the sick & needy,
to alleviate their sufferings,
& in collaboration with colleagues
(seniors & juniors alike)
come up with the cure for some of the world's major terminal illnesses...

Rumors been flying that all of us 49 Russians here at INTEC,
[....48, sorry.
One left because of the same worries as me,
but she had a Taylor's scholarship to fall back on.]
would be sent to Moscow Medical Academy should we do well in the final exams at INTEC.

I'd like to help others,
but how could i do so if i couldn't help myself?
Been stoically pondering about that in these few days...
Go back to Form 6, & let down the hopes of all the teachers there?
Go to Matrikulasi, & make my way through local universities?
(Keputusan Permohonan Rayuan was successful, got Matrikulasi Perak,
but tarikh pendaftaran was 25th May...)
Apply for JPA Permohonan Ijazah Dalam Negeri, & hope i get lucky again?
Await the results of the ASEAN scholarship?
Request that location of studies be changed from Russia to Malaysia?
Or take a shot at the final exam in late August,
& my destiny be decided then?

I call the shots, yes.
For now, i'll let time pass...
Hopefully my Russian language abilities will pick up soon.. (",)

POSTSCRIPT:
Can't understand the Cyrillic Alphabet at all?
Try reading the table below..

....Yo

2009-05-14T23:10:00.008+08:00

The world of computer gaming these days is getting more sophisticated & high-tech,

what with high definition motion pictures,

surreal background & environment scenery.

[Counter Strike, Resident Evil, bla bla bla...]

Me, kind of stuck only to one genre.

[Xbox, PS3, Nintendo Wii and all sorts need lots of $$$, okay?]

The Metal Slug Series.

Promo poster for all the main characters in Metal Slug 1-7

METAL SLUG 1 STORY

In 2028, General Donald Morden launches an all-out, global attack against the Regular Army.

With superior numbers and equipment, the Rebellion overwhelms the unsuspecting Regular Army troops easily.
The attacks could have been countered effectively, or even prevented,

had the high-ranking officials listened to the Regular Army's intelligence community,

which had been warning about all sorts of indications that the Rebellion could attack at any moment in decisive force.

Unfortunately, the same officials decide to save their own skins and announce that it was the intelligence failure that led to such catastrophe, which the personnel serving in the intelligence community did not appreciate whatsoever.
Meanwhile, Regular Army is pushed to near annihilation,

with cities that it was supposed to be protecting in ruins. General Morden makes an announcement that all of the major cities around the world will be under his control within 170 hours, also adding that any resistance would be futile.
The announcement certainly did not discourage a band of Regular Army soldiers attempt to salvage whatever they had left. Shortly after, a group named "Resistants" are formed by surviving members of the Regular Army and its researchers, who began to covertly convert the Metal Slug tank prototypes into combat-ready status in a hidden factory, hoping to launch a counter-offensive to regain what they had lost to the Rebellion. Morden just as quickly learns of this fact and attacks the plant, crushing the Resistants and capturing the tanks, putting an end to the counterattack even before it could begin. The vehicles are then scattered to prevent any ragtag Regular Army troops reclaiming them and using them to launch attacks.
Seeing the Regular Army panic and crumble, 1st Lieutenant Marco Rossi of the Regular Army Peregrine Falcons special forces unit quickly unites remaining Regular Army units and begins a desperate counter attack to reclaim the tanks, or destroy them all. Fighting alongside him is Second Lieutenant Tarma Roving from the same unit. Their main objectives were to engage the Rebellion and neutralize its leader, General Morden, while reclaiming the Metal Slug tanks to aid them in battles. If the tanks could not be recaptured, then they would have to be destroyed to prevent them from being used by the Rebellion.
After various campaigns, the Regular Army defeats the Rebellion forces and reestablishes stability. General Morden is apprehended near the end of the conflict and is jailed in a maximum security military prison complex while awaiting trial for his war crimes.
The soldiers of the Peregrine Falcons squad were declared heroes by the Regular Army officials, with the lieutenants Marco and Tarma being credited with many awards. However, not everyone treated the P.F. squad as such because Regular Army officials had been discredited by their failure to prevent the Rebellion attack.

Promotional poster for Metal Slug. (1996)

METAL SLUG 2/X

General Morden, the antagonist from the first game is back once more with his army, bent on taking over the world. It is up to the Peregrine Falcon squad, who are now joined by two new characters: Eri Kasamoto and Fiolina Germi of the Sparrows Intelligence Unit, to save the day. As the levels unfold, it turns out that Morden has allied with Martians to help facilitate his plans. In the final level of the game, the tables are turned when Morden comes under attack and is betrayed by his Martian allies and he is taken prisoner by them. An ad-hoc alliance is formed between the Peregrine Falcon squad and General Morden's army to combat the greater alien threat. After a long battle they succeed in defeating the Martians' Mothership, driving them off the Earth. Morden seems to have fallen from the ship strapped to a solid iron plate. While his soldiers celebrate, the plate loses its balance and crushes him.

Promo poster for Metal Slug X (1998)

METAL SLUG 3 [widely regarded as the best in the series]

The rebellion orchestrated by General Morden to bring about a new global regime is now ancient history, and order and peace has begun to return to the world. Morden, brought back into power, was attempting another coup d'état, but government forces got wind of the plot beforehand and pre-empted the impending assault.
Instrumental in squashing Morden's rebel forces, Marco and Tarma of the Peregrine Falcon Strike Force are ordered to lead the team after their earlier requests for resignation were denied. Although General Morden has been written off as "missing" by his followers, they have hidden themselves throughout the world, and Marco and Tarma's abilities and experience are seen as a necessity to destroy remaining rebel strongholds, one by one. Throughout the furious fighting against the holdouts, Marco and Tarma cannot help but suspect Morden's involvement in this new evil plan for world domination.
Meanwhile, the SPARROWS, a special strike force within the government intelligence agency, have come across a series of strange events running parallel to the Peregrine's pursuit of General Morden. From trivial abductions of livestock to the disappearance of government officials and the appearance of freakishly large creatures, numerous occurrences with nothing in common point to one grim possibility. General Morden is not the only menace to worry about. Eventually it is learned that the alien menace that appeared in Metal Slug 2/Metal Slug X have returned. After defeating what appears to be General Morden, it turns to really be an alien in disguise, while the real Morden was their prisoner (again). The aliens abduct the character the player uses, and another character takes his/her place. Once again, an ad-hoc alliance is formed to combat the external threat, with Rebel Army supplying a rocket ship that allows the player to break into the aliens' mothership. After a long battle throughout the ship's interior, mothership starts to collapse from all the damage. The player manages to escape, but is confronted by the aliens' leader, Rootmars, when falling through the Earth's atmosphere. Rootmars is defeated and is left for dead in the ocean.

Screenshot of Metal Slug 3 (2000)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8mK8gGa7sg&feature=related

[link to video of Mission 1]

METAL SLUG 4

One year after the events of Metal Slug 3, the world is trembling under the new threat of a mysterious but deadly cyber virus that threatens to attack and destroy any nation's military computer system. With Tarma and Eri unable to help due to their own assignments in the matter, Marco and Fio are called in to investigate the situation and are joined by two newcomers, Nadia and Trevor. In their investigation, the group discovers that a terrorist organization known as Amadeus is behind the nefarious plot and that they head into battle against Amadeus' forces, hoping to destroy the cyber virus before it gets the chance to wipe out the entire world's military computer system.
Halfway through the game's story mode, the player is confronted by one who they presume to be Morden, however in the final stage they find an underground facility where Terminator - like doubles of Morden are being manufactured. Since Morden does not reappear in Metal Slug 5, it is possible the mastermind behind the Amadeus organization may have had Morden assassinated at some point after the events of Metal Slug 6 and 7 (both are prequels to MS4.). Allen O' Neil, (who has appeared numerous times throughout the series) fights the player in this stage for (chronologically) the very last time, and is also revealed to be a machine like the Morden doubles before he is destroyed and the player confronts the leader of Amadeus.

METAL SLUG 5

A special disc that contains deep and intricate secrets about the Metal Slug project is stolen by a mysterious group called the Ptolemaic Army, whose specialty lies from within archaeological excavation and espionage. Marco and Tarma of the Peregrine Falcon Strike Force follow in hot pursuit against the group and in the process are joined by Eri and Fio of SPARROWS. Together once more, the quartet investigate the shrouded objective of the Ptolemaic Army.

METAL SLUG 6

Metal Slug 6 returns to the Rebel-Martian alliance featured in Metal Slugs 2, X, and 3, but on a much broader scale. Rather than repeating the previous games' events of the Martians breaking the alliance and the Rebels assisting the player in turn, the player now teams up with the Rebels and Martians to combat an even greater threat.

Promo poster for Metal Slug 6 (2006)

METAL SLUG 7

The Peregrine Falcon Strike Force, the Ikari Warriors, and the SPARROWS are once again on a search for General Morden and his army. Their mission is to catch General Morden and prevent his attempts at another coup d'état on the government. However, as soon as Morden was defeated, a strange army from the future came to his aid. Now, they must face Morden once again and this time, put a stop to his plans once and for all

Promo poster for Metal Slug 7 (2008)

Video of Metal Slug 5 Mission 1

3D rendition of the character Fiolina Germi

Sekejap, Ya?

2009-05-14T16:37:00.006+08:00

*toot, toot...*
-Helo dan selamat pagi.
Anda telah mendail nombor telefon Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam.
Bagaimanakah saya boleh membantu?
-[Wow.]
Hai, saya pelajar bernama Chuin Jim..
-Ya?
-Baru baru ini saya mendapat tawaran kursus perubatan ke Russia...
-Sekejap ya.
[Great. Here we go again...]
*click*
*toot, toot...*

-Helo?
-Hai, saya...
*censored*
-Oh, Luar Negara?
[ Oi!!!!!!!!!!!!]
*click & toot, toot*

-Helo?
-Hai, saya pelajar bernama Chuin Jim...
-Oh, kamu?
[Hmmm? The 1st secretary?]
Minta maaf ya...saya tak dapat menyambungkan kamu ke talian yang sepatutnya...
-*Getting desperate*
Tetapi saya ingin bertanya mengenai kursus persediaan di Kolej Cemara dan surat tawaran rasmi...
-Minta maaf...tetapi saya bukan dalam seksyen itu..
-.....................Err, adakah cik tahu dengan siapakah saya patut berhubung mengenai hal itu?
-Tentang surat tawaran rasmi itu, seorang pegawai akan mengendalikan pengendalian surat pada hari tersebut.
-Okay...
-Iaitu Cik Hidayah,
-Okay...
-03 8885 3388.
-Okay...
-Sekiranya tak dapat dihubungi, anda boleh cuba mendail 3668 ataupun 3890.
-??? Err, nombor telefon 4 digit?
-Bukan, ianya nombor telefon lain yang juga bermula dengan 03 8885..
-Oh...
-Sekiranya Cik Hidayah tak dapat dihubungi, anda juga boleh meminta untuk disambungkan kepada Cik Osman.
-Oh...Terima kasih.
-Sama sama.
*Click & toot, toot as usual...*

-Helo?
-Hai, adakah ini Cik Hidayah?
-Ya...
-Saya pelajar bernama....
*censored*
-...tentang surat tawaran rasmi itu, kamu akan menerimanya pada hari pendaftaran di Kolej Cemara..
-Okay.
Errr, saya ada soalan lain.
Saya ada terbaca di laman webnya,
http://topaz.kampus17.uitm.edu.my/nsas/
bahawa bagi pelajar yang memohon biasiswa JPA,
saya perlu membuat akaun di Bank Islam?
-Oh, tidak perlu...Yang itu hanya untuk membuat bayaran yuran pendaftaran..
-?????
Errr, saya juga ingat,
2 hari lalu seorang pegawai menelefon saya mengenai pembuatan akaun Maybank?
-Yang itu adalah untuk kemasukan elaun semasa kamu berada di Russia..
-*EH?*
Jadi, akaun bank manakah yang saya akan guna ketika di Kolej Cemara?
-Bank CIMB.
-*EHHH???*
Errr, Cik Hidayah, saya tidak mempunyai akaun Bank CIMB?
-Tiada masalah,
akan ada satu kaunter Bank CIMB untuk pelajar baru pada hari pendaftaran..
-Okay.....*reading my list of questions-to-ask*
Oh, ya..adakah saya dapat elaun makan?
-Yang itu.....bayaran biasanya RM430.00 sebulan.
Tetapi kali ini kami akan memasukkan bayaran untuk 3 bulan sekali gus.
-Saya juga diberitahu bahawa saya kena membiayai beberapa kos makan dengan wang sendiri dahulu?
-Ya, jangan risau. Wang kamu akan dikembalikan...
-??? Maksudnya saya kena bagi resit makan?
-...............yang wang RM430.00 itu lah...
-Oh...errr, soalan terakhir,
'Goverment Bond' yang akan saya tandatangani itu, untuk berapa tahun?
-Kamu mendapat kursus medic, ya?
-...ya.
-Biasanya 10 tahun.
-Oh....berkuatkuasa bila?
-....................hmm...bila kamu telah menamatkan pengajian.
-Oh...terima kasih.
-Sama sama. Ada apa apa lagi soalan, Jim?
- ?!
[Now that's a first.]
..........Tidak. Itu sahaja. Terima kasih kerana membantu saya, Cik Hidayah..
-Sama sama.
*click*

DISCLAIMER:
Retelling of events is told based on memory & may not be entirely accurate,
or even slightly distorted.

POSTSCRIPT:
Please do not make prank calls to Cik Hidayah.
Relevant calls are those pertaining to JPA Medicine students,
who are undertaking the Russian Programme soon at Kolej Cemara/Akasia in Shah Alam.

?

2009-05-14T15:11:00.005+08:00

There's rumours that the actual marks for the applicants' SPM results are reviewed by the JPA authorities?

Think of it.

All of us have (or will, eventually) taken the UPSR, PMR & SPM exams...

but the Malaysian Examination Council [Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia] only prints our grades on the results slips, never the marks.

...makes u wonder whether that 'A1' u got is a quality one or a border-line one....

(O_O)

DISCLAIMER:

Do take note that I said RUMOURS.

.........

2009-05-14T14:42:00.003+08:00

...weeks later,
& the turmoil in Perak is still not resolved....

Toot, Toot....

2009-05-13T19:17:00.008+08:00

*phone dialing tone*

-Helo?
-Hai, saya pelajar bernama Chuin Jim...
-Ok.
-Saya dimaklumkan baru-baru ini bahawa saya berjaya mendapat Biasiswa ke luar negara, untuk kursus perubatan...
-Ok.
-Bolehkah saya memohon untuk penukaran negara?
-....tunggu sekejap ya, saya akan menyambungkan kamu kepada pihak yang berkaitan.
-???
*phone clicks & dialing tone resumes*

[10 seconds later...]
-Helo?
-Hai, saya pelajar bernama............
[censored due to repetitious text...]
-tunggu sekejap...
[again???]
(then she mutters "dah dapat tapi nak tukar negara pula...")
[i think she forgot that she hadn't forwarded my call..]
*phone clicks & dialing tone resumes*

[after humming to the tune of the dialing tone for what seems.....]
-Helo?
-Hai, saya pelaj............
[censored]
-Oh, Luar Negara? Tunggu ya.
[What ?!]
*phone clicks again.....Toot, toot.....*

*clock ticks away....*
-Helo?
-Hai, saya pelajar...
[censored]
-Ya.
-Errr, saya mendapat tawaran ke negara Russia.
-Ya?
-Bolehkah saya memohon untuk ditajakan ke negara lain?
-Oh....yang itu, saya tidak dapat memberi kamu jawapan yang muktamad.
[oh no....]
...kerana bukan saya yang in-charge mengenai surat tawaran..
-Oh! Jadi dengan siapa saya patut berhubung mengenai hal saya?
-Kamu ada kertas dan pen?
-? Ya...
-Ok, sila tuliskan nombor ini. 03..
-03..
-8885...
-8885...
-3436...
-3436...Err,
biar saya menyemak semula nombor itu,
adakah ia 03-88853436?
-Ya. Nombor itu adalah nombor Pn. Maznah.
-Terima kasih.
-Sama sama.
*Phone clicks off*

*calling Pn. Maznah*
[gave up after hearing 20 sets Of Toot, toot....]
[redials the number...]
-Helo?
-Hai, adakah ini Pn.Maznah?
-Tidak...tetapi saya mungkin dapat membantu kamu.
Ada apa-apa soalan?
-Oh....saya pelajar...
[censored]
-...mengapakah kamu membuat permohonan sebegitu?
-Oh....sebab saya membuat permohonan tersebut adalah kerana,
-Ya?
-Saya bimbang bahawa saya tidak sempat mahir dalam bahasa Russia setibanya masa untuk pergi ke sana.
-Hmmm....
-Err, kalau itu berlaku, susah untuk saya memahami pengajaran dan pembelajaran di sana...
-Oh...tidak..untuk pelajar tajaan JPA, pembelajaran semuanya dalam bahasa Inggeris.
-Hmmm?
[that's not what i read on the Moscow Medical Academy's website...assuming i go there..
http://www.mma.ru/about/english/eduprograms
"During this year the applicant will be studying Russian language ..."]
Errr, saya difahamkan bahawa bahasa Russia ada digunakan oleh para pensyarah di sana?
-Oh...dalam pembelajaran, ia sepenuhnya dalam bahasa Inggeris..
tetapi bahasa kebangsaan mereka sekiranya kamu hendak berinteraksi dengan komuniti di sana..
Sila ambil perhatian, rayuan hanya akan dipertimbangkan bagi pemohon yang tidak berjaya mendapat sebarang tajaan oleh pihak JPA.
-*trying my luck*
Errr.....macam mana kalau situasinya begini,
saya memohon untuk tajaan biasiswa ditukar dari Russia ke negara lain,
dan ada orang lain pula memohon dari negara lain ke Russia,
adakah kami permohonan kami berdua akan dipertimbangkan?
-..........................................Tidak.
Keputusan pihak Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam adalah muktamad.
Kalau masalah bahasa saja yang merisaukan kamu,
janganlah bimbang.
Tujuan kamu mengikuti Kursus Persediaan 3 Bulan di Kolej Cemara adalah untuk belajar mengenai Russia.
-Wow. I never even mentioned Kolej Cemara...
Guess everyone in the JPA is a team player =)
-Ada apa-apa lagi?
-Hmmm...Tiada apa-apa lagi. Terima kasih.
-Sama sama.
*click*

Oh, great.
Absent-minded again.
What about that surat tawaran rasmi???

Postscript:

Please do not bombard Pn. Maznah with unnecessary phone calls that are not relevant to the JPA scholarships....

In A Matter Of 11 Years...

2009-05-12T19:47:00.007+08:00

...just returned from a trip to the barber,

Maybank & photo studio.

...unearthed old memories while raiding my room, too.. =)

Which one u'd think is cute?

The Fateful Phone Call.

2009-05-12T19:05:00.008+08:00

Great.
Time to acquire a need for speed.
A very polite JPA secretary just called,
& what do u know?
I've to assemble a long array of documents in a short period.

Phone rings.
-Hello?
-Adakah ini...Teoh Chuin Jim?
-[hmm?] Ya...
-[i've forgotten a lot of what was said...do forgive me] ...yang memohon untuk kursus perubatan?
-Ya...
-Anda mendapat tawaran melanjutkan pelajaran di Russia.

Adakah anda menerimanya?
-[Eh?!] Errr....adakah saya boleh memohon untuk negara lain?
-Minta maaf, keputusan tawaran adalah muktamad...tetapi anda mungkin boleh membuat permohonan sekiranya mendapat keputusan cemerlang dalam kursus persediaan nanti?
[or something like that, wasnt very sure of what she said...]
-Kursus Persediaan?
-Anda dikehendaki mendaftar diri di Intec UITM untuk Kursus Persediaan 3 bulan pada 17th May 2009, 8.00am.
-Okay...
-Alamat,
Kolej Cemara / Akasia,
Jalan Pinang Raja,
18/2 Seksyen 18,
40200 Shah Alam,
Selangor...
-Okay...
-Sila kemukakan RM210.00 sebagai bayaran pendaftaran juga...
-Ya, saya faham. Apakah dokumen yang perlu saya bawa?
-Sila bawa bersama 2 salinan IC peribadi,
1 salinan IC ibu bapa,
1 salinan surat beranak peribadi,
4 salinan slip keputusan SPM 2008,
16 keping gambar berukuran passport,
Sijil Berhenti Sekolah,
Sijil Kokurikulum yang berkaitan
[peringkat daerah, negeri, antarabangsa, blah blah blah]
Sila pastikan salinan semua dokumen yang dinyatakan tadi telah disahkan oleh...
[long list of names]
...pengesahan oleh pengetua sekolah juga boleh diterima.
-Saya faham...errr, apakah etika pakaian yang harus saya patuhi?
-[long list of clothes...]
...pakaian formal,
kasut berkulit hitam (kasut PVC hitam pun boleh),
seluar panjang hitam,
kemaja-T berlengan panjang,
yang bertali leher.
Selain itu, [something about a Maybank account, untuk menerima elaun]
-Errr...saya sudah mempunyai akaun Maybank peribadi?
-Oh, jikalau begitu sila kepilkanan salinan buku akaun dan kad ATM yang disahkan.
-..........Okay.
-Anda boleh membayar di Intec,
http://www.intec.uitm.edu.my/,
Kursus Jangka Pendek,
No.IC,
Cetak bil yuran pendaftaran,
dan bayar di mana-mana cawangan Bank Islam kepada "Bendahari UITM"
-[Realizing the reality of her words...] Eh, maksudnya, saya akan terus tinggal di asrama sebaik sahaja mendaftar di Kolej Cemara?
-..........Ya. Silalah membawa bantal, sarung bantal, cadar, selimut, kasut sukan, pakaian sukan, pakaian formal, sabun,
*censored due to extremely long list of recommended personal items to take along*
-Okay...errr, saya hendak menyemak semula alamat yang diberikan tadi, boleh tak?
-...Boleh
-*Repeats address*
-Eh, bukan Kolej Mara, ianya Kolej Cemara..
-Ohhh....
-Ada apa-apa pertanyaan lagi?
-Eh, BAGAIMANA PULA DENGAN SURAT TAWARAN RASMI yang sepatutnya diposkan ke alamat rumah saya????
-Kamu akan mendapatnya di Kolej Cemara.
[Of this sentence I AM NOT VERY SURE,, her words were kinda blurry]
-[Satisfied & contented?]
Tiada apa-apa persoalan lagi, terima kasih...
-Terima kasih juga kerana menjawab panggilan ini. =)
*Phone clicks off*

Then it dawned on me.
I forgot to take her name & phone number !!!
Good service, overall.
Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam...
Thank you for giving me an opportunity at attaining a quality education! (^-^)

Early Days...

2009-05-12T18:40:00.005+08:00

...early days at school are never exactly my favourite ones...

The leaflet given to everyone.

In a summary,
4 days is just long, looonngg, loooooonnnnngggggg..

Day 1
(i'll only mention those worth mentioning...)
-Taklimat Perjalanan Minggu Orientasi
-Upacara Perasmian
-Nyanyian Lagu Sekolah

Day 2
-Taklimat mata pelajaran Tingkatan 6
(Speeches on 12 different subjects by 12 teachers, each taking their own time...)
-Ujian Minat dan Kerjaya
-Taklimat Mengisi Borang Pemilihan Mata Pelajaran

The form that anyone taking Jurusan Kemanusiaan has to fill in.
-Sesi Ice Breaking
-Nyanyi lagu lagi =)

Day 3
-Taklimat mengenai fasiliti, kemudahan dan prasarana sekolah
-Taklimat Ko-kurikulum
-Lawatan Sambil Belajar Mengelilingi Sekolah...
-Sesi interaksi bersama Pelajar Tingkatan 6 Atas..
-Nyanyi, nyanyi, nyanyi

Day 4
-Upacara Penutup Minggu Orientasi
-Penempatan Pelajar ke kelas
-Bersihkan kelas dan pembelajaran bermula...
[Finally]

An overall view of the subjects taken by the 8 classes of P. Free School Lower Six 2009

"...melahirkan pelajar prauniversity yang berfikiran MATANG dan..."?

Right....the school canteen has booing sessions everyday without fail,

participation by students transcending the divisions of all forms..

[though its mostly limited to guys...ouch]

At A Crossroads...

2009-05-11T18:46:00.006+08:00

...these few days have been kinda stressful.

Many, many years ago, I enrolled in Georgetown Baptist Church for kindergarten.

Then Penang Buddhist Association at Anson Road.

The details, I cannot recall...

Then delved into Wellesley School 'till Standard 5...

Bukit Gambier School next.

*no no no no no, i didnt get myself expelled..

gee. Twas due to migration from Anson Road to Bukit Gambier.

Displacement of...8km?

More convenient (in terms of time travel & transportation costs)

Then off to Penang Free School.

Years later,

I'm now at a crossroads...

Take up Form 6 at my alma mater?

Appeal for Matriculation?

Accept the JPA Medicine Overseas offer with the condition i serve a 10 year bond?

...take up a PTPTN Loan & further my studies at a prestigious institution somewhere ??

The following points i wrote during my free time in the dormitory during National Service.

No reference to the Internet then.

Pure logic & impressions sown by friends & family.

DISCLAIMER:

Thus therefore,

some discussed points may be stereotyped,

or debatable..

ADVANTAGES

The advantages of Form 6?

[assuming I'm taking Free School F6]

-Fees & expenses are minimal,

-I'll be in an environment that I'm familiar with,

-I will be granted an early leave from National Service,

-Plenty of time to study over 2 years

[thus therefore not so stressful?]

-Close to home,

-Excellence in STPM is internationally recognised.

Tally Check For Form Six = 6 points.

Matriculation.

Hmmm...

-Early leave from National Service,

-A chance to experience life away from home & living in a hotel,

-Successful completion of matriculation guarantees easy access to local universities.

Tally Check For Matriculation = 3 points

College.

-Quality education,

-Fast track learning,

-Competitive classes,

-Facilities most likely to be available & functional always?

-Excellence at certain colleges offer a chance to further my studies overseas?

Tally Check For College = 5 points.

DISADVANTAGES

Form Six

-2 years is a long time to complete "A" Levels

-STPM is rumored to be hard & tough.

-Committed, dedicated & quality teachers are hard to find?

-Comprehension of lessons most probably requires tuition to aid in understanding...

[ $$$, RM50 - RM60 a subject, 2-4 hours a week? Help...]

Tally Check For Form Six = 4 points.

Matriculation

-Confidence in getting a quality education? Low...

-Matriculation is not internationally recognised?

[ most of the time...]

Tally Check For Matriculation = 2 points

College

-Not all local colleges that bestow Certificates,

Diplomas & Degrees are recognised by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency [MQA],

or even global academic authorities.
-Short term courses...12 months, 18 months?

*STRESS* *STRESS* *STRESS*

-Expenses...average RM20K per diploma isn't cheap.

-Losing interest halfway is costly...
[lost time, lost deposit, lost cash... $$$]

Tally Check For College = 4 points.

OVERALL IMPRESSION POINTS

= Advantages Points - Disadvantages Points

Form Six

= 6 Advantages - 4 Disadvantages

= 2 Impression Points

Matriculation

= 3 - 2

= 1 Impression Point

College

= 5 - 4

= 1 Impression Point?

...Free School it is, at the moment...

just waiting for the arrival of JPA's letter...

& waiting,

& waiting... =(

Logan

2009-05-10T21:33:00.008+08:00

I was never really a fan of the X-Men cartoons in the 90's,

but ever since Bryan Singer presented a brilliant rendition of them onto the silver screen through X-Men (2000) & X2 (2003),

having not read the comics before,

it could be said that his version was stunning.

*He's the director, if u didn't know.

Anyway, long story made short,

9 years since the release of the first film,

X-Men Origins - Wolverine marks the 4th in the film series. =)

*under a different director, yes...

but it still has impressive scene locations & action sequences.

*watched it the day after returning from Kuah, Langkawi.

Haven't seen it?

Go check it out! (^-^)

Movie Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCTDVNgNUeY

Or if u're just lazy to go to the movies,

*or budget's kinda tight? =(

u can read the synopsis.

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Courtesy of Wikipedia.

In 1845 Canada,

young James Howlett sees his father John killed by his half-brother Victor Creed's father, Thomas Logan.

In an act of vengeance, James kills the elder Logan using bone claws which protrude from his knuckles.

With his dying breath, Logan tells James that he is his real father.

Together, James and Victor then run away, with Victor's vow that they shall look out for each other.

In many years to pass,

the brothers fight together throughout several tremendous wars,

with their regenerative healing factor keeping them from being killed in the battlefield,

and allowing them to go for long periods of time without aging.

James is forced to act as a check on Victor's ever-increasing rage and ferocity.

Due to his bloodlust, Victor, (Sabretooth) in an unrelenting fury lashes out at fellow officers, killing one of them.

When James sees this, he tries to stop Victor, but at the same time he stands by his side.

After being sentenced to death by firing squad, they are held in a prison, their healing factors keeping them alive.

William Stryker approaches the two mutants and offers them membership in Team X, an elite group of mutants.

The brothers join the group, and are instructed to retrieve a meteorite from a diamond traffic operation headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria.

After this attempt goes wrong and ends up killing civilians in Lagos, James is disgusted by the actions of Team X and leaves the group.

Six years afterward, James - now going by the name of his real father, Logan - lives in Canada as a lumberjack with his girlfriend Kayla Silverfox.

Stryker, now a colonel, locates Logan and asks for his assistance because Victor is hunting down the members of Team X and killing them, but is refused.

Shortly after, Victor returns and murders Silverfox.

Logan attempts to battle his half-brother, though Victor defeats him, having grown stronger.

It is then that Logan accepts Stryker's request for help, and undergoes an operation involving his skeletal system being reinforced with adamantium, a virtually indestructible metal retrieved from the meteorite.

Before the procedure, Logan asks for his new dog tags to be inscribed with "Wolverine".

After the procedure, Stryker orders Wolverine's memory to be erased, but Wolverine overhears this and flees.

Stryker orders expert marksman Agent Zero to hunt and kill him.

Zero finds Wolverine hiding out at a barn, but Wolverine kills Zero first.

Wolverine heads to Las Vegas.

There, he locates former Team X members John Wraith, who can teleport, and Frederick Dukes, a former boxer whose mutation has rendered him massively obese.

Wolverine tells the two he is seeking to learn the location of Stryker's new laboratory, and then Fred tells him that Stryker is performing experiments on captured mutants.

Fred also tells Logan that one of them, Remy LeBeau (alias Gambit), had escaped the island and knows the location.

Wolverine also learns that Victor is actually working for Stryker, capturing and killing mutants.

Wraith and Wolverine travel to New Orleans and locate Gambit.

Gambit, however, suspects Wolverine was sent to recapture him and attacks him.

At the same time, Victor arrives and kills Wraith and escapes, as Wolverine was distracted by Gambit.

Gambit realizes Wolverine was not set out to capture him and agrees to take Wolverine to the mutant prison on Three Mile Island.

Once there, Wolverine confronts Stryker and learns Silverfox is still alive, having faked her death with hydrochlorothiazide; Silverfox, actually a mutant with the powers of persuasion, was keeping track of the captive mutants in order to free her sister, Emma Frost.

After learning what truly happened to him in the past, he forgoes his path of revenge and leaves the island.

But beforehand, Silverfox leads Wolverine to the holding cells, and he frees the mutants there.

Panicking, Stryker prematurely activates his newest creation, Weapon XI (also known as Deadpool, a surgically altered Wade Wilson with the 'pooled' abilities of other mutants, supposedly making him the 'ultimate mutant killer').

Weapon XI attacks Wolverine and escaped mutants, which results in Silverfox being stabbed. The mutants escape through the facility's tunnels, guided by a young Scott Summers who is following a voice in his head.

Outside, the party encounters a helicopter, from which emerges Professor Charles Xavier, who has guided them to safety and offers them shelter at his school.

The fight between Wolverine and Weapon XI spills onto the top of one of the plant's cooling towers.

As all hope is lost for Wolverine, Victor arrives and aids his brother (claiming no one will kill James but him).

Wolverine and Victor, now working together, are able to decapitate Weapon XI.

Wolverine coldly informs Victor that despite his help, their relationship is over.

Victor simply reminds him that as brothers, they can never be finished, and escapes.

Wolverine rushes back to the plant to find Silverfox, but is promptly shot in the head with an adamantium bullet from Stryker and is knocked unconscious.

Silverfox uses her powers to order Stryker to walk away , then dies from her injuries.

Gambit returns to assure Wolverine that the escaped mutants are safe, but due to amnesia caused by the brain damage the adamantium bullet inflicted, Wolverine does not remember anything.

Gambit tries to convince Wolverine to come with him, but he declines.

Gambit wishes Wolverine good luck before departing, and then Logan flees the scene as the ambulances and police arrive.

Post credits scenes

The film has several additional scenes during and after the credits.

The first of these scenes plays a few seconds into the credits, and depicts William Stryker walking down a road.

Due to Silverfox's order, the toes of his shoes are torn and bloody from walking for so long.

A military vehicle drives up behind him and he is apprehended by military police for questioning about the death of a general that he murdered earlier in the film in order to protect his personal vendetta against mutants.

Depending on which theater the movie was shown in, one of two possible endings then appear following the credits.

The first depicts Weapon XI's hand reaching out from the rubble of the nuclear complex to touch his severed head.

The second alternate scene shows Wolverine drinking at a bar in Japan.

The female bartender asks if he is drinking to forget; Wolverine replies that he's drinking to remember...

Spontaneous caricature by a fan.