2010.

I've loads to blog about and... 2010 is coming to an end.

In 2 hours time, 2010 dies, and 2011 is born.

2010 has been a rather eventful and meaningful year for me. I've met new people. I've had my ups and downs. I've made mistakes and learnt from them.

2010. I've been to a number of camps this year, National Service, hang out with friends, studies, etc. I think 2010 is one of the busier years, or maybe the busiest year in my 18 years of my life.

What has God laid in store for me in 2011?

STPM! STPM is going to be a nightmare. Upper Form 6 is going to start as of 3rd of January.

In The Name Of SCIENCE?!?

In the name of Science, how many bugs have to suffer in formalin?
In the name of Science, how many white rats have to be killed alive?In the name of Science, how many plants have to lose their source of energy?
In the name of Science, how many factors than maintain the ecosystem in equilibrium are disturbed?

The answer, A LOT!!!

I went to school today to "cut open" a rhinoceros beetle that I caught yesterday. I have this school project or rather known as PEKA, asking us to catch 25 different species of insects, and preserve them. I was thinking to myself, "The Biology syllabus also teaches us how to take care of the environment, and ways to prevent the animals from going extinct. And by doing this project, isn't this also harming the environment?". Funny, they teach us this and yet do the opposite.

I wasn't feeling too good when I killed the rhinoceros beetle that I caught. It was so cruel. Who are we to kill such animals? Imagine being pierced through your stomach. What would you feel? The pain one would have to bear. AH! Science oh science! Why art thou so cruel?

Day 2 of Sports Camp!

I woke up at 2.30 a.m.! It was so COLD! I did not bring my own sleeping bag, I was told that I needed to, but I suppose that is a basic camping rule.... HOW COULD I FORGET??? Anyways, I woke up later at 6.30 a.m. to prepare for the officers meeting.

We had a "mini" pembarisan like those in NS, where we will sing the national anthem, except that it isn't so strict here. Next, devotion time followed by breakfast.

Normally, in other camps organized by SU, it would be another session time, but in this case, it was time for SPORTS! Oh well, I guess this is why this is called a Sports Camp after all...

We had an introduction to this sport called "Floorball", heard it before? No, right? It seems that it is only popular in Penang, KL, and Sabah. It's something like hockey, the only difference is that the ball is made of hollow plastic instead of a solid hockey ball. Pastor Edward, from Penang explained briefly about the game, about the rules and techniques in handling the ball. A short practical session was held to get a feel of the game.

After lunch, a mini competition were held among the 6 teams. And guess which team won? My team! LOL! An officers against campers match were also held, and obviously, the officers won (Who can beat the officers with Pastor Edward, the coach; playing against them?).

The competition ended rather early, earlier than planned. So, the campers had free time to play any sport they desire. Wesley Methodist Church Penang... I'd say is a rather well-equipped with sports facilities church. They have badminton, ping-pong and a basketball or volleyball court! They also have a field opposite the road!

Dinner followed by night session, Man. A youth worker all the way from Ipoh came all the way to come give a talk and coach basketball for those who signed up for the following day. The SU team started off with a little time of worship and then a short stimulation game before the message. The stimulation game was rather interesting, it was about making a puppet out of the materials given. We should try it in MYF some time. My group did a quite a good job designing it although they didn't have the time to hook up the puppet with the puppet controller. We still managed to get 3rd! :D

The message was simple and complete. He was quite engaging with the youth... he would ask questions, and if you do not pay attention, you might just find yourself with a mike pushed to you without knowing what to say.

After sharing, sports.... AGAIN! Tonight was something different... OLD SCHOOL SPORTS! Meaning spinning tops, Kali-Kandak, and another game whose name I can't remember.

Well, here goes another long day! Tomorrow I shall be rejoining my family! :)

Day 1 of Sports Camp...

This is going to be one interesting but also quite boring (there are no pictures) post. I didn't bring any cameras along... my mother said she wanted to use it. So, i came home empty-handed from the camp.

Pushed off at 12, Aunt Peh Lan had some errands to do. She had to post a letter to SU. Speaking of SU, 2 people are going for SUSOM 2011 this year, and only one going for JS.

Well, we arrived rather late at Wesley Methodist Church, the registration and getting to know one another sessions were already over. We just joined in as observers, obervering the respective groups doign their victory flag and chants. They even had an oath-making and raising of flag event to declare the official opening of this camp.

Frankly, I really felt out of place. It isn't in my nature, as an introvert, to first start the ball rolling. I tried to, but it felt real awkward to me, but I think it's a start.

We had "Ultimate Frisbee" game session at 4. This is my first camp having so many game sessions in one day! They even have a game session at night at 9:30 p.m.! No wonder there are more boys attending this camp than girls.

While watching them play, I began to think why I was called to help in the first place. There were enough hands to help around (to me, for now), and I think with or without me, it would make no difference, unless being there for moral support is considered as a valid reason. I felt left out. I guess this is what happens when there is no specific duty assigned to me.

Night time. Dinner + Session. And after session, Game + Supper. I was dead tired during the session. It was about a topic I've heard most of in different camps, and was yawning throughout the session.

But since I'm here, I may as well take it as a challenge and have some fun. Oh well, we'll see what tomorrow lies in store for me.

P.S. There is one mini "Daniel Tong" here. :D

A Trip To Butterfly Farm Penang! :)

Went to Penang last Saturday. It was supposed to be a shopping trip for my sis, but it later turned out to be an educational trip. :D

Well, frankly, it was me who wanted to come to Penang Butterfly Farm. I wanted to find out whether they sold specimens of butterflies, so that I can use it for my Biology school project. Whether they sold it or not, I'll come to that part later. :P
Penang Butterfly Farm. It's privately owned I guess. Do you know how much it costs per person??? For a MALAYSIAN adult, it's RM 10 per person, and for a MALAYSIAN kid, it's RM 5. For tourist, they are charged at a different rate. They have to pay double the price, RM 20 per adult, and per kid... RM10.

Going in...

I think it's worth the money though. Where in Malaysia can you find a place where there are so many different butterflies so close to you? Even those rare ones can be seen roaming around in there!

These two butterlies don't wanna talk to each other. :D

One of the butterfies landed on my hand, and refused to take off, leaving my sister itching her hands also have one butterfly on her hand.
There are other things to see too... and not just butterflies. There is a turtle to see, loads of SCORPIONS and a museum of some artifacts that are unknown to me.
More pictures of butterflies.




There is gallery of already baked and preserved butterflies. I tell you, the collections are amazing! You can see different types of butterflies according to color, environment, place of origin, the name it. It's the prefect place for butterfly lovers!
Before saying goodbye.
And oh, they do sell butterfly specimens. But it all costs a bomb! Are you willing to spend between a range of RM 80 to RM 500 for a well-preserved butterfly? T

hey have a store especially for STUDENTS only, you can buy those specimens at a cheap rate of RM 5 to RM 30, but they are not well preserved, their wings are closed (the wings of the insects must be open for the Biology project). You can buy them, but you will have a tough time trying to open their wings as they are all hard and brittle already.

Anyways... going to Penang again later. :D

Just For Laughs...

The Golden Rules When You Want To Go To The Toilet During A Class In School.

During Malay Period,
Cikgu, boleh tak saya pergi ke tandas?
Cikgu, tandas.

During English Period,
Teacher, may I go to the toilet?
Teacher, may I go and answer the call of nature?

During Mathematics Period,
Teacher, may I substitute my urine into the toilet bowl?

During Moral Period,
Cikgu, saya mahu menggunakan hak saya sebagau pelajar untuk pergi ke tandas.

During History Period,
Cikgu, boleh tak saya pergi buat perjanjian di/dengan tandas?

During Biology Period,
Teacher, may I go and empty my bladder?
Teacher, may I relax the tension of my muscles of my bladder?
Teacher, may I excrete my waste products in the toilet?

During Chemistry Period,
Teacher, can I produce carboxyl diamine [(NH2)2CO] in the toilet?
Teacher, can I undergo the process of dehydration in the toilet?

During Physics Period,
Teacher, may I go to the toilet to achieve equilibrium of my bladder?

Made by Cham Hong Leong. :)

Hard Times Are Definitely Coming...

I can't deny that I can predict hard times are looming up soon. Look at the current state of Malaysia today... corruption, more severe natural disasters, increasing crime rates, price hike of certain items... and this is just one country. There are about 196 countries in the world today.

Every country has a government to govern the country. Malaysia, is no different, is a democratically-run country. I believe that everyone is hoping for a change so for the better good of the country, and are starting to vote for change in the general elections. But sometimes, the government that you have voted for will not whole your hand during hard times, instead... short-changing you. The reason is simple. To avoid bankruptcy.

Look at the current Federal Government, has decided that it's time to cut the subsidies of sugar, petrol, etc... and there has been a lot of complaints about it. The reason is simple of why the government is doing so. Corruption. Is it possible to save Malaysia from corruption by cutting the subsidies? I don't think so. If corruption persists, one day, there will be no subsidies to cut, no where else to source the money, and, Malaysia shall be declared bankrupt. It isn't fair to those who depend on these subsidies to make ends meet.

It doesn't take an idiot to notice that RM 100 can buy less things compared to 5 years ago. My fav. curry-puff store that I always go to near Sentosa sold it's famous curry puff at RM 0.20 per piece 5 years ago, but now, the price has risen to RM 0.50. Why, in 5 years time, my fav. curry puff might be sold at RM 1.00 per piece. 5 years ago, electricity tariffs weren't that high either, or petrol prices. But now, look at how everything is sky-rocketing! Why the government spending the money on building a 100-story Mega Tower: Warisan Merdeka, and not combating corruption and inflation?

It's something to think about.

Here's a site I found about Malaysia's standing in social, development, consumption and environment statistics in the world, click here.