Tuesday 20 May 2014

Sorry ah, Thambi!

Too often we utter the word sorry - with no genuine guilt or desire to change behind it. Sorry - on general basis - refers to an apologetic signature to indicate oneself's guilt of his deeds. Somehow, such common and simple expression has become an undesirable word for the unpredictable society to utter. Notice that I have identified and certified the society as an unpredictable herd - I'll explain why.

The society is unpredictable because in times of great urgency which requires an apologetic "sorry", we choose not too. However, we use the word sorry so common time after time - when there is no urgency in it. The bottom line is that the society has yet to identify the gravity of an apologetic "sorry" and it is being overused and underused.

Overused 

  • When your partner or sibling apologise because they pay full attention on their last level of Candy Crush and refuse to pay attention towards the conversation you kindled.  
  • When your spouse or "soulmate" (whatever!) says "I'm sorry! It won't happen again!" after you caught him/her cheating.
  • When someone apologises repeatedly over the same mistake that they have committed over (insert a 4 digit number) times!
  • When someone uses sorry as an excuse - rather that it's supposed apologetic expression. "Sorry ah, Thambi! Brought you teh tarik instead of plain water. Nevermine la, drink only la!" (True story, no joke.)
Underused
  • When conflicts or misunderstandings that would only require a simple sorry is stretched due to one's ego.
  • When you know you have hurt someone's feelings yet you refuse to apologise.
  • When you hurt you parents feelings - it doesn't matter if you're right or wrong, it's your parents. How could you be the reason for tears on the sorrow faces of the parents that brought you up with joy?
Continuing, if your apologetic "sorry" does carry a weight behind it, it should fulfil the criteria of The Laws of Sorry! (What!?)
  • Sorry has to be said with great gravity of emotions and feelings, not plain faced.
  • Sorry has to connected to our behaviour. Saying sorry means meaning sorry, you have to show that you're actually saying it. Be responsible your apologies.
  • Sorry has to be followed with a change. People often say, "sorry doesn't change anything." No? If you actually meant your apologies, change yourself to what you apologised for. Then, sorry "would change anything."
With the bones of contentions spilled, we all could link ourselves to moments - in which we should have said sorry, yet we refused. Moments in which we said sorry thousand times, plainly. So, be a man of your words and say sorry when you need to!

P.S. I've been busy lately with my first semester's examinations. To those who have waited long for my blog posts, I'm sorry - no seriously, I truly am.

Saturday 12 April 2014

If the anger is worth it, why not show it?

"Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy." - Aristotle

Anger is often associated with negative emotions, clouds of conflict and realms of misunderstandings and regret. Impatient car drivers that occupy the highways honking at the relatively slow traffic signal, often slamming the honk cavity on the steering wheel so hard, it makes Undertaker look powerless. Asian parents raging on their child's careless mistakes in the examination papers, contributing to their depression instead of supposed elevation.

If you could spend a little time observing those examples and analogies I've provided, you should have gotten to the basic central underlying message I'm trying to implement - "that these rage and anger could be handled and channeled in a different way."

Everybody gets angry. You do, I do. Everyone does. What splits and draw a fine line of difference between us is the spectrum of approaches we intend to take based on our anger.


For instance, you're on your way to home after tiring extra-hour office works. Driving at a hundred kilometers per hour, you are forced to come to a halt because your wife wants you to complete the grocery errands now. Completely frustrated with a basket filled with groceries burdening on your arm, you wait in the queue for your turn. As you inch the counter, an elderly man brushes you aside and drops his groceries on the counter table. OK, stop. What would you do - if you are the man's shoes?

Part of myself would gear up for a knock-out death match with the elderly man, but is that the right way to channel your anger? Any one-sided conflict, heated rivalries and curse word exchanges gives you the rights to be and get angry, however - it is how you display your frustrations that matters. Rewinding back to the your "office-worker in frustrations" role, you have three options: holding your anger it, letting it out or controlling it.


"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned." - Buddha

Of the first three of broad spectrum of approaches, the first option is relatively hard. It depends solely on one's ability to contain and hold on the frustrations, anger and rage. The Mr."office-worker in frustration" could contain his visible anger on the elderly man in himself, however it does no good to the society and the surroundings around it. The society would ideally receive the wrong message if the man proceeds to do so. The elderly man would assume that his age guarantees him from all his wrongdoings. The cashier would receive the wrong idea of "the customer doesn't feel his rights being violated. Therefore, I shall ignore this shit." And for the man, it's worse. His containment of anger could be compared to a synonymous virus breeding in the human body, waiting for an impending outburst.

"Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame."- Benjamin Franklin

The second one is easier. The Mr."office-worker in frustrations" just has to slam him groceries-filled office-worker in frustrations". The man has a place - a "room" - to drop all the burdens on his shoulder without thinking about the impending consequences. What are the consequences? - walk of shame, fired from job, sued in court. Even worse? - the fact that he has to pay for the "beaten up" groceries.
basket on the unfortunate elderly man, resulting in a fatal and physical injury on the man. The amount of annihilation received by the elderly man is directly proportional to the amount of career and marital stress and rage fueled in the Mr."Office-worker."

"Usually when people are sad, they don't do anything. They just cry over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change." - James Russell Lowell 

The third one - controlling it. Do not get the term confused due to your solid perception the verb "control". The word "control" carries multiple perceptions and definitions - and the one I'm referring to is "to maintain influence or authority over something." Controlling your anger is a complete contrast to holding in your anger. The difference between these terms is the difference between a lightning and a lightning bug. Instead of crying and holding your anger inside or slamming a basket on the unfortunate elderly man's head, the Mr."office-worker in frustrations" could finish his transactions after the elderly man finishes his before proceeding to have a long conversation on why Mr."office-worker" felt uncomfortable. See? Simple.

On basis, when feel angered;

  • Ask yourself: Why is this bothering me so much?
  • Use "I feel" language.
  • Do not neglect other's perspectives, especially the victim's.
  • Focus on creating a solution rather than releasing your anger.
  • Learn how to behave and communicate effectively and properly.

Those who tend to surround me and see my on daily basis would find myself the last person on the order to write an article on anger - Yes, I am a hot-tempered person. I'm still one, though I only get angry to certain stimulus (situations). From the way I acknowledge, if the anger is worth it, why not show it?

PS. Of course, show it in the "right" way.

TJ. 

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Top 11 Upcoming Movies of 2014

Yes, you read the title right.

Top 11 Upcoming and Most Anticipated Films of 2014

Assuming your taste is mainstream, these films are odds on to be the top eleven upcoming and most anticipated films of 2014.


  • Edge of Tomorrow

Definitely not the only science-fiction film on the list! (Silently punches through the air)! Edge of Tomorrow - based on Japanese light novel "All You Need Is Kill" - features Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in the lead. The plot is synonymous to the thematic device set in Jake Gyllenhaal's Source Code film - the character gets repeatedly thrown into the same time through a time loop to complete a mission. Lieutenant Colonel Bill Cage - protrayed by Cruise - was thrown unceremoniously into a war, in which he dies minutes into it. Special Forces soldier Rita Vrataski - played by Blunt - helps Bill by tutoring him to encounter the same war as he gets thrown into it again and again.




  • Transformers: Age of Extinction
No signs of Megan Fox's resurrection or Shia LaBeouf's return! I feel ya, bruh. Cited as a "soft reboot" - which explains the disposal of any Witwicky storyline arc - Age of Extinction introduces Mark Wahlberg as mechanic and innovator Cade Yeager. Resuming four years after apocalyptic destruction of Chicago, Cade purchases a broken down only to discover that the semi is actually an injured Optimus Prime. Cade Yeager, Tessa Yeager - portrayed by Nicola Peltz - and her gear junkie boyfriend, Shane Dyson - played by Jack Reynor - are instrumental in helping to rehabilitate Optimus Prime, who then includes all three of them in their battle against Decepticons, led by Galvatron.



  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Ninth on the list - surprised? Continuing from Rise of the Planet of Apes - and it's "Caesar is home" moment - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes does not include Franco's Dr. Rodman role nor Pinto's Caroline Aranha role. Instead, the story arc resumes straight from the post-credits sequence of Rise, where the human-killing virus spreads across the globe and doomed the entire human future. In Dawn, former architect Malcolm - portrayed by Jason Clarke - and leader Dreyfus - played by "Commissioner Gordon" - lead last-remaining human survivors is making peace with the Apes, led by Caesar. Of course, as we all had learnt and acknowledged from every Apes film, things never really worked out between them.



  • Godzilla
"We need ... bigger guns!" Guns? Screw it because even fighting jets are no match for 2014's version of Godzilla. The filming of Godzilla ensued with a promise that the story arc and style will remain faithful to Japanese production studio, Toho's series of Godzilla. A reboot, Godzilla features Kick-Ass and Walter White of Breaking Bad as humanity's last hope. No, I mean it. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bryan Cranston portray Lieutenant Ford Brody and nuclear physicist Joseph Brody. The design and portrayal of Godzilla is complete contrast to the Godzilla of 1998 was. The terrific screams of Godzilla sends chills to your spine. Don't believe it, watch the trailer yourself!




  • Interstellar
Most have never heard of it! Well, how could you miss out a Christopher Nolan's film? The Nolan-factor solely makes Interstellar a must-watch of 2014. Some might argue about the relevance of Nolan and Interstellar's seventh ranking. The reason is the noir-istic depiction of the scientific story arc present in the film - a Nolan factor. The trailer gives away absolutely nothing but traces of gloomy noir-ristic storyline revolving space traveling. Featuring Oscar-rated Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, the storyline dramatizes on the discovery of wormholes and the voyage of space travellers into it.


  • The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I
Jennifer Lawrence. Yeaps, should be enough. The previous installments in the Hunger Games film series resulted in mass teenage fanaticism over Katniss Everdeen - portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence. Mocking Jay-Part I kicks off right from where Catching Fire ended - with Katniss is being informed that District 12 no longer exists. Katniss reluctantly leads the districts of Panem in a rebellion against the corrupted Capitol. Emotions and reality erupts within Katniss as she herself has to decide whom she can trust and what to do. The third installment features Josh Hutcherson - as Peeta Mellark - and Liam Hemsworth - as Gale Hawthorne.



  • Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Marvel fanatics would understand that Winter Soldier is the redemption they deserve for the boring predecessor. Plus, there's Scarlett Johansson. Scoring ninety-one percentage "fresh", The Winter Soldier uncovers that Captain America - portrayed by Chris Evans - is still struggling to adapt to the contemporary society. However, when the world is threatened by an unknown nemesis, Captain America reunites with Natasha Romanoff - Johansson - and Falcon - played by Anthony Mackie - to fend off the danger.




  • Transcendence
C'mon. We all missed Johnny Depp and his "The Lone Ranger" was not Depp-ish at all. Versatile actor Depp features as Doctor Will Caster, whom's primary study field and research is on artificial intelligence. In an ever-revolving world,  Dr. Caster's research allowed him to create a machine that possesses technological singularity. Extremists, led by Bree - portrayed by Kate Mara - shot Dr. Caster, which puts him on his deathbed. Using the machine Dr. Caster himself created, Dr. Caster's wife, Evelyn Caster and best friend Max Waters, played by Rebecca Hall and Paul Bettany "connect him to the AI machine" - which resuscitates Dr. Caster in the virtual realm world



  • The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Oh boy, I could already hearing readers subconsciously chanting in their minds, "Whattt?". To begin with, Amazing Spider-Man 2 deals and digs deeper into Richard Parker, Peter Parker's dad's history - something with the Raimi's trilogy completely missed out. I've already reviewed the film's trailer and revealed fraction of details on this second installment of the Amazing Spider-Man series. Check it out!


  • The Hobbit: There and Back Again 
What's a year without the mouth-watering finale of The Hobbit? Kicking off from Desolation of Smaug and An Unexpected Journey, Bilbo Baggins - played by cunning Martin Freeman - reaches the finale of his mission in helping Thorin Oakenshield - portrayed by Richard Armitage - retrieve and reclaim their Lonely Mountain from the dragon, Smaug - by Benedict Cumberbatch - with the aid of Gandalf the Grey, brought to life by Ian McKellen.

  • X-Men: Days of Future Past
Yes, quite simply the most anticipated film of the year - thanks to the incredible story arc the film presents, of course. On the other hand, Bryan Singer is back! Days of Future Past deals with a dystopian world in which mutants are incarcerated in internment camps - as revealed in the Days of Future Past issue #141-142. As highlighted in the official trailer, Wolverine's mind is sent to his younger body to change the past - to save their future.



Quite simply, that's my compilation. Do you disagree to my rankings? Anything to add to my list? Just post your comments below. Thanks for reading.

TJ.

Sunday 23 March 2014

Seven Things to Kill Boredom While Spending Time on the Internet

The Internet can be an overwhelming place. The context in the Internet is so large, it makes Narnia and the Harry Potter universe seemed micro. However, it is not impossible to get lost and bored while spending time on the Internet. On the brighter side, fear nothing my dear Earthlings.

Here's Seven Things to Kill Boredom While Spending Time on the Internet.

  • Wikipedia 
For those information-thirsty procrastinators, here's your one stop destination. I'll admit, I am a Wikipedia addict. I used to be an editor in Wikipedia, contributing articles on the Film Industry. Don't be afraid of having "nothing" to search in Wikipedia. You might start on a smaller scale, with searching up on "Steven Spielberg" article in the night and end up reading articles on "Nuclear Binding Energy" at 4 in the morning.
  • Read and Laugh at Rants
I have a question: How the hell can you not laugh at people freaking complaining about their lives? You could start with Facebook or Twitter, where thousands of people - gregarious socialites, sociopaths, nerds and heart broken 11 year old girls - rant about their lives. There is also website - F*** My Life - that allows millions of people to complain and rant about their lives. 
  • YouTube and Vines
The ultimate reason why millions of teenagers are staying up late in the night - YouTube. Famous blogger, Thulasidasan quoted - "I fear the day where televisions, radio channels and music players will be replaced by YouTube will come!" And Vines? Enuf said.
  • Stalk profiles
Now, don't lie. You do, I do, we all do. It's grants the person whom stalk a sense of elevation, knowledge and superiority. However, you could also get jealous stalking other's profiles. In some cases, people get pissed after stalking others. So yeah - deal it at your own risk, folks!
  • Multiplayer Online Games
Games, bitches! Well, this is not exactly the thing for bored adults or matured teenagers. Still, who gives a shit? There are plenty of games on the Net, which comprises of various categories - adventure, action, racing and sports.
  • Start A Blog
No joke. Of course, some of you readers might have this thought crossing your mind, once or twice. Might take a while to start off a blog but once you kicked off, the responsibility you maintain from starting your blog would keep you going! Ceh, perasaan.
To start - BloggerTypePad & WordPress
  • Google Anything
We all had seen James McAvoy googling himself on Google. Yeah, googling is a verb since 1999. Just type any two words into Google and immerse yourself in the links.

And there's the list. Thank you for reading - unless you came here for porn links. Screw you!

TJ.

Saturday 15 March 2014

Being Multifaceted

Are you multifaceted? Yes? Is it wrong? Absolutely freaking not.

"I've never tried to measure myself on any scale. A person is more multifaceted than the label they often get stuck with." - Dmitry Medvedev

I agree on full scale to Dmitry Medvedev's quote. Your classmate stays for another extra ten minutes in the Chemistry laboratory even when the class was long over. Right before the Chemistry teacher leaves, he swiftly runs towards the outgoing teacher and fires multiple questions at the teacher. She quickly brushes him off, citing schedule conflict as her reasons to escape. The bell chimes for the second time and he packs his stuff and leaves the deserted laboratory, with books and files burdened on him. As he walks past a few other students, they glance oddly at him and murmur, "nerd." Whatttttt? 

The point is that we live, breathe and walk in a judgemental world. Everywhere we walk and everyone we speak to host a judgemental behaviour within themselves. You speak to all of people casually - oh you're flirty! You rarely speak to anyone or feel shy while interacting in a society - you bloody selectively social idiot. You mind your own business and focus on your education - haha, freaking nerd! It is as if there is absolutely nothing you could do to escape any judgemental views.

But that's not the reason why I am writing this post. I am writing this post to state one thing clearly; being multifaceted is not wrong. It is indeed extremely wise to do so.

The only reason I believe everyone tends to be multifaceted is because their true self - real character - is too odd for the circle. Whatever their real character is, it's so hard to express it because they are afraid they might be rejected, isolated, pressured or even insulted for what they are really inside. An academically well-achieved student tends to lie about his excellent high examination marks to his friends, who got a relatively low or moderate score.

Thus, he fakes his real marks and tell a lower - or specifically, a similar - score with his friends. The bottom line is one is forced to conceal one's true identity to accommodate other's preferences. Do not get me wrong. This is not the "multifaceted" attitude I'm promoting. The multifaceted attitude I'm implementing is an attitude where one knows who to manipulate and earn one's trust and comfort.


To simply put this -  a multifaceted person knows how to talk smoothly and sweetly to one.

Be as angry as Edward Norton - yet know when to become as eccentric as Brad Pitt.

Using such tool, one could convince the most truculent and stubborn person to their own benefits. Because in today's world, everyone is important. Therefore, acknowledge how to talk differently to different people. Still, that would implement some serious trust issues around the circle. Nobody likes James who talk nice to you and talks bad about you to others.

I'll admit. I'm a multifaceted person - not many are gonna like what's I'm confessing, lol. However, to avoid creating and stirring any troubles, I follow five specific rules - taught to me by an anonymous taxi driver - whilst being multifaceted.

  • Everyone around you are protecting their own privileges. Everyone around you are multifaceted. Thus, don't feel guilty
  • As long as you don't want anyone to know your horrible side, it's fine being multifaceted.
  • Never ever be multifaceted just for the sake of trying to attains someone's secret or trying to spread rumours or gossips. #disgusting
  • Be good though. Do not intentionally be arrogant or turn a cold shoulder towards one.
  • Use it to make friends, not to stir up enemies.

Of course, I don't expect everyone reading such subjective scribble to agree with what I'm saying. If you are on the other side of argument, you must have narrowed your perspective of the term - multifaceted. My theorem of the term multifaceted is that one who knows how to be friends with everyone.

Thanks to an anonymous taxi driver - who is responsible for influencing me with such conditions - and Jade.

Scribbler, 
TJ.

Monday 24 February 2014

How To: Survive a Class When You Don't Understand Anything

We all could relate to this. 

You walk into the classroom, not knowing what's about to crash on your shoulders. You lay down your heavy bags and swiftly occupy the seat. The teacher rushes into the classroom and glances at all the innocent faces. We smile till the moment your teacher begins to rap. One thing is certain - you absolutely do not understand nor understood anything.



Earlier today, I had a Chemistry class in my school. I went into the lab like a braveheart and came out in despair like a Batman with a broken back. Such was the pain of trying to survive a class in which you do not understand anything. Deep from my heart, this sucks! Because ninety percent of the time, every teacher expects her students to know and understand contexts of her teaching before she even teaches.

What teachers do not understand is that the difference in definitions between the word knowing and understanding is huge. You can know a lot of things and in contrast, you might understand nothing at all. It exceptionally synonymous to memorising the topic's title and brief details rather than understanding it. However, fear nothing my dear Earthlings. Why? Because here's your guide to How to Survive a Class When You Don't Understand Anything,
  • Never Sleep on It
Sleeping. Easy, yes. Dangerous, definitely yes. Sleeping could possibly be the worst idea in trying to survive such class. Not understanding the bone of contentions, you could be feel migraines and headaches hitting hard. Avoid sleeping or risk getting caught.


  • Read it Yourself
If you don't understand anything your teacher is saying - or worse, it makes you fall asleep - read the books, handouts or notes by yourself. Best thing that could happen is that you might actually understand what's happening. 
  • Sit beside people who understand
Sitting in a group of people who are plainly giggling or sleeping and trying hard to understand the words that your teacher is uttering - it may sound like Pitbul's rap but trust me, it's the lesson - is simply subtracting one from one - zero. Sitting beside people who actually understand your teachers' raps can help you understand better.

  • Ask your teacher
Last resort perhaps. If all else fails, ask your teacher. Don't be afraid. Certain teachers might degrade you for asking. I always sum up all necessary questions till the end of lesson or breaks in between. Never interrupt a teacher's lesson in between.
  • Revise after such horrid class
The most important step to avoid another horrid class is just to revise.


PS. - This only works if you are actually willing to care for the subject you are learning. If you don't understand any shit because you hate or dislike the subject, cancel the subject. It's simple. Say no, lol.

TJ.

Sunday 16 February 2014

Saying No

"Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other who have nothing to say but keep on saying it." 
Robert Frost.

The latter half of Frost's saying isn't the gravity of the topic. It's the first half that matters. Why? Because everyone of us suffer from not being able to express how we feel.

Sometimes, we all feel the immense and ponderous pressure on our shoulder from all kind of things that we never wanted to do. From the moment you agreed to complete your best friend's Mathematics homework or agreeing to follow your Mum to her friends' tea party to the point where all this burden ends, the size of help you offered never matters. Because regardless the size, these helps you offered are always burdens.


To ease them? Simple. Say no. Two letter word. One syllable. Because if you choose to agree to say yes to every one of your friends' wishes, you are wasting your time and life. True, bitch you ain't Jim Carrey from Yes Man! My Chemistry teacher likes to say-often too many times-that "Time and tide waits for no man."

I once decided to try saying no to things I never wanted to do and I could say two things-I was happy and people labelled me rude. Ever since, I've decided that I should adopt such lifestyle. I avoided any sort imaginary goals to reach a perfectionist's social lifestyle, I told people who were taking advantage of my intellectuality no. 

Of course, I didn't say no to everyone who approached me to help them. If it was a big project, I would take my time. Everyone god-dammit vital decision deserves a twenty four hour long time to be discussed about. So take your time. Compare it to your happy-to-burden ratio. Think about it.

So, why should you say no?

  • You'll end up doing things you've always want to. 
  • Now that you have time your yourself, people around you will thank you since you're spending more time with them.
  • You'll be less stressed.
  • Happier times will rise in the horizon. (Poetic bullshit, I know.)
  • You get to "filter" out people who are just plainly taking advantage over you.



Then, when to say no?
  • When your mum tells you what to wear
  • When a friend want to copy your essays for the 237th time
  • When your boss gives your too many directions and orders
  • When things aren't in the beautiful side on your righteous scale 
  • When your friends persistently pressures you to come over for a basketball game and you're dead tired.
  • To your homeworks when you're sleepy
  • When your friends asks (threatens) you to surrender your food to them

TJ.


Monday 3 February 2014

Ten Habits That Could Kill Us

"I don't have any bad habits. They might be bad habits for other people , but they're all right for me."
- Eubie Blake.

Before we step into the spotlight, I would like to wish a prosperous Happy Chinese New Year to my readers and thank you for your attention towards my newbie blog. Continuing.

You have it. I have it. We all do. Sometimes a little bad habit is good for your charms. However, what if the bad traits become worse? What if it leads to unseen forthcoming dangers and harms. To break those habits, one first has to understand and sort them out first. Therefore, here's Ten Habits That Could Kill Us. (not literally)
  • Abusing Caffeine 
Probably the most not-obvious trait present in the modern world, lingered with Starbucks franchise stores and Nescafé's ever expanding flavours. Caffeines are in abundance in coffee drinks. The funny thing is Caffeines are extremely synonymous to drugs. When a regular coffee drinker or a caffeine-in taker doesn't dose himself with caffeine, he suffers from headaches, extreme sleepiness and feeling as if he cannot function. Over dosing Caffeines could result in irregular heartbeats, panic attacks and also deprivation of sleep.

  • Procrastination
Ah, this one has no age limits. I once caught my mum in the middle of her procrastination daydreams
while I was talking to her. Either I was too boring or the process of procrastination is effortless. If you are in your class or office - in the middle of procrastination - you might be caught off guard either by your teacher or ever worse, your boss. Procrastination is indeed a habit that could kill you because if your boss catches your daydreaming too often in the middle of office chaos, this might result in you being fired.

  • Selfishness
Albert Camus once cited, "To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others."  Selfishness summed up in one quote, but I have to admit, Mr. Camus has a very good point. A little selfishness provokes the ultimate heartbeat of every action in oneself, the desire to win. That's good, however bundles of selfishness in oneself will lead himself to be isolated by peers and often judged horribly.


  • Low Self-Esteem
People with low self confidence in themselves are those who always say, "Damn, that's too hard. I don't think I can do it." Of course you can't, you never even tried bitch! Being humble and having low self esteem has a thick line of between them. Try. If you fail try harder. I used to have a Taek-Won-Do coach who banned me from saying "I don't know, Sir." and "I can't, Sir." Trust yourself.

  • Arrogance
I've been constantly told that I present an arrogant image in public. Honestly, I never even know. So when people told me, I never quite took it seriously. Remember, people hate arrogant ones. Being arrogant would not lead you to cheap alcohols, bitches nor a cool image in public. It leads you to be isolated and misjudged - all the time.

  • Becoming an Owl during the night
This habit is abnormally common amongst students. Students tend to become an owl during the night. Reason? Simple, exams pressure narrows their minds to believe that studying at night whilst burning the midnight oil is an effective solution to cope with the exams pressure. Wrong! Remember, if you have homework or any sort of stuff that needs you to sacrifice sleep, tell NO to it. Never sacrifice your sleep for anything.


  • Couch Potato-ing
It ain't a verb, I know. I have to admit, but I love to slack off on the couch after not just tiring but any day. And it kills me to know that I have loads of stuff to be completed yet I'm still there, on the couch, slacking off. Slacking off is synonymous to wasting time. As the saying goes, time is gold. You don't waste gold.

  • Tardiness
This is one of the most frustrating habit out there. This is the ultimate symbol of a Malaysian. My friends are often left frustrated because of this habit. Tardiness is defined as "arriving after a scheduled time." Arriving after an expected time leads to rescheduling which erupts conflict among many others who prefers to be on time. So, let's try to be on time, shall we?

  • Hot headed and Easily Provoked
This is a common habit or a personality trait of a sportsman. Remember, nobody likes seeing a person shouting around at everyone in rage. This doesn't only damage your image but it also causes people to fear rather than respect you. Besides, if you are paired or working with a group, it is most likely that your partner(s) would feeling uncomfortable with your presence.


  • The Lone Wolf Syndrome
Once or twice, you would come across a person who would obey this principle; I want to do this myself. I will not obey others' guide. I prefer working alone. Never ever be that person. People suffering such syndrome would avoid working with group and often try to offend others who try to assist them. Working in group helps to ease the burden on the bare shoulders. Forget about receiving credits. 

Assuming each habit gathers 10 points each, try counting how many points you accumulate of out 100 points.
20 points <     "You are an angel."
30-50 points    "With a little change, you will be respected."
60-80 points    "Dude, change for the sake of yourself."
90 points >     "How is your boss still not firing you?!"

Thanks for reading.

TJ.

Monday 27 January 2014

How To: Make A Killer Presentation

My family members motioned each other to sit down on the unoccupied chairs, strapped with silk ribbons. The atmosphere was glittered with countless number of decorations, that it resembled a wedding dinner rather than the "Internet Studying Program" orientation that we were attending. I stared down at my watch, glancing sideways at the door - waiting for the presenter to enter. The orientation took thirty minutes to begin and once it begun, my parents were snoring already. Sister tilted her head downwards as she scrolled through her Facebook news feeds.


Personally, I don't blame my family members for losing interest on the orientation minutes into it. The presenter was late. He distributed ten pages of notes - filled with obvious marketing techniques to blind parents into getting the system fixed in their homes. He used PowerPoint to a height where he was basically reading he everything he wrote on use slides. He diverted from his topic so much that he started with The Program's Manuals and ended on his personal experiences at the equity market. That was five years ago.

Has this ever occurred to you? Great! So, please use this horrid experience to avoid any similarities to your presentations.

Therefore, how to make a Killer Presentation?

STEP ONE - Planning 

  • Choose your topic wisely. 
              Honestly, everyone tend to make great mistakes here. Students or presenters -when given option to choose topic from- will often choose the easiest and the most presentable topic. For example, "how to save environment" over "Should gay marriages be allowed?". Remember, easy topics are often general issues or widely acknowledged fields. General points of discussions leads to lack of participation, response or interest from listeners.

  •  Research on your topic 
              A presenter or a person with outstanding oral presentations skills would at least spend an hour researching facts, fun facts, theories, conspiracies, details, whys, hows, and whats about the topic of discussion. Researching more leads to greater understanding of the topic of discussion. This does not only lead to a higher confidence when presenting the topic, but also enables you to answer questions if asked by the listeners.

  •  Practice your talk
            Spontaneous talk can have two pathways; pure understanding of topic or complete utter garbage. Though a little ability to converse and bullshit is widely welcomed. Never ever think you could make through an entire talk just by blundering everything you know, especially if you're presenting on a formal event. Draft your points into written format and allow yourself to create your presentation. Once done, practice the same presentation for at least ten times. Practice in front of your family members, mirror or even your goldfish (you might get a smart goldfish at the end of the day).


  • Have your presentation unfold logically                                                                         I've seen horrid presentations by cocky people who assume that they can spontaneously make a presentations out of thin air. Utter crap - that's what I listened to. That's because their points are not organised and arranged according to system and the points just pop out anytime because the brainstorming sessions occur halfway through the presentation. Listen, just like every story, your presentation should contain three segments - opening, action and an ending. Opening should include your topic and and an overview of it. The ending should briefly state the general points and bang!

Step Two - Presenting.


  • Get Biased - don't overdo it.
         Not many how-to-dos would include this point. This is a complete secret - not completely a secret. A general opinion is always safe but it isn't the food-for-thoughts. A biased or a provocative point can lead to multiple perceptions of the topic. For example, you could always ask a question, keeping in mind that it should be biased.

  • Make contact with the audiences
         Remember, you're not the only one out there. The whole presentation is a general concept of you interacting with your audiences, with time accumulating their interest to the main topic of yours. Ask the audiences questions to make sure they are listening to your presentations. Make loads of eye contact, not towards one specific person - that's creepy. Make eye contacts with everyone in the room. Be mobile, move around. Make countless hand movements and gesture - this leads to audiences believing you really know whatever shit you're talking about.
  • Be Confident
            I was told by my friend once, Sam, that I look like I'm having the time of my life whenever I'm involved in public speaking. I told her, "trust me, I'm as nervous as you are. I just hid it well." The Truth. The inconvenient truth is that everyone performing would feel nervous and those who looked to be brimming with confidence are just hiding it well. Avoid looking down on the floor or out of the windows.


  •  Presentation Tool
          Here's a thing. Presentation tool are just a medium to create better understanding of the topic in the audiences mind. It is not the decisive factor in your presentation. Regardless of how many props, presentation slides and materials you use, the only thing that would matter is your presentation methods. However, if your presentations skills are great, then additional tools would fit in fine.
  • Bullet points kills (bullets - duh)
        We all have been told that the mind could only concentrate on one at a time. Yes, 90% of the society can only or - choose - to focus on one thing at time. Long detailed and organised bullet points requires a hard long time to read and the audiences also have to listen to your perceptions and presentation of the points. So tell me, which one would they choose? It is however, still fine, to do bullet points. My opinion is that it is highly sagacious to only include two bullet points per slide. Each slide should only cover one sub topic. In that way, you could also keep track of your presentation.

Perhaps, that's all. 

Remember, public speaking skills don't develop in one night. Don't give up if you have made horrible presentations. I've made loads of horrible presentations that made my friends giggle at the back of the class before.

And, last but not least, as my friend told me that my presentation skills aren't goddess perfect either.

Folks, you don't need a perfect presentation skill to teach others to confront their problems. All you need it a heart to help and a little knowledge.

P.S. Lots of love.

TJ.

Friday 17 January 2014

Why Manchester United Will Rise

You might have noticed it from the title itself. Yes, I am an Old Trafford faithful. Ever since I started watching football, I knew I was going to support Manchester United. Never occurred to me though, why? Why would I choose Manchester United at times when Chelsea and City looked dominant? Why would I believe United at times when Barcelona and Madrid triumphed in Europe? 

Nevertheless, cutting to the bone of contention, I am a realistic person and I believe that Manchester United will rise and triumph again despite the ongoing crisis in Old Trafford. Rare, yes.

If you have known Premier League long enough or even before it was even established, one thing was certain. Liverpool was the king before 90/91. And look at the records after that. They reached some of their lowest point. I agree, the Champions League finals in 2005 and 2007 did shed glitters of hope and success but no Liverpool fan can hide that that wasn't the Liverpool that should've have been. And now, every football fan believe that such would occur to United. Nope.

Simply, because our wealth and history is there to conceal any cripples and wrinkles present. Woodward might have been horrible at signing players but he definitely got more sponsorship deals to United than any club could've imagined. Bleacher Report identified Manchester United and Barcelona of Spain as the most influential football club in the world, thanks of course to our wealthy sponsorship deals. Money is never a question.

United fans have never forgot to spin the wheel and blame on the American Owners, the Glazers. Look here, I'm not defending them and I, too, feel angry at Glazers for robbing from us for their own deprived times. At the end of this season, I believe funds will be provided to Moyes to make himself count. The sad thing is I predict there will be only one or no signing during this Winter transfer window. Why? Why, well, because we're Manchester United.


Manchester United are one of the very rare list of clubs that still buys players that they see as a long term product at the club. Crisis moulded and panic signings aren't fruitful, we all know that. We-fans-are just desperate to see new faces and hopes at United. Believe it or not, one potential signing can change your season. The Ozil-Arsenal effect anybody? And there are no players out there that can fit into the long term conditions; excluding Herrera of Bilbao and Koke of Madrid. Both are having the time of their lives at this season and selling them at Winter is pure stupidity for any club. Rumours regarding Pogba, Vidal? C'mon. Only Marchisio seems possible, yes but only at the coming summer transfer window.


Moyes, for me is an excellent inch-by-inch Fergie replica, which is the reason why Fergie chose him. His temper, taciturn and calm ethiques at conferences, hardworking ethic, faith in youth and ability to succeed with such low funds is what earned him a move to United. Many United fans were quick to dismiss him and blame him for losses and draws. From my own opinion, the only two faults he did and is still doing is; sacking the entire back room staff and playing Kagawa on your left. 70% of the crisis is due to Woodward's lack of signings and a weakened yet well concealed squad left by Ferguson.

So, to all Old Trafford faithfuls, I would like to say this; 

Give the club sometime and we will rise. Not because of some summer signing or luck, but because we're Manchester United and we'll rise. We always do.

TJ.

Thursday 16 January 2014

Somebody Has To Say It #2: Having A Crush is Totally Depressing

Thesaurus defined crush as "to break, pound or grind into small fragments or powder"; "a usual temporary infatuation." Either way, the end product is always similar, broken. 

Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppp. Gosh, I get it. Moving along.

Frankly, having a crush on someone isn't always depressing. What's depressing is that it remains as a crush forever. We all are aware of the love cycle; strangers, crush/friends, love. Yes, but this isn't just an ordinary Barbie tale. This is life. We all have wandered into our classrooms, workplace or even campus, peering and glancing quickly at one specific person. We sigh and chant questions subconsciously, why isn't that person mine yet? or why can't I muster enough courage and boldness to tell the person about my feelings for them?


Why? Because we all are afraid of being crushed if we tell that person about our feelings.

Some of us have to realise that until we make a move, nothing will happen. You stare blankly at your mobile phone's screen. Her/his name and number written on the screen. You fingers smoothly drew closer to the green dial button on the left curvature of your screen. NO. NO. I shouldn't. What if she/he's busy? What if they find me annoying? And you cut to the home screen and switch off your mobile phone. PEOPLE. How can we assume that she's gonna cut the call if we never made the call?


To those that have managed to express their feelings and escape the valley of friendzones, congratulations. No, seriously. Friendzone is a horrible abyss. I've managed to actually express my feelings to my crush once. I was certain about my efforts, live or die trying. In the end, she admitted that she too have feelings for me. Stupid enough, I said that we shouldn't jump abruptly into a relationship, as it would throw both of our lives into chaos. C'mon guys, I was fourteen. 

Honestly, I'm not mocking anybody's crush in this mind-to-blog perception. This post isn't written to illustrate how hard you can get crushed by your crush nor to depict the struggles of having a crush. This is merely an advice to everyone out there who wake up, thinking that their crush will be theirs one day; you'll never get what you want if you don't go for it.


Go for that person. Tell that person that they're your world. 

A friend once told me, "you may be one person to the world, but you can also be the world to one person." 

Just another wild scribble,
TJ.

Monday 6 January 2014

Somebody Has To Say It: Pendidikan Moral is a Extreme Prodigality

Hi readers. Been a while? Errrmm yeah. Well, writer's block kicked in and got me all fuzzy. Before we splash into the title of the post, I would like to thank all my readers and wish everyone a - late - Happy New Year. I would also like to apologise and promise to make some time to update my blog every now and then.

Somebody Has To Say It #1 : Pendidikan Moral is an Extreme Prodigality

Bold, some might say. I am actually expecting a lot of criticism and negative feedbacks towards my choice of post. I would like to clear the tension in the air and remind everybody that I do not intend to insult anybody but just expressing my perception.

To readers that aren't too familiar with Malaysia and the education system here, Pendidikan Moral is a subject taught to Standard One students and all the way to Form Five. So, basically a normal Malaysian student studying at a government school would study Pendidikan Moral for eleven years. For the first six years, the questions and syllabus are purely nothing but the science of logic and deduction. More of what would you do if you were there stuff.


Once you pave your way into Form One, students will scratch the heads and sigh loudly, wah? Or even a desperate what the heck sigh! Because it doesn't make any sense. Pendidikan Moral syllabus in  the secondary schools are divided into thirty-six chapters, each for a moral value. Such Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan (Belief in God) being the first chapter. And each moral value consist of two three lines of exaggerated so-called definitions. To everyone questioning my opinion, how can I accept a general definition of a moral value when my accounts of the moral value are different? What if my definition of the value is different from what is stated? 

If so, isn't that the right method? Assessment should be based upon what the students think about the value and how they define the value. But, is that how it works? NO. The syllabus is meant to test students ability to remember thirty six exaggerated definitions, only for the students to forget what or how they think the value is. And apparently, even misplacing a word in the essay-looking definitions would earn no empathy from the marking scheme. The marking scheme cites it as an wrong answer. What the heck?

One should always remember that not everyone who aces Pendidikan Moral examination really have moral values and ethics in themselves and not everyone who doesn't ace his Moral examination doesn't have moral ethics.

To those readers who think I'm just a student who's complaining because I can't ace it, you're wrong and that's a horrible lie. I generally think it's just a pure prodigality if the examination syllabus doesn't change. Pendidikan Moral is an important subject, but for the moral values to be properly instilled in each student, remembering thirty six definitions is certainly not the way.


Before I rest my case, I would like to apologise to anyone who felt hurt, offended, unappreciated or exasperated by my views. I would like to insist that I am merely expressing my thoughts and views into words. Only words - not bitter insults. I am not condemning my alma mater, teachers nor students or even the syllabus. What you are reading - here - is nothing but me saying that what's being done is not efficient enough.

Thank you. 

 TJ.