Journal entry 12

Entry for English class - June - week 18 & 19

Well, it's been so long since I've even visited this blog, with my exams for two weeks and my holidays, I am finally taking the initiative to write this post during the holidays...(holiday happiness is starting to get to my head, I'm almost becoming diligent...well, "almost") 

Since this is an impromptu post, I really have nothing much to talk about besides my most recent trip to Malacca from the 1st of June till the 4th of June.

I joined this trip because it was held by my Church Youth Commitee, KAYM. It was a four day long trip with the theme 'Placing God First' and boy, was it an amazing trip.

It started in the afternoon, we were to gather at the church (well, more of a chapel actually) by 2:30 p.m. And took a 3 hour long bus ride to a well established Christian sanctuary appropriately named, 'El Sanctuary'.

The area was nothing short of breath-taking, nature all around, plenty of open space and many friendly dogs just waiting for a pat on the head and some playful marshmallow chasing, a true sanctuary. The sanctuary was managed by a kind family who have made it their lives to run the place. The sessions we attended were very informative and group sharing really made me think and look into my heart for the answers. The food, as was expected, was magnificent, being to many camps, most of my most dreaded experiences tend to happen because of the food, imagine my surprise when the most tantalizing of aromas wafted in to the hall when the facilitators opened the doors to inform us the food was ready. 

I spent many nights in the air conditioned hall just sitting and talking to my friends about our lives and comparing jokes (some of which were a little...racist) haha, but nobody got offended.

It was an amazing trip filled with fun, merry-making, information, and many new friends well, my diligence has run out, hopefully the next time I update will be after my trip to penang for another camp, so till then, 'Arrivederci alla prossima volta' (goodbye, until next time (Italian (because it is one of my favorite languages))) 


p.s. just a note, i actually wrote this entry beforehand but did not get a chance to post it xD

journal entry 11

Entry for English Class - May - week 14 & 15

Exams are almost here!! As I type out this entry, I realise that this is my last stress free weekend for the next THREE weeks as I will be facing one of all teenagers' fiercest adversaries...MIDTERMS. Oh, just the thought of that word and the three weeks of torture that are sure to come with it makes my skin crawl. The shiver that runs up my spine is, discomforting to say the least...

Moreover, the moment I go home, I'm going to have to rush through my add math and moral projects. Now, we were given at least a month for this Add Math project (well, I think its more like a couple of weeks, but I'll round off the number to make my life easier) and more than a couple of months for the Moral project. Now, to any sensible homo sapien, this seems like plenty of time to finish these projects. However, keep in mind, I am still a teenager, meaning, I have mastered the skill of 'procrastinating' (I'm not saying all teenagers are like me, but you have to admit...most of us are like this...) so I have to rush through another project...again (One would think I would have learned my lesson after so many times, oh well...)

Well, seeing as I do not want to prolong this entry any longer, as I want to occupy the remaining time I have procrastinating till I have to stay up till very early in the morning finishing up my projects... Cheerio, my good people. Till next time.

Dear Editor

Dear editor,
 
  In this multicultural country that we live in, one will most definitely encounter many facets of our colourful society. Be that as it may, I am not addressing this letter to you so as to rave about our cultural differences. Instead, I wish to highlight on a few 'unique' Malaysian behaviors that have been practically indoctrinated here. While many advertise our beloved country as the perfect tropical getaway, by highlighting mostly on the good aspects of Malaysians, we must acknowledge that there are still many social problems that have yet to be established as well as a few unacceptable behaviours that are portrayed by some Malaysians.
 
  One of the daily problems that I have encountered is the inability to obey the law when it comes to parking. Now, some may have to resort to illegal parking when they have no other choice, now although it is illegal, it can be acceptable if the driver parks his/her car in a fashion that does not disrupt traffic or causes any inconvenience to other road users. However, many cases of illegal parking i.e. especially double or triple parking, are mostly caused by the driver's inconsideration to others. For example, the roads outside most schools tend to get very congested when it is time for the students to be picked up. Normally, it is understandable if many parents come at once, however, the situation nowadays is that parents have become selfish, they are unwilling to drive a few inches in front so that they do not block the traffic, instead they want to be in front of the gate, going to the extent of double or triple parking just to be in front of the gate. This act of selfishness will be inculcated by their children, making this an endless cycle of selfish drivers who park where they want, when they want without considering others.
   
  Next, many Malaysians have no problem with littering even if the next dustbin is only a few steps away. This paints a very unsightly picture for the eyes of visitors. While a few locals do not mind the overwhelming stench of garbage as they are used to it, visitors from other countries, especially Europe where hygiene is of the utmost priority, will be appalled by the amount of rubbish littered on sidewalks and other public places, where uncleared produces a foul odour. Many Malaysians also have no issue with spitting. Perhaps it is acceptable to spit on dirt roads or the like, but I have personally seen, a bunch of youngsters spitting on the floor of a cafe in an established shopping mall. This crude behaviour is to a point, disgusting and should not be done in public places as it is also quite a self-centered behaviour.

   Furthermore, many youths today are quite self-centered. Just the other day, it was quite busy in the subway as I waited for my train. Many people were lining up to get onto the subway train when the person in front of me suddenly stopped to talk to her 'friend' causing the whole line to stop. When I tried to politely ask her and her friend to give way, they had the audacity to turn up their noses at me and continue talking in the middle of the road. As I was desperate to not miss the last train, I had to resort to 'inconspicuously' shove them aside, causing them to give me a dirty look, which I cared not about.

    These issues that I have highlighted are only the tip of the iceberg of rude behaviour in our country. As a fellow human, I am aware that it is imposibble for anyone to be perfect, this does not mean we have an excuse to be inconsiderate to others. I do not ask others so force themselves to be perfect, I merely request that we display a basic level of courtesy in our daily lives.

journal entry 10

Entry for English Class - April - week 12 & 13

Hello my dear readers!!! (no matter how few you may be) another joint entry from me for last week and this week.

Last week pretty uneventful for me as nothing important happened...well I don't think anything happened...oh well.
Now *cracking fingers* allow me to type all about this slightly-more-eventful-week of my life. First things first, last Tuesday, i.e. 17th of April was my Dad's birthday, the special day was celebrated much like every other birthday in my family, i.e. spent the day together and had cake at night with all the other customers, this year, my dad had to blow out the candles of FIVE different cakes, four of which were brought in by some of our regulars.

On Wednesday, I spent my time making beaded turtles...boring, however, I couldn't allow this boring day to get me down as I realised that this Saturday, my friends from the Science and Maths club and I were going to spend half a day in FRIM (for those of you who may not be aware, this stands for Forest Research Institute of Malaysia) Let me cut the week short by retelling the events of the trip to you...well, the parts I can remember at least.

To cut the story short, I fell asleep on the bus ; breathed in a lungful of fresh air when I got out of the bus ; listened to our guide, Dino talk about wild boars and how cute they were...or something like that.
Saw giant fish, appropriately dubbed, Arapaima Gigas, with scales the colour of the midnight sky that were bordered by deep gold lines on a streamline body ; scared my friend by telling her if I pushed her in it would swallow her in one gulp, the usual.

During the jungle trek, I was busy scribbling notes to be written into an essay (because Pn Lim S.K. said so...) on a sorry excuse of paper, crumpled from being stuffed into my pocket so that I could whip out my camera (which I "borrowed") from my parents' shop...

Next came the canopy walk...I almost died on the path to the path towards the canopy walk...I thought the first part was Hell, till I reached the second part, a practically straight up path, 500 meters above ground, I wanted to give up halfway, but through sheer willpower (actually, I just wasn't able to go back down as it was a one way road) I made it to the top, and my, was it worth it, the fresh air blowing into my face and the wonderful view below me. It was funny really, I hate climbing but I love being high above ground. Getting down was a lot easier but it started to drizzle on our way down. We had lunch and I was a bit upset that we were not able to make it for a tour of FRIM's, Wood Museum. oh well, when we got back, I managed to do some of my school projects with a few friends. Then I went back to the shop, where I literally passed out on the couch.

Well, this entry is a bit rushed and somewhat vague, but since I'm going to type out my essay soon, I don't want to make myself redundant...to myself, oh well, till next time, ciao. 

journal entry 09

Entry for English Class - March & April - week 9, 10, 11

Well, seeing as I am once again, LATE for another three entries, why don't I lump everything together for a post...I don't see the problem with it as all three will probably say the same things, i.e nothing eventful, my life is quite boring, and all that nonsense that will in the end lead up to another sorry excuse for a half-past-six blog post.

This week, I was faced with a huge problem, one that I really wish I could avoid, alas, my duty to my classmates has proven to be more important than my fear of 'hard-work'. Anyway, to elaborate on the statement as most reading this post are probably unaware of my plight, I have been assigned the "wondrous" duty of mass producing 3D bead animals to be sold. Before you get ahead of yourself and wonder if this is some sort of dreamy student's way of getting rich, well, it's not...I am bearing the weight of this responsibility as my way of contributing to the class, as all the proceeds will be used to pay for our class' spread in this year's NOSTALGIA (school magazine/yearbook thing...) issue.

Now, why would a student have to go to such great pains to earn money for a magazine? you ask, after all, one or two pages in the magazine couldn't possibly cost that much, right? Well, no...you must understand that my class is full of ambitious people, said people seem to think money grows on trees and requested, not one, not two or three but FOUR, FOUR pages in the magazine, not only that, but they want four COLOURED pages!!

I, for the life of me, am unable to comprehend why you even need or want to spend money on PAGES in a BOOK...nor can I understand the need for FOUR pages in said book!! Seeing as I am uncertain of who these 'ambitious' people are, I will refrain from pointing any fingers, but I do have my own thoughts about who they may be.

Now, after jobs were assigned to some people, I had to face yet another predicament, beads...Where was I going to get enough beads for the project ( I am not praising my creations, but I must admit, many people have already offered to buy the products of my blood and sweat, so I know they will be a hit) I was told that the beads were to be bought from Ipoh as one of the people in charge was going there on Saturday. I thought that everything was settled, all I had to do was organize meetings with the other helpers to make sure that the products could be ready on time. Life seemed to be having fun throwing stones on my path, that Saturday, I received a call from the person who was to buy the beads...They were expensive....well, I knew that beads were not easy to get and the price for them was quite high, which is why I told them that the cost of the beaded animals was quite high as well. With all the problems that emerged, today I am still deprived of the beads for the project. Not only that, these problems have screwed up my schedule for the Children's Labour Beading Camp ( the name some customers at my parent's shop have graciously bestowed on the meetings soon to be held there between my classmates and I to make the animals)

As I end this journal entry, I am quite glad to say that it is a whole lot longer than what I thought it was going to be. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed, let's hope I get the beads quickly so I can start filling out the orders before a riot breaks out with student screaming, "Where is my PENGUIN?!!"

Look at these adorable little guys

Cheers

Journal entry 08

-Entry for English Class - March 2012 - week 8

Another overdue entry, sadly, my diligence in updating this blog has decreased greatly and I am now combating the symptoms of laziness. I will do my best to win the battle and maybe I can update this blog more frequently like I'm supposed to. It has been a dull week so far, nothing but the horrors of getting back my test scores. I'm happy that I managed to "pass" my add math test but overall, my results are nothing short of disappointing.

Well, I guess that's it for this post…till the next one I guess...

Journal entry 07

-Entry for English Class - March 2012 - week 7

Well, a late entry this week...First things first, exams, are....OVER!!!!!
Okay, now that I've successfully let out that exclamation of joy, lets get back to the events which happened this week. Well, this week, I'm free from having to lug my heavy backpack to school, so that's always a wonderful experience.
And this week, I was blessed with the opportunity to take part in a special event called, 'Compassion Walk'. For those of you who are unaware of this amazing event which is held annually in many parts of the world during the season of lent(which is 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday until Easter observed by Christians as a season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter.) and this event made its first appearance on Malaysian soil in the year 2011. Last year's theme was 'Remember Me' it was held by ASAYO(Archdiocese Single Adult And Youth Office) the venue was St John's Cathedral near Bukit Bintang. Sadly, I was too young to take part in the event last year as the minimum age is 17 years old. So, as I am finally allowed to take part, I rushed to write down my name on that registration form.

Compassion Walk this year was different from last year, because, last year youths went around feeding the hungry and giving out hugs, this year however, the theme was to 'Listen to 'that' voice' so, instead of giving out hugs, we lent a listening ear for the residents around the Port Klang residential area for the people to tell us their stories. Although I was excited at the beginning of the event especially after getting into my group, E66, things weren't looking up for us, after getting turned away from at least 4 houses (Klang people aren't the most open of people...) Those of us in group E66 were starting to lose our enthusiasm. We walked around aimlessly, tired and hungry, just hoping to use up the remaining 2 hours of our time we happened upon a house with a simple sign on it, 'EDUCARE' we hesitated to call upon the owner of the house as there were already other participants in the house, helping to pack the things in the house, they welcomed our help happily and we met the 'owner of the, store house apparently, Sister Mary Therese. She informed us of the role Educare played in that small area, they(other sisters of the faith and several willing volunteers from Klang) teach underprivileged children to master the English language as well as teaching them good moral values. As she told us about the plight of these children from broken homes, I couldn't help but shed a tear or two, thinking about how lucky I really was, after all, our parents and teachers can only teach us so much, witnessing it ourselves how these people get by with their lives practically in shambles is a real eye-opener and it made me realize how petty all my complaints were. Sister Mary Therese told us something that I will treasure, "God doesn't count the amount of praises you get, God counts the amount of love you share with people"
After that, we gathered in the hall to hear testimonials from other groups about how their day went, and I was happy to note, mine wasn't the only group who had a rough start but everything turned out great for everyone in the end.

Well, I guess that's it from me this week, Happy Holidays everyone!!! Remember, always live life to the fullest!