Today... I went cloud hunting...

Since the last time I took pictures of flowers, this time I decided to take pictures of clouds...Give some comment on the pictures I've taken please.... I want to know whether they are nice a not..

Damiral's Grill....

Just yesterday, I went to Damiral's Grill with my mom and some friends... Thursday night, food hunting night...Well... We walked in.. I must say that the layout of the restaurant is impressive. Let's see if the food is nice...Well, there are a variety of food served here, all western though; steak, chicken, fish, LOBSTER, etc... Well, after much pondering, I decided to take a platter of steak and lobster.

The appetizer.. Soup in a bun...

Not bad... Very cheesy and filling.. All of us had fun pinching and tearing the bun into pieces and dipping it in the soup...

My steak with lobster...

Well, I started with a small piece of the steak... It was nice... BUT, when I tried the lobster, it wasn't lobster. It had small prawns, not lobster... I felt CHEATED!!!
Well, my rating for this restaurant is 6/10, since it didn't give lobster as stated in the menu. If it had real lobster in it, I would have given a 8/10.

Hey! Look at this cool gadget!

Want to keep your drink chilled for a longer time while you work at the computer? I have found a gadget by DreamCheeky, a portable fridge, powered by USB!
It can hold only one can and once you hook it up to a USB port, the device will take about 5 minutes to cool to 8 degrees celcius.
Plus, this fridge is not like any other fridge, this fridge can not only cool your drink, but it can also heat up your coffee with a flick of a switch.
Inside, the USB fridge has a single blue LED to light up the interior. The retro fridge is available in red and black.

Petrol finally controlled in Malaysia...

Petrol prices have been rising dramatically and we all know, the government has been subsiding the fuel prices. Finally, after so long, our government has taken action on foreigners who buy petrol in Malaysia. Petrol stations in states like Johor and Perlis shall be barred from selling petrol and diesel to foreign vehicles. Our country should have taken this action long ago. The foreigners were taking advantage of the low fuel and diesel prices, because of the subsidy the government is giving. Petrol stations in those states who are not banned to sell to foreigners are only allowed to sell 20 liters of petrol at most to foreigners.

Myanmar finally opens its doors.

The path of Cyclone Nargis

The government of Myanmar finally opens its doors to all foreign cyclone aid workers. The cyclone had hit Myanmar and left 2.4 million destituted and killed nearly 134 000 people three weeks ago.
Than Shwe also agreed to allow the airport in Yangon to be used as a logistical hub for distribution of aid, which is still only trickling in.
Why did the government wait so long then only allowing aid workers to come in? Why? The government of Myanmar allowing cyclone aid workers in is certainly a breakthrough. Maybe the reason why the generals opened their doors is because they feared thousands nore of people would die of starvation and diseases.

The 7.9 magnitude earthquake in China.

The earthquake shook the mountainous province of Sichuan. Some towns in the earthquake zone in south-western China will need to be relocated because the terrain is no longer safe. Rebuilding the towns and villages will take at least 3 years. Thank God that Malaysia doesn't experience earthquakes.
The death toll of this earthquake has already reached 60 000, but it is expected to be more, as debris from the flattened cities, towns and villages. They have been at least 7000 aftershocks.
Schools in China where the earthquake happened, has resumed in tents. In Mianyang, a ten-year old boy has resumed his schooling in a blue emergency tent flown in from Italy, but it has no affected his eagerness to learn. The tent school at the Jiuzhou sports stadium in south-west China's Mianyang city is the biggest of its kind in the quake region. It accepts children from the thousands of homeless families who sought shelter temporarily at the stadium. The school has more than 40 teachers, mostly mobilised by the Mianyang education bureau, and over 1000 students from primary school to junior high. New students arrive everyday. Visitors passing by a police guard at the entrance of the school immediately face two large tents capable of holding hundreds of students each time. Think of the uncomfortable atmosphere the students there have to suffer, and here are we, students in Malaysia enjoying the comforts of the classroom that we take for granted everyday. They study in tents! A cyclone happened in Myanmar three weeks ago, why aren't there news of action being taken like in China?
China will lauch a national lottery to raise money for earthquake relief and rescue work. All the money earned will be used in relief and reconstruction projects. Why don't I see Myanmar doing the same?

Good news! Ronaldo is staying at Man. United!!!

Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed that he will stay at Man. United, he will sign the deal next week.
He finally quashed all the speculation about his future which has been driven by Real Madrid's fanzines.
Woohoo!

MYF Retreat 2008 is coming up...

MYF Retreat is coming up. A retreat exclusively for MYFer's only. This retreat will be from 2nd to 4th of June at Safira Country Club, Seberang Perai. Speaker of this retreat: Dr. Samuel Ong (TRAC Conference Lay-Leader).

Safira Country Club, Seberang Perai

Safira Resort is strategically located near the bustling financial and commercial centre of the town of Seberang Jaya and the North-South Highway. Safira Resort is a mere 10-minute drive from the Penang Bridge.

Safira Resort has a comprehensive range of facilities and services, like futsal court, badminton, squash and table tennis hall, swimming pool, wading pool, tennis courts, snooker, gym, sauna, KTV private room, basketball court, carom and board games, jogging track, and even a skating rink.

Man United bt Chelsea!

Go Go GO! Man United the winers of the Champions League in Moscow on Wednesday. After extra time, both Man. United and Chelsea failed to resolve a deadlock of 1-1. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal for Man United and Frank Lampard scored one for Chelsea.

In the end, they decided by penalties. A surprising thing was, Cristiano Ronaldo failed to score a goal in the shoot out. Man United scored 6 out of 7, but Chelsea only scored 5 out of 6... So bye bye Chelsea... Haha...

Went round my taman and took a few photos...

Two days ago, I went for a walk with my parents. Since we were going to walk, I thought it would be good idea to take along the camera. Took a few photos while walking.

No idea what this flower name is... but ain't it nice???White bunga kertas...
Red bunga kertas...

A lonely bird all alone on the wire... How sad...
A square house...

The sky!
Some berries that cannot be eaten...

A bare tree...
Some palm trees...
Yellow trumpet flowers...

Join me when I go for walks!

Big Apple in Tesco!

A shop that is not familiar with Alor Starians, is now well known! Everybody now knows what Big Apple stands for and it is located in the newly opened Tesco.You can read all about it Big Apple Dougnuts. There are many flavors of doughnuts, kiwi, Belgium chocolate, mango tango, duren duren, etc.. Almost all the doughnuts are nice. One thing nice about their doughnuts is that they are soft.What you see is what you get. They come off the production line there and then. It's quite fascinating to watch them come out the fryer. Wanna learn how to make them? Go there and watch. But no recipe la of course! If not they go bankrupt!

The place where they put the topping for the doughnuts...The place after the doughnut is deep fried...

A really good place to buy doughnuts. It's the first shop in Alor Star i've crossed that only sells doughnuts!

My first time to Tesco...

After being forced by my parents to follow them to buy cables for the new church, my parents decided to pass by Tesco to see whether it was packed or not. Since it wasn't packed, we decided to go in...
Well, the crowd was not there yet. There were still empty spaces in front. We even managed to get a parking lot near the entrance. Well, that was my first time there, this was also my sister's first time.

Tesco the newest supermarket in town! It opened since Thursday. Frankly, my first impression was, Tesco is much better than Giant. But, Pacific is still better, because it has a bowling alley and most importantly McD. Although Tesco has KFC, McD is nicer than KFC hands down.

KFC

Inside Tesco, there are quite a number of new shops, like Big Apple, Noddles Station, etc... Random shots in Tesco:

The Noodle station

After walking around, my mother wanted to buy some groceries. So, in we went into Tesco (as in Tesco) for the first time. Tesco hypermarket has varieties, bacon, ham and other stuff that you can't find in Pacific or Giant.
After shopping, had lunch at the noodle station. I had curry noodles. It was not bad! You should try it! I give it a 9/10.My drink. Kiwi sorbet.
The drink was okay lah! After we finished, we headed for Big Apple! I LOVE doughnuts! Shall post about Big Apple later.

A Restaurant called Bali Bali Hai...

Two nights ago, my mother took me to this place called Bali Hai with Ling, Siah, my sis and me. This place is located off Jalan Lencongan Barat. The place is quite nice. The layout of the restaurants attracts the younger group. Not a place to go with families.
When we got there, it was quite empty, only 2 or 3 tables filled only. Sure mati wan la this restaurant. Sure kantoi wan la this restaurant, sure jatuh after a few months, like the Family Kitchen near ASRC. We arrived at the place at 8:31 p.m. After looking round, we finally ended up upstairs. The ambiance was nice.

We ordered our food. A lot of types of drinks, but little choice of food. The best of all, there is Wi-Fi. But my mother Mac cannot be used. Played chor-tai-di while waiting.

The service was very slow. I had the sausage platter with French fries... had trouble finishing it though.
My friend had chicken chop. It was nice and tender. I prefer his than mine.
My sister had fish and chips, quite nice!

The drinks!Leftovers.
By the time we left, the place had filled up with young people. There was a guy who brought his guitar and was strumming away. A group of people playing cho-tai-ti. And a projector screen showing some badminton competition.

Got stuck in a traffic jam when was going back. Everybody going to Tesco, sigh!

Exam is FINALLY OVER!!!

After 2 weeks of suffering, it's over! 26 papers, 13 subjects, finally over. But, after exam thre are always worries. I'm worried for some of my papers, like Physics Paper 2, Sejarah (my class only got 2 A1, and it's not me definitely :( ), Biology Paper 2, Additional Maths, BM and Chinese.
I'm scared this time I'll do badly in exam...

Check your BitTorrent downloading speed!

Check your BitTorrent downloading speed! See whether your BitTorrent downloads are being throttled by your local internet service provider. There is a web application called Glasnost, this applications can help you determine whether your downloads are being throttled.

Just visit http://broadband.mpi-sws.mpg.de/transparency/bttest.php to get a four to seven minute test of a stimulated BitTorrent download. It measures our regular download speed, testing it against different ports and other variables.

To get the most accurate results, take note that you need to turn off any downloads you are running.

Exam sucks!

Exam sucks! Really! It just adds pressure to the student. This time I think I do really bad in my Chinese and Physics. My teacher said that how I wrote my essay can go out of question. Worried… Physics, I think I did badly in my Paper 2. Paper 1 and 3 okay lah.

I shall do an analysis on my exams here when my papers come back.

Got to go, Bio papers tomorrow…

And Manchester United WINS!!!

Manchester United wins with 87 points, winning just ahead by a mere 2 points of Chelsea (second place). Third place is followed by Arsenal with 83 points. Still, Man. United is behind Liverpool in the number of title wins for each of England's top flight championships.

1. 18 : Liverpool
2. 17 : Manchester United
3. 13 : Arsenal
4. 9 : Everton
5. 7 : Aston Villa
6. 6 : Sunderland
7. 4 : Newcastle, Sheffield Wednesday
8. 3 : Chelsea, Leeds, Wolverhampton, Huddersfield, Blackburn
9. 2 : Derby, Preston, Tottenham, Manchester City, Burnley, Portsmouth
10. 1 : Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest, Ipswich, West Bromwich Albion.

The three unlucky teams relegated from the next season are Derby, last place with only 11 points, Birmingham, second last with 35 points, and Reading with 36 points.

This year, Manchester United won 27 games, drew 6 games and lost 5 games, unlike Chelsea who won 25 games, drew 10 games and only lost 3 games, lesser than Man. United by 2 games.

The top scorer for this season is the famous Cristiano Ronaldo from Man United, scoring 31 goals. His record equals Alan Shearer's Premier League record for a 38 games season. He hopes and believes that he can score a whooping 50 goals next season.

GOOD LUCK AND CONGRATS TO MAN UNITED!!!
MAN UNITED ROCKS!!!

Sigh...

I hate my parents for not letting me go.
I can't understand why.
Everybody I know is going for some sort of camp or another.
Why do I have such a strict set of parents?
They think I still small is it?
I'm already 16!!!

My opinion

Life is about making choices. I’ve made my choice but my parents don’t agree with it. Why? Is it because of what I choose is bad for me? I don’t think so. You may say that I’m still young and don’t know how to think, or rather crudely, immature. But, I think the decision I've made is not wrong.

I made my choice, that I want to the Genting school trip. Is going Genting bad? According to the PPD, schools aren’t allowed to organize trips like that, all trips must be “Lawatan Sambil Belajar”. But, that’s not the point.

My school is going to organize a 2 day 1 night trip to Genting Highlands, so that us teens from our school, can take a break and have fun. But my parents are against it. Why?

Everyone makes choices and I’ve decided to choose to go for the trip. Going there causes no harm to me. My school exams are over and holidays have just started. I think they are too strict. They say that the environment there is not good. Why? Not like I’ll be influenced. I’m just going there for 2 days!!! Well, I just want to go there to have fun. Ride rides! I want to have a break! Is that too much to ask?

Furthermore, my parents don’t want to discuss about it. They give a definite “no”. They say in ancient times, what parents say goes. BUT, we now live in a modern world, we are no longer in ancient times. At least discuss. Is that too much to ask?

Everybody makes choices. And I’ve made mine. If there are valid reasons of why going Genting Highlands on a school trip, I will change my mine. But, there seems to be none.

As in the poem of Road Not Taken:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

This poem is about the poet while walking in the woods. He came to a point where the road branched into two. He stood there for sometime to decide on which road to take. He chose to take the road that very few travelers had walked upon. He hoped to return to take the other road another time / day. But, he then realized that from one road branched out to another, to another and to another. He doubted that he will have the opportunity to try the other road. The choice he made had made, had a strong effect in his life.

So, I choose the road where I get to go to Genting on the school trip, after deep thinking. Unless, there are valid reasons why it’s bad to go. I’m open to suggestions.

My wish: I hope I get to go, to the school trip to Genting Highlands.

My parents don't let me go... WHY?

Genting Highlands

Genting Highlands, the City of Entertainment. Sigh... I wish to go there! I've only been there like only once.

My parents don't let me go there for a school trip. They say the environment there is not good. What environment is so not good? The theme park? The casino? The shopping complex? Anyway, teens aren’t allowed in the casino. So, there is no harm in going Genting. Is it wrong to go there and play there at the theme park with friends? I’ve not been there for a long time. Furthermore, a few teachers will be following us. And I trust those teachers don’t go gambling. Because first, the teacher is a Christian. It would be going against his religion. Second, the teacher is bringing his family.

Why are they so strict? They have never ever let me go for a school trip before, except for once, a one day trip. Last year they stopped me from going to Kedah SU camp and NSCF. They stopped me from going SU Camp because they said my PMR was near. NSCF was because my aunty was coming, and that was after PMR!!! This trip to Genting is only a short trip, a 2 days 1 night trip, from Thursday midnight to Saturday evening. Furthermore, it's holiday time, my mid-year exams are already over. I want to go!!!

Why must they be so strict with me? They are so over-protective. I just don't understand. I really want to go... Can't they just give me a little freedom and fun to go with friends???
I SOOO DISAGREE WITH THEM!!

SHOCKING!!!

Let me ask you a question...
Can a family survive in Malaysia with RM 3 000?
Let's calculate.

In Malaysia, the average family income is RM 3 000 / month.
(where father works, mother doesn't).

I understand there are many families,
whose monthly income does not reach RM 3 000.
But, to make things simple,
let's take RM 3 000 as the figure. Okay lah, right?

Okay, let's start rolling with a family which has
Papa, Mama, 1 daughter and 1 son. Ngam-ngam ....

Calculation starts...

1. Electricity and water bill:
   RM 100
   (No air-con, no home theater, no water heater etc...)
   
2. Phone bill (Telekom):
   RM 100
3. Meals for a happy family:
   RM 775
   (3 meals on RM 25 / day, RM 25 for 4 persons, a day!)
4. Papa makan / teh tarik during working hours:
   RM 155
   (RM 5 / day. RM 5 nowadays can eat what?)
5. Car repayment:
   RM 400
   (A Proton Saga Aeroback, 7 years repayment)
6. Petrol (living in the city):
   RM 300
   (Go to work, bring children to school, only 1 car)
7. Insurance
   RM 650
8. House repayment
   RM 750
   (Low cost housing repayment 30 years)
9. Tuition
   RM 90
   (Got that cheap meh? One tuition RM 40 de o...)
   Older children pocket money at school:
   RM 20
   (RM 1 a day???)
10. School books ad etc:
    RM 100
    (Sure got buy books in school...)
11. Small children milk powder:
    RM 50
    (cannot have branded ones...)
12. Miscellaneous:
    RM 100
    (Shampoo, rice, toilet paper, basic necessities....)

Oh wait!!! I have to stop here, so....
No Astro!
No DVD!
No CD!
No online!
NO KFC!
No McD!
Cannot go park walk during weekend (petrol more and more expensive...)
No Cinema!
No chit chat on phone!
And etc.

Walao! RM 3 580 already!!!
EPF belum potong...
Income tax lagi...
Our Deputy Prime Minister asked us to change our lifestyle?
How to change? Don't eat? Strave? Don't send children to school and study?
Besides that, I believe in Malaysia, majority of the people still don't earn RM 3 000 a month.
Malaysia boleh??? I don't think so....
It should be MALAYSIANS BOLEH!! Because we are still alive and kicking...
No wonder so many Ah Long around...

An e-mail I recieved... Found it quite useful....

Ways to reduce stress..

An Angel says 'Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice.'

1. Pray

2. Go to bed on time.

3. Get up on time so you can start the day not rushed.

4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.

5. Delegate tasks to capable others.

6. Simplify and unclutter your life.

7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)

8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.

9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.

10. Take one day at a time.

11. Separate worries from concerns . If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety . If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.

12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.

13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.

14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.

15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.

16. Carry a Book with you to read while waiting in line.

17. Get enough rest.

18. Eat right.

19 Get organized so everything has its place.

20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.

21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.

22. Every day, find time to be alone.

23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.

24. Make friends with Godly people.

25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.

26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good 'Thank you Jesus .'

27. Laugh.

28. Laugh some more!

29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.

30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).

31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).

32. Sit on your ego.

33. Talk less; listen more.

34. Slow down.

35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.

36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before. GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU.
'If God is for us, who can be against us?'

(Romans 8:31)