Essays as of now

I'm so dead.
I haven't started on the Cornell and Chicago essays.
But I am sooo thankful to God for giving me inspiration to write a general essay today. Hurray! I usually take like a whole day before ideas come.
- I was on it a few hours ago. But I felt a need to take a break from it.
- Went on a following-blogs adding-mania. -> it's super convenient and fast to see if there're blog updates, or interesting posts, especially for a person like me, who is easily jaded, and busy.
-- but if u don't want me to 'follow' because you have too many stalkers or something, tell meeee.
i don't wanna be 'one of the many' stalkers. oh. and those with like lots of viewership, followers are simply followers. not stalkers. it's different.
- Hmm. I kind of regret starting with a blogspot blog. I think wordpress would suit me better. I really want to have the private/protected/public option. hmm xanga also has that. hmm. see how after uni apps.

Time to stop with this soon. I've to finish the general essay today.

Belated Merry Christmas.
and an early Happy New Year 2009.


AHHH. 1st of Jan is coming sooo soon! Deadline's coming!!!
No more dilly-dallying. I've to rush those stupid essays. Gahhh!

Some Readings

M’sia willing to help where Malays are minority, says Najib

MELAKA, Dec 23 — Malaysia is willing to offer help towards the advancement of Malays in countries where they are a minority, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak.

He said Malaysia could be a gateway for this through the Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam (DMDI, Malay World Musim World) Forum to help Malays in countries like in the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Cambodia, South Africa and southern Thailand.

“Of course the Malays in these countries must be realistic. They cannot expect us to support them in taking up arms for a revolution to establish Malay governments in them,” he said when opening the DMDI's 9th convention at a hotel in Bandar Hilir here today.

Also present were Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam and Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

According to Najib, the DMDI could play constructive role in bringing about peace in southern Philippines and southern Thailand.

He said Malaysia had played an active role in southern Philippines towards ending the Moro conflict though the peace process there had encountered some obstacles lately.

He added that the DMDI should do all it could to portray Islam as an ideal religion which strived for the advancement of all peoples.

At the function, Mohd Ali, who is also DMDI president, presented Najib DMDI’s Mansyur Shah award which is a special recognition in honour of the Melaka empire during the reign of Sultan Mansyur Shah.

Over 500 participants from among others Malaysia, South Africa, the Philippines and Indonesia are participating the convention which ends tomorrow. — Bernama

Oh. So retarded. Malay non-citizens are given priority over non-Malay citizens.
Perfect logic. Not racist at all. Standard procedure as elections come March 09.
I think that all Malaysians should not have an only-vernacular school education. It feeds racism in them subconsciously.

Other notable blog posts: Dr. M's Terrorism (biased but nice), LKS's Corruption

Accident

I sat in the front-left seat in the car. The car was in the right lane of a two-lane road.

The traffic light was red. So my sister stopped the car.

Then, it turned green. So we moved forward.

And then we suddenly saw a toyota camry that wants to turn to the right cutting us from the left.

Although we were already moving slowly, the toyota was so fast and annoying that we could not stop the car in time.

HONK! Bang.

We stopped the car at the side of the road.
Checked damages - left door - fine but can't be opened, left mudguard - kemek

The other party's passenger door was only slightly dented. The guy came out and started shouting that it's my sister's fault.

My sister screamed him down. Obviously, it was his fault. If he thought we were the soft-nice-oklah girls, he's dang wrong.

He never admitted that he was wrong, although he asked us how much he has to pay.

My sis called an uncle, who suggested RM700-800 for the car's damages.

We offered him that. And he didn't want to do so, saying that it's only RM500 liddat only. We argued that the door was not working and yada yada. It's either he settles it by paying us RM800, or do a police report through which both parties have to pay RM300 and the guilty party's insurance will pay for the damages.

Annoying guy wants technician to check and blah blah. Sister shoots him back.

Finally, we decided to do a police report.

Details to get to make a police report
Important: Car plate number, Car colour and brand
Useful: Name on IC(yes, see the person's IC or driving license), IC no., Contact number

But we forgot to get the contact number.

At the police station...

We were charged RM2 for making the report. Thankfully, the (flirty) sergeant believes our story and that we did no wrong. So no saman. No need to pay RM300. Hurray!
(BTW, the police were super flirty la. It's as though they were too bored or something. My sister entertained them. I could barely bear with it.)

But, we could not fix the car immediately (my sis needs it done or it will be inconvenient for her back in her university) because we needed the other party to make a report too. (This is the part where the contact number would've been useful if we got it - we could've irritated the person to do it faster, although technically, as long as they do it within 3-4 days, they're in no trouble.)

Anyway, just now, the guy just made a report. So later, the police reports and results will be given to my sister's car company (Perodua) which will handle fixing the car and claiming from the other guy's insurance.

This totally spoiled my plans for Sunday afternoon. -_-
I wanna charge that guy's insurance for wasting my precious time.

Complaints about driving test

I just did the test two days ago.
I did it well.
Except for one part.

You must go to a complete stop at spoilt traffic lights too.
I don't remember doing that during practices. Maybe I forgot.

Whatever.

And after the JPJ guy pointed that out and failed me, immediately, my conversation with an acquaintance(Ac) just before the test flashed through my mind.

Ac: Eh, what do we do at the traffic light ah?
Me: Just slow down.. See no car.. Go lohhh
Ac: Oh okok..

And I thought - shit, I'm causing him to fail.

After I got back...

Me: Pass already??
Ac: Yeah. (I was super happy to hear this.) You?
Me: Fail!!! (and then I told him the story...)
Ac: What? But I did the same thing. In fact, when I slowed down, he motioned me to just go.

Not only Ac said so, I asked another two girls from my driving center, both encountered the same experience. -_-


Malaysia truly Asia.
Malaysia BOLEH!!

Pointers to pass the practical manual car driving test in Malaysia.

Three-pointer (3P)
Remember to depress the clutch before letting go of your break to avoid going in the wrong direction due to the uneven road.

1. Turn your steering wheel to the maximum right after the second (and a half) pole. See diagram a above.
   
2. Change to reverse gear, Hold break pedal as you turn your steering wheel to the maximum left. Then reverse. Use the rearview mirror to watch for the back of the car. See diagram b above.
3. Change to gear 1. Hold the break pedal as you turn your steering wheel to the maximum right. Then go. See diagram c above.
   

4. DONE!

Hill

1. Go up the hill as usual.
2. As you go closer to the yellow line, slow down by depressing the oil pedal a little and pressing the clutch more.
3. Once your right mirror is parallel to the first pole, totally step on the break and clutch.
4. Pull your handbrake all the way.
5. Depress the break pedal slowly. (If your car starts moving backwards, you need to pull the handbrake even higher.)
6. Raise your hand until they give you the signal to proceed.
7. Step on the oil pedal until you hear the engine revving sufficiently.
8. Slowly depress the clutch until the car starts to shake little and the engine sounds different.
9. Let go of your handbrake.
10. If your car doesn’t start moving forward, step on the oil pedal a little more, and release the clutch a little more until you do.
11. Once you’re going down the slope, release the oil pedal and step on the brake to slow down.

Parking

1. See diagram a. Distance your car about 2 feet away from the parking lot (see pink line). Lean on your back seat. Look through the back-left passenger window. It should -just- see the parking lot's upper-right pole (see red diagonal line).
2. See diagram b. While you step on the break pedal, change to reverse gear and turn your steering wheel to the extreme left. Reverse until you can see the fourth pole through your right mirror.
3. See diagram c.Turn your steering wheel anticlockwise twice, or such that your wheels are straight. Reverse until your back-right wheel is on the white line (bump=wheel on the line).
4. See diagram d.Turn your steering wheel to the extreme right and reverse until no part of your car is outside the parking lot (especially check your front wheel and right mirror). Use the rear view mirror to ensure that you don't hit the poles at the back.
5. Change gear to neutral and use your handbrake. Raise your hand.
6. Even when leaving the parking lot, be careful not to hit any of the poles

Driving

1. They might have told you to pay RM150 extra for the test if you’re not confident with this part. That’s bribery. Don’t do it.
2. Some pointers to remember are as follows.
3. It will be good to have small chat with the examiner. He’s damn bored after a whole day of just sitting in the car. Entertain and let him be happy and be obliged to be less strict with you.
4. First checks when you enter the car: adjust your seat, put on your seat belt, adjust the rearview mirror, check the side mirrors (touch the right mirror, and say that the left mirror is ok if it is and then ask the examiner whether you need to touch it(in which case, he will have to wind down the window for you)), ensure that the wipers and right and left signals are working, ensure that the gear is at neutral and the handbrake is pulled up.
5. Once that is done, switch to gear 1, release handbrake, release the clutch a little and step on the oil to start going.
6. Some cars have really high clutches so you need to let go a little more. Be careful not to altogether let it go or your engine will die and you will score bad points.
7. I can’t write a complete instruction set. (Duh) So, I’ll just type some notes to remember.
8. At ALL junctions (traffic lights – if it’s yellow/red/spoilt, places where there’s a horizontal white line) go to a COMPLETE stop. That means gear to neutral and handbrake pulled up. Do it, even if the examiner tempts you to go on.
9. You can change to gear 2 quite fast.
10. Changing gears: Step on the oil a little more. Then as you release the oil pedal, you step on clutch pedal. Change gear. Then do the reverse.
11. At the upward sloping areas, step a little on the oil and release the clutch before releasing the handbrake (just like hill procedure)

That should be it. Good luck, and hope that your examiner is a good guy in a good mood.

Different, but equal

**
Removed this post because I think I might use ideas from it for my application essays.

Hindsights

Taken from this blog. Full list: #10: Live off your parents as long as possible. #9: Pursue joy, not happiness. #8: Challenge the known and embrace the unknown. #7: Learn to speak a foreign language, play a musical instrument, and play non-contact sports. #6: Continue to learn. #5: Learn to like yourself or change yourself until you can like yourself. #4: Don't get married too soon. #3: Play to win and win to play. #2: Obey the absolutes. #1: Enjoy your family and friends before they are gone. Exerpts #10: Live off your parents as long as possible. I was a diligent Oriental in high school and college. I took college-level classes and earned college-level credits. I rushed through college in 3 1/2 years. I never traveled or took time off because I thought it wouldn't prepare me for work and it would delay my graduation. Frankly, I blew it. You are going to work the rest of your lives, so don't be in a rush to start. Stretch out your college education. Now is the time to suck life into your lungs-before you have a mortgage, kids, and car payments. Take whole semesters off to travel overseas. Take jobs and internships that pay less money or no money. Investigate your passions on your parent's nickel. Or dime. Or quarter. Or dollar. Your goal should be to extend college to at least six years. Delay, as long as possible, the inevitable entry into the workplace and a lifetime of servitude to bozos who know less than you do, but who make more money. Your parents and grand parents worked very hard to get you and your family to this point. Do not deprive them of the pleasure of supporting you. #9 Pursue joy, not happiness. This is probably the hardest lesson of all to learn. It probably seems to you that the goal in life is to be "happy." Oh, you maybe have to sacrifice and study and work hard, but, by and large, happiness should be predictable. Nice house. Nice car. Nice material things. Take my word for it, happiness is temporary and fleeting. Joy, by contrast, is unpredictable. It comes from pursuing interests and passions that do not obviously result in happiness. Pursuing joy, not happiness will translate into one thing over the next few years for you: Study what you love. This may also not be popular with parents. When I went to college, I was "marketing driven." It's also an Oriental thing. I looked at what fields had the greatest job opportunities and prepared myself for them. This was stupid. There are so many ways to make a living in the world, it doesn't matter that you've taken all the "right" courses. I don't think one person on the original Macintosh team had a classic "computer science" degree. You parents have a responsibility in this area. Don't force your kids to follow in your footsteps or to live your dreams. My father was a senator in Hawaii. His dream was to be a lawyer, but he only had a high school education. He wanted me to be a lawyer. For him, I went to law school. For me, I quit after two weeks. I view this a terrific validation of my inherent intelligence. And when I quit, neither of my parents were angry. They loved me all just the same. #8: Challenge the known and embrace the unknown. One of the biggest mistakes you can make in life is to accept the known and resist the unknown. You should, in fact, do exactly the opposite: challenge the known and embrace the unknown. Let me tell you a short story about ice. In the late 1800s there was a thriving ice industry in the Northeast. Companies would cut blocks of ice from frozen lakes and ponds and sell them around the world. The largest single shipment was 200 tons that was shipped to India. 100 tons got there unmelted, but this was enough to make a profit. These ice harvesters, however, were put out of business by companies that invented mechanical ice makers. It was no longer necessary to cut and ship ice because companies could make it in any city during any season. These ice makers, however, were put out of business by refrigerator companies. If it was convenient to make ice at a manufacturing plant, imagine how much better it was to make ice and create cold storage in everyone's home. You would think that the ice harvesters would see the advantages of ice making and adopt this technology. However, all they could think about was the known: better saws, better storage, better transportation. Then you would think that the ice makers would see the advantages of refrigerators and adopt this technology. The truth is that the ice harvesters couldn't embrace the unknown and jump their curve to the next curve. Challenge the known and embrace the unknown, or you'll be like the ice harvester and ice makers.

Confusion about topics

Equality
Poverty
Corruption
Common pursuit of happiness
Diversity
Difference

What should I write about? All?

Alpha

Why did I start this blog?

It's a splendid way of archiving things that happened.

My mind has been a mess. My thoughts have been entangled. I need to clear them out somewhere.

I'm doing my US applications now. I haven't fully done a single essay. This might help.