Third Day of Eid

It was the third day of Eid (Hari Raya). It was terribly fun as I managed to spend time with my two cousins and siblings. Well, this is a picture of the biggest granddaughters in our family. Our beloved grandmother, MAMA was here too. It was a simple gathering at my house. Well, at least we had shared a wonderful moment together, sharing stories and experiences. From that moment, we realised that we have changed a lot. We are not children anymore, but adults. Our childhood has run very fast and we have left those golden experiences behind. Five of us; my brother, sister, two cousins and I are very close since we were still wearing Pampers. We have gone through a lot of funny things together. Now, everybody has separated and gone to different university.

In the picture above, I was the smallest little girl who is the second person from left.

This picture was taken when I was approximately one year old during Hari Raya.

my first step of RAYA BREAKS...

27/09/08 Morning

I arrived at Kota Bharu Bus Terminal exactly at 10.30 a.m. The 12-hour-journey has made me terribly tired and fatigued. My father, mother and sister came and took me to KB Mall. They wanted to buy some stuff for Raya. Oh, dear! I needed to fling my tiredness away as I followed them. Never mind! I became energetically healthy at the moment I saw a lot of things were sold there. I went to my regular shoes centre, Oasis (partner of Verse) to buy a new pair of shoes. Well, I had found one! The price was quite reasonable so I took it and asked my mother to pay it for me.

honeymoon life in campus...

Updated on 24/09/2008 1:03p.m.

It is a popular belief that it is great to be young. My older friends keep reminding me that this is the best time of my life. They urge me to enjoy my campus life which they describe as the ‘honeymoon’ days. I can think of several reasons why people consider campus life as the best time of their lives.

To start with, we have a lot of friends in our campus. It is hard to feel lonely when we are surrounded by so many people. There is always someone to do things with, such as studying, doing assignment, playing games and outing as well. I suppose this situation of having company all the time will not happen again when we have graduated.

Furthermore, I find my life here is not restrictive; comparing to my previous schooldays. There are not too many rules to follow. I am sorry to say this; I am not an obedient person but I manage to survive in a campus peacefully. We can say that students have a major problem with punctuality. We will discover that some lecturers are too authoritative. But in my schooldays, the rules were strictly followed and surely I got into trouble often. I had been punished because of coming late to school. Yes, I was used to stand hours in the middle of my school field with some friends. Today, I am proud to have this amazing experience.

The next pleasure is undergraduates have only a few responsibilities. All our needs are guaranteed by our loans or scholarships. There is delicious food provided in three dining halls, weekly credits (to buy food at dining halls) and even some luxuries like washing machines.

To our lucky, here, some lectures spoil us with notes and we do not even have to think very hard as they are so anxious to help us pass our examination.

In spite of all this, I am not sure my campus life is the best days of my world. I am not that happy and I think you can guess of a main reason for my unhappiness.

The only reason is, I hate stress of doing assignments and having tests. There are too many of them in the Malaysian education system. We ourselves have already been through a mountain of tasks and will seat for another final examination at the end of the semester. Moreover, some of us have weekly tests and homework. Therefore, campus life brings tiredness itself.

I hope that the best time of my life is yet to come. I think the best moment will be when I have gone through all the semesters. Frankly speaking, it is unnecessary to work and be financially independent while we are still studying. Let your scholarships or PTPTN to look after you. I myself am supported by my beloved parents. Only then we will have a special part of our life. Cool….

OVERHERE...or OVERSEAS?!

Updated on 22/09/2008 1:13p.m.

I still remember during my Asasi TESL time at UiTM Melaka, one of my TESL friends had immigrated to Australia a few weeks before we ended our first semester. She told me that she would also further her study there. Yes, she had no choice since her parents live there and deadly want her to stay with them. (Well, I had a dream to study abroad when I was a little kid. But I am not that lucky; I am still here now!) One day, she had mentioned that she really wished to study longer in Malaysia. Why? ‘Because you can find a lot of advantages while studying locally’. The answer has made me think that I am so lucky for studying in a local university. Let’s figure out!

Everybody knows that studying locally is cheaper since we are supported by the government. We do not have to spend so much money. To get a local degree, we need to spend less than RM30 000 whereas we need a few hundred thousand ringgit to study overseas. Surely, we are able to apply for the loan. Don’t you think that how hard we must burn our money to pay it back? But here, a scholarship is provided for a person who gets good results. The money that you save can be use for other things. It can be used for books….. Or buying DVD perhaps?

The second advantage of studying locally is that we can take the same courses as those offered overseas, can’t us? There is no truth in some students’ claims that certain courses offered overseas are not available locally. In fact, all the important courses that we can find overseas are also taught here. If they are not taught, it is highly likely that they are not recognized by our government. Wow! Meaning that, you will be wise to avoid taking such courses.
Other than that, we can be sure that any degree that we obtain here will be recognized by the government. This is very important because many overseas degrees are not recognized here. So, if you have obtained such your time and energy for you would not be able to get a job with such degrees, you would have wasted not only your money but also your time and energy for would not be able to get a job with such degree. Trust me!
Another great factor is that we spend less but we get to spend the same pay as someone who has a foreign degree. Hence, we may even earn for it is known by everybody only those with better results are accepted by local universities. Usually those with poorer results and are unable to find places in local universities are forced to study overseas. So, I can strictly say that local graduates are of a higher quality than graduates with foreign degrees. We are so lucky to be here, aren’t we?
Furthermore, we do not need to leave your country. We can still be close to our family and friends. In addition, some universities such as MARA University Of Technology just across the road for many students who live in every parts of Malaysia. So, we will not feel extra homesick and we will get the moral support of your family and friends.
By the way, we will be better able to face the hardships of a campus life. We must study hard, no matter where we are. To me, studying in Melaka the Historical City had made my view wider while studying here (UiTM Shah Alam, Perdana Heights) has made me more independent. Wouldn’t these be lovely? Cool….-Ninie-

HOSTEL 'SWEET' HOSTEL

Updated on 18/09/2008

Up to 40 percent of people snore, mostly men, older people and those who are overweight. Though most of us dismiss it as a nuisance, snoring can have serious health implications, according to an article published by the Malaysian Medical Association. It can lead to ‘sleep apnoea’, which causes the sufferer to stop breathing for up to ten seconds at a time during sleep. Apnoea has been shown to lead to high blood pressure and in some cases early death.

Hey guys! Ask your roommate, “Did I snore last night?” If he or she giggles, that means YOU DID!!

What can a person do if he or she snores? Due to what students have done in order to overcome this problem, losing weight is the best way to avoid someone to snore while sleeping. Usually, smokers tend to suffer this habit so; they need to quit smoking for good. In fact, avoiding alcohol and sedatives are also useful. A person should avoid sleeping on his or her back with his or her head facing up.

There are also oral devices and surgical options available. Consult your doctor if you think you might have a problem with snoring. Who knows if it can bother your study…and your roommates too? DON’T TAKE IT EASY!!!

SOURCE: Readers Digest