Goshen It Is

I have decided on my university and it's Goshen College, Indiana.

I'm off to camp tomorrow and will be gone for a few days.

Mount Kinabalu

My muscles are aching so bad...the worst ever and I'm sunburnt all over again...so bad that my shoulders are red and sore, I can barely go up and down stairs...it's quite torcherous; but I did manage to reach the highest peak of the tallest mountain in South East Asia. I'll try to write more about it soon but I'm off to another camp on Saturday so I don't know when I'll have the time to write again. I have to say though that I had an eye-opening experiance there and a marvelous time. It was amazing!

Ciao!

I'm off to Kota Kinabalu in about 7 hours...my flight is at 0730. I'll blog again when I get back...sometime after Wednesday. I'll also give the final word on which university I have chosen to attend for the next 2-3 years.

Take care of yourselves 'till I get back. Till then...

Such Brilliant People We Are!

The objective of STPM is to pass people?
How do you explain the fact that 87% of the students passed the examinations of the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) recently, when during your grandfather's time only 10% would have passed?

Are students getting smarter? Or are STPM questions getting easier? Let me put things in their proper perspective.

During your grandfather's time, they would ask exam questions like: In what year did Parameswara founded the kingdom of Melaka?

The correct answer was "1402", and they found that only 10% of the students managed to answer the question correctly. This didn't go down too well with the authorities, because the objective of the exams was to pass people.

I mean, what's the point of having exams if people fail?

So later, they found another way to ask the same question: Parameswara founded the kingdom of Melaka in the year:

(a) 2001
(b) 2004
(c) 1986
(d) 1975
(e) 1402
Tick the correct answer.

The results were better in that 20% of the students passed. But it was still not good enough, so the authorities tried a different tact a few years later.

Parameswara founded the kingdom of Melaka in the year1402. True or false?

Well, half of the students guessed "True" and the other half guessed "False". Fully 50% passed. The results were getting pretty acceptable by now.

Most other countries would be satisfied with a 50% passing rate, but not us. We are a better country, because we are a boleh country.The authorities then cracked their heads and then came out with this one:

Read the following sentence carefully.
"Parameswara, the cousin of Proton-Iswara, founded the kingdom of Melaka in the year 1402." Underline the name of the person who founded Melaka.

60% underlined "Parameswara", 30% underlined "Proton-Iswara" and 10% underlined "1402". Wow......60% managed to pass! But for some reason, the authorities were still not contented.

So last year, they came out with this gem: One day in the year 1402, Parameswara founded the kingdom of Melaka. Then he went home to have dinner. What did he eat?

13% handed in blank answers, 57% wrote "Maggi Mee", and 10% wrote "Kentucky Fried Chicken", and 20% wrote "Tree bark".

The official answer was "Food" of course!

After the marking was over, it was found that 87% of the students had passed.
87%............now that's pretty impressive!

So it's true. The students are indeed getting smarter.

Updates

I went shopping and bought 3 pants and 3 tops for RM 54.

Dan Brown's 'Angels and Demons' currently has me glued.

Despite reviews that say 'The Pacifier' is not that good, it cracked me up and I had a wonderful time watching it. I wouldn't mind watching it again. Peter is so adorable!!!

Ok...now I gotta get back to writing my research paper or I'll never finish. Ciao!

Little Angels

I'm sitting at my desk, doing work and suddenly I get this call on my handphone. Some unknown landline number. "Hmmm...wonder who that could be?" I pick up my phone and hear a whole bunch of noise in the background. "Hello?", says the voice. I reply, the wheels in my head turning...I was trying to place the child's voice. "Hello sister! How come you didn't come see us yesterday?" The voice was so enthusiastic.

And suddenly the voice had a face to it. It was one of my kids from the children's home that I help out at. I haven't been there for a while as so many things have been piling up left, right, centre. I haven't had time to go over and see all my kids for what...I think it's been about three weeks now. No wonder they were calling. I gotta say, these kids made my day. They have got such a vast amount of love that it overflows onto the people around them. Such wonderful little angels.

After a short chat, which basically consisted of them asking me to come back, we got cut off. *Smile* So adorable these kids are. I shall have to find time to go over and spend some time playing with these kids before I go off to Kota Kinabalu. It's such a blessing knowing these children. They help me see all the small, precious things in life...the things that I would miss otherwise.

Can It Work?

Is it possible for one bulb to change colors from red to green to blue, purple then yellow...in no particular order. Is it possible?

I always kind of assumed that bulbs are different colors because of the outer layer of the bulb, which is usually either red or blue, etc. In some cases, the gas used to fill the bulb gives the light it's color, right? But then, is it possible for just one bulb to rotate between many colors?

Reminiscing

When I was around three to four years old, I wanted to break the glass TV screen simply because I wanted to play with the small, 2-inch tall people that were acting inside the TV. Good thing my older brother was there to stop me from doing just that. I would have been quite disappointed.

I was a smart kid though - I never believed in Santa Claus. I never thought that my toys come alive at night either...not like all the kids in Enid Blyton books.

At the sound of Mary Poppins' name, I would frown. I was never able to appreciate the movie till sometime around the age of twelve. I was quite young the first time I watched the movie. After watching her sing the toys back to their places in the nursery, I tried that in my room (mom had told me to clean up), but for some reason it didn't work. I sang and sang...and sang, but my toys didn't go back to their places. It's quite hilarious now, but I remember having a big grudge against that movie. I just hated it and didn't want to have anything to do with it. The weird thing is, I never really knew why I didn't like the movie...perhaps I was too young to remember what had happened, but I did know that I had a strong dislike for the movie. Years later, I somehow got stuck watching the movie, against my will. When it came the nursery scene, it finally hit me and I understood the source of my grudge towards the movie. Now I can peacefully watch Mary Poppins fly around with her umbrella and sing toys back to their places.

I had a wonderful childhood...one which I would trade for nothing. When I was in standard one and two, mom would pack my snack for me, and along with the sandwhich and slices of guava, she would slip in small love notes for me. I looked forward to opening my snackbox during recess everyday.

I've got so many memories, many of which are kept in my box of treasurers. I will open this box again one of these days - before I leave.

Quote Of The Day

Others are brave out of ignorance, but the man who can most truly be accounted brave is he who best knows the meaning of what is sweet in life and of what is terrible, and then goes out undeterred to meet what is to come.

-Pericles

$$$

Who is the richest person in the world??? One newspaper article I found says this:

Ingvar Kamprad, the Swede who founded furniture retail chain IKEA, has overtaken Microsoft's Bill Gates as the world's richest man. Ingvar Kamprad, 77 has a personal fortune of 400 billion crowns ($53 billion). Gates's fortune is put at $47 billion, according to the latest list of the world's rich in U.S. Forbes magazine, SVT2 said.

Kamprad, known for frugal habits such as flying economy class, lives in Switzerland and no longer takes part in the daily running of IKEA, but has kept ownership of the company with more than 180 stores in over 30 countries in the family.

SVT2 said the dollar's slide against other currencies is the main reason why Kamprad has now overtaken Gates.



Yet, in another newspaper report:

On Sunday, April 4, the Reuters news service published a story crediting IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad with a fortune of more than $53 billion, exceeding Gates's $46.6 billion net worth.

By Monday, April 5, the story had been quickly debunked. IKEA spokeswoman Marianne Barner stated strongly that the report was just wrong, according to the Associated Press.

She contended that the magazine simply estimated the value of the entire company and assigned it to Kamprad. But the furniture maven hasn't fully owned IKEA since 1982, when he donated ownership to the Dutch Stichting INGKA Foundation.

Luisa Kroll, a Forbes associate editor who helps put together the magazine's list of the world's wealthiest people, agrees that the accounting is way off.

"Kamprad has several holding companies that own stakes in each other," she points out, suggesting the Veckans Affaerer analysis included incorrect "double counting" of assets.

Forbes editor Kroll stands by her magazine's calculations, which put Kamprad's wealth at $18.5 billion, thirteenth on the 2004 list of the world's wealthiest, which came out in February.

She does say that Kamprad's assets have grown steadily in dollar terms. "We even thought he might slip into the top ten this year," says Kroll, "but not up to number one."



As of March 11th 2005, Forbes has ranked the top ten richest men on the planet:
1. William Gates III
2. Warren Buffett
3. Lakshmi Mittal
4. Carlos Slim Helu
5. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud
6. Ingvar Kamprad
7. Paul Allen
8. Karl Albrecht
9. Lawrence Ellison
10. S Robson Walton


Yet, these credible sources seem to be disagreeing with each other, which means I still haven’t found my answer. Who is the richest person in the world?

Crossroads

I finally received my financial aid offer from Goshen College. It's good...slightly better than what Baylor offered me. Now, all I have left to do is decide which university I intend to go to. Each has it's own pros and cons so I'm gonna have to weigh those before coming to my final decision.

Here's a bit of information on both of the colleges. Goshen is in Indiana and it is a small Mennonite college. Baylor on the other hand, is in Waco, Texas and is a big Baptist University-the largest in the world, actually.

At the moment, I have mixed thoughts and no strong preferance towards either one yet. At the same time, a good decision is important-it always is, especially when it comes to education.

Oh well...I'll just try to take things as they come and not worry about them till they do.

I've gotta get back to work now. Blerk! (Such enthusiasm!)

Greenland...My Discovery

This will probably sound totally absurd to everyone else out there but I feel it's necessary for me to relate my new found bit of information.

Here goes...I just found out that Greenland is a country. Yes, I know! Please do pardon my ignorance.

You know, I always kind of assumed that Greenland was similar to the North Pole or the South Pole except that it was somehow related to Denmark...or something like that. I have to admit that I never really thought about it much and I sure didn't take the time to look it up...and well, now I'm embarrassed about it. *deep red flushed face*

Well yes, now I finally know that Greenland is actually a country on it's own. Here's a bit of information on the history of this country:

How did a glacier-covered island get the name Greenland? In Norse legends written in the 12th century and later, it is told that Eric the Red explored the southeast and southwest coasts of Greenland in A.D. 983-986 and gave the country its name because people would be more likely to go there if it had an attractive name. Greenland was warmer in the tenth century than it is now. There were many islands teeming with birds off its western coast; the sea was excellent for fishing; and the coast of Greenland itself had many fjords where anchorage was good. At the head of the fjords there were enormous meadows full of grass, willows, junipers, birch, and wild berries. Thus Greenland actually deserved its name. Another attraction of Greenland was that Iceland and northwestern Europe, including England, had a grievous year of famine in 976, and people were hungry for food as well as land.

It's the weirdest thing that Greenland is covered with ice and Iceland is green.

Anyway, that's about all on my discovery of Greenland. I know...duhh!!!

Forever

Today it's just you and me!

From A Friend

Close your eyes, rest your head,
Make a wish as you lay in bed,
Dream of days filled with pure love,
and freedom from the wings of a dove.

Pray to the sky above that someone gives you happiness,
Pray that you will never be struck by loneliness,
Dream of days where you can walk safely in the park,
and never worry about it being too bright or too dark.

Hope that you will be healthy,
For all eternity and also be wealthy,
For a hundred years to come,
Wish to be much wiser and not to be dumb,

Dream of days filled with fluffy white clouds and living in a carefree world,
Hope that your first child would be a baby girl,
Wish that you will get all the fame,
that you deserve and put everyone to shame.

Wish that you will never be blue,
and hope that all your wishes and dreams will come true.


Thank you for the poem. Reminds me of the old days. We had good times back then. Miss you gurl!

Too Bad Money Doesn't Grow On Trees

I had a wonderful day yesterday with one of my college friends. Besides catching up with her, we went shopping! I've been wanting to shop for ages and get stuff for my trip to Kota Kinabalu and to the U.S., so it was wonderful that I was finally able to do that. After lunch, we went over to Mid Valley and ended up watching 'Be Cool' and doing some shopping. We found this amazing shop (more like a cart actually), where they sell really funky dangly earrings, 3 for RM10. Hah! Talk about bargain corner. (Sush, you gotta see this one!) I got four pairs...silver, red, blue, and white. The best part is that it wasn't a sale...3 for RM10 is actually their fixed price.

Movie people out there, if you haven't seen Hitch and Be Cool, you're not with it. For real, this is good stuff and you really shouldn't miss it.

Now go watch a movie or something...

'Shop-watchers' show there's a science to buying

by Johan Jaaffar

I MUST confess that going shopping with my wife and three girls can be a daunting experience. I'd rather spend time browsing at a nearby bookstore or, like many husbands and fathers, hang around trying not to look uninterested and lost.
Don't blame us. It's the fault of the shopping complexes really. They should cater for us - men - as well.

Perhaps it is true that when it comes to shopping, men are from Mars, women from Venus. I am sure the pressure is on my wife and children for having to keep me waiting. They certainly feel anxious and rushed.

How can they enjoy shopping thinking of a grumpy husband or impatient father waiting somewhere? Women by nature will spend more time, be a lot happier and more relaxed, and spend a lot more money if they are on their own. Or if they go out with their friends.

So how to deal with people like me? Two strategies are suggested by Paco Underhill in his compelling and thought-provoking book Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping. The first is for the stores or sections selling women's products to figure out ways "to engage" the interest of men. The second, and more difficult one is, of course, to find ways to get the man "involved" in the process as well.

Underhill suggests, among other things, that the outlets provide catalogues for gifts, set up an emporium devoted to "male desires" (a computer store, maybe) or at least a comfortable space for the men to watch ESPN Live.

Men and women differ in almost every way, so too their buying habits and shopping patterns. We make a mistake assuming women are compulsive shoppers and men the more cautious ones.

In fact, men can be loose cannons in shopping malls. They come, they see, they buy. They move fast. And they end up buying many more unnecessary things than women.

Furthermore, men spend less time deciding what to buy. Men shop like they drive. They seldom ask for directions. And they look at the price tag last. Eighty six per cent of women do.

According to Underhill, for a man, ignoring the price tag is almost a measure of his virility. And there is another noticeable thing about men: If they can't find what they want, the tendency is to move on. When a man takes anything into a fitting room, rest assured the only thing that stops him from buying is if it does not fit.

A study showed that 65 per cent of male shoppers who tried some- thing on ended up buying the goods. Only 25 per cent of women shoppers do so.

The moral of the story is that men are reckless shoppers. Most men do not even carry a list of groceries if they enter a supermarket. Give a man a shopping cart and he'll end up buying half the store.

To supermarket owners men come straight from heaven. Call it their lack of discipline or, better, the guy thing. Men would never disappoint their children if they want additional candies or dolls. On the other hand, women realise the importance of prudent spending in such circumstances.

But many stores are ignoring the men. Men are almost unwanted in many of our retail outlets today. Apparently, store owners are not aware of the changing demographics. Men push baby-strollers now. Men help women in the kitchen. So they buy things their fathers would normally leave to the women.

In shopping complexes, caring fathers manage toddlers, feeling anxious about the wife's shopping spree, as well as looking for their own things. Yet, in many complexes, little is done to accommodate the modern father.

The truth is, even household products should be re-imagined, re-branded and re-packaged with men in mind. Where would you buy men's moisturising creams and sunblock? More often than not, you have to go to a typical women's health and beauty section. Female- oriented packaging and merchandising have marginalised the men.

At the same time, our shopping complexes are becoming more unfriendly. If my wife gets tired, the chances of her finding a place to relax are almost non-existent. We end up going to the nearest Coffee Bean or Starbucks. Many of the chairs and stools have been taken away to discourage lepak.

The truth is, tired people buy less. They seldom go back to the shops after food. We largely ignore the middle-aged and the elders. In our shopping complexes, queues are long and time consuming. Many would rather skip shopping than endure the wait. Can't they just open more counters?

Underhill's book is about buying - a process modern men and women have been doing all their lives, but which is being taken for granted. He is an anthropologist, if you like, studying modern shoppers.

He and his colleagues spent countless hours "tracking" shoppers and their behaviours. They videotaped shoppers, then collated, digested and tabulated every bit of information. A new science was born - that of shopping.

For the last two decades, Underhill and gang have been providing valuable information to supermarkets, restaurants, specialist stores, you name it.

You and I are merely shopping guinea-pigs for the "trackers". They follow our every movement, they measure and count every significant motion of a shopping trip, and even map the entire foray.

One example: You come in at 2.30pm, go to the men's section, stop at one corner to watch a display, pause to check on the price tag of an expensive sweater, stroke three ties, buy a Pagoda T-shirt and join the cashier queue 23 minutes later, as the third person in line, paying with a MasterCard. Every move you make is watched.

Why such details? Shopping is huge business. People buy things all the time. Most shoppers have their grouses. Underhill's job is to help stores and supermarkets sell their products better. And make life less arduous for shoppers.

Shopping complexes - their layout, displays and placing of products - have changed largely because of studies and recommendations made by people like Underhill.

Perhaps it is about time buyers were treated better by retailers. The dynamics of the modern retail environment will hopefully change for the better. Read the book and you'll understand why the new science is so welcome.

Surprise Party

Here are the pictures from the surprise party we had for Jess.

Thank God For The Wheel!

A deep red Supra, a bright yellow Evolution, a dashing white Skyline, a black shiny Mercedes roadster...


Weird! I realized that looking at funky cars can cheer me up. When I was in Rome, I spent almost an hour just sitting on a bench near this one intersection right opposite St. Peter's Square. What was I doing? Admiring the cars that drove by. I've got pictures of this really amazing black Porshe that I saw. The cutest car though, has got to be the SMART car...that's to die for...

I have to say though that my preferance for cars bends more towards the sporty, sleek ones than it does towards the vintage. For some reason, I lack appreciation for Jaguar's because I see them as chunky. But who knows, I might come to like them some day.

Currently, my dream ride rests in the Honda S2000. I just adore that car. Now you know what to bribe me with...hehe...

BLERK!

*SIGH*

I feel jaded...

I need to get out of the house and do something cuz I'm so extremely bored!

HELP!?!

Cleo Tips

Mend broken lipstick by softening the broken bit with a lighter, attach it to the stump and freeze for about 10 minutes.

Added too much salt to the soup or stew? Instead of resorting to diluting the soup, drop in a raw potato and boil for five minutes. When you remove the potato, the overly salty taste will be gone.

Prolong your mattress’ life by turning if over every two weeks for the first few months and thereafter, once every two months. Don’t clean it with dry cleaning fluid as this can damage surface materials – brush, vacuum and air the mattress regularly to prevent dust mites and bed bugs. To prevent stains, use a quilted mattress protector under the sheets.

To remove tomato based stains, heavily coat with baking soda to absorb liquid. Then lift solids and use a spot remover. If a spot remains, use a red-stain remover. Do the same for pasta sauces.

Red stains need fast treatment. Lift solids, blot with soda water and use a red-stain remover. Don’t have any? Try 125ml hydrogen peroxide plus 5ml ammonia, rinse with water and blot dry. Also works with red wine and red punch.

Suds from beer spills turn brown if not treated before they dry. Blot, flush with soda water, blot again, then use spot remover. Dry with a hair dryer to prevent a brown ring from residual alcohol.

Light and durable, dental floss can double up as sewing thread to mend rips and tears in clothes. A clothes line for when you’ve no place to hand you’re washing in hostels, or even as a replacement for a broken shoelace.

To achieve flawless feet, avacado skin is used in Australia to slough awat rough patches.

Instead of cucumbers, the Spanish place thin slices of potato on eyes for 10 minutes to eliminate unflattering dark undereye circles.

Brazilian women are knows to fub handfuls of sand on their bodies to help smooth away cellulite and stimulate circulation in the skin.

In Poland, honey is used warm as a mask or applied directly to lips as a lip-softening treatement.

The chinese believe that white tea is the key to youthful skin.

Banana peels are the answer to soothing sunburnt skin in Jamaica. (haha! Looks like I got my answer)

As garlic contains anti-bacterial compounds, Russians rub it onto their cuts.

The secret of the Japanese geishas' porcelain-like flawless complexions is camelia oil.

You dread hot weather because you know you'll get an itchy rash that leaves you miserable! A heat rash, or prickly heat, is a skin irritation caused by too much hear and moisture. To prevent it, stay out of the sun and indulge in cool showers and dry yourself properly after. Also, wear clothes in natural fabrics that let sweat dry such as cotton. If you have a rash already, here's a remedy you can make at home: Take three parts bicarbonate soda and one part water and mix into paste. Then apply it on the rash for relief. Alteratively, dust on prickly heat powder as a quick fix!

Ever tried on a bangle only to have it stuck on your wrist? instead of making a quick dash to the toilet to soap it off, grab a plastic bag and place your hand in. Pull the ends of the plastic bag through the bangle - now you should be able to effortlessly slip the bangle over the bag and off your wrist.

Want to keep your nickel-plated fixtures and stainless steel surfaces shiny? Clean and dry as usual, then apply a coat of car wax and buff as you would a car. This will keep stains away until the wax wears off.

When renting a car in the US, beware - most rental cars there have the clobal positioning system (GPS) installed, which can be used by the car rental agency to check if you've broken any speed limits.