Education Fair - Of Educate or Money Making ?

 What would you think when someone told you he or she is going to pay a visit to an education fair? You would then think ' Oh, you want to further study.' Then you would ask ' what are you going to study and which colleges or universities do you plan to head to? These are all common questions asked in which these common answer will be given:' Oh, I am blurred and don't know what am I going to study after my SPM!'

Is that the purpose of most people who are not sure of their future plan going for an education fair, in the HOPE that the staffs from different institutions who set up booths at the education fair can help solve their questions/doubts?

More often than not, you would bump into an education fair occasionally somewhere and sometime. It is burgeoning so rapidly to the extent of the access frequency of bumping into an education fair is much comparable to bumping into a PC fair. What I am going to say is, nowadays , the purpose of organizing an education fair no longer serves its very main objective, that is to help every students to get a clear direction for choosing and landing their desired course. It seems to me with that education industry has tuned into a business-minded industry with profit-making being the main objective.

Most students who are going for an education fair, have little to no directions as to what and where they are going to further their study. Armed with a heart of curiosity, they go to pay a visit to education fair in the hope to get their doubts cleared. They are not hoping for every institutions to furnish them with all information about the course the insititutions offered nor the course fees and course prospects etc. These are not what they really want to know seeing that they have no idea about what they really want to do.

Can the institutions guarantee that the course which students makes an enquiry is what they want to do? How sure they are? based on what judgement they know the students are really interested to do the courses they asked?

Of course ,we can't expect every students to have their direction clear as to what and where they are going to further their study. Most if not all of them, at such a young age, do not have the 'clear direction' yet. Perhaps they are not yet exposed to the real industry where they see themselves to embark on. We may then think, perhaps we should provide them with info they need, or perhaps a personality test to help them know best who they are and which career suit them best.

Well, as what Mr Seng has appropriately pointed out, personality test should be done not only once, but more than one. The reason is  we human have many other emotions under different circumstances. Let's put in this way:
Today I am happy because I have a wonderful family vacation.
A week later I am disappointed because I did not expect to flank my Maths test.
After a month later, I am down because my best friend has stolen my wallet.

And so, these different circumstances will definitely reflect your mood swinging from time to time as in the case of while you are doing your personality test. These could very well affect your result due to these different circumstances and your mode of emotions.

Not only do we human have mood swing, but also peer pressure.

Today you may say I want to be entrepreneur because I wanted to be like Donald Trumph after reading his book 'Why We Want You To Be Rich'. A week later, you may see your brother earning a big buck and travel around the world for being a business development manager and then this could be very well affect you in a way that you think you want to be like him!
A months after, you heard from your best friend that he is now on his job assignment of being a tour guide, travelling in an International 6 start cruise in Alaska and heading to European countries soon. You may then say: 'Wow, how I wish I could be a tour guide, because travelling has always been my dream!'

You see, it is undeniable that human will be influenced by different circumstances, peer pressure and all other major life events. Thus, personality test should be done more than one to reflect its accuracy.

So, you may have known what an ideal education would be.=)

Life of Pi- Of its essence and extraction

Yesterday was Selangor public holiday, thus it comes as a good news to all working folks from Selangor area that they can enjoy a day break free from works! I have no exception to that, having a day break from works really ease me down from the hectic of office works.

Since it s a day free from work, why not  heading to town for a movie? Hence, without any hesitation, I make a move with best buddy, Vyian for a movie named.....

Life of Pi is a movie directed by famous director Ang Lee! The plot is exactly the same as what was written by Yam Martel in his novel in 2001. 

'Moral value' which I have learnt from this movie:

1) Life is about exploring the truth. In this story, Pi was exposed to 3 different religions- Hindu, Islam and Christianity and he tried to understand God through the lens of each religion and comes to recognize benefits in each one.

2) Life is about learning how to survive. Pi was able to survive in the ship wreck in the middle of a big sea with of course luckily enough supply of canned food and sea water. Armed with a 'survival book' in hand, he is able to utilize it for building a small raft and survive a huge storm.What more staying close with ' Richard Parker'!

3) Life is about competition. Those who are strong will be the one who survive and the weaker one will be wiped off by the strong one. During the ship wreck,  the hyena kills the zebra, then the orangutan, much to Pi's distress. At this point, it is discovered that a bengel tiger named Richard Parker had been hiding under the boat's tarp; it kills and eats the hyena

4) Life is full of miracles. Do not ever lose hope in life, even in the most dire condition, living with the most intimidated animal and stranded in the middle of a big ocean, always believe the existence of MIRACLE. Pi is never ever lose hope and he still keep his prayer and communicate with God for guidance and light.

5) Life is about story telling. Two officials from the Japanese Ministry of Transport speak to Pi to ascertain why the ship sank. When they do not believe his story, he tells an alternate story of human brutality .Since the officials cannot prove which story is true and neither is relevant to the reasons behind the shipwreck, they choose the story with the animals. In life, you will face with different version of stories, in which it is upon you who choose to believe which one.

The movie is great to the extent that I can extract some 'moral' value out of it, isn't it?=p

Charity Car Wash

Yeah, It has been a while since I last updated my blog.

Life has been hectic all this while, with ' no works and plays make Jack a dull boy'.

In fact, striking a work life balance is what I really want to achieve.

Well, charity is always a good thing to do, if you consider about taking care of the welfare of others, especially those who are really in need of our help.

It is tough especially the cars which come for car wash were all big luxurious cars. How we wish we could wash kancil or kelisa cars which will make our life easy! LOL, but 'unfortunately', because of the good strategic of the location, rich people with big cars make up the large customers! 

Well, a weekend off for this charity car wash has taught me some lessons:

1) Appreciate the hard work by people washing your car even though they are paid. This work is never easy.

2) Charity is indeed a noble job but it takes times, efforts and strategies for making it a fruitful one. In car wash charity, what we look for is the money we gained to be channeled to old folk home at the end of the day. Marketing strategies are important in this aspect to make sure our target is achieved.

Yes, indeed, this car wash charity has proven to be a fruitful one as more than 6k target is hit for the 2 days efforts!=)

TedxYouth@KL

Yesterday was a day of inspiration! I was deeply inspired by all the awesome speakers in TedxYouth@KL, which is held at Menara SSM, KL Sentral.

              Let's look at the photos below along with their caption for more inspirations! xD

Huge crowd of people begin to show up around 12pm -1pm, waiting to be seated  in the Auditorium right at 1pm! Luckily I arrived early and managed to get a good seat!=)

Some of the participants are busy chatting and building networks!

We were entertained by this Chris Anderson Video upon entering the Auditorium.

Our host today!

Our Hope: One day every children in Malaysia will have the opportunity to have an excellent education!
In line with the mission of Teach For Malaysia: To end education inequality in Malaysia, I hope every kids no matter they are from the rural or urban area schools, of various literacy level, they will deserve an education and fells that education is so exciting that they won't want to leave at the end of schooldays!

The first speaker- Miss Suet Li, Fellow of Teach For Malaysia. She is a great speaker. One of her video  with her student names Jaya, inspired me a lots! There are still schools with students having low literacy, to the extent of not even know how to read and write a simple English word. That is the time we need to seriously reflect upon our education system and come with a SOLUTION!

2nd speaker: Sze Ning on ' Why the Indigenous Right Matter'. Amazing portrayal of Orang Asli in Malaysia. Indeed their voice need to be heard more often.

This is one of the organs from porcupine,  claimed to have cured cancer! In fact I feel that the biodiversity of orang asli's habitat should be well explored. Things such as the biodiversity of plants may makes a great medicinal value!

Third speaker: Mr Alex Au-Yong on ' The Xtramiler'. He is an avid runner and uses his gift, including the RM5 notes which he collects to give back to society! 

He receives amazing response. More runner come and join him for his great cause!=)

The awesome performance by Impatient Sisters! Look forward to their first  album soon! =D

Tea Break with Networking

4th speaker: David Lai, The Mentalist!

Inspiration: Nothing is impossible. Pursue your passion and make it into your career!

Calling up some audiences and show his unbelievable show!=D

The next speaker is Ninie Ahma, a Yoga Teacher. Below is her amazing stunts. Note that she is a pregnant but can still perform headstand! Unbelievable as it may sound, a few key points which she has mentioned in her talk:

- Yoga helps to oxygenate the body. Our body contains cancer cells, it is just the matter of whether the cancer cells are activated or no. Yoga which offers the possibility to perform outstanding and unbelievable stunts regardless of people from various age groups, has been quite widely practised in many countries.

In fact, Ninie Ahmad's talk will definitely encourage many others to take up yoga as part of healthy practice in daily lifestyle, which is exactly in line with her motto ' Impossible is only a suggestion!'.

This person can finally walk and perform headstand!

Amazing stunt!

Amazing stunt!

Amazing stunt!

Next Speaker: Lim Cheng Soon, on ' Hacking A Business'. A young entrepreneur and web developer, he is also the founder and curator of Hacker Monthly-Print magazine of Hacker News, being on the top sells in Silicon Valley.

Next Speaker: Lou Yeoh on ' Looking beyond boundaries' . 

Education should go beyond what lies in the textbook. Offering an IT solution to schools is a way to go of utilizing the use of IT to aid in school's daily administration.

Next speaker: Jason Leong, a doctor cum a standup comedian. He is also one of the speaker who make his hobby and passion out of his career. Love what you are doing, and you will see what's lies beyond the possibility! Indeed, I would call him a LOL- maker! xD

Next speaker: Bosillika An on 'A movement for change'. At such a young tender age of 18, she has been a great philanthropist , social entrepreneur and international role model. In fact, she is the role model for all youth!=)

The last speaker : Su Zen Low on ' Staring Vulnerability in the Face'. I couldn't been more by her talk!  A great ending source of inspiration!=D

All in all, thumbs up to the organizers and sponsors for this TedxYouth event! You guys have been doing the awesome jobs! All these talks and sharing have been a source of inspiration to Malaysian youth, in particular. 

We need to make a change, nothing is impossible, impossible is just a suggestion, be ourselves, and do our best!

Final great applause for the all the speakers!

 I look forward for the next coming event on next year soon! =)

王帝面@Bandar Manjalara, Kepong

Today, after done with a mock teaching at VIP, I have this opportunity to pamper my taste bud for this very delicious noodles.

I will let the picture speaks the words:

You will have the feel of entering a typical antique restaurant full of chinese history.

Would be a good try, but the price is really complement with the portion served. xD

Abalone!

They even serve Sharksfin Bihun! 

Char Siew Wantan Mee

Officially a UM graduate!

Finally, the day come, the day to signify that I am going to step out of my 'book-facing', society meeting, mamak gathering, exam phobia, countless of research, and tidious labworks, etc.

Officially , I am a UM graduate!=)

I love you all!

Mum and I

Grandpa and I

Big Ma Shang Members

I miss you, Baomily!

I thank my family for their continuous support! Thanks for making who I am today. especially my late grandma. I love you as always!=)

I will surely miss my university life and friends! The 4th Oct 2012, marks the end of my status as a student as I will start with my short term plan to step into working world for now.

Summer is to sunburn

Malaysia is the tropical country where it experiences all year summer without any other seasons. I am fortunate enough to live in such a country as I am the kind of person who can’t easily stand cold.

When I was in Korea during the summer season, I have experienced various weather changes. During the first week I was there (mid July), the weather was rainy and gloomy. But after a few weeks later, it turned to extremely hot and dry. It is especially unbearable for many who can’t stand burning hotness of the sun. What more during the time when we went for fieldtrip to Busan Beach and Daegu Downtown, the weather was just so unfriendly hot!

But, hey! For Koreans and many other 4 seasoned countries, summer is the season for vacations, outdoor recreation, travelling and sports! Generally, most people beat the heat by wearing thin layer of clothes, especially in the beaches area where you could see lots of lads with bikini and gentlemen with just underwear, and what more they are sun-basking. But do they realize the danger of overexposure to the ultraviolet radiation from the sun which may cause skin burn and in serious case, skin cancer?

Well, many, especially those Koreans, Westerners or most people with fair skin would say they want to get their skin turn brown as they tan. Ideally, yes, it can. But what if we are not careful? It will burn and turn red!

Too many different sunscreen products are on sale in market, one has to choose wisely.

Go back to the science of dermatology before we delve further. Melanin is the dark pigment in our epidermis that protect the skin against the sun’s ray. Sunburn occurs when the length of sun exposure outpaces the absorptive ability of the melanin, which depends of the amount of melanin present in the skin.

So you may ask, how do we actually know the amount of melanin present in our skin?

Well, it all boils down to our nature of skin. Individuals with very white skin and brighter hair colour(blonde and redheads) often have low concentration of melanin and thus much more susceptible to sunburns. For people with darker skin, high concentration of melanin often avoid the skin from getting sunburn easily. That is why  I don’t have much problem with sunburn, but still I just couldn’t stand with the hotness, it just getting my skin to become darker and darker.

Besides sunburn problem, individual exposed to prolong exposure to sunlight, will develop freckles (or ephelides). Freckles are small spot on the skin which are usually yellow or brown. They are often seen on the face but may occur on other part of body that has been exposed to sunlight.

One may wonder how do these freckles being produced?

They are actually produced by the action of UV radiation that triggers the increase of melanin in the pigment cells. Older children and younger adult tend to have more distinct freckles compared with older adults as facial skins where freckles are most noticeable tend to darken and become coarser with age.

To avoid sunburn, many would opt for sunscreen cream. Most make it a habit to apply sun cream before they leave the house and repeat applications after swimming or spending a long time outside. The same goes for hiking on mountains as the UV radiation increases with higher altitudes. However, they should also realize that the brighter the hair colour and the skin, the higher the sun protection factor (SPF) sunscreen they should use. Generally, sunscreen with SPF above 15 is always ideally recommended.

According to Dr Raimund Royer (the medical director of Jaseng Oriental Medicine’s International Clinic), the gel-like substance in the leaves of aloe vera plant might be applied directly on the burned skin. An active compound in the aloe, glycoprotein alleviates the pain and inflammation present in sunburn, where its polysaccharides boost skin repair and growth. Frequently used, aloe vera might not only alleviate sunburn, but it may also help freckles to slowly fade away. So, one may consider the use of aloe vera gel in treating sunburn.

However, prevention is still better than cure. The best treatment for sunburn is still prevention. So, try to avoid prolonged exposure to sun, especially between 10am to 4pm when the UV radiation is the strongest. Also, make it a habit to apply sunscreen before you leave the house for any outdoor activities during the hot days!

Of Peace and War

Recently, I came across an article written by Iman Feisal Abdul Rauf on the Star Paper ‘ The Common Enemy’ which I found it to be very well written and fantastic!

In his article, he addressed the issue of the anti-Islamic film which has been aired worldwide and provoke the Muslims from various Islamic countries as well as the death of US ambassador to Libya Christiopher Stevens in Benghazi.

He claimed that the death of US ambassador has nothing to do in the name of Islam. Having spend a lifetime  studying Quran and Islamic Law, religion prohibits taking innocent life.The Quran equates the killing of innocent with killing all of humankind.

Can peace be achieved if this situation continue to prevail?

In fact, he said that no American officials would have anything to do with something so ile and degrading to a religion. News report has identified that Nakoula Basseley, a Coptic Christian living in Southern California as the driving force behind the film.

Extremists of all religions excite the worst, most extreme reactions from others. It takes only one extremist action to set off a chain reaction to go around the world.

The real conflict is not Christian vs Muslim or Muslim vs Jews. It is a struggle between extremist and moderates of all religion.That is why the moderates among us in all faiths must work together to combat extremists.He also urged Muslim to recognise that the  best way to oppose hate speech is to ignore it. Reaction is precisely what a hater wish to provoke.

We must embrace the Global Movement of Moderats mooted by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib that seeks a just peace not through violence but by promoting justice, excellence and equilibrium.

We can show the falsity of their messages simply by turning our backs.

War is definitely NOT the solution!

Happy Malaysia Day!

It has been 3 year since our Malaysian Day on 16^th Sept declared as a public holiday. It should be a holiday for all to appreciate the value and importance of this day where it celebrates her people, her land, her future.

As we celebrate Malaysia Day, it is heartening to know that there is still a lack of awareness and ignorance still reigns among Malaysian about Malaysia Day.

Among the common misconceptions were:

1)  16^th September 1963 is the date where Sabah and Sarawak join Malaysia, and hence Malaysia Day.

In fact, Sabah and Sarawak did not join Malaysia! They came together with Malaya and Singapore on Sept 16 in 1963 to become the Federation of Malaysia. Singapore left the federation two years later.

So, do not ask question such as ‘when did Sabah and Sarawak join Malaysia?’ or you get explosives answers especially from our fellow Malaysians from East.

2) Penisular Malaysia is larger than Malaysian Borneo.

I know our somewhat distorted map would make many think that Penisular Malaysia appears larger than Malaysian Borneo, but in fact the Malaysian Borneo territories make up 61% of Malaysian land mass. Sarawak and Penisular Malaysia are roughly the same size.

3)     Malaysia Day is Sabah and Sarawak Day celebration.

This is so wrong. It must be stressed that Malaysia Day is a national celebration and not Malaysian Borneo one. It is not partisan issues. It is about us – Malaysians. I feel proud that Sabah and Sawarak are part of Malaysia! Malaysia without Sabah and Sarawak is just plain Persekutuan Tanah Melayu. The addition of Sabah and Sarawak has made our Malaysian culture more diverse and unique.

So, as we celebrate Malaysia Day, I wish Malaysia to be prosperous, peaceful and more importantly united in celebration.

Selamat Hari Malaysia!

Andong Hahoe Village

We APLs are very lucky as we have an opportunity to visit Hahoe village in Andong. 

Hahoe village is a Korean traditional village and is especially well known as the birth place of Ryu family who have lived together for 600 years. It is a place where tile-roofed and straw-roofed houses have been quite well preserved for a long time. Hahoe has conserved the Byeolsingut Mask Dance Play performed by the general public. Many other cultural heritages can also be founded there. We had the chance to try making the Korean traditional paper mask ourselves, with a very reasonable charge. It was really a fresh new experience for us, and the mask was brought back as a memorial souvenir. 

Before heading there, we had our lunch at this restaurant.

Deliciously served food

Our Ikan bakar！

Korean food is always well equipped with other side dishes such as Kimchi, yellow radish, peanuts etc

The Menu

After lunch, we went to watch Byeolsingut Mask Dance Play

Byeolsingut Mask Dance Play

Byeolsingut Mask Dance Play

We are on the mask!

Jeena and me

Before Painting

After painting

Hahoe Village

Hahoe Village

Hahoe Village

We just had a short tour around Hahoe Village due to short of time as we have to rush back to KNU before 6pm. Overall, the field trip to Andong Village is a fruitful one, as it is very much full of historical values of Korea! =)