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To be an engineer, to be an architect
We always wonder what will come next

We aim success, we aim the best
We make our effort and forget the rest

Sometimes we stuck, or even failed
We return to the path where the truth prevailed

We want to live a successful story
And let the past be our history

Living life as sweet as cream
And let the future to be our dream

first

What is it like to be the first? Do you feel superior? Or feeling you are the best among the rest? When you are the first one to reach the finish line during a marathon race, you feel great. When you are the first one to be called for an impromptu speech, you feel nervous. When you are the first one to be a failure among your friends, you feel disappointed.

First is derived as the number one. Numero uno. First is the best. But is it really the best?

Being the first doesn’t necessarily mean the best. As a first child, doesn’t mean that you are better than your younger siblings. First child means responsibility. Responsibility towards your younger siblings and you doesn’t have to be better than them to be responsible for them. What you need is care and love towards them, and most importantly, keeps them away from any harm. Being the first child also mean that you must be a good example towards the other siblings.

To be positively first is great. But, what if you are the first negatively? You are the first one to be kicked out from school or the first one to be expelled from your workplace. Are these making you feel great? Yes, to some extent, but usually no, right? So, why don’t you be the first one to do great things? Be the best, guys, and beat the rest.

This is a very short essay. My brain is hardly to function right now. Chowz.

alter

28th February 1991, a historical date for Malaysia. At that moment, the Prime Minister of Malaysia was Dr. Mahathir (presently addressed as Tun Dr. Mahathir). He was giving a speech about his vision to modernize this country, to put Malaysia at par with other developed countries. It was that day, February 28th 1991; Dr. Mahathir presents out his idea of Vision 2020, and the day that my mother gave birth to me.

28th February 2009, I am eighteen. The age that most people certified as above age, eligible to buy cigarettes on my own, eligible to watch adult-rated movies in Malaysia, and most importantly, eligible to withdraw more than RM 200 daily from my CIMB Bank account. But, these are not the main purpose of my topic today. I am now eighteen years living in this world, and I have been through many events that somehow have changed me in many ways.

I was a shy boy back in my kindergarten days. Well, to be honest, I only went to the kindergarten for three days, because of an event that truly embarrassing to be remembered. It was really hard for me to socialise with other kids in my class, and as they stare at me, the quiet little boy who sat at the corner of the class, I became deeply terrified. I don’t know why but it was me back then, and after the third day, I called it off. No more going to the kindergarten. I stayed at home and hide under the table when my bus came to pick me up. Haha. But, as I grew older, I began to change myself. I tried to be more sociable, started to interact with people of different gender and races, participate in any kind of group works. I make friends with many people and started to gain reputation in school. I was elected as the President of School Cleanliness Board when I was in Form Five. Four years before, I was barely able to speak to any one of my peers, but four years after, I was able to manage one of the school organisations.

The way I studied was also altered from year to year. At school, study is simple. By doing the homework given by the teachers was considered as study. Another habit is what so-called last minute studying. I will only study if the upcoming test is approaching in less than 24 hours. I don’t have the tendency to study earlier than that. But, I change the way I study as I grew older. I knew that the studying was getting tougher and tougher. So, I decided to double my effort, and now, the way I study is different from when I was in school. Now, I am able to study everyday without any hesitation.

I have also changed the way I view things, change my style, and change towards the better me. I hope that I can change more. I change not only to satisfy myself, but for my family and friends, so that I will be able to be a good son, a good brother, a good friend , and a good citizen.

relax

You feel the tense, and I feel it too. It has been very stressful this couple of weeks. With homework and assignments pile up on the table, and the tests are just interrupting in the middle. The weekends are entertainment no more. Weekends now mean it is finish-your-homework time. Are there any ways that can release us from this burden?

Yes, there are.

It is essential for us, especially students to have some time to rejuvenate after a full week of classes. Take a nice deep breath before getting back to the study table. Try switch on the television, watch movies, talk shows or even documentaries to some extent. But if these doesn’t satisfy you, get dressed and go to the cinema, then. These may help you cool down or a little while. Relax your soul, pamper yourself. Have a cool ice soda and watch cartoons. An hour would be enough, and then continue the studying again.

Everybody have hobbies. Ranging from active activities such as sports to more passive ones, such as reading novels, hobbies can help you to enjoy yourself. Forget the assignment for a while, put aside the homework, do it later. Ignore studying for some time. Enjoy your hobbies. Go jogging in the park, play football, or even shopping.

Have no reluctance to call your family. They will do best to cool you down. Even a single word from them may et you out from the stress. Have a nice chat. Tell them your difficulties, let it out. Let them lend their ears to your problems. Family understands better most of the time, especially the mothers. If this doesn’t work out, try doing it with your friends.

For those who have partners, I consider you as lucky in this extent. Even by staring at your beloved’s eyes your stress would be flown away. Asking her for a date is one of a good ways to release stress. Share your problems with her, and let her comfort you.

But, or me, the best method is go back to where we come from, Him. Open the Holy Book, recite His message. Loose up your mind. Remember Him always, and bear in mind, He never, and will not forget you. Ask Him for forgiveness for your wrongdoings.

Well, there are a lot of other ways of releasing tension. From screaming out loud in the open space to enjoying a holiday trip, just do whatever you want. Ignore your studies for a while, just le t your study table in a mess, tidy up later. Now, go out. Do your things.

Life is short. So enjoy it while you still can. Peace.

odd

It is odd. It is weird. Yesterday evening my friends and I went to KLCC for our documentary assignment about ‘Cultural Differences’. We went there searching for a few foreigners to be interviewed. Then, I found out that there are some odd and weird customs in their culture. Want to know what? Just keep on reading, guys.

But the first person we interviewed was the taxi driver who drove us from Bandar Utama to our destination, the magnificent Petronas Twin Towers. I do not remember what his name is but he said that he has been driving taxi for four years. Before this he was a journalist for some famous newspaper. Of course, for the whole journey of half an hour, he shared us his story of driving the customers here and there. We were told that he encountered some miscommunication with some of the foreign customers. One of his amusing experiences is that, two Chinese tourists, whom do not know to communicate in English, asked him to drive them to KLCC. What they do to let the taxi driver know their destination is the best part. They use some sort of body language to give the taxi driver a hint of where the place is. The interview with the taxi driver went well, and he also gave a good respond to our questions.

As we arrived at the masterpiece of architecture, we saw a European guy sitting by the water fountain. We approached him and asked whether we can interview him or not. He said yes without any reluctance, and the short interview began. He told us that he is from Czech Republic and came here for a business trip. Then, we asked him the main question, “What do you find different between your culture and Malaysian culture?” So, he said that the Malaysians are friendlier than the Czechs. He always can see the Malaysian smiling around cheerfully greet each other, contrast with his people in Prague, who always looked moody and unfriendly.

Then, we began to quest for Japanese or Koreans, but we couldn’t find any. As we walked there for few hours, a group of Koreans grabbed our attention. We approached them. But, what happened was a bit frustrating. Neither one of them wanted to be interviewed. Maybe it is their culture that they are very shy.

We began to feel exhausted. Yet, we think the material for our documentary is still not enough. We quest for maybe another one foreigner, but we ended up interviewing three person, a lady from England and two men from The Netherlands. What we find odd and weird in their culture is that the Dutch men kissed each other as for their greetings. Isn’t it awkward? Are they gay? Hmm.

To conclude, the day ended very well. Want to know how the Chinese describe the KLCC by body language? Or how the Dutch men kiss each other? Just wait for the documentary that coming to you in March.

kring

Why can’t I wake up early everyday? I just don’t get the reason. I really want to be a living person when the sun rises from the horizon. But why did the sun drag me from one dream to another? Keep me in bed until it shine as brightly as high-beam spotlight.

There are some negative effects of waking up when the sun has been working for hours. First, there will be no breakfast. Instead, we will only have to take brunch, which is breakfast plus lunch. It may save a proportion of our pocket money, but it is not good for our body. We will not have enough energy to go through the hectic day if we don’t take breakfast. Another consequence of late-rising is we will miss the privilege of studying in the morning. Morning is the best time for our brain to absorb what we learn, the best time to study compared to other part of the day. More over, in the morning, our brain is still fresh to work and can be used to its peak potential.

Why did we wake up late? First, it is because we sleep late at night. We prefer to work on our work at night, and to stay up to study. Sometimes we stay awake to watch interesting TV programmes the broadcasted after midnight. For me, to watch football in the morning is okay, because the enthusiasm of watching live football matches is far greater than the repeated one. Haha. I don’t want to condemn watching football because it is one of my hobbies. But, if I watch football that starts at three, and ends at five, I will not sleep after that. I will wait until noon to get myself into bed. Usually like that.

Are there any tips to wake up early in the morning? We can buy a very big alarm clock with a high-pitched bell ring. That will do it, maybe for a short period of time. To wake up early is not about what device we use to wake us up. It is up to ourselves whether to wake up or not.

The day starts at dusk, so should your life.

Sorry for this very short essay. I don’t have any idea what to write about. Hmm.

ball

Malaysia-football mad nation. Is it true? For me, it is absolutely true. People are talking football here and there. Some are willing to buy original replica jerseys, or even pirated ones just to show their support towards their teams. Most Malaysians support teams from the English League, such as the four teams that are so-called the Big Four, which consists of Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and a team that I hate the most. But some prefer teams from other European countries. For instance, Real Madrid and Barcelona from Spain, and AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus from Italy. Sometimes, the jerseys that the football die-hard-fans would have the names of their favourite players printed on their backs. We might see Cristiano Ronaldo buying fish at the morning market, Fabregas selling pirated VCDs, Gerrard selling toys at the night market or Lampard hanging around in One Utama. But that’s not the real them, the people are Malaysians, who just don’t realise how not-so-European-look their face are. Haha.

Every weekend, most men will go to nearby mamak stalls, or even gather with their friends at home in front of the television to watch their favourite teams in action. Don’t be surprise if at three in the morning, you see a lot of people cheering and screaming their heart out in front of the TV. ESPN is a must watch, Astro is obliged to be installed at home. It’s all about the love for the game. Maybe the commentary of the games played sometimes in different language, but one word that everyone will understand, and celebrate, which is, “Goal!” Even if you are a Malay, Chinese or Indian, or even Nepalese, the word ‘goal’ in football means only one thing-victory.

Every evening, people will go the field of any condition, to play out their favourite sport. People with age ranging from 5 to 40 will play their heart out at the field. Skills of Messi, dribbling of Deco, and good goalkeeping ability of Cech, all can be seen performed by the players. Even though they are not as good as the real players, but at least they try. For example, I have a friend who wants to be a freestyler. For those who don’t know what freestyler is, I can tell you it is a person who performs football skills. Some of them may do it as a career. Oops, back to my friend. I think he have the skills, just he still have to do many practices, and he can be like the pros. But the good thing is he doesn’t stop trying, and that’s what most needed, determination.

Adidas, Nike, and Puma. The three biggest sports brands, fulfil the needs of the football players. From the jerseys to the boots, it may cost a person hundreds of Ringgit. To be honest, I bought my football boots for RM150. My mom would nag me about this, but I still keep it away from her knowledge. Haha. Sorry mom. Yet, the big question here, why did I willingly to spend a lot for football. Again I can say that it’s all about the love for the game.

Maybe this post may disturb the people who don’t like football, mostly the girls. But I do find some of the girls that love football as boys do, although some only love to watch the sexy players only. So, whether you like football or not, it’s up to you. It’s your call. My love for sports is towards football. What sports that become your favourite then?

* Here I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to Mr Derick because of the untidy collage my partner and I had done. But we already did a new one and hang it on class' wall. I'm sorry again, sir.