Saturday, March 20, 2010

Endorphin in messenger

I've done it. I sent the message and I thought none of them would reply, but life is full of surprises.. And I've  just recently received it.

This is the full of hope message that I sent which is full of grammatical errors as usual.

********************
Hello Marc, Nice to meet you.



I am Tim (female, 20), from Malaysia. I am an undergraduate student, studying psychology =)


I get to know you from a video you posted in youtube about Tourette's syndrome. I am truly touched by your brave encounters with life. :)


I am taking biopsychology for this semester, and I came across - "Tourette's syndrome ". I am very curious about it, because in my country, TS is not well-known. I hope to know more about TS, and how people with TS cope with everyday life challenges.
Because TS is not well-known in my country, I decided to conduct a research study on TS. I wonder if you could help me out in my research study.
It would be great if you could share how you battle your medical condition.
If you have any doubts, you can ask me. =) Hope to hear from you soon...

Siew Tim

*************************
After two weeks.. He replied. YES !!!! The message:


Hey Siew Tim!

I am so sorry that I haven't been able to write you sooner (life has been crazy--in a good way of course). I love to help you with your research. Do you have skype by chance or I can answer some of your questions through email. I know you've seen my youtube video but hopefully that provided a lot of answers for you. Sorry again for my delay and talk to you soon.

Always,

Marc Elliot

 -- "Live and Let Live" WhatMakesYouTic.com


********************

In a way, I felt that I annoyed him. Did I? Now that he agreed to help me, I dont know how to reply, what to say.. Help me  >.< 
Hmmm... are tokens needed in this case???

Oh ya.. this is the link of the video from youtube. I tried to put the video in here, but my real player is not working..


Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Asks

This fri got class? Because is a holiday.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Torn Apart (EDITED)

"Torn Apart" is a true story based on Hal Friedman's son (Cory Friedman), who suffers from a rare and extreme combination of Tourett's syndrome, Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder (OCD) and anxiety. This story is brilliantly written by James Patterson with the help of Hal Friendman to illustrate how Cory battles his medical conditions to lead a normal life.

Cory Friedman was like any average child who was actively involved in outdoor activities, until he was five years old where he could no longer experience company of his friends playing games with him. Rather he was accompanied by loads of pills to treat his medical conditions. It all started with an irresistable head turning tic to one side of his shoulder, followed by an upward thrust of his body which caused him to land heavily on the floor and an involuntary face twitching. Cory Friedman was then diagnosed with Tourett's syndrome. A medical condition which he had no control over his own body's movements. Doctors had prescribed him different pills to treat his medical condition, however, none of them worked.

Despite swallowing different pills a day which had different side effects, Cory was very determined to go to school. However, he was teased and misunderstood by teachers who thought he was making a fool of himself to disrupt the class. Cory's desire to please the teachers was so strong that he soon developed OCD. He was unable to complete his works as he was constantly disturbed by his thoughts of imperfections in all of his assignments. Nobody understood him and nobody wants to be with him except for his wonderful, patient parents.

Cory Friedman was unable to complete high school, and he dropped out of school before the final exams. He became an alcoholic, because it was only alcohol which managed to numb his feelings and bizzare behaviors. When all medicines failed to work on his medical conditions, he gradually picks himself up to attended a "self-help" camp. After the taining, he came out strong after the training and determined to continue his studies. His hard work paid off after re-attending junior high and high school. Not only did his ace all his subjects, he balso ecame one of the top-students in his school.

Cory Friedman's book was truly a miracle. His determination and will power serve as an encouragement and motivation to many out there who have lost hope in life.His victorious battles with his medical conditions light up many heart-broken souls who encounter numerous failures in life and instills optimistic thoughts in them. As he said:"Life is not a failure, unless you give it up yourself". His brave encounters with life will always serve as my pushing force to live life to the fullest with no regrets.

Monday, February 15, 2010

English Class

Firstly, I would like to wish you..
Happy Chinese New Year

+
HAPPY VALENTINE


Ok.. Now, the classes... Hmm~ on (Wed + Thurs + Fri + Sat) I am quite sure that I am Free.

All the following days I can attend classes in the morning. (^-^)v
At anytime...
But, preferably..
930am to 1130am                          [or]                         500pm to 7pm

Ps: If there are other slots, I dont mind. Let me know ya.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Curiosity kills

If I hadn't woke up early in the morning to go to dad's office, I wouldn't see my latest MUET results. I thought the slip was posted wrongly to someone's house, because I've waited for months and had not receive it. Today while I was printing some documents in my dad's office, I came across this familiar piece of paper clipped under some stacks of letters. I pulled out that piece of paper, and realised that my dad had the MUET slip all along. I knew that I had FAILED miserably and had disappointed everyone, but, I am still curious of what I scored for those components which I DID turned up for.

Listening                                                                         36/45
Speaking                                                                        33/45
Reading                                                              ABSENT/ 120 (missed)
Writing                                                                          46/90 (arrived late)
Aggregated Score                                                       NIL/300

My dad found out that I successfully "dug out" that slip, he just patted my shoulder and walked off to get a cup of coffee. He did not scold nor yell at me, I knew that he don't want me to look at that FAILED SLIP, because I will be deeply affected. Now, i am deeply affected.
He knew that in school, I was upset and stress about the whole "MUET EXAMINATION". It was because my course mates either passed with desirable bands or had registered for the upcoming exam. He knew I was scared because my course mates are all fluent and good in english. He hid the slip to protect my ego.

Now, I've faced the fact. I am a NIL. No band score, but a NIL.

What should I do now?

Friday, January 22, 2010

Freegans (Edited)

People nowadays are not bothered much with the amount of wastage created. They work, spend, trash and buy again. It is a cycle that seems unavoidable and reasonable for them to waste. But a group of people that call themselves "freegans" think they have found a way out. They scavenge instead of buy, volunteer instead of work and squat instead of rent. But there's a catch - to live off the grid, they have to eat out of the trash. So, what exactly are freegans? What is their philosophy? What do they practice? Most of all what do you think about them after getting to know more about the freegans?


The existing group have its own philosophy. The freegans are usually driven by their anti-consumerist beliefs. The freegans believe that consumerism destroys the environment and degrades society. Furthermore, they also believe that deforestation, factory farming and unfair labor practices are a natural result of a profit-centered culture. They resist electronics upgrades and changing fashions. Moreover, they repair what they already own and trade items among themselves. Many of them use their spare time to volunteer, campaign for pet issues, teach repair workshops and, of course, scavenge. They also believe that society relies too much on oil. Some freegans convert their cars to run on biodiesel. Others walk or bike when possible.

Most freegans live in cities where trash is high quality and plentiful. New York City, with its density and wealth, is practically the capital of freeganism. Because freegans tend to concentrate in urban areas, most practice urban foraging. Freegans look for furniture or bags of clothing on curbsides, electronics in office dumpsters and food behind grocery stores and restaurants. They usually establish a routine - a set of dumpsters they visit weekly or even daily. Many learn when trash goes out and when dumpsters are unattended.

Many people critise freegans. There are advantanges and disadvantages of being a freegan. The advantages of being a freegan is that, one could prevent further pollution on the ecosystem, reduce the sum of cash spent on goods, and lessen the amount of food waste. Then again, being a freegan provides a negative image to the country, creates problems for supermarkets and presents a greater risk of developing health related illnesses. When there are tourists visiting a country and when they discover the existence of freegans, they might have a negative impression towards the country. The tourists might consider them as unhygenic and aggresive beings that are involved in risky behaviors. Thus, they will have negative impressions of the country, assuming that the country is unsafe to visit. However, freegans do not post threats to any authorities. Instead, they are the green rangers on mother nature. They often give to charities and minimize the usage of any items that could possibly damage the environment. The acts of freegans actually bring awareness to the public that there are too many wasted items that can be used. Therefore, being a freegan is actually not a bad thing.

Even though the scavaging of foods in supermarkets might create problem for the supermarket, the freegans are determined in their actions. Many stores discourage freegans because they are afraid of lawsuits from divers who get sick from discarded food. Thus, this worrying matter is often a problem faced by many stores. Although sell-by dates items discarded by the stores provide a general idea of when food will go bad, they are not safety dates. Therefore, freegans are not worried about diving through the garbage to hunt for food. By practising the lifestyle of freeganism, the amount of money spent on goods is greatly reduced, because freegans recycle and reuse dumped items by mending them. Furthermore, the practice of freeganism could reduce the money spent on garbage disposal services. Isn't that beneficial for the stores and the governments?

Lastly, food in dumpsters is contaminated by bacterial. It is said that the cause of most food-borne illnesses, can happen at any point: at harvest, during shipping or -- surprise -- while sitting in a dumpster. It is a fact that bacteria multiply most rapidly in the danger zone between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. However, many freegans claim they've never got sick from properly cleaned and cooked scavenged food. All they need to do is have the knowledge to hunt the food in a proper manner. For example, by only selecting food that are wrapped.

In conclusion, even though the idea of freeganism may sound unpleasant to many, they actually bring benefits to the country. The freegans do not harm the environment or splurge on unecessary goods and foods. Therefore, being a freegan is not a bad idea after all.

The Need to Preserving Our Heritage Buildings (edited)

Should we preserve the country's heritage buildings? It seems to us that it is not important to hold onto our heritage buildings, after all, what value do these buildings have? However, there are several significant factors that we need to consider with regards to our heritage buildings, because they provide a sense of identity, benefit the environment by reducing energy consumption, and aid in optimizing the existing infrastructures.

Firstly, the country's heritage buildings should not be demolished because the built environment provides a footnote to our histories, helping to identify our place as Malaysia, rather than giving others the idea of  "it is just another modern building". Historic buildings should be preserved because it gives us a glimpse of our past and lends character to our communities as well as serving practical purposes. There is a need to hold onto our heritage buildings because it is essential to understand our nation's heritage. Preserving our historical buldings would encourage more tourists to come visit our country. This is very beneficial to our country, as it promotes awareness to others and also aids in our country's economic advancements.

Secondly, the preservation of historical buildings is environmentally beneficial. By reusing existing buildings, historical buildings preservation is essentially a recycling program. Existing buildings can often be energy efficient through their use of good ventilation, durable materials, and spatial relationships. An immediate advantage of older buildings is that the buildings already exists; therefore energy is not necessary to create new building materials. In addition, the infrastructure is for such buildings is already in place. Minor modifications can be made to adapt existing buildings to compatible new uses. Systems can be upgraded to meet modern building requirements and codes. This not only makes good economic sense, but preserves our legacy and is an inherently sustainable practice.

Thirdly, our existing infrasturctures can be optimized by preserving our country's heritage buildings. By optimizing the existing heritage buildings, there is no need to build new roads, spend a sum of money on the sewer, the demolition and the new construction processes, and go through the hassles of getting approval from the government to build new buildings. Furthermore, the existance of usable space within the historical buildings provide for quicker occupancy.

Even though, the historical buildings need certain materials that are not readily available to restore some part of the originalof building, but, with the social network contacts extended throughout the world, these materials such as old growth wood is readily available. Although demolishing historical buildings to build newer ones could create a fresh impression, the process would certainly give out more hazardous substances harmful to humans and the environment. Why waste money on building new infrasturcture when we have the opportunity to optimize the existing infrastructure instead? In conclusion, we should hold onto our country's heritage buildings as they serve as a source of identity of our country, reduce the further damage done to our environment, and aid in optimizing the existing infrastructure.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

English Class

* Please ignore the grammatical errors*

Firstly, I would like to say...

I PASS MY IMU ENGLISH TEST, but i do not know what is the score.


Every friday, my lectures end at 4:15pm. However the slot for 2:45pm to 4:15pm is "Student-Directed-Learning". Whereby, every individual learn up more informations related to that day's lecture. The good news is that S-D-L is not under supervision and no attendance will be taken. I can go back home at bout 1pm. So classes can be on 5pm to 7pm or earlier if I could make it on time.

But.. on 15th Jan, (fri) the DEAN wants to see us regarding the new changes in our Sem. So only, this fri I can't attend Eng class. Because I am not sure what time it will end.

On 16th Jan (Sat), can we bring the class forward to 9:30pm or any time before 1pm? Because at 2pm I've got swimming lesson.

Hope to get a reply from you soon..

PS: I have just posted the FREEGANS thingy.. ^^

Meet The Freegans

People now of days are not much bothered with the amount of wastage created. They work, spent, trash and buy again. It is a cycle that seems unavoidable and reasonable for the following actions. But a group of people that call themselves freegans think they have found a way out. They scavenge instead of buy, volunteer instead of work and squat instead of rent. But there's a catch - to live off the grid, they have to eat out of the trash. So, what exactly are freegans? what are their philosophy? what do they practice? and most of all what do you think about them after getting to know more about the freegans?.

Freegans are dumpster divers who rescue furniture, clothes, household items and even food cast off by others. Freegans are not homeless; in fact, most could easily afford to buy their own food. They have instead chosen to live what they believe is an ethical, unadulterated lifestyle and disassociate themselves from capitalism and consumerism. Many freegans extend their beliefs beyond the food they eat. In addition to dumpster diving, some freegans squat on abandoned property or grow gardens on empty lots. Some choose not to hold jobs and instead volunteer or teach repair workshops for other freegans. Freegans scavenge item to help minimize the cycle of consumption because it was reported that people wasted 96 billion pounds of food a year - a quarter of the nation's supply.

The existing group have its own philosophy. The freegans are usually driven by their anti-consumerist beliefs. The freegans believe that consumerism destroys the environment and degrades society. Furthermore, they also believe that deforestation, factory farming and unfair labor practices are a natural result of a profit-centered culture. They resist electronics upgrades and changing fashions. Moreover, they repair what they already own and trade items among themselves. Many of them use their spare time to volunteer, campaign for pet issues, teach repair workshops and, of course, scavenge. They also believe that society relies too much on oil. Some freegans convert their cars to run on biodiesel. Others walk or bike when possible.

Most freegans live in cities where trash is high quality and plentiful. New York City, with its density and wealth, is practically the capital of freeganism. Because freegans tend to concentrate in urban areas, most practice urban foraging. Freegans look for furniture or bags of clothing on curbsides, electronics in office Dumpsters and food behind grocery stores and restaurants. They usually establish a routine - a set of Dumpsters they visit weekly or even daily. Many learn when trash goes out and when Dumpsters are unattended.

The idea of being a freegan have many critics. There are advantanges and disadvantages of being a freegan. The advantages of being a freegan is that, one could prevent the further pollutions on the ecosystem, reduce the sum of cash spend on goods, and lessen the amount of food waste. Then again, being a freegan provides a negative image to the country, creates problems to the super markets and having a greater risk of developing health related illness. When there are tourists visitng the country and discover the existence of freegans, they might have a negative impression towards the freegans. The tourists might considered them as unhygenic and aggresive beings that are involved in risky behaviors. Thus, they will have negative impressions to the country, assuming that the country is unsafe to visit. However, freegans do not post threat to any authorities. Instead, they are the green rangers on mother nature. They often participate in charity and minimize the usage of any items that could possibly damage the environment. The acts of freegans actually bring awareness to public that there are too many wasted items that can be use. Therefore, being a freegans is actually not a bad thing.

Even though the scavaging of foods in super market might provide hassles to the super market, the freegans are determined in their actions. Many stores discourage freegans because they are afraid of lawsuits from divers who get sick from discarded food. Thus, this worrying matter is often a problem faced by many stores. Although sell-by dates items discarded by the stores provide a general idea of when food will go bad, they are not safety dates. Therefore, freegans are not worry in diving through the garbage to hunt foods. By practising the lifestyle of freegans, the amount of money spent on goods greatly reduced, because freegans recycle and reuse dumped items by mending it. Furthermore, the practice of freegans could reduce the money spent on disposal. Isn't that beneficial for the stores and the governments?

Lastly, foods in dumpster is contaminated by bacterial. It is said that the cause of most food-borne illnesses, can happen at any point: at harvest, during shipping or -- surprise -- while sitting in a Dumpster. It is a fact that bacteria multiply most rapidly in the danger zone between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit. However, many freegans claim they've never gotten sick from properly cleaned and cooked scavenged food. All they need to do is having the knowledge to hunt the food in a prper manner. For example, only select food that have wrappers.

In conclusion, even though the sound of freegans may sound unpleasant to many, they actually bring benefits to the country. The freegans do not harm the environment, splurge on unecessary goods and foods. Therefore, being a freegan is not a bad idea after all.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

The Benefits of Parents Limiting Children Watching Television Programmes

Should parents limit their children's time spent on watching television programmes? This is a debatable topic, as it has many comments on this issue. However, parents should limit thier children's time spent on watching television programmes because by limiting it, it will bring a lot of benefits. The benefits of parents limiting their children's time spent on watching television programmes are protecting their children from harming themselves, preventing them from picking up violent behaviors and developing better social skills.

Firstly, parents often allow their children to watch television programmes because they see it as allowing their children to be more creative. When children are exposed to certain television programmes such as "Art Attack", or "Sketch and Colour", they become more creative because they learn how to draw and make beautiful crafts. In addition, they can even act out the actions of their favorite cartoon characters as a development of imaginative acting skills. Parents consider this as creative, as children are able to immitate these actions. However, mant parents are not aware that allowing their children to be more "creative" by watching television programmes can actually post some danger issues. Children are too young to differentiate reality from fantasy. They can get too carried awayby those actions acted by their favorite cartoon charactes and ended up harming themselves. For example, they might jump off from a balcony thinking that they are superman. Creativity need not be instilled via television programmes, parents can send their children for drama classes or even art classes to develop their children's creative skills.

Secondly, parents do not limit their children's time spent on watching television programmes because they think that their children are actually becoming more knowledgeable. They think that their children are able to learn moral values or everyday skills to cope with the society. For example, the television programme "Fat Albert" actually teaches children how to cope with their tasks in everyday life by giving examples of problematic situations and solutions. Even though children are able to learn something from television programmes, children cannot differentiate between what is acceptable to learn from the television programmes and what is not. The contents of the television programmes are not strictly censored. Therefore, children can also learn violent behaviors. Children might perceive that beating up people to get what they want is right. Therefore, they will pick up violent behavior as they see it is the right way to solve a problem.

Thirdly, parents have this misconception that allowing their children to watch television programmes could enhance their children's social skills. They perceive that by allowing their children to watch television programmes enable their children to pick up social skills such as how to start a conversation with others by just simply sharing about what they watched on yesterday's programme. This may seem to parents that allowing their children to watch television programmes, children are able to converse effectively with peers and extend their social networks. However, what parents may not know is that this might cause the opposite effects instead. As the images in television programmes changes every split second which fills the empty gap in children's mind, they are actually not given enough time to process the informations they grasp and discourage children's independent thinking. Instead of enhancing children's social skills, it causes difficulties in communicating with others. Television programmes do not involve a two-way communication. How can the children learn to pick up social skills when they television is doing all the talking?

In conclusion, it is undeniable that there are some benefits for parents to not limit the time spend on watching television programmes. However, the disadvantages of not limiting children watching television programmes outnumber the benefits. Therefore, parents should limit their children's time spent on watching television programmes in order to ensure their children's safety, ensure that their children do not pick up bad behaviors, and also prevent them from having difficulties in communicating with others.