Topeng Rambut Avocado Buatan Sendiri :Sesi DIY bersama Mad Maureen

"Avocado tak ada nama Melayu eh?"

Itulah pertanyaan pertama aku semasa menulis blog ini.

UPDATED: Sebenarnya, avocado ada nama Melayu --> Alpukat. Baru nak ingat nak guna google translate (-_-"). Tapi kurang glamour so kita tetap dengan penggunaan avocado dalam blog post ini. Sekian. 

Belakangan ini, masalah rambut aku semakin kritikal. Jika dulu, aku dapat menyelesaikan masalah rambut aku dengan hanya mencuci rambut menggunakan syampu biasa  dan selepas itu, voila, rambut menjadi lembut dan bersinar, kini tidak lagi semudah itu. Sebaliknya, kondisi rambut aku menjadi semakin teruk selepas pencucian. Aneh tetapi benar.

Kondisi rambut aku belakangan ini: Rambut sentiasa gugur, kalau tak pun patah. Kering. Hujung rambut bercabang (bukan bercabang dua je, bercabang tiga, empat pun ada!). Kulit kepala pula penuh dengan kelemumur. Ini yang bikin stress ni!

Untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini, jika berpandukan mentaliti aku sebelum ini - daripada aku menyelesaikan masalah rambut ini sendiri, aku hendak serahkan kerja penyelesaian masalah rambut ini kepada pakar rambut di salun. "Serahkan pada yang pakar." Begitulah slogan iklan Harpic yang begitu mempengaruhi mentaliti aku.

Iklan Harpic yang epic tu, masih ingat ke? Selalu kat tv time kita kecik-kecik dulu.

 Oleh itu, aku nekad untuk melawat salun rambut seberang rumah selepas aku habis exam. Nekad la katakan. Siap janji dengan kawan lagi dan membayangkan kepala kitorang sama-sama diurut oleh pekerja di situ. Aku mula nak kira-kira bajet; biasanya kalau kat salun hometown aku, harga nak buat rawatan kulit kepala tu biasanya dalam kira-kira RM30 - RM60.  Kalau kat Penang ni, tak pasti lah. Masa tu, aku dah memang nekad untuk membuat rawatan rambut di salun.

Tapi... syukurlah aku  fikir dua kali. 

Hendak dijadikan cerita, pada malam selepas exam tu, aku pun melayari youtube. Dah tak busy la katakan.

 Terdetik hati untuk mengeyoutube video berkaitan dengan penjagaan rambut. 

"Hmm, aku dah free ni, aku tak payah bergantung sangat dengan pekerja salun untuk menjaga rambut aku Biar aku cari sendiri penyelesaiannya." Begitulah monolog dalaman aku ketika sibuk mencari tips penjagaan rambut melalui youtube. Biarlah aku sendiri cari iktiar dulu. Takkan nak tunggu rambut tinggal sehelai dua helai kat kepala baru nak beriktiar kan? 

Cari punya cari, akhirnya aku terjumpa channel ni kat youtube.

Bubzbeauty

(your answer to your hair problem is just one click away wee hooo~!) 

Ada banyak tips dari para youtuber yang lain tapi aku pilih cara Bubzbeauty sebab cara yang dia ajar tu senang, jelas dan bahan-bahannya asian-friendly (maksudnya boleh didapati di negara-negara Asia) berbanding dengan beberapa tips youtubers dari Barat. 

Okay. Panjangnya aku bercerita. Long story short, aku pun ikuti tips dia dengan versi aku sendiri di bawah. Jika komputer anda tidak dapat log on to youtube (ahem!) dan jika anda punya line slow nak buffer youtube channel tu, jangan risau. Aku ada menyediakan langkah-langkah yang diajar oleh Bubzbeauty tapi versi Mad Maureen untuk anda!

Pertama, anda kena sediakan bahan-bahan ni semua. Tiga bahan je.Tak banyak. Buah avocado, telur dan minyak zaitun (olive oil).

Telur ayam, minyak zaitun (jenama apa tak kisahlah), dan yang penting sekali, avocado.

1) Avocado. Yang penting, avocado ada. Nak tau khasiat avocado dengan lebih mendalam, sila layari laman web ini. Ha... Bercakap tentang avocado, anda kena pandai memilih buah ini. Anda kena pilih avocado yang benar-benar masak... Kalau tak, anda terpaksa guna lesung batu untuk menumbuk avocado tu sehingga hancur. Merana tau. Avocado yang masak akan berwarna seperti ini.

contoh warna buah avocado yang sudah masak

 

Anda boleh terus gunakan garpu untuk menghancurkan isi avocado tersebut (jika avocado yang anda pilih betul-betul masak). Macam mana nak pilih avocado yang benar-benar masak? Ha... Macam ni. First, anda tengok warna kulit avocado tu. Kalau hijau gila, maksudnya masih muda la tu. Kalau ada warna perang (brown) sikit-sikit, ha... mungkin masaklah tu. Untuk lebih meyakinkan diri anda, cuba anda tekan avocado tu sikit. (Amaran: Jangan tekan sampai penyek). Kalau kulitnya tak keras, masak lettew. Harga avocado yang ada di Tesco ialah RM4.99 buat masa ini. Kiranya, masih lagi lebih murah berbanding rawatan rambut di salun. Lagipun untuk satu hair mask, anda hanya perlukan separuh avocado. Jadi separuh lagi boleh digunakan untuk bad hair day yang akan datang. Berbaloi kan.

2) Kuning telur. Kuning telur ni dapat membaiki cabang rambut selain mengilatkan rambut. Kuning telur kaya dengan protein dan dapat membaiki rambut anda yang rosak. Untuk keterangan lanjut tentang khasiat kuning telur (dalam bahasa Inggeris), anda boleh rujuk laman web ini -->  http://www.dailyglow.com/articles/43/hair-care-through-egg.html

Kuning telur. Telur ini dibeli dari Tesco dengan harga yang murah. Dalam RM6 je untuk satu set 36 biji, peeps!

3) Minyak zaitun (Olive oil) Minyak zaitun ni, seperti kuning telur, dapat mengilatkan rambut. Selain itu, ia baik untuk menghindarkan kutu rambut, kelemumur dan juga rambut gugur. Untuk keterangan yang lebih terperinci tentang khasiat minyak zaitun, sila klik laman web ini. http://www.iheartoliveoil.com/about-olive-oil/olive-oil-for-skin-body-hair

Minyak zaitun yang dibeli dari Kedai Maju Jaya setahun yang lalu. Sekian.

Setelah menyediakan ketiga-tiga bahan ini, marilah kita mulakan aktiviti menyediakan bahan untuk topeng rambut avocado weee hoo! Okay, mula-mula buah avocado yang dibeli itu dibelah dua dengan menggunakan pisau.

Ambil salah satu bahagian daripada buah avocado yang dibelah tersebut, dan bahagian yang satu lagi dibiarkan untuk kegunaan masa akan datang. Gunakan sudu untuk keluarkan isi avocado tersebut. Biji avocado yang besar tu buang tepi ya. Jangan nak campurkan bersama.

Setelah mengeluarkan semua isi avocado tu dan letak dalam mangkuk, next step, gunakan garpu untuk menghancurkan isi avocado tersebut. Penyekkan dan hancurkan sehingga semua isi halus dengan sekata.

Jika avocado cukup masak, memang senang untuk menghaluskannya menggunakan garpu. Kalau tidak, terpaksa gunakan lesung batu. (-_-")

Apabila sudah cukup halus, masukkan kuning telur ke dalam mangkuk berisi avocado tersebut dan kacau dengan sekata. Apabila dah sekata, masukkan dua sudu besar minyak zaitun ke dalam ramuan tersebut. Campurkan dan kacau sehingga sekata.

Masukkan kira-kira dua sudu besar minyak zaitun.

Begitulah sahaja caranya untuk menyediakan topeng rambut @ hair mask ini. Senang kan? Yang penting, anda kenalah sabar. Lepas tu, semasa membubuh ramuan tersebut pada rambut, jangan lupa sediakan tuala dan plastik ya. Aku telah menggunakan plastik biasa untuk menutup rambut setelah selesai menyadurkan topeng rambut avocado ini.

 Biarkan selama sekurang-kurangnya setengah jam atau berjam-jam. Lagi lama lagi bagus. Kalau dapat, biarkan semalaman. Tidur terus dengan topeng dan plastik pada rambut anda.

Jadi, kesimpulan di sini ialah, jangan serahkan semua kerja kepada pakar jika anda masih mampu melakukannya sendiri. Dengan usaha mengeyoutube, menggoogle, menyopping, dan membuatnya sendiri, anda dapat menjimatkan masa selain menambahkan pengetahuan. Lagipun bahan-bahan ni lebih organik dan lebih sihat. Jika anda pergi salun, anda ingat, sekali je dah cukup? Kena follow-up segala dan dengar pekerja salun bercerita tentang kebaikan produknya dan sehingga anda membeli produk itu, mereka takkan diam. Hah! Kalau anda tak nak lalui itu semua, apa lagi, cubalah tips ini sendiri! :D

Ingatlah bahawa kecantikan bermula dengan kesihatan. Jika anda sihat, anda bukan sahaja akan cantik dari segi luaran tetapi kesihatan yang membawa kepada kepositifan akan mencantikkan anda secara dalaman juga. Do try this at home (or hostel!) :D

Pemerhatian: Walaupun rambut aku tak berubah 180 darjah selepas menggunakan topeng rambut ini, namun kelemumur aku dah berkurangan secara drastik. Rambut lebih lembap sedikit berbanding dulu. Itu baru cuba tiga kali. Kalau dah dijadikan habit, moga-moga rambut akan jadi semakin sihat dan berkilat. Selain daripada topeng rambut, anda kerapkanlah memakan makanan berkhasiat untuk rambut seperti lobak merah, kacang, ikan (ikan salmon terutamanya) dan minum susu dengan kerap untuk menguatkan lagi struktur rambut anda. Sekian.


Nota tambahan: Hari ini, aku pertama kali melawat blog Joshua. Anda yang lain bolehlah melawat blog beliau. Cekidaut!

Sekarang Aku Tau..

Semasa aku kecil sehingga aku memasuki sekolah menengah, aku rasa hidup aku agak terkongkong. Kenapa tidak? Mama dan papaku sentiasa menegurku, terutamanya mamaku. Tak boleh buat itulah, tak boleh buat inilah. Semua pun tak boleh. Aku masih ingat, semasa aku kecil, mama sentiasa suruh aku menyertai pertandingan mewarna anjuran Borneo Post dan Dumex yang membolehkan kita memenangi wang RM20 dan setin susu tepung Dumex kalau dapat tempat pertama. Dengan paksa relanya, aku mewarna lukisan yang ada pada akhbar Borneo Post tersebut. Kadang-kadang, mama akan memberikan idea apa-apa objek yang boleh ditambah dalam lukisan untuk mencantikkan lukisan. Aku pula dengan perasaan tak puas hati mewarna sambil mengadu-adu kenapa aku perlu mewarna kerana pensel warna yang dibekalkan di rumah tak best. Kalau best, tak apalah pula. (-_-")

Selain itu, aku selalu merasakan bahawa mamaku seorang yang cerewet terutamanya dari segi kebersihan; apa tidaknya, mama sudah berdikari mengemas biliknya dan bilik nenekku sejak dia tahu berdiri. Semasa mama kecil, dialah yang membangunkan nenekku, mengemas katil dan menyediakan sarapan. Mama kena buat semua kerja tersebut semasa dia masih kecil-kecil cili padi kerana datukku sudah tiada semasa mamaku baru berusia 3 tahun. Jadi bayangkanlah hidup mama aku, ibunya hanyalah seorang suri rumah. Memang tidak berduit sangat, tapi nasiblah orang kampung dulu-dulu ada memiliki tanah pusaka, ikan pula boleh ditangkap dari sungai, sayur boleh ditanam di sekitar rumah, dan ayam pula ada hasil ternakan secara kecil-kecilan. Sebab itulah, pada hematku, semiskin-miskin mana orang kampung dari segi kewangan, mereka tidak akan kebuluran kerana mereka sudah mempunyai bekalan sendiri jikalau dibandingkan dengan masyarakat bandar yang hanya mengharapkan bekalan makanan dari pasaran.

Oleh itu, kerana mama seorang yang biasa mengemas sejak dari kecil, dia memang cerewet dari segi kebersihan kerana walaupun miskin, arwah nenekku sentiasa mendidik mamaku untuk memastikan bilik dan rumah berada dalam keadaan bersih. Jikalau aku terlupa untuk melipat selimut, mama akan bising seperti ayam riuh sekampung. Aku pula rasa annoying lah sebab aku rasa apa silapnya aku lupa lipat selimut, lagipun malam nanti aku akan selerakkan selimut itu lagi semasa tidur. Kadang-kadang semasa mama sudah tak tahan melihat bilik aku berselerak, dia tak arahkan aku bersihkan lagi. Dia rela menolong aku membersihkan bilik sambil mulutnya berleter menggambarkan deskripsi kekotoran bilik aku satu persatu dalam bahasa Melanau bercampur bahasa Hokkien. Leteran mama sentiasa membuatku pening, kadang-kadang menyebabkan aku menyesal kerana tak sempat kemas sendiri. Kalau mama berleter dalam bahasa Melanau tu, itu maknanya mama sedang bermonolog. Kalau dalam bahasa Hokkien, maknanya leteran itu ditujukan khas untuk aku dengar.

Aku selalu mendengar leteran ibu sehinggalah aku masuk Tingkatan 6. Masa itu aku sudah mula pandai mendisiplinkan diri. Semua peraturan tak bertulis di rumah yang mama tetapkan aku ingati dengan jelas. Kalau lepas mandi, pastikan tiada bulu-bulu badan (anda taulah apa yang aku maksudkan) atau helaian rambut anda tiada di atas lantai tandas. Kalau nak berus gigi atau berkumur, jangan gunakan sinki dapur. Bisnes sebegitu anda boleh lakukan di sinki tandas. Kalau nak bagi kucing makan, makanan kucing tu hendaklah dimasak dan dipanaskan sehingga berwarna keperang-perangan, barulah kucing-kucing itu ada selera nak menghabiskan makanan yang dihidangkan untuk mereka. Lepas menggoreng sesuatu, lantai dapur mestilah sentiasa dilap kerana berminyak. Mama memastikan lantai dapur dilap setiap hari selepas memasak. Semasa memasak atau menggoreng, pintu dapur hendaklah ditutup agar bau gorengan atau bau masakan tak masuk ke ruang tamu dan membaukan kain langsir di ruang tamu.

Semasa aku di tingkatan 6, aku pula yang mengambil peranan mama kerana aku dikehendaki menjaga sepupuku yang tinggal dengan kami selama satu minggu. Sepupu-sepupuku itu merupakan geng bermainku (mereka berusia dalam lingkungan 12 tahun dan 9 tahun masa itu) dan aku jarang sekali memarahi mereka. Hal ini kerana selama ini aku hanya bermain dengan mereka dan tidak pernah memikul tanggungjawab untuk menjaga mereka. Namun semasa di Tingkatan 6, sikapku terhadap mereka mulai berubah. Aku bertukar menjadi garang. Hal ini kerana aku dipertanggungjawabkan untuk menyediakan makanan mereka, memastikan mereka mandi, memastikan mereka membuat kerja rumah, memastikan mereka makan, dan macam-macam lagi tugas yang aku belum pernah lakukan ke atas mereka sebelum ini. Sebelum ini, fungsiku hanya sebagai partner main-bermain dengan mereka. Perubahan peranan membawa kepada perubahan sikap. Aku mula berleter setiap kali sepupu lelakiku makan kerana biasanya dia akan mengotorkan lantai.

"Mulut kau itu berlubangkah adoi~!" merupakan antara herdikanku ketika aku mengelap lantai akibat kekotoran yang disebabkan oleh sepupuku itu.

Situasi-situasi lain aku memarahi sepupu:

1) "Heh, tak pandai jemur tuala sendiri lepas mandi!" Aku akan berleter sekiranya sepupu-sepupu kecilku itu hanya meletakkan tuala mereka di atas kerusi selepas mandi.

2) Kalau sepupu-sepupuku bergaduh antara satu sama lain, aku akan berkata " Wah, tak tau malu. Dah besar pun nak gaduh lagi!"

Masa itu, sepupu-sepupu aku mula membenciku dan mengatakan aku ini garang. Aku tidak faham, kenapa mereka membenci aku sedangkan aku telah membuat segalanya pada mereka. Aku telah berkorban masaku untuk mereka. Masa untuk aku mengelap lantai boleh saja aku gunakan untuk berehat dan membaca buku sebenarnya. Banyak kerja berfaedah yang boleh aku gantikan daripada menjadi hamba mereka. Tapi mereka telah mencuri masa aku. Betapa terkilannya apabila kerja-kerjaku ini sia-sia sahaja. Tiada ucapan terima kasih tetapi perasaan benci yang dibalas. Memang aku mengaku, aku tidak mempunyai sifat keibuan, sebaliknya sifat keibutirian lebih terserlah dalam diriku. Tapi bila aku fikir balik, inilah perasaan yang aku curahkan pada mama ketika aku kecil dulu. Mama mengelap muntahku, mama memarahiku kalau aku bermain di bawah panas, mama berleter, mama melarang aku buat ini, mama mengarah.. mama menasihati, mama... adoi~

Sekarang aku tahu. Sekarang aku faham bagaimana rasanya. Aku sedar yang mama memarahiku, meleteriku, melarang aku, dan menyebabkan aku marah dan benci padanya ketika kecil, semua itu kerana mama mahu menjadi seorang ibu yang baik. Mama rela dibenci dan disalah anggap pada mulanya hanya kerana ingin mendidikku menjadi anak berguna. Mama ingin aku membesar dan menjadi mama yang baik juga suatu hari nanti (wahahha, bilalah akan tiba masa itu!) Jika mama tak pernah marah aku, aku mungkin tak ambil kisah sangat dengan diri aku. Tapi sebab mama buat semua itu, aku mula mengetahui perkara yang patut dan perkara yang tak patut. Kalau mama tak suruh aku menyertai pertandingan apa-apa ketika kecil, tiada apalah yang hendak saya banggakan apabila saya dah semakin besar nanti.

Oleh itu, aku ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan:

Happy Mothers' Day my Mama! I know I have lost the chance to have a good impression as a good daughter to you, but I know I still only have the chance to prove that I could be a good mother like you, once the right time has come. Your lessons to me may not made me a good daughter since I am a slow learner to absorb all those lessons, but what you have taught me is useful to teach me to become a good mother like yourself once I have the chance to become one. Last but not least, thanks Mama for everything!

A little message from Baby, your annoying daughter. ;)

He Came, He Looked, and He Asked for Money...

Date: 2nd April 2010
Location: In front of Our Lady of Sorrows Church
Time: Around 7.45 pm or later, after Good Friday service.

The rain was pouring down heavily. Each one of us who just attended the Good Friday service was very hungry. Step, Man Lee, me and several of our juniors were deciding which cafe or restaurant to go to during that rainy day.

"Let's go to Prangin Mall," was the final decision that we made. While waiting for the others to join us, suddenly a man of about 50 year old appeared and talked to us with his fluent English.

"Hello, I am a Catholic too, I just attended the Good Friday service," he started to introduce himself. " I came to Penang to attend this service from my hometown in Perak, and I needed to go back tonight. But the bus fare is RM8, and I only have RM5," he elaborated, while sheltering himself with his right hand. He looked quite in a pitiful state, but that time, I was sceptical, and quite annoyed, because he was using the tactic to create a dilemma in us for being a Christian who just came back from church. It was as if, since we were going to church, we should be good enough to show some sympathy and do some good deeds to him. The hidden premise is that, if we do not help him, what's the use of us going to church then?

"I need some money to go back home, " he continued.

I was thinking, okay, maybe I would help to contribute only RM1 in case if he really needed the cash. But before I could say or do anything, my junior, Joe, took out his RM 10 note and gave it to the man without saying much.

The man, of course, was very happy, and responded with "God bless you!!" and walked away in the downpouring rain.

Most of us were looking at Joe with our wide-eyed expressions.

"Joe~" was the only word that came out from our mouths during our speechless moment.

"Mana tau kalau dia benar-benar perlu duit tu," was his answer. Then we agreed with him.

"Ya, betul, " Man Lee agreed with Joe's decision. It is because, if he really needed the money, we would be committing sins of omissions for not helping him, but if he was lying to us, well, he was the one sinning, and we were not to bear the guilt of not helping him. But still deep down in me, I wouldn't offer that much to the person whom I still doubted, but since Joe was generous and all that, maybe it was okay. God bless him.


FAST FORWARD TO THE FOLLOWING SATURDAY...
Date: 10th April 2010
Location: the hawker stall area at Sunway Hotel, near Our Lady of Sorrows Church
Time: Around 8 pm or later, after Sunset Mass

We were sitting at our usual place before having our dinner. Me, Claire, Natalia, Mike, Deidre and Mike's future girlfriend, ahem, V*v**n, were trying to decide what to eat before we order the food. Suddenly, a man appeared at our table, he somewhat looked kinda familiar to me, and he spoke in English. He was greeting us with some "Hi Christian " thingy and tried to remind us of our responsibility as Christians, or precisely, Catholic. He was asking for money to go back to his hometown, and this rang a bell in me.

No wonder he looked familiar! He was the same guy who asked for money from us when we finish our Good Friday service a week earlier. OMG, and he was still using the same old crappy story to gain our sympathy, but too bad you're busted, fraud~! Checkmate! The same old Why-you-Christian should-help-me crap and talking about how good if he could go back to his hometown now. Gosh, he wasn't creative for a fraud, huh?

I interrupted him and told him that "Weren't you the same guy who asked for money last week? Hadn't you got your money to go back to your hometown already? My junior gave you the money, and it was RM10!" My words were more or less like that, based on my weak memory. The mean gene inside me was pouring out.

He looked at me, then he said something like this "You must be mistaken! I just came here today," he tried to fool me. What did he think I am? A cow?

"No, no, no! I am sure it was you! You told the same story, going back to your home town, you're a Catholic," I said and at the same time he was talking continually to Mike and V*v**n, maybe trying his luck? Lol.. We were not born yesterday, my dear fraud. Before he went away, he said "God bless you!" and I replied "God bless you too," with a goofy smile.

In my heart, I was thinking, "Oh, no Joe... Too bad your good deed was wasted on a fraud like him." But I guess it's the intention that matters, no matter to whom the help was offered to, even for a fraud..


I guess, to be fooled once, is okay, but to be fooled twice, no way. I wouldn't give in to that. I know maybe he really needed the money, but why did he need to lie to get them? By the way, he's healthy, and he could probably get a job, but I guess, with his reputation as a fraud, it was hard for him to get any. To help a parasite is also a sin, at least for me. So, next time, to be fooled by a person once, it's his fault. But to be fooled twice by the same person, it could be your fault.

Moral of the story: Next time, make a deal with people whom you are helping. If he/she wants the money from you, the condition is this: THEY HAVE TO TAKE A PICTURE WITH YOU! HEHE. SEE IF THEY WILL STILL WANT TO FOOL YOU IN THE FUTURE?

The Dilemma in Greeting Someone...

Interframe: Just got a birthday dinner treat from Matt and Duke at Pizza Hut. Thanks ya!! :D

Consider this situation. You were walking at the university hallway, or maybe at the shopping mall. Then there was a person, walking from the opposite direction, smiling when passing by you. You didn't really remember that person, but you kinda know that person, so you were not sure whether that person was smiling at you or at another person at your back, or the person besides you. So you only have two options:

1) You can either smile back (and bear the embarassment if the person was actually not smiling at you)

or

2) you pretended not to see the person (which may make that person felt embarassed if that person was actually smiling at you).

Or let you put yourself in the shoes of the one doing the greeting. You were walking in a crowd, and the person walking from the opposite direction was someone that you know, but that person is someone whom you are not really close with, so you just offer a smile at that person. The person, since he or she was not close to you, was quite unsure whether you were smiling at him/her or at other people in the crowd. After a few minutes observing your eye-contact, then the person was sure that you were actually smiling at him/her and was confident enough to smile back at you. Though the greeting was mutual, it kinda made you feel hmmph, uncomfortable since the greeting process was supposed to be casual and not that complicated.

So these are the examples of dilemmas in greeting someone, or when you were being greeted by someone. Well, I experienced a lot of these situations, when I walked down the lecture hall foyer, or at the library foyer, or any parts in the university. Sometimes, I even do not dare to look up while walking in the university area to escape from these dilemmas. I do not want to be the person whom people thought as snob for failing to recognize people while walking along the hallway, nor do I wanted to bear the embarassment due to the mistake of smiling at the wrong person. And yeah, talking about smiling at the wrong person, I just did it this afternoon, when I was walking at the hallway of Dewan Kuliah U. It was embarassing, but thank God, the person I mistakenly smiled to was a good sport cause she replied my smile.. Lol..

So, after a doing a few thinking, I discovered there's ways to lessen this dilemma. I mean, you can greet a person and make that person sure that you are greeting him or her by:

1) Calling out his or her name. Just saying 'Hi' is not enough. You should say it complete with the receiver's name, such as "Hi Jane" or "Hi Jack". By identifying the person that you greet, especially the person who is not that close to you, you will make that person sure that you are actually greeting him or her and not someone else. Then, you will save the embarassment of not getting a reply.

2) If you don't really remember the name of the person that you wanted to greet, say "HI" along with your eye-contact, and wave at the person's direction. If the person still didn't know that you are greeting him/her, you should consider finding out his or her birthday's date and bought just what he/she needs - a pair of brand new spectacles. If the person that you greeted happened to stop and tried to have a chat with you but that time you still had no idea what his/her name is, then you better take out your handphone, asking for the person's number and asked him or her to spell out her name.

So, heheh, just two tips for the one doing the greeting. For the one being greeted, hmmph, this is quite a difficult position actually. If you knew the person who kinda smiled at you, instead of anticipating on being greeted, how bout you being the one greeting him/her first? For example, a person whom you know as A, kinda look your way and was kinda smiling, instead of waitingto be greeted, be the first to greet. Isn't it simple?

So these are the ways that I can think of for now. If any of you who happen to read this blog have some other ideas to share on how to not be in this greeting dilemma, feel free to share your thoughts and ideas - you may have the better solution to this dilemma.

PS: Do try this when you're in the public area. XD

the BIG sacrifice..

Written on Friday night, but due to the poor internet connection, I only get to publish them now.

The date was 23rd October 2009...

I was messaging my sister just now whether we are going to tomorrow's night Mass or on Sunday and she told me we are going for tomorrow's night Mass, but we will go earlier, like 11 am in the morning because she & the gang already rented a car to go for a karaoke and round-round and this will be our last big gathering before the exam. I was like, WHAT? I just promised my roommate to go to the library with her to have our own little study group around 10 am till noon. Hmmph~! The moral of the story is - DON'T GIVE ME SUCH A SHORT NOTICE - ESPECIALLY IF IT IS SOMETHING SPECIAL LIKE THIS. DON'T TAKE FOR GRANTED I AM FREE ON WEEKEND.

FEELING SUPER KEMPUNAN NOW. (T__T ) I wanted to go, but it's inappropriate for me to just cancel my date with my roommate just because I found something which is more tempting to do. (correction: anything can be more tempting than studying, e.g: sleeping) It's like principle versus desire. And principle had to win. And besides, I sayang my roommate very much, I don't want to let her down.

*recovering mode*

Now, talking about sacrifice and suffering, it reminds me of another thing which has nothing to do with the former situation. Well, maybe a little, cause I can start comparing here. Me being kempunan over not going to karaoke with my sisters and the gang (it feels hurt to say this again and again) is nothing compared to the suffering of the children in Sudan, or let's take somewhere nearer, like the Phillipines, and even in the rural area of our own beloved country Malaysia. Why did I suddenly brought this up? Well, it has everything to do with the CUS gathering that I went to yesterday.

We always take for granted our comfortable life. Even little thing such as walking to the top of hostel daily (ahem) could be a difficult task. Washing our own clothes felt damn torturing. But how about those who doesn't have feet, legs and even hands to even do these simple tasks? And how about those people who lived in the area where they do not have enough water supply for drinking, let alone bathing and washing their clothes? Let's take Labuan, for example. From this gathering, I began to feel the suffering of the people there because of the insufficient water supply. And yes, the people I mentioned here refer mainly to the students who might be our peers or even younger than us. What we took for granted in our daily lives here is such a big necessity for others. So, don't waste water. How not to waste water? Hehe. Easy. A piece of cake. Here's a few way:

1) Don't wash your clothes everyday. (This is the easiest among the tips, I suppose). Just wash it like, hmm, once in three days. Don't let the water tap run when you are still washing the clothes because usually the water would keep pouring out from the bucket when overloaded.

2) Don't bath using bath tub. At least, use shower, or better yet, use a bucket to bath. Make sure you shampoo your head to toe then use one bucket (or maximum two buckets) of water to rinse yourself, and voila, you are all clean. Besides saving water, you are saving your time. ;)

3) Try not to sweat so much. No, I am not teaching you how to save the water from your body, but I am saying that with not much sweat, you can reuse your clothes for the second time before laundry, so this will save quite a lot on water. ;)

4) Try not to be that talkative. Talkative people tend to drink more water (to replace the saliva in their mouth, perhaps?) So, I am not trying to encourage all of you to drink less water, just that I am trying to convey that since water is our crucial necessity, and we should drink 8 to 9 glasses of water perday, try not to drink more than that cause I think talkative people would actually exceed the recommended quantity.

Guess these are what I can share with all at the moment - cause I am damn sleepy and I have to get some beauty sleep cause if I am beautiful with less pimple, I can save the water by not washing my face with facial products ~ ZZzz..

Facebook's book campaign!

It was just one of my silly gestures - to put this "posing with book" photo as my facebook's profile picture.



I thought, maybe, if I try to pose with the book of my hardest subject and put it as a profile picture in facebook, maybe I will get a blessing for doing it. Silly, right??

But to think it back, it wasn't that silly anymore since my sister's best friend was trying it out too. I thought she was joking but then she was serious. *touched*

She really did put it as her profile picture. :)

Urm, since I didn't ask for my sister's bestfriend's permission to put her photo in my blog, I have to edit this picture to protect her privacy. PS: I love you, Amy for believing in me. I hope you get a good result, especially in this subject, and get a good reward. Maybe many, many cash for getting 4 pointer in your exam. (*=*)

Never would people put a second thought on any of my theory, or the superstition that I created (eg: tell your cat not to go that far, "ho ho ah, be sai cin cai cau ah *insert cat's name*"before you let your cat go outdoor) before, including my own family.

But here, Amy, my sister's best friend participated along in my idea which may sound odd or even crazy, but we hope this experiment will come out with a good result. We wanted to make an experiment whether this posing-with-your-academic-book-as-a- profile-picture really works.

Now, it's just the two of us doing this book campaign, but coming soon, I will recruit my roommate too, to pose with her academic book as a facebook profile picture! Woo hoo~! I will include her unedited picture here after I asked for her permission. :)) She already posed with her book and will only upload it to her profile once she go back to her hometown since USM line is helpless.

Ok, so you doubt this theory.
Now, let me tell you logically why it would work.

*thinking mode*

Reason 1: Most of us log in to facebook daily. And of course we will see our own facebook profile photo everytime we log in to facebook. When you see the book that you are posing with, you will automatically be reminded of that subject, thus, you will feel guilty, then you will at least try to take a look at a few pages of the book. Logic, right? Hmmm.

Reason 2: Some of our lecturers may have facebook. So, if you happen to pose with the book of your lecturer's teaching subject, you are superlucky. Your lecturer will think that you did not take his/her subject for granted, thus will maybe give better attention to you, or even give you the tips for the exam!

There's nothing to lose, right? For posing with your book. Okay, even if it doesn't work, there's still a consolation awaiting you. Who knows maybe your junior from the same school will notice the book and try to purchase it from you in the future.

Hmm, not negative outcome, right?

Why don't you join this book campaign right now?

>--(*=*)--<

PS: I am just welcoming, no forcing here. LOL. This post existed due to this stressful week.

A Senior's Simple Guide to All ye Lovely Juniors On Surviving University Life

Hi there..

My name is Maureen, and I am a second year student in USM Main Campus Penang. This semester, I've seen a lot of juniors, and it triggers back a nostalgic memory of myself when I was a junior. Life as a junior was not easy, I admit, even being a senior was not easy either. In short, life as a university student was not easy, but I have no doubt that university life will be the most exciting part of your life. Why not? Freedom + not need to work = adventure and excitement!! Wohoo~!

So, here's a few way how you can survive your life in a university.

1) Be wise with your money, but be wiser with your study.

- Money is important. Not to money-minded people only but to every student out there. So, if there is someone trying to lure you into something like business but you have to spend money before that, then it's not worth your money or time. Concentrate on your studies. If you want to earn some money, earn it during your holiday. It's not worth it to find a part time job when you have a busy schedule and then neglect your studies because of it. If you think you got many expenses to pay, then save your money, especially on eating. Not that I encourage you to skip eating, but eat vegetables instead of meat, so you will be charged cheaper that way.

2) Join some clubs and involve yourself in co-curricular activities

- With this, you'll learn new skills, especially people skill, on how to communicate effectively and how to work with people. If you are one of the EXCOs, you'll learn a lot, on procedures, how to work in an organized team, be more discipline and such. But at the same time, you have to balance with your studies. I remember that sometimes I compromise on my studies just to make sure I finish my work for my club. Now, I think, it's better I do not compromise any of them. Just concentrate on both, and give up my entertainment to concentrate on both. ;)

3) Never be too ashamed to ask something that you are clueless about..

-Being a first year student is the best time to ask a lot of questions without being getting labelled as blur. Therefore ask a lot of questions while you still have the chance, than asking it when you are already a sophomore, then it would be more embarrassing. E.g: Asking the way to any offices in the university, how to look for books in the library, etc.

4) Never be late in handing in your assignment

- Needs no further explanation. Nobody wants to jeopardize their marks, right?

5) Respect your seniors and your peers.

- Always smile to them, though some of them may not remember your face. I did this quite a lot, some to the extend of humiliating myself, but better be humiliated than to be mistaken for a snob, right?

6) Don't forget your family back at home.

-Always try your best to keep in touch with your family. Not to the extend of calling daily, you'll cost your family lots of money and also your heart will be too much left at home until you have no mood to move on with university life. You have to embrace your university life, and if you are too attached to home, there's no chance for you to enjoy your university life. And of course your parents back at home will understand if you could not call them daily, right? Call them three times a week, and also during your free time. Let them know that you are safe and sound, and they'll support you in everything you do. :)

7) Wait till next year to be involved in a relationship if you're still single

- Okay, since you're still first year, not need to rush yourself to be in a relationship no matter how tempting you are to receive nice gifts during Valentine's Day. Wait until the next semester, or the next year to be in a relationship. If you involve yourself in a relationship so early while at the university, you'll have to commit your time to your partner and there's no time to socialize with your friends. Then, if you suddenly break up, there's only a few friends whom you can turn to right? You'll find yourself so alone and vulnerable.

So, during your first year, try to make many connections, friends and acquaintances and spend your time with them. If you mix around with guys by just becoming their casual friends, you will know which guy can be the one having the chemistry with you, right? And you will understand guys more (e.g:their bad habits) so that you can tolerate with their habits once you're in a relationship later. Okay, the same goes for guys too. You have to know a lot of girls and how they behave before you're going to understand one. As they say, you have to be patient and do a lot of survey before purchasing your ideal item. So the same goes with looking for a partner. If you just simply become a girlfriend of the guy you have a crush on without knowing much about him, when you know about his bad habits, it's too late to say no without breaking his heart, right? So, be patient, and God will let you find a good partner for yourself. ;)

Okay, so these are the few tips I am sharing with all of you juniors out there for now. This may not be a holistic approach and it's just something I thought out randomly, but I think this tips can be useful to some too. Hehehe. Chao!!

The Art of Watching A Movie..

These five golden rules of watching a movie, I got them from my own experience. Been watching DVD last night and this afternoon. Apparently, we gotta have skill when watching a movie, huh~ Watching a movie is not merely an entertainment. Sometimes, we can be educated by watching a movie if we really put in some efforts.

Okay, let me give you five basic steps to watch a movie with maximum satisfaction. ;)

1) First and foremost: Know the main characters' names and a little about their background (as sufficient as the information given) So, you will have a nice time concentrate on the storyline than messing your head with "who's Salim, who's Latika?" --> names courtesy of Slumdog Millionaire movie.

2) If can, do not depend too much on the subtitles --> (Actually, I can't survive without it.. huhu~) If you depend too much on the subtitles, you will miss out on the actors' facial expressions (whom by the way, put a lot of efforts to make that expressions.. If they couldn't get an Oscar for it, at least we, as the responsible viewers, must appreciate their full of efforts performances by watching their facial expression intensely.. ) Moreover, some of the subtitles from pirated DVD/VCD really cannot be relied on. Cis!! If you want to watch a pirated DVD, make sure you watch it with your friends who is taking the Translation course. YES!!. I know who to turn to if I watch pirated DVD. *wink*

3) Make sure you prepare a snack while watching a movie (especially the long-duration movie like Bollywood movies and some Hollywood blockbusters) or at least, make sure you eat sufficient food before watching, or else, the hunger in you will distract you from concentrating on the movie. This is very true.. That's why lately, I never fail to purchase a popcorn though I had to pay quite a high price for it.. [more expensive than the movie ticket itself, for your information!!] (;_;)

4) Silent your handphone (even when you are watching the movie from a pirated dvd alone at your room~!!) --> Gotta have the feel, you know, baru syok!! For example, during a suspense moment, suddenly your phone rang with the Lady Gaga's disco music, hilang feel!! Well, if you do not want to turn off your handphone and at the same time do not want to hilang feel, well, you have to put your handphone's music according to the movie's theme. For example, if you watch an action movie, you can set your handphone with Mission Impossible ringtone. Besides the maintenance of the feel, you too can add feel through the sound effects produced.

5) If you are watching a movie from your laptop, maybe you should get a headphone ( I am damn regretful I don't buy it during the PC fair!! I mean, those headphones on sale were quite comfortable for sensitive ears like mine.. Huhu~) so that you got a clear sound of what the characters are talking/mumbling about. Besides, you will lessen the sound pollution towards the people around you.

Actually, I got a SIXTH rule. And actually, it's the basic of all watching movie art. The rest were just commentaries.

6) DO NOT BUY PIRATED DVD/VCD!! IT'S BETTER FOR YOU TO WATCH THE MOVIES AT THE CINEMA OR BETTER, PURCHASE THE ORIGINAL COPY OF THE DVD. Me and my sister bought a pirated dvd last, last Sunday--> and the ending of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" could not be watched - and it's keeping me curious till now!!

Okay, I guess these are all the tips that I, an amateur movie watcher, can share with you. If you want to give more tips on The Art of Watching A Movie, do share (jangan kedekut ilmu~) with me, myself and I, ya!! Peace~ :D

Professionalism Turns Personalism for a Moment...

This morning, I attended my last class for this semester. Phew~
But, haiz~ as usual, everytime there have to be something that sabotage my excited spirit this morning. After crossing the road while on the way to the class, I just realized that I forgot to bring my text book and notes, which if I did not bring, then the class would be meaningless because what we were going to learn would revolve around the text book.

So, while scolding myself for under my breath being so careless, I went back to my room again (which by the way is on the top floor) to take my text book and LKM notes. Ah, finally, there lay my (borrowed) LKM text book.. Check, check again whether I got forgot another thing or not..
Ok, alright, all settled.. Down the hostel building I went, and to G03 building I walked.

So, today, during the lesson, my LKM teacher, Cik Aida Shuhaida answered all our quieries on LKM writing format.
Ah, hopefully lah don't fail or write out of topic (which is a common tragedy in my case)
Then, as the lesson went on, she gave us tips on how to remain fresh, and told us that drinking coffee is a good thing to do to remain fresh and awake which will help us to think actively and creatively.

Then, from there, she talked about her brother, who was her idol in her life, who drank coffee to do his revision when he was an undergraduate. Then, I did not remember how, the story led to her personal life, where she mentioned she finally found someone special. Ahem..
And she told us that she was in the right age for that moment to date someone. She always tell us that she's already old when she's not. I think her age is just about 29 years old, and that is young for me. She told us, when she was our age, an undergraduate, she focused wholly on studies (and hinting us to do the same.. but I want to focus on games too, can??)
She said she never been in a relationship when she studied.
But, she said "Kalau nak bercinta tu, bolehlah.. Tapi cinta-cintan ni kat universiti, kekalkah? Cinta kepada ilmulah yang dijamin kekal.. "

Yup, I agree. But the thing is, last time when I was form 6, the teacher kind of suggest us to be in a relationship while in the university because it is the right time. But when at university, the lecturers and teachers here pulak say when graduate and have a stable income baru bercinta.
Ala, but then at work, the boss will be irritated if bercinta cause later not professional. Huh!!
Ok, so whatever they say, I guarantee that I will remain single till, err, some smart cupid comes?

Okay, so cis, I kind of keluar tajuk here. Actually wana talk about my LKM teacher's sharing about her past, pulak-pulak I shared about my boring past. So, before she become a LKM teacher here in USM, she was a supervisor in a company where she had to work from 5 am to 9 pm. So, it was during one fateful night that she was robbed while on the way back home from work. Her family was not rich, her father was a rubber tapper, and then, the sad thing is that he suffered from stroke. She never ask for money from her family, and I kind of respect that attitude. Well, by the way, I also don't ask for money from my parents, but they themselves yang wana give me money.. Hehehe.. But in her case, when I said she did not ask for money, that means she did not receive the money, even a penny.. hehe.. Different from mine..

She worked part time during the weekend while she was a student in USM. She said time management was crucial for her to juggle everything that time. But thank God, now she is living comfortably. Not really in luxury, she added, but enough to support herself and not become the pengemis jalanan.. And she said, the important thing in doing something is your sincerity in doing it. Then God will bless you in your endeavours. That was why when she left her previous work as a supervisor, her employer cried. Dedication and sincerity are crucial quality an employee can have.

Ah, I never thought that someone elegant and poise like Cik Aida is actually tough in the inside. Though she said she is a revengeful person, I think that she is still a sentimental sincere person at heart.

And I guess, she is my new role-model.

In terms of professionalism lah.. hehe...

While waiting for the Masquerade Pics..

Ok, so I'm not going to blog about my party last night today because I had not take the photos from my sister, and I can only upload the pictures when I am in the library. So for today, I have something else to talk about. I did not attend the morning Mass, because we came back quite late to the hostel, around 1 am something in the morning.. [yawn~] So me and my seniors went to the evening Mass today at St Francis Xavier Church. I love going to St Francis Xavier Church compared to the Our Lady of Sorrows church because of the better choice of hymns by the choir and also the feelings that I felt while in the church. There are more churchy feeling here compared to OLS Church.

So, as usual, after completing the Sunday Mass service, we went to dine at Prangin Mall. Today was different because my sister did not join us. She was ill, so I joined my seniors, which consist of Angel, Xiao Yen and Stephanie (my peer in age). Well, after finishing our dinner, we went to the bus station and we took the rapid bus (oh yeah). And oh, the service was good, but the other annoying thing was that, there were three annoying passengers inside the bus, which consists of three guys. Among the three guys, there was this particular guy who was the cheekiest and ugliest being that I'd ever seen(I am not exaggerating). He was like, purposely leaned near me and my senior when we stood inside the bus. So, to escape from being the free victim of this cheeky monkey, we adjusted our position to the other pole and bubbye leany monkey. So, there was this particular young girl who reached her destination, and she kind of passed in front of the cheeky monkey. The cheeky monkey, could not control himself, kept asking the girl, "Amoi, nak pergi mana nih?" and at the same time his hand was like touching the side of her waist. He kept repeating the question while the other hand touching the side of her waist. Wa lao eh~!!! I was quite shocked that time. How come he molested (I consider this molesting!!) the girl in front of us all?? Biadab bedebah bedeboi dan semua yang sewaktu dengannya!!!!! He thought he could do anything just because he's not local?? He thought he could get away with anything just because he's not local and if he's being reported, he would just simply say we locals are prejudice of people from his country... @#%&*!!!!

Okay, but after that, there were some intervention from the bus's atmosphere. We smelt something funny. Somebody let go the gas. In silence, but with odour. Haha. Ambik kau!! Maybe somebody kentut for you, cheeky monkey, but unfortunately, the other passengers, like muah, was suffering along but we could bear with the smell. At least a personal satisfaction from us towards the cheeky monkey, because he had to use his gatai hand to cover his nose instead of simply touching other people's sensitive places. Muahahahaha!!!

But that was not enough. Somebody as cheeky as him deserved to be punished in a more critical way rather than just a smelling a simple smelly gas. Ada lori, ada bas, ada hari, ada balas!! Haih, why ah, if use Milan, got something wrong with the bus's service, and with Rapid, got something wrong with the other passenger. Waiya!! Next time, there should be a sensor for Cheekimeter before anyone passenger can go inside the bus. This is for the safety of the humanity, especially for the females.

Okay, so ladies, I guess, from my story here, I found a tip to escape being the victim of cheeky monkey @ cheap molestor while using a public transport. Kentutlah sepuasnya, and then they (the cheeky passengers) will keep their distance from you. ;)