Having a Mac

Having a Mac is like having a child with special needs. Everywhere you go, whatever you do, you have to ensure it is Mac compatible. Anything you buy, the next question you need to ask after the price is, "Is it mac compatible?'

At first, it was troublesome for me. I was using a HP which was using Windows OS, and no questions like this were required to be asked. But then since MBP came into my life, I always had to ask. If I take softwares from friends, high chances, it is not compatible. But then, I'm learning to live with it. MBP requires special attention for a lot of things are mostly are complicated. You need to undergo a few steps to get something done, unlike in Windows only one step is required. Though complicated, I still love you MBP.

Well, one thing I don't have to ask about now is 'Does the pendrive have virus?' for MBP is said to be virus tolerant!

IELTS

Well, in short,

IELTS is the International English Language Test System whereby students intending to go to Europe or Australia for tertiary education have to sit and prove we are able to read, write, listen and speak in English. Irony is always those who barely and hardly ever use English score higher.

Anyway, there are four main components. Mainly, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.

In Reading,

Basically you will be given three passages. If it’s a killer question you will have four passages, each consisting of 10 questions. It’s basic comprehension. Most people practice the ‘See and Scan’ method. Well, it is basically just scanning the text for the answer by reading the questions prior to reading the text. I didn’t follow that. I read the whole text, fell asleep, read again and then proceeded to answer. Well, either way, you will have plenty of time in the end,, so what he heck? Just read the passages. They are all interesting anyway, and always a source of good, viable information. At least, I learnt from one of the passages that

‘A slight pain causes itchiness and a slight pressure causes a tickle!’

You only get stuck at the True or False or Not Given part. Differentiating True and False is like differentiating a girl and a guy in a class, although nowadays some may have difficulties in that due to ever-changing sexualities. But, differentiating between False and Not Given, my my. I hate it. I never got that. All I assumed after tones of practice was that if you think you can find it in the passage, and it doesn’t contradict a given statement, then its NOT GIVEN. If you can’t find it, but it does contradict a given statement, then its FALSE. Well, my assumption could have been correct as I obtained band 9 for this section.

Next will be Listening.

First you need to get a hand of their accents. British and Australian accents are fine, but an Indian accent, OMG. Sometimes, you just have no idea what are they saying. And you need to take care of the capitalization of your answers. Sometimes, you need to star with a capital letter, sometimes no. How to determine when, NO IDEA. Best clue, follow the example. If no examples, trust your gut feeling. If it’s the start of a sentence, Capital, if its in the middle of a sentence, c’mon, you should know, if not rewind back to basic grammar lessons. It wasn't that difficult when compared to my daily exercise in class. The ones we did in class were beyond anything, for they were talking in speeds equal to that of the light. The real one was cool. I scored 8.5. :D

Writing.

I hated this. It's not that I can't write, I can, if not there wouldn't be a blog. But, it was just damn bloody confusing. Especially when the question says, 'To what extent do you agree'. I was under the impression, if that kind of question comes out, make it into an argumentative essay, choose a stand, dun stand on the fence. But then, as time went by, a lot of rumours came in, saying this and that, and finally I was just too confused. I remember, on the day of the test, I was telling Naggy,

'I really hope a discussive essay comes out, just like this (showing our book), regarding televisions...it would be easy. Just list down all, discuss and end it'

Haha...guess what??? That was the question! OMG! I was like WTF??? Wow, God really heard me! Haha...At least I was glad it wasn't a typical argumentative. I love argumentative essays, you get to voice out your opinions in a better way with more conviction, but then, I was too confused to pray for that question. Anyway, I got a pathetic band 7. I was expecting 8 for what I wrote, but maybe, I wasn't up to par with what the IELTS standard. Well, I'm just grateful for I always got band 5.5 or 6 in school. (pathetic right?)

Finally, Speaking!

My favourite! As I love to speak, and mind you I am in Toastmasters! Well, I have been speaking in English from the very beginning of me learning how to speak. We never spoke in Tamil at home, it was always English and even my grandparents spoke in English! The whole family to be precise...there was a time my cousins and I will only converse in English. The whole speaking test lasts about 15 minutes. A one to one test, the examiner questions you while recording the whole conversation. I don't really remember my topic, but I think it was something to do with advertisements. Sorry, I can't really remember, especially my part 3. It went ok, not so well. I, well, I expected a higher band, but hey, I got only a 7.5.

Red.Hot.Sexy

Well, I'm a red head now. Dyed my hair, mahogany-rich mahogany.

Man, I look weird. I like it, but I don't know.

Sorry, no pics yet. I'm still getting used to the idea of being a red head. Actually it is not so red. Only at certain angles. Haha. I always wanted it, btw so yeah.

:)

I Am A Mother of Two-Verbally speaking

Don't be so shocked, I am!

Child 1: MacBook Pro, 13 inch

Child 2: Canon EOS 500D

I love them with my life, and I cry if they are hurt. Lame, but yeah. I'll go all way out just to see them ok. Stupid? Yeah..cause they are my children.

Oh No!!!

Naggy, I want a Secret Recipe cake! Well, that’s my famous dialogue to my dear roommate. I love cakes, well my whole house does! Q-En loves baking while Naggy and I love eating. So, cakes…sweet tooth people…and not to forget chocolates. They say diamond are women’s best friends, but pardon me to beg to differ, chocolates are always my loyal partners! All these are sweet, and what makes it sweet people??? You got it right, SUGAR!!!!!

Now, sugar price is going to go up, so is petrol and other basic food.

Reason: Country will become bankrupt if we continue these subsidies.

Walao!!! So everything goes up, so does this also mean my allowance is going up??? I mean lets be fair, if I need to pay more for food, I need to be paid more so that I can afford to pay more. Simple logic isn’t it?

Problem: Country not going to have enough money to run

So, how do we overcome this? Simple, lets just practice 1Malaysia! Hello hello, 1Malaysia is just not regarding skin colour, I also think its, rakyat didahulukan, pencapaian diutamakan! Err, forgive me, but doesn’t this also imply we are responsible for our country? By this I actually call upon the higher authorities who live on rasuah. Yes, dear people, R-A-S-U-A-H!

Oh, not good in malay already? (brags) Its also known as bribery. Rate of corruption is increasing!!! And MACC is doing….?? Err, let me see, oh yeah, catching those officials who are growing fat with bribe and graft. Lets see, raids are conducted well and openly, black money, corruptions and God knows what else can be reduced. With this, government, as in G-O-V-E-R-N-M-E-N-T gets more money, and how can we be bankrupts? But once again, is it happening, and if it is, how effective is it? The cops still ask for rasuah, nothing is changed though they have their anti-rasuah badges on. Haishh….apa ini??? Tutup sebelah mata kut!!! (WTF!)

Come on people, this is a joke! Petrol price shoots, and thanks to only this, everything else go up! What the hell??? So unfair! Yet, those loaded people still get free petrol, but we, the normal citizen earning wages like kais pagi makan pagi, kais petang makan petang, still have to fork out OUR money to travel. Wait, what about public transport??? Another joke! Try waiting for komuter without the need of cursing, honey your having a lucky day then. They have ladies coach, reason: Sexual harassament, as men rub against women as train seem to be packed like sardine cans. Hello, the train comes in every 20 minutes, and number of passengers are just nice for everybody to stand and breath, but hey, train is delayed, volume of passengers increase, and oops, people squeeze in. So, who’s fault? Come on, THINK!!!! But wait, petrol price rises, so does public transport fares, and now again, will the citizens experience an increase in pay??? Food for thought.

Hey, forgive me, I might be selfish, I mean, I’m not in politics or not thinking for the whole government, but at least I live with the people and I see their problems. Call me talking against the government, but people, wake up from your dreams at langit ketujuh! Stesen berikutnya/ next station: Dunia realiti!!! When we criticise, we don’t take offense but we find ways of improvement. A man who accepts his weaknesses and acknowledges the fat is a man to be looked up upon indeed, and I have faith in my country.

Biro Tatanegara 2010

Well, as students under a government scholarship, we all have to attend this course which is regarding our beloved country. There's a test at the end of the day, and you have to pass it or you can just wave goodbye to your friends who will e flying off to their destination countries from KLIA. It's a five day course, and is usually held in camps, but I was lucky, for mine was held in a resort.

It was held at Bidara Puteri Beach Resort, Tg. Kelling, Melaka

As usual, the busses left Akasia and Cendana and headed to Melaka. Honestly, we all had no idea where we were going to except for the clue, Tg. Kelling. Besides that nothing, not even if it's a NS camp, army camp or whatsoever. Even our pak drivers didn't know, and as always they were expecting to send us to a camp. We reached Melaka, drove by the coast, passed by our very resort where we were suppose to be staying, went further in searching for the camp. Finally, the pak drivers realised we were no more in Tg. Kelling but heading to BAndaraya Melaka already, and decided to call the BTN manager. And then we resumed our journey back the way we came to this resort. Our pak drivers went asking, 'Why is their BTN being held in a resort?'

Well, no complains from us.

The happy faces all registering at the reception. There was a rush to get roommates as it was six to a room, and we had the pleasure to choose who we wanted to live with. We left around 12 but reached around 4.14pm, stopping for awhile at Seremban to pray and have KFC.

So, what we did there for 5 long days??? Mornings, as in early mornings we had some exercise. First day was cancelled as it was raining so we all went back to sleep. Second and third day, we went to the beach. It was so nice to have a morning walk by the beach actually. Very serene and calming. Then after that we have classes at 8 till 4, with occasioanl breaks in between for morning tea, lunch and evening tea. It wasn't really classes, but more on talks or ceramah about our Malaysian Constitution. Basically, only the most important parts of the constitution is discussed.

This was where our ceramah was held.

Later we were grouped into different groups and had latihan dalam kumpulan, also regarding our country.

In the evenings, we had riadah. First day, we had volley ball match-guys versus girls. By the way, it wasn't only INTEC's PMC students, but also pharmacy students from IMU who are actually ALM6 students and also students from MIAT-Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology going to Russia. Well, the girls won!!!

Then we had ceramah and games at night from 9 till 11+. So that was our routine for the week. Seems boring right? Nah, actually we had tonnes of fun. We got to go the beach every morning!!! Slept in an air-conditioned room, with real comfortable beds and had hot bath every morning when I woke up with my feet numb. Even the classes were fun as I learnt a lot about the constitution, but actually, I already knew the constitution. I came out with the same level of knowledge.

Jumping in joy!!!! 10M3

Actually, the bond with my classmates got stronger through this trip. I mean, most of us stayed together and the guys room was beside ours, so we hate late night talks too. It gave us a thought on how we might be living when we get to Ireland later.

Finally, the photographer gets some rest and jumps!!!

I love my phone as it really does capture the very best moments of my life!!!

Housework

Have you ever had a day where you woke up to your mum's scream of 'Wake up and make up your room before I get there!' And if yo don't you get one hell of scolding and a tonne of other housework? Man...housework. Chores. Cleaning the house. Whatever the name is, it is still down to doing work in order to clean!!!!!

I hate housework. But honestly, I can't live in filth. Some people love cleaning, yet one day bring in so much filth into the house. At this point you may realise I'm talking on double meaning terms. Sometimes, it's not tnough. I clean everyday, yet something still feels not right. Look, I don't mind cleanig, I mean I'm a good girl, I perform my duties, but when the household is being shared, lets just say I want the housework to be shared too. I may live in a mess, as in my room may be messy with books everywhere, but I on't live in filth! For heavens sake, I realised after some recent experience, some people actually can live in such filth.

Cleaning is actually good, not only in ensures cockroaches and worms are not in the house, it is also a form of killing time and stress. People complain they are bored, yet nobody has ever thought if cleaning while being bored. Studying 24/7, ain't a good idea, but while resting, instead of facebook-ing or doing something stupid, you can sweep and mop. Come on people, it cant be so hard. Dont be lazy and appoint a maid. In my opinion, you are responsible for your mess and filth, So clean it yourself!!!

I do my chores every morning. I sweep, mop and God knows what else. It has sort off become my routine, thanks to my brother. I can't stand the floor being dirty, so I sweep daily. Yes, they are times I get so bored of it, I complain, I nag, yet I still do the work, although I just took my bath. The point of taking your bath is also to clean yourself, but that cant stop you from not getting dirty again. A man who cant do housework deserves no respect in my opinion, let along a woman who cant do housework. A man's work is never ever done when it comes to chores!

The hardest thing to accept in life is death, even worse when it is related to someone very close to you

The Many Possible Things That May Go Wrong in a Wedding

Here comes the bride! Dressed all in white! A girls dream ever since she is small is to witness her own wedding being celebrated the best one can ever imagine. D-Day! A day where the bride looks like an angel, the groom looks like the most handsome man on earth, the food is splendid, guests are great, sitting is just perfect and the whole event is totally organized! Well, that’s how the dream goes, but in reality, that’s not what happens. Everything turns up side down and the whole event seems like a total disaster! So, what does go wrong actually???

First of all, a sitting for the guest is planned. The bride and groom will decide who sits at which table. There would be the singles table and couples table. Family members may get the best tables together with close friends. Everything looks perfect on the planning board, yet on the the actual day! There would definitely be a person who will complain about their sitting! ‘OMG! They placed me at the singles table! As though I’m so desperate!’ Well, sometimes all the bride and groom plans is to help you meet more single people so that you would not end up at same spot if you were to attend another wedding. The worst part is many never follow the seating plan! They do as they wish! My roommate once told me about her cousins wedding on how they planned for all the family members to sit in front, while friends behind, but on the real day, it was the total opposite and all the guests when blaming that there was no proper planning! What an irony! The guests do not follow the planning, and the newly weds get blamed!

Next major plan that may go wrong is the catering. It is a custom to have a food tasting day before selecting the menu for the wedding. The food with the taste most appealing to the bride and groom will be chosen. Everything will seem perfect. However, that is not what that happens on the actual day! The food which is served does not even taste like how it was during the food tasting! I would like to share a real-life story where the catering really made a big difference. When my aunt got married two years ago, she decided to have her wedding lunch at a fancy Restaurant in Penang. Well, she and a few more family members of mine claimed that the food there was simply extraordinary. So, on the day, we all went there with high expectations of tasting fine Indian cooking. How disappointed were we when we realized that the food served at a mamak stall was 100 times tastier! There you go, all the guest hardly took any food as those who ate first warned the rest! Funny isn’t it, yet it is true.

The final major thing that may go wrong in a wedding is the make-up! Every bride will want to look her best on that special day. Lots of arrangements and preparations are done starting from months before the big day. The best wedding dressed is bought, some even opt the pleasure to buy the most expensive dress one may find as they can brag about it to the guest later on. The best shoes, best hair-do, worst brides maid dresses (this is very true as the bride never wants her bridesmaids to look better than she does. All is taken care of except for the bride’s make-up. Honestly, the bride may look like a very pretty lady naturally, yet make-up is still necessary! Most brides however fail to have make-up testing like how they have food testing! Anyway, the food may still turn out awful though there was food tasting, why not the make-up? Experimenting the make-up on the big day is a very huge mistake! Some look really awful on their wedding day due to the bad sense of make-up by their make-up artist. Another aunt of mine had to deal with this when she got married. Actually, she did look fine, the only drawback was when the photographs of their wedding dinner came, she looked like a white ghost! Too much of foundation and powder! What a disaster for their wedding dinner!

Well, many of you might not have realized all this problems going on in a wedding. The next time you attend one, try to pay attention. See what is really going on and how things start to turn upside down one by one. It would be a good experience, as you may prepare yourself for your own big day without having to go through all this problems!

Meetings

Meetings can be very funny sometimes. Most of the time during a meeting, nobody knows exactly what's going on. Some jokers sleep in a meeting. Another group has a notebook in front togeether with a pen and it may look like they are taking down the minutes, only after further inspection it is noticed that they are actually sketching the meeting room. When a guy who is really following the meeting asks a question, the person answering doesn't answer the question but merely beats round the bush to convey the fact that 'I don't know what the hell you are talking about!' this whole situation goes on for an hour or two until one wise man realises the whole crap and decides to call for an end to the meeting. In conclusion, nothing is achieved but precious time is wasted!