Thursday, July 30, 2009

The Dark Cave

For my whole life, this would be the first time I had ever been to Malaysia’s famous Batu Caves. The huge Batu Caves are the best well known attraction near Kuala Lumpur. It is a MUST go tourist spot if you are visiting and staying in Kuala Lumpur for more than 2 days.

My family and I joined a group of members from Saujana Golf and Country Club to participate in the adventure trip to the Dark Cave in Batu Caves. The Dark Cave is just off the 204th step of the total 272 rock steps of Batu Caves.

My family and I were the earliest there, obviously because my younger brother was looking forward to this trip ever since we registered for it. He speaks of it night and day throughout the whole month. When we first stepped foot there, we saw this really big statue of Lord Murugan which was 42.7m tall. It was golden in colour. Just in front of the statue, there was an open area where thousands of pigeons were having their breakfast. We spent RM1 to get a packet of flower seeds to feed the pigeons as well. It was really fun while we run around throwing out the seeds and the pigeons just coming after us; charging to get their breakfast.

Not long after an early morning run, the other groups of members arrived. Without wasting any time, we started approaching the famous stairs of Batu Caves. It was harder than I had ever imagined. Each step was more difficult than the previous step. A couple of minutes later, we reached the Dark Cave.

The Dark Cave is one of the many limestone hills in Malaysia. The cave was really interesting. There were many species of bats, cockroaches, millipedes, and many more other types of insects that I had never seen before. Throughout the trip, we even crawled and creeped under small caves which is also well-known as the longest small cave in Asia, approximately 30m long.

It was a really fun day and it ended in a really dirty way too. We were all filthy with mud and slime from having to crawl and creep on the ground and our bodies started to itch after awhile. Overall, it was an amazing trip which I had enjoyed. If Inti-UC would organize a trip here, I would gladly visit the Dark Cave again.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Preparation For Grand Finale!!!!

Year in year out as a student I have to sit for examinations. It is that time of my life again where I need to study day and night to prepare for this semester's finals. Here are some advice that I have gotten so far to prepare for this task.

Well, firstly I have to decide how much time I need to study for each course. Sufficient time to study a subject is very important to schedule a proper timetable to prepare for the exam.

Secondly, draw up a study schedule that I can follow. Sleep must not be ignored, for tired mind is quite useless for any academic endeavour.

Thirdly, in my revision, I should read all my notes first and make a new set of notes. This is because we can retain more by actually writing it down.

For further preparation, talk to the lecturers and ask them questions to clarify any misunderstandings while reading the notes. Discussing with friends can be useful as well.

After spending many hours preparing for the examination and still feeling anxious, I got tips saying that I have to consider how I think of the examination. I try to compute my existing grade in the course and determine what grade I require in order to achieve my objective. Is it beyond my reach?

After sorting out for myself, I would realize by then that I am doing better than I thought I could. However, if my anxiety level is still too high, then I need reinforcement!

Examination anxiety usually comes from fear of poor performance. To overcome this fear I have to test myself adequately prior to an examination to know what I know. Armed with this knowledge that I know, I can reduce my anxiety. Some degree of anxiety may be good for it helps to sharpen my alertness and concentration. Hence, trying to keep up to the normal routines should get me on my way.

Friday, July 10, 2009

FInd it hard to sleep???

Try this out,

First, don’t take naps can help you to sleep better at night. This is good because you won’t be so alert and energetic when it is time for bed. If you really can’t get through the day without a nap, sleep less than one hour, before 3 pm. By avoiding from sleeping too near the evening, you can find it easier to sleep during the night.

Secondly, develop sleep rituals like reading books or listening to soothing music allows you to fall asleep easier. It is important to give your body cues that it is time to slow down and sleep.

Thirdly, have a light snack before bed can let you sleep better when you are in bed. If your stomach is too empty, that can interfere with sleep. However, if you eat a heavy meal before bedtime, that can interfere as well. Take dairy products and turkey contain tryptophan, which acts as a natural sleep inducer. Tryptophan is probably why a warm glass of milk is sometimes recommended.

Next, take a hot bath 90 minutes before bedtime to raise your body temperature before sleeping. A hot bath will raise your body temperature, but it is the drop in body temperature that may leave you feeling sleepy.

With these few ways, you can knock your consciousness into dreamland in just a blink of the eyes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmgNLrvW-94


Tuesday, June 30, 2009

R.I.P Michael Jackson

Tribute to Michael Jackson, The King of Pop!



Pop star sensation Michael Jackson just died a few days ago; yet, the fire of pop that he left for us still burns! No doubt, Michael Jackson is one of the legends in pop music. He started singing at the age of 5 along with his 4 brothers. His biggest accomplishment since the day he started singing is the Guinness world record for the biggest selling album of all time, Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

It is not surprising that he was such a good singer. His 1st public performance to show his capability was at the age of 5! He sang for his elementary school’s pageant. He performed “Climb Every Mountain” with so much emotion that even his teacher and his mother broke into tears. During that age, he must have known what he wanted to be when he grew up because when he had trouble with his arithmetic, he told the teacher that he didn’t need to learn math anyway because his manager would handle all of his money!

Whatever the reason of his death is, a part of him still remains in this world. The sad we shall not remember; but the good of him, we shall cherish!

WE LOVE YOU MJ!!!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Passion 4 Golf =3

To set the fact right, golf is not only an old men’s game! Golf is a game which requires one to be fit physically and mentally. So, you can’t categorize golf as an old men’s game because there are more and more strong youngsters picking up this game; and they are as good as the older men, both physically and mentally.

Golf needs the players to be fit because the players are going to be walking the golf course for more than 4 hours! Players would need to endure the walk to maintain their playing performance. That’s why youngsters who have more stamina than older men have an advantage to the youngsters. The flexibility of the younger players also is an advantage over the older men. With a flexible body, the player is able to do a more dynamic swing compared to a stiff body. Of course, youngsters have a more flexible body which give them the upper hand.

Although older men might have more experience and are capable of making wiser choices, but young players have higher imagination power. Young players are able to visualize shots easier than older men because older men think logically which blocks their imagination. A coach once told me, “Just hit, and don’t think.” I find that statement very true because with a clearer mind, a player can play his/her shot with higher confidence.

Let me show you the capability of the only golf player who everyone knows:


A Recipe for Success

Ever wondered how Donald Trump became this successful? Has it ever crossed your mind how Kobe Bryant from the LA Lakers successfully led his team to a victory in the playoffs? Ever questioned what made these people succeed in what they do? They depend on a simple recipe for success – one part knowledge, one part of self motivation, a pinch of success advice, and ten parts emulation of success!

No doubt knowledge is one of the important elements in life. To succeed in our goal, we need to grasp as much knowledge as we can to outshine the norms. There is no shortcut to obtain this part of the success recipe. For instance, we can't study stocks for a few days and know enough to consistently beat the market. We also can't pick up a pen for the first time and write a best-selling novel. You got to work day in day out to improve your skills and knowledge. With this attitude in mind, it won’t take long for us to start showing the world what we are capable of.

Besides that, a little self motivation would spice up this success dish. We are all different; we need to adapt what we’ve learnt throughout our life to our own personality. A little motivation can pump us up to chase our goal. Different people will motivate themselves by using different methods; it differs from person to person. For example, a successful man who is motivated by the desire to escape poverty and have security is not operating the same way as one who gets rich chasing after dreams of boats and expensive homes.

To bring out the taste of this success dish, a pinch of success advice is needed. Successful people might have a whole lot of advice to tell us; however, it is our job to pick out the ones that can keep us moving towards our goal. For example, a 100-year-old man might tell you a whole lot on what he did throughout his life; but the real fact we must catch is that the nutrition he takes and environment he stays in is the main reason for his long life. Therefore, many people can give us many good advices, but not all advices are right for us; it is up to ourselves to pick out the right ones.

Most importantly, imitating the successful people can lead us closer to our goal. Rather than doing what successful people say, do what they do. This is how we can really learn success. Naturally we have to look closely and apply a little brainpower to see what they are really doing that is causing their success. When we get any advice from any successful people, we must listen closely; read in between the lines. Listen for insightsinto how the person thinks and how she approaches her challenges. For instance, an advice of a successful basketball player may be just to practice more, but suppose he casually mentions "I saw that going in," after a great shot. Perhaps it's time to start visualizing our shots going in.

Mix our knowledge and self motivation into our emulation of the thoughts and behaviors of the successful. Sprinkle lightly with advice from those who have succeeded before us. Heat this mix and cook it for several months or decades, until done, and then repeat the process.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Laptops are the Bombs!

Laptops are so popular now that even a 7 year old child owns one! O.o The reason for it is because laptops are so convenient to use, they are fancy and they are made user friendly; so it is easy to use!

How is the laptop convenient? Unlike the traditional computers, which consist of a monitor and CPU, laptops are easy to carry along everywhere you go. A very good example of laptop users are college going students. When attending a lecture, it is very convenient to bring along your laptop to jot -down short notes, voice-record a session, and even note down certain important dates and time like examination dates. Another example of laptop users are office working adults. It is difficult and inconvenient to carry the whole computer to work every day because it is heavy to carry. It is also tough to carry along a pen drive everyday because pen drives are small and it may drop out anytime without noticing.

Another factor to why laptops are able to attract people is because of its fancy design. Although traditional computers can be fancy too, but no one is going to see it when it is placed at one location only, whereas laptops can be seen whenever you bring it out with you.

Most importantly, laptops are user friendly too. People of all ages can use the laptop! For the elder people who do not possess good eyesight anymore, laptops are better to use because they can adjust the angle of the screen easily to suit their eyesight. Not only that, it is also easy to adjust the brightness of the screen, unlike the traditional computer where the button is so small located on the monitor which make it hard to press.

Check out these sites, cool laptops!

· http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2328904,00.asp

· http://www.crn.com/hardware/210003613;jsessionid=TBG4VZGQ1QOQWQSNDLPCKHSCJUNN2JVN?pgno=3

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

College Life...

My, my, who ever said going off to college is going to be a breeze?

Everyday i have to deal with the same problems - tight schedule, piles of homework, mountains of assignments, troubles with my sleep and mixing with college friends. *Sigh

It has not been easy for me coping with the tight schedule i have now. For instance, every monday i need to get out of bed at approximately 7.00am to take a shower and catch my breakfast before attending my 8am lecture. >.<>.< Day in, day out. i roam the college like a living dead; ZOMBIE!!! Just couldn't manage my time well enough to catch enough shut-eyes.

One of the main reason why i can't manage my time well enough is due to the piles of work and assignments i have. When will these heavy flowing of homework ever end?? Practically NEVER!!! AHHH!!!!!!

However, without friends...i would have sunk down the drain early on. HAhA! Friends are paramount. They give me support, comfort and excitement. =D I'm truly grateful that friends exist in my life. ~_~ Thanks guys! =)

Friday, June 5, 2009

My Aim(s) for 2K9

I have two aims for this year - maintain an above average academic performance and getting fit.

Getting good results in a test is easy, but maintaining that performance is difficult. Why? To score well in a test, all you need to do is pay attention in class and work all out on one test. Whereas, to maintain this merit performance requires pure determination and hard work throughout the year. Even so, i found several ways to keep my scoring average up - I study and revise bit by bit everyday to keep my mind fresh on the subjects. This way, instead of cramping every single detail into my head, i spread it out and consume it a little everyday and I'll be able to do all the tests with information on the tips of my fingers.

Besides getting good results, I want to get in shape. I'm not doing this just to get a figure which can attract people, I'm doing this for the sake of health. I don't like falling sick, never did. In fact, no one likes to fall sick. So, i will do all it takes to keep myself fit and healthy. I'll even start going to gym, jog frequently, be active in sports, etc.

In a nutshell, I hope to reach both these goals by the end of this year. I'll stay positive at all times and keep moving forward till i reach my goals. =)

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Away With You, Bad Habits!

[I'm writing this essay here because i wanted to work on this essay but my teammates insisted on the smart house essay] =.="

There are only two types of habits in this world - good habits or bad habits. All habits are classified this way, there is no such thing as mild bad habits or below average habits. However, amongst these two habits, bad habits are the ones largely seen in people nowadays. Biting fingernails, losing temper, drinking excessively and smoking are some of the examples of bad habits in people these days, especially teenagers. Is it hard to break a bad habit? Not quite. Breaking a bad habit is a battle between sheer will power and mental strength. To start off, keep a journal on the things that you do in high repetition to find out what are the few habits you have. After successfully identifying the bad habits, it is time to get rid of them. Tackling the bad habits requires pure determination; using a few methods which includes removing cues of old behavior, averting your habits and substituting your bad habits.

For starters, removing the cues of the old behavior is pretty much effective. In another way, you actually stop doing or being with the cause of the habits intentionally. For example, if you tend to drink excessively when you hang out with your friends, stop hanging out with them; remove them to let you get rid of that bad habit. This method also works on objects. For example, give away your deck of cards or mah-jong if these are the cause of your addiction to gambling. Do what it takes to change yourself; change your daily routine if necessary. It is essential for you to stay focus and not give in to the bad habits during this process. If it is too difficult for you to adjust, seek help from a psychiatrist to get infomation on what other cues you can get rid of that won't create too big of an impact in your life.

Besides that, you can avert you habits. In a way, you punish yourself whenever you repeat your bad habits over and over again. Associate your bad habits with something unpleasant and distasteful. That way, you will be able to force it out of your system because most habits when done is numerous repetition turn to an unconscious state where you will start doing those habits without even thinking; some sort of a reflex action. For example, when you bite you fingernails for the first few times, you are aware and conscious of doing so. After few weeks or months, it tends to turn to an unconcious state. You will automatically bite you fingernails from time to time. In this case, you can apply this method by slaping yourself hard whenever you bite your fingernails. This may inflict pain towards you. However, after a number of times you slap yourself, you'll find that you had already slapped it out of your system. Therefore, you can deal with your bad habits by force.

Some people may not like hurting themselves. Instead, you can try substituting your bad habits with some healthy habits. This is also a good method, for not only does it not hurt you, you also gain some healthy habits in the process. For example, if you lose your temper often, practice deep breathing to calm yourself down or go out for a walk to catch the refreshing breeze. Through this example, we can see that not only does it prevent you from repeating your bad habit (losing temper), it also provide you a healthy activity (breathing thoroughly and walking). This method can also be used on addictive teenagers over computer games. You can actually replace computer games with healthy board games with your family. Not only your health would be taken care of, you also will gain a closer relationship with your family through board games. Replacing a bad habit is easier than stopping one. Using this method, you'll be able to kill two birds with one stone; lose bad habits and gain some good ones.

Not all bad habits are hard to tackle, it all draws back to whether you want to or not. "The bad habits won't go away, if you down play the game". Practice removing the cues of old behavior, averting the bad habits and replacing the bad habits to kick start your journey to living a healthier lifestyle.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Irresponsible Drivers lead to Undesirable Accidents

The Oxford English Dictionary defines "accident" as an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally; happens by chance or without apparent cause. Generally speaking, most accidents are not accidents at all - they are collisions between two individuals that should and could have been avoided. A responsible driver would never involve him/herself in an accident!

The vulnerability of a driver being distracted is very high. An example is when the driver's cell phone suddenly rings; it will attract the driver's attention, causing the driver to lose focus on his driving. If a motorcycle just so happen to pass by in front of him, "BAAM!" It is paramount that a driver always keep his fullest concentration on what he is doing. Even though the smallest movement of an object may distract the driver's attention, ignoring it and keeping an eye on the road is still possible. "The mind is a powerful thing" We are capable of blocking out information such as distraction from little things, and keeping our focus on the main objective, which is driving.

Some drivers might also give reasons like I lost control due to some mechanical failure. That is totally unacceptable! Owning a car and being a driver of that particular car makes him accountable for the car. It is like having a baby, taking care of the baby is the fundamental responsibility of the father and mother because the baby is their flesh and blood. This goes the same for having a car. Mechanical failure is just an excuse to avoid filing a report, but in actual fact, if a driver manages his/her car well and send it for regular check-ups, there wouldn't be any mechanical failure, would it?

Putting distractions and mechanical problems aside, rubbernecking and tailgating are also potential killers on the road. Rubbernecking occurs when drivers slow down to look at another accident on the road. People just can't mind their own business. If you want to look at the accident, why don't you just pull over by the side and look all you want instead of holding up the traffic, which incidentally increases the risks of another car accident happening? Tailgating is when drivers follow the front car too closely. This is extremely dangerous because the driver who is tailgating may find that there is not enough distance and time to stop immediately when the front car stops suddenly.

Enough is enough! When will you reckless drivers realize that your responsibility is the key to reducing the rate of death for the years ahead? You reckless drivers should be held behind bars for the way you use the road. We pay road taxes to use the road, but we are not paying to get involve in potential death! In all my wisdom from using basic deduction of common sense, I firmly believe that all drivers must undergo annual driving test. This is a good way to see whether they are considerate and skilled drivers? Or reckless and poor drivers. For licenced drivers who fail, their licence should be suspended for a month and they must attend driving academy to hone their driving skills before getting back on the road. I strongly advise this because the rate of death due to road accident is just off the charts! It is an outrage! I would rather pay to have all the reckless drivers put in jail than to have them on the road which puts my life on the line every time I get behind the wheels!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

::This Marks the Beginning::

Alright,
lets drop!!
This the beginning of the beginning.
It is time to begin what is said to be fun - BLOGGING!

To start off, this blog came into existence as a ENL 101 coursework. Who came up with this trendy gameplan? None other than our beloved English lecturer Ms. Haty, a.k.a. Ms. Heart2heart. Cool name isn't it?

Anyway, back to the topic. First of all, a little about me. My name is Fatt Hon or in a simpler form F.H. I'm 6 feet tall (just an estimation) and 71kg in weight. I'm from KL, but currently studying and staying in Inti-UC, Nilai (It's the coolest place ever!). I like spending time online chatting, playing basketball, golf, hang out with friends and teasing friends! I know that teasing is BAD, but if everybody is so serious in everything, what will happen to our generation? I also enjoy blogging. It acts as a place where i can show others what's on my mind, and a place where i can keep and express myself in my truest form. (obviously, I could not write this sentence if i don't have another blog right? http://next2fate.blogspot.com/ Check it out!)

Right, lets move on.

Requirements for this Weblog Project:

  • provide interesting links to articles, websites, stories or other spots on the web with commentary
  • blog update at least twice a week
  • each entry at least 200 words
  • provide 4 links and above

On that note, I hereby officially open this blog as my personal journal for my class coursework.

*Please forgive my awfully polite entries. I'm FORCED TO DO SO!!! However, it is all for a good cause (and grade). Furthermore, this is 20% in my finals! Please don't ruin this for me! Do send good comments on my entries or even tell me my errors. =D

=Happy Reading=