OMK 2011!

Set two different alarms to make sure I woke up for this competition. I had to drag myself out from bed at 6 just to get to school and be on time to board the bus to UNIMAP, Perlis. It seems that Kedah and Perlis hopefuls were scheduled to sit the OMK papers together.

I'm sure you would be in the dark what is OMK all about, if you have never heard of OMK before. Well, OMK stands for Olimpiad Matematik Kebangsaan, a mathematics competition, which is held annually, to select Malaysia's Maths champion to represent Malaysia in the World Mathematics Olympiad. My form, had 5 representatives, all guys, 3 from my class. :D

Students all around Perlis and Kedah met at the centre an hour before the test started, as required. Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid also sent representatives with at least 8 from Form 6. I happened to know a few of them who came. :D

Sitting for OMK is something new for me. I've not sat for this competition before. It was rather a urmmm... not much of a new experience. Sharing a little about the test... The competition lasts for 2.5 hours. There are 9 questions in this competition. 6 questions requires just the answer, while the remaining 3 requires you to show the working for the solution. The 6 front questions, if answered correctly, will be awarded 2 marks each, while the behind 3 questions if answered correctly with the correct steps will be awarded 6 marks each. And I must say, the questions are not easy!

Can you imagine that the OMK questions had mistakes? Not minor errors, but a MAJOR error! Halfway through the competition, they asked us to change one of the question's positive sign to a negative sign. Such errors shouldn't be made in the first place! Isn't this a Kebangsaan competition?!? What happened to the checking and double-checking of the questions?

Overall, I know I stand no chance in this competition, they others are just too good. I didn't know how to do quite a number of questions. This just shows how weak I am in Mathematics. :( One of my junior, could answer all (except for one question, which he wasn't quite sure of). I guess he will be the champion for this district. :D Keat Hwa boleh!

Anyway, it was fun! I quite enjoyed myself. :D

Holidays are Over!

It's JUNE already. Time flies!

In about less than 72 hours from now, I'll be dragging myself out from bed, staggering to the bathroom, taking a quick shower, crawling into the same school uniform I've been wearing since I was 13.

School is reopening!
"So what?"

*ponders more*
"Crap! Mid-term exam results are coming out!"
"Sunday got Chem, Bio and Maths!"

Oh well, I know for a fact, that only recently, I've been trying to actually WORK HARD, for once. I've never actually wanted something so badly before. I need to work harder to achieve 4.0! I've got to take this exam's result as a lesson to strive harder. :D

A whole load of events are awaiting me in school. Sport's Sukan Tara, Sport's Day, Keat Hwa's 100 year anniversary, Form Six Society Interviews, Form Six Night, etc. It's going to be a real busy time in school. I hope I will be able to manage my time properly. Distractions, SHOO! :D

STPM is coming! I wonder how the teachers are going to finish another volume of Biology and almost the entire Paper 2 for Maths. I mean, there are at least another 14 chapters for Biology alone! And the next question is, how am I going to stuff everything into my head! GAH!

Oh well. Life has it's tough and easy times. I'm having a good life. :)

What is there to complain about? :)

Appreciate what you have today. Everything you have today, might just be taken away from you. Who knows? :)

A lil' About Life...

It's like saying goodbye to the future~

What happens when you do badly in your exam?

You get criticized.

You feel disheartened.
You feel like you are worthless.
The longing of suicide just feels so intense.
The world you know is crumbling all around you.
And worse off, the world treats you like you're a nobody.

I was lucky enough that I had a good set of parents. I am thankful for them, or I wouldn't be where I am now. I've realized, reflecting on my life for the things I've been through for the past 5 years, how much I've been through. It has been one real frightening roller-coaster ride. And although I've side-tracked many times, they have always pulled me back. Ahhh... if it wasn't for them, I would be probably have gone out into the working world, struggling to make ends meet.

Which brings me back to reality... My mid-term exams are currently on-going now. And I know, I will get really BAD results. I know I've been making many excuses to myself, and it's time for me to make a stand. I am not working hard enough as I should be. Trials are in 2 to 3 months time, and here I am, still spending wayyyy to much time on distractions. Do I really want to flunk my trials and my major exam? I don't think so.

My history is repeating itself.

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement; and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. - George Santayana

I've realized how true this quote is. Lately, I've been taking life too good. I've neglected what I've planned. I've forgotten who I am, and who I wanted to be. I told myself I would not repeat what happened to my SPM to my STPM. But things changed as time got along, talk is cheap.

I've finally woken up from my slumber... I hope.

God, I need You, and I seek You. Help me this day oh Lord, and the days to come.

Democracy Today... Still Tomorrow?

Democracy has been around for, centuries? The first democratic country recorded is Greece! ...and that was some hundred years ago. Democracy, has been practiced and is being practised by most countries today, majority the well developed countries. We have so many other political systems, like communism, dictatorship, etc... but most still favor democracy. Why?

The answer is obvious. People want freedom and basic civil rights, something that democracy offers and others don't. Do people want to be oppressed by the government always, watching unfair policies being made, biasedness towards different kinds of people? I personally wouldn't want a government like that. Democracy gives us this freedom, the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, equality and son on. And these are the basic rights that people want in today's society.

Democracy also allows change. In a communist country, if the leader of the day is corrupted, nobody is able to do anything, unless well, someone assassinates him. In a democratic country, if the government of the day is corrupted, the people have the right to vote it out and bring change.

Democracy also in it's unique way allows its own people to rule it's own nation. Unlike other countries, who practise dynastic monarchy rule, power is handed down according to the blood line. That means if you are not of royal blood, the power to rule a country can never be yours. This, by today's standard, is unacceptable! Can you stand a leader who keeps siphoning money from it's people? Take Brunei for an example. Their country is ruled monarchy style. And sad to say, patronage is very apparent there. The king's son is using it's country's wealth to throw parties, buy properties, basically plundering the country for personal gain. What can be used to improve the standard of living of it's people is being used for personal use. Why would anyone in the right frame of mind who knows his or her right support the government as that?

Oh well. I believe democracy is the way to run a nation today. But who knows, there might be new ideologies popping up, and one might be even better than democracy. Who knows? In a 100 years from now, democracy might be replaced. :)

Open Burning in Alor Setar!

Can you imagine the pollution open burning does? I was on the way to fetch CT the other day when I passed by two spots of people openly burning their rubbish! Don't these IDIOTS know that they are making our world A HOTTER place? Don't they know that it's already very hot as it is?
But, after some pondering, is it entirely their fault? I don't think so. They wouldn't burn their rubbish if the rubbish people collect the rubbish everyday, right? Many people would think what's PAS doing? Since PAS took over, the rubbish collection was getting from bad to worse. But it's not the current state government's fault. Before PAS took over, the previous government BN, awarded a contract to Environment Idaman Sdn. Bhd. to so call privatize everything. And according to this newsletter, they say they have improved Sungai Petani's rubbish collection, link to this newsletter.

Even at my place, rubbish collection is BAD. Rubbish gets collected a week once? It used to be every 2 or 3 days once. WHAT are the people in charge doing? And please be aware that PAS has NO SAY in this at all.
I stopped my car to get a picture of this, and I could feel the heat even inside my car! It was THAT hot.

*Note: This two pictures were taken at different spots in Alor Setar but located 200m from each other. :)

How Time Flies.

It's April already! And very soon, I shall be sitting for my mid-term exams.

It just seemed like yesterday I entered Form 6. Guess, time flies.

There has been a lot of things going on lately. Exams, quizzes, assignments, PEKA, the lot... to add on to my already busy schedule, I was struck down by sore throat and flu yesterday, and was incapacitated for a few hours. Ha. School life has been a stress. I kinda regret not working hard when I was in secondary school, but I guess it's too late. What has been done, can't be re-done. For now, all I can do is to make sure I do not regret the decision I made... STPM! But seriously, why can't it be much easier to understand? Agh!

And oh, heard the news? STPM is going to be much easier! Instead of just sitting one major exam, they are going to change it to the semester-style system! Translation, it's going to be like Matriculation. In class, we were complaining that it wasn't fair! Why couldn't we born a year later? Hah. But if you look at it from a different point of view, STPM standards are going down! STPM wasn't as hard as it was 15 years ago, and it's not getting any harder now, but much easier. Is Malaysia trying to bring down the only exam left that is of standard? Hmmm...
On another unrelated matter... Been reading the news lately? Sarawak Elections is in 2 days time! Malaysiakini and Sarawak Today was hacked by viruses, sourcing from India and the States. Wanna read about the attack? Click here. Another tactic of the government to bring down the Opposition? I hope not. Why can't the government just play fair? If you have been governing badly, it's time for a change! Be humble and step down! Nobody is going to laugh or mock you. Take this as a lesson and change for the better. :)

Oh well, I guess I better head back to my Chemistry. :)

CHIMlish! :P

Try reading this aloud, and ask yourself or someone who is good in English whether you are reading it correctly. :P

1. The bandage was wound around the wound.
2. The farm was used to produce produce.
3. The dump was so full it had to refuse more refuse.
4. We must polish the Polish furniture.
5. He could lead if would get the lead out.
6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7. Since there was no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8. A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10. I did not object the object.
11. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

Lol. There are another 10 more, but I'm lazy to type the rest out. Maybe another time. lol. :D

Straits Quay, Penang. :)

This is Straits Quay, Penang!
When I first arrived, the first thought that popped into my mind was, "Oh, how quaint! The stores are designed in such a way that you feel as if you are back in the past, where everyone took life easy (compared to the busy life we each led today), basically a place for one to clear one's mind."
There's a housing estate nearby. Guess how much do one of those houses cost?A bombshell! The cheapest house in not even the range of hundred thousands, but over a million dollars! Crazy? I think so. It's reclaimed land fyi!
Oh well, I guess people these days are willing to pay for comfort.

What happened to the olden days, where life wasn't full so activities from day to night? People weren't so money-minded then. These days, people take life far too seriously. The things we invent are making us slaves to it.