Rowie's Scribbles

This will be short since I'm still gaining my feet back :D Well 11 hr bus rides can be fun: 1. Random singing 2. Endless talking 3. *!*-gilo 4. Sleep 5. Food at places you'll probably never go to again The debate at Arau was different from last yr: 1. More teams participating 2. We had teams from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia & Taiwan 3. We had double-quarters rather than octo-finals 4. The food was marginally better 5. Many new faces 6. Trips to Gua Kelam (which I didn't get to join coz of my blasted ankle) 7. Both UMP teams made it to top 10 by round 5 Yet there were disappointments: 1. Judges who couldn't differentiate between new matter & a rebuttal 2. Judges who somehow didn't catch key words which were emphasized over & over again 3. Topics that were too general for Australasian debating format 4. Some topics were just plain silly 5. The food served for the Opening & Closing Dinners were not very good 6. Insects still colonized the beds 7. Pr...

Woooooooooo what an exciting day it was! Well, yesterday :D Some people had asked me about the exam results, so Mrs. June called me & read me the results of each person one by one... My opinion: 1. I'm so happy & proud that almost all did very VERY well! It's your hard work & you deserved it! Some did not make it but it doesn't mean failure; as someone told me, "without failure, success is meaningless". 2. Thanks to Mrs. June who spent time to teach us, even getting a room for some of us to come over & have class in Kuantan. Thanks for helping each one of us to understand the subject & answer the questions! 3. Hopefully this will encourage y'all to study harder for future exams! It'll only be tougher from now on but that means the value of your music education will rise! Congratulations to all! PS. If you want your result, please SMS me. You can also wait for me to get the email & I can email the results to you *please leave your em...

It seems fitting to write an entry dedicated to the teachers I've had after the post glorifyin' my results :p Celebrated on May 16 in Malaysia, this day celebrates the virtues & the dedication of our teachers, & to show our appreciation for this special group of people who immerse themselves in the world of sharing knowledge.  Some of the teachers I would like to lay praise on, the top 10, in no particular order: 1. Mrs Loh : My Standard 1 teacher,  despite being the small geek I was, she never taught me differently & was always kind to me. 2. Ms Elizabeth Xavier : She taught me the magic of chemistry & through her eyes, it became one of my favorite subjects, partly the reason why chemical engineering was so appealing to me. 3. Mr Han : Eccentric, he's the example of how a really dedicated teacher should be. You couldn't find another guy more in love with teaching (I hope he doesn't mind that I think so!) than him! 4. Pn. Elizabeth Easaw : "I kn...

I was dead bored & wondered if the grades for Petrol & PCI were out yet, which I thought, nah ...But I was bored so I checked it out & they were out! Here are my grades for sem 6 :) Chemical Plant Utilities Lab A Chemical Engineering Lab III A Engineering Graphics A OSH in Chemical Industries A Petroleum Technology A Process Control & Instrumentation A Project-Based Proposal Writing A Unit Operations II B+ (darn it!) My GPA is 3.92, my CPA now is 3.72...Still on track but Unit Op is a damn shame! 2 more semesters to go folks!

I admit that I was quite busy today so I didn't have time to write this post earlier, but better late than never, right? :) How did Mother's Day came to be? It was created by Anna Jarvis to honor the mother & was originally a US celebration. Malaysia celebrates it on the 2nd Sunday of May. Celebration or Manipulation? As is the common argument around Valentine's Day, has Mother's Day, too, become another excuse for spending money for silly thrills? Has it become a mere gimmick of commercialization? According to IBISWorld, Americans (alone!) spend $2.6billion on flowers, $1.53billion on gifts & $68million for greeting cards! What was supposed to be a celebration to honor our mothers became a machine generating billions of dollars worth of cards, commercials, gifts, flowers etc! Money, money, money...but where's the love? How to avoid THAT trap? Be genuine. Celebrate the true purpose of Mother's Day. Here are some tips about what you can do to make it spec...

I'm gonna email this soon, so here are my answers :) 1. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin; Deputy Prime Minister:  How would you like to see Malaysia in the future? Liberal & developed 2. Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat; Transport Minister & MCA President:  What do you understand by "youth empowerment"? Youths taking control of their lives & recognizing their abilities to contribute even as youths. 3. Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek; Youth & Sports Minister:  What can you contribute to the country in this time of economic crisis? Support local SMEs & cut down on excessive spending. Now's not the time to be materialistic. 4. Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil; Women, Family & Community Development Minister:  Are you ready for gender equality? I was waiting for the rest of you to catch up. 5. Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes; CEO Air Asia:  What will it take for you as a youth to think "Malaysian" first & "Chinese/Indian/Malay" second? When racial discri...

It seems I'm in a mood for dreams :p Broken Dreams There is grey in your hair. Young men no longer suddenly catch their breath When you are passing; But maybe some old gaffer mutters a blessing Because it was your prayer Recovered him upon the bed of death. For your sole sake - that all heart's ache have known, And given to others all heart's ache, From meagre girlhood's putting on Burdensome beauty - for your sole sake Heaven has put away the stroke of her doom, So great her portion in that peace you make By merely walking in a room. Your beauty can but leave among us Vague memories, nothing but memories. A young man when the old men are done talking Will say to an old man, "Tell me of that lady The poet stubborn with his passion sang us When age might well have chilled his blood.' Vague memories, nothing but memories, But in the grave all, all, shall be renewed. The certainty that I shall see that lady Leaning or standing or walking In the first loveliness of...

This is an interesting piece from today's StarTwo: these questions are asked by local personalities to know the mindset of today's youth, especially Malaysian. Here's what I'd ask you folks to do: 1. Get a piece of paper & a pencil/pen 2. Write down your answers to each question 3. Reflect on your answers. 4. Pick your favorite 5 questions. Here are the questions: 1. Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin; Deputy Prime Minister:  How would you like to see Malaysia in the future? 2. Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat; Transport Minister & MCA President: What do you understand by "youth empowerment"? 3. Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek; Youth & Sports Minister: What can you contribute to the country in this time of economic crisis? 4. Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil; Women, Family & Community Development Minister: Are you ready for gender equality? 5. Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes; CEO Air Asia: What will it take for you as a youth to think ...

2 things today drove me to write this post: 1. Sis was talking about how nice it was to lose weight & try on a top to realize that losing weight was worth it. She then adds that looking good is a side benefit...yet isn't it hypocritical to say beauty is a side benefit when you preening about that ALONE?  2. Then perhaps from that bout of praising the outfit, she goes to the phone & calls the store. RM89 for a black sleeveless top. Expensive, much? When I ask why must she buy it coz it is expensive, she says it's worth it & better than buying a lot of collared T-shirts, which I feel is an insult coz I wear it & it sounds like another bite about my weight. I went back to read my article about my weight: I am still the same person. I don't think I should lose weight to look beautiful, I hate people putting pressure on me to lose weight for that SUPERFICIAL reason. I am still angry & frustrated that people won't let me work it off at my own pace. Is it ...

Going Green seems to be the new tag for this millenium, which is no surprise since we've done more than our share of killing Mother Earth.  Some statistics to warm your cockles: The amount of wood & paper we use every yr = enough energy to heat 50 MILLION homes for 20 yrs A single polysterene cup contains a billion billion CFC molecules (1000,000,000,000,000,000) 1 car driving 1000 miles a month adds 120 tonnes of CO 2  a yr Every yr, a million seabirds, 100000 marine mammals & 50 000 fur seals are killed from strangulation by plastic In 2008, 500 people across Hungary died due to a heatwave that reached 41.9C. There's a lot more but, really, aren't we already aware of the dangers that our selfish activities has wrought upon us? We can do our part to reduce our negative impact on earth. Go Green, I say: Avoid Fast Food Fast food are usually overpackaged (not to mention overpriced) & cutting down on fast food will help cut down the excessive plastic packaging use...

Celebrated by Buddhists around the world, this event is also known as Buddha Day. Malaysians celebrated it on the 1st of May; since it coincided with Labor Day, that date has double significance for us. 3 main events of Lord Buddha's life are celebrated: 1. His birthday 2. Enlightenment 3. Achievement of Nirvana We remember the night of his enlightenment, his insights of his previous lives & his revelations about nature, death, karma, reincarnation, suffering & lusts. We take steps to pay homage to him: Donations Food to the needy Offerings of incense, joss sticks, flowers Prayers & chanting of sutras Candle procession Release of birds, insects & animals The main objectives: Remembering Lord Buddha Bringing happiness to others We observe this date with humility & purity of heart to make it a worthwhile gesture :)