Saturday, August 29, 2009

Season 3, Episode 6: Boooook Fair.

" Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. " - Dr Seuss

Dubbed as one of the busiest week i have ever encountered in my uni life, i'm glad it is finally over for now- it's not even close to the final exams yet! Already booked in my calendar are the 30 Hour Famine which took place in the past weekend (i'm so glad i went and i don't regret the decision) and the BookFair which lasted three days, beginning on Tuesday. Then, three tests, quizzes and assignments came to trouble my already busy week. I did my best, and now I hope for the best in return.

But this post will be on the BookFair, since this time i was behind-the-scene as a commitee member in the Games and Entertainment Department. The three-day long event was fun overall but it was exhausting. Still, it's the experience that's rich. Some photographs are taken from the Photographers of the BookFair, friends and by myself. I'll let the photographs do the talking this time.

BookFair '09 family!

An aerial view of the event.

The Popular Bookstore was again our major partner. I thought i would be buying a book but unfortunately, none of the books brought there interest me. So, i left buying nothing. The crowd was overwhelming, though.

Formal attire on the first day of the BookFair.

My booth with...

... Thanushya, my HOD.

Players digging for treasures!

Izatul, my other commitee member of the Department. Her preparations on the games were very well done- colourful and attractive.

Mirror write these.

After 3 days, it was time to clear up.

Enjoying ourselves with the balloons and banner.

Smiles masking our worn-out faces!

The BookFair promised to be bigger and better, and it surely was. It was done on a grander scale and the feedback was great. Thank you guys for coming to the BookFair to support me.

wc09 wipes his sweat, rests a little in the coming weekend break and again, another 3 tests coming up! Haiz...

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Season 3, Episode 5: Can or cannot- 30 hours?

" When tomorrow comes, we must have hope,
We must reach out to every single child.
When tomorrow comes, we spread our love,
And make it a better day." - Tomorrow, official 2009 30 Hour Famine theme song.


This event was first heard when my sister told me about her friend being involved in the 30 Hour Famine this year. I was thrilled by the fact of it's noble intentions and it initiated a desire within me to participate in this event. Having said that though, i thought i would never have the chance, even more as it would be during my lecture weeks, and so i did not put high hopes on it. Then the opportunity came one day, when i saw a paper written 'Famine Hour Facilitator Recruitment' on my notice board. This implies that there will be the event in my uni, and i would want to be a camper! Thankfully, i have friends who participated as well, and from that moment, i registered.


As a camper, we needed to collect a minimum donation of RM 80.00. I sincerely thank those who have donated to support me and altogether, support this event. As i go on in this post, you will notice that there will be numerous times that i will repeat this phrase- the power is in you. Yes, it is. Even the slightest RM 1.00 can and will make a difference, and so you have the power to make a change.

Some friends in the camp- the look of a hungry people?

The official famine weekend was on the 22nd August 2009, and coincidentally, it was also the first day my Muslim friends began to 'puasa' (fast). For us, we had to fast from 12 noon on the 22nd August until 6.00pm the 23rd August- that makes up 30 hours. Of course, one of the magnetic factor of this event was the countdown at Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil for the final six hours where campers around Malaysia would gather to break fast together. Before i dwell onto that, allow me to express my excitement beginning the 22nd August afternoon.

I joined other campers at the Chancellor Hall at nearly 12 noon, after the brief opening ceremony and the reading of the rules of the camp. Later, we were divided into 7 smaller groups- mine was Mexico, and we had to be Mexican whenever the activities were played. Ice breaking session at first, and we played the first Challenge after that- protecting your fruits. It was alright, but i wished we could use harder materials to 'flock' away those 'birds'. This game actually tells us that life is always a challenge and you need to protect yourself in order to survive. Without food, you may die of starvation.

Accompanied me throughout the camp.

The second game was more significant. Imagine those underprivileged people who needs to walk for miles carrying heavy buckets of water over their shoulders, not wanting to spill even a single drop along their treacherous journey home because water is so precious. We tried to 'play' their life, and we felt how tiring it was. The game required us to carry a box of water using a blanket over a 'risky' trail. If we hit the 'rocks' along the way, we had to restart our journey- and we did over and over again. The third game was suffering-ly significant. Study materials in certain countries are limited, or rare, and so they have to use whatever within their resources, including short pencils. Again, we 'played' their life, and it was challenging to write with pencils shorter than your pinkie! In the end, we were 'punished' for making mistakes.

I didn't know this picture was taken.

Later, we had to make stars out of papers. We made for nearly two hours, sitting on the ground, folding and folding. As we folded, we complaint about how boring it was without realizing that this game also carries a significant message. In the end, i realized that people in certain countries have to work non-stop doing the same work to earn a living. All we did was folding stars in an air-con hall and complaint, and imagine those who needs to work under the blazing heat. Do they complain?

A presentation of an ideal basic village of my group with limited resources.

Spontaneous photography session. This is one where we were supposed to be drowning. I don't know how it turned out to be Titanic instead.

Before we call it a night, the final challenge was the 'Refugee Camp'. It was an interesting game that lasts nearly three hours. We 'played' the life of a refugee in a camp- like after an earthquake or flood. I was a family member of a Spanish family. Call me Fernando Gonzalez. The objective of this game is to survive in the camp. This means that we needed food, drink, shelter, and vaccination. Of course, these need money. We had to earn money, legally or illegally. Legally was troublesome and little, and so we opted for illegal works such as 'drug trafficking', 'gangsters', or 'sex workers' which offers more in return but risky. To live in these pressing situation, we sometimes cannot choose.

My Spanish family.

It's a camp!

Night time, it was freezing cold and i had only a blanket to cover me! Early morning, when i woke up, it felt like an iceberg and we were like penguins. I thought this meant hard life even to sleep, but it was not in the module. A group shot was taken before we left for the countdown at KL.

I'm at the second row from top, most left.

A line-up of star-studded artistes, both locally and internationally. Singers like Daniel Lee, Suki, Jaclyn, Yise, and familiar faces such as Belinda and Gary, and recognizable voices of Roshan and Nicholas entertained us for the remaining 6 hours. Michael Wong made an appearance too! An interactive game was played to fill in the time. The game was creative. The official theme song, Tomorrow was sung by Francessca Peter and Yise.

The approximately 7000 people crowd! Wow...

Entertaining ourselves.

Me, KD and YH outside the stadium, looking at the mini exhibitions.

The ideal village.

Accompanied me in the stadium.


But it was A-Mei that grabbed the spotlight. Save the best for last. The crowd cheered thunderously when A-Mei was called onto stage and every campers' low energy level suddenly sky-rocketed. She was amazing- though i don't understand what she sang or who she really was. The energy in the stadium was a force to be reckoned with (including the other performances)! And after singing a few songs, it was time. The time to count down. The crowd prepared for the count. The artistes and hosts too. My friends and i prepared ourselves.




The countdown! We made it! 30 hours!

The joy was unexplainable after completing 30 hours. Even though it was only me, a person; a person can make a difference. If every one thinks they are not important, then everyone will not come, and no one will support this event. So, i took my step and made a difference, and i am proud of myself.

In front of stadium!

Should i try the new prawn fritters in KFC?

After dinner!

After the countdown, we had another group shot in front of the stadium and left to have our dinner at KFC. Frankly, i was not extremely hungry when eating and i was at normal paced on my dinner. Another 3 hours of noisy ride back to uni before i could finally sleep and do some light revision. 3 tests were coming up!

wc09 encourages you to take part in this event next year. The power is in you, and you yourself is the force. You can make a difference! I did, and i'm happy i did.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Season 3, Episode 4: A Convo-ing weekend.

" Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying 'i will try again tomorrow'. - Mary Anne Radmacher

The first weekend that i spent in uni for this semester was rather fun. Convocation was the grand event- oh, i really can't wait for my turn to receive the scroll! But apart from the Convocation itself, there was the ConvoFair. I missed last year's ConvoFair and so i decided to give this time a try at it. At some point, i'm just so thrilled being a student in UTP.

The opening night was on Friday.

Best photograph of the night! I like this picture a lot, both the people and the fireworks! In fact, we captured this picture at the last release of the fireworks. How lucky...


Firing up the night!

There were many stalls in the fair- just like how you would imagine a nice 'pasar malam' (night market) to be. I had dinner there on the first night. The food wasn't spectacular, but it's good to eat something different than the usual meals i have in my uni.

PF, PW, ZY and Amy in the fair.

The crowd coming in as the night gets later.

My friends pretending to be the buyer and the seller of the stall.

In an air-cond booth, we were admiring...

... a house selling in Bandar Seri Iskandar. It has a swimming pool, a large garden, four bedrooms, and a nice living room. Not bad huh?

After much excitement we had on the first night, i went back to my room when all was said and done. The next day, i decided to donate my blood since there was a blood donation drive in my cafe foyer. I have always wanted to donate my blood- my blood might be useful to those in dire need. I was all ready and enthusiastic to go. I met my friend who was in charge and as a first time donor, we tend to ask 'sakit tak?'. Then a smile follows up.

Before donating, we need to answer some questionnaires and undergo tests at checkpoints. Unfortunately, i was not able to donate my blood yet.

What a disappointment.

The second night in the fair was another amazing night.

Some of my friends performing the Chinese Orchestra. The night opener! Well done.

The highlight of the night was the performance by Amy Search. I'm not a die-hard fan of him, but how many of you have actually seen him or heard him live?

Opening the night with 'Tiada lagi.'


Singing for us!

The crowd was overwhelming! It felt like a concert, for sure!

He ended the show with classic 'Isabella'. He can sing!

After the concert, the excitement lingered around for some time before it faded off, and i went back to my room.

Third night was Aizat- i'm not sure i spelt right. He was alright. Actually, apart from these guests artistes, there were international performances too, such as Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa and Pakistan.

My say for ConvoFair is that, it is fun. The atmosphere is different and it allows you to forget all quizzes, assignments and tests ahead. Indeed, after this post, you might not be hearing from me anytime soon- with three tests coming up, more quizzes and assignments, Famine30 and BookFair, 24 hours may just feel like it's insufficient. wc09 enjoys the ConvoFair, and fears the busy life ahead!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Season 3, Episode 3: Gaining momentum...

" If the going is real easy, beware, you may be headed downhill. " - Anonymous

Thankfully, my 'going' isn't getting pretty easy at all- this means that i'm not going downhill, which is a good thing. After the sudden holidays due to the closure of the uni, as always, i needed time to readjust my biological clock to the times of Tronoh. Indeed, i have fairly set and abide by the schedule before.

Have i told you before that i dislike 8 am classes? Well, the more i hate, the more it comes. I have three days of 8 am classes, and the remaining 2 days are at 9 am. And very often when i come back to my room, it's a nap that i will need. The news have it that a meteor shower could be seen on early Thursday morning, and if you miss it, you can watch it on Friday morning too. Should i stay up to watch it, and may be fall asleep in my next day's 8 am class?

Just when i start to adapt to the times here, things began to come. I have just sat for my fourth Differential Equations quiz, and had recently did the Statics and Dynamics one. Statics and Dynamics assignment and Academic Writing homework are also here. Differential Equations, Introduction to Oil and Gas, and Fundamental of Petroleum Engineering tests are coming up real soon! Material Science is... i'm not sure what to expect yet after the assignment. Definitely, i'm gaining momentum hitherto.

I wonder if there is something with my room about animals- i'm not talking about ants, flies, and mosquitoes. I'm talking about something bigger. Remember in Season 2, when i posted about a family of cat living above my ceiling and disturbing my sleep? I have birds coming into my room this season. When i woke up this morning, i saw a bird next to my bed, on the floor. The bird flew from the floor to the window in front of it, slowly squeezing it's way out through the panels, and flew away when i took another step towards it. In the early part of this season, a bird (not the same one) came in at night while i was on the computer. We (my roommate and i) switched of the fan so that it doesn't get smacked by the blades when it flies above. Shoo-ing away the bird was challenging, but after some time, it made its way out, after a rest on my bed.

Little birdie... i wonder what's next.

Momentum? wc09 is gaining speed...

Friday, August 7, 2009

Hidden Gem of American Idol 5!

"Like faith and joy, and peace and hope, and haaaarmooooony" - Believe, Elliot Yamin

How do i know, if the best is yet to come? Will i take this step alone? The singer i'm talking about, and it's high time for him to be heard, debuted with his 'Wait For You', but personally, that song was not my cup of tea and i didn't really like him there on. However, with his new album which came out this year, i'm taking it all back and he proved me wrong. I'm talking about Elliot Yamin of Season 5 the American Idol and he is superb!

I didn't know what made me want to listen to his songs when i was YouTube-ing. But my pointer heads to the play button and i was instantly caught by surprise to his voice. Listening to his songs today, i really question how Taylor Hicks could have won the title. And if i am to compare him to Chris Daughtry, i'm sorry Chris- i truly like your rock tunes, but i'll have to go with Elliot Yamin.

His latest album, 'Fight For Love' itself has so many of my favourites. His songs are more of a pop-jazz genre and you cannot help but to feel your feet taping to its rhythm. 'Believe' is a bonus track, 'How Do I Know' and 'This Step Alone' are my personal favourties and i would like to share them with you here.



Very inspiring! This would make it to being one of the best Idol winning song!






His other songs like 'Good Outweigh the Bad', 'Fight For Love', 'You', 'Someday', 'You Say', 'Don't Be Afraid' and 'Don't Change' are worth listening too. Like Shannon Noll last year, Elliot Yamin is currently in my playlist of music.

So, are you convinced yet? I don't get why the radio stations aren't playing his songs- because i would really like if this guy could get some air-time like Chris Daughtry. Elliot Yamin has come a long way and i'm a fan of him now. I would like to hear from you, so do vote in the poll. wc09 dances away with the tunes.

"Don't change."


Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The taking of Pelham 1,2,3...

" Now someone else has to die."
"Plan B is to execute Plan A" - Ryder

Wednesdays are cheap movie ticket days. At Galaxie Ampang, normal movies are priced at RM 5 only, which is relatively cheap as if you compare to other places, prices could be as high as RM 12. But the catch was the movie has to be at least two weeks old- if not, it'll be at blockbuster price. The actual plan was to watch The Proposal since i'm an avid fan of Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. However, due to some reasons that i rather not disclose, we- my mother and i, decided to watch The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3 instead.

The movie fair as well as other movies of the same genre and style- hijack, manipulation, hostages, and quick decision-making stuffs. I was not exactly thrilled by the plot of the movie. Somehow, it is predictable. Despite that, i can still feel the adrenaline rush when guns start to be pointed at innocent people and cars begin to race. You may know the ending, but like i always say, the 'how' also plays an important role. It is suspenseful, i can say. John Travolta and Denzel Washington are superb actors. They execute emotions and fit into their characters. The other casts are amazing too, with familiar faces from Transformers 2. If you have the chance, have a watch. You might like this movie.

It's time i acknowledge Ghost Whisperer- i guess i have never credited this TV series yet. I watched an episode last night, and it was great. Although the first thirty minutes of the show was rather confusing, the ending of the show touched my heart. I'm not sure what the title of the episode is, but the story begins with a collapsed building and Melinda's husband fails to rescue a man. Soon, he blames himself for his death. While in the hospital, a ghost haunts a nurse who previously was a doctor and she treated him when he was alive. He suffered from Alzheimer then and is confused of what happened. Until the end, i understood the story. Like almost all episodes, the ghost finally crosses over. But it was the ending, when Melinda's husband shares the last words to the brother of the victim, that touched my heart. He said, "the feeling is great." And i felt it too. Still, my favourite episode of Ghost Whisperer has to be the finale of Season 1- it truly caught me by surprise.

Enough said, when you watch The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3, you'll know why it's called that, and for Ghost Whisperer, i'm watching the Season 1 finale again. wc09 watches off...

Sudden Holidays!

" The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say " - Anais Nin

Due to the sudden holiday- H1N1, from my uni, i was given one week to do whatever i like before the going of the semester gets tough. In fact, for this break, i don't really know what to feel. I can't say that i'll be holidaying as if it really is the holidays, and i can't say that it's a study-break. All i can do is to do some light revision, prepare myself for the difficult future and at the same time rejoice because, no matter what, it is still a holiday.

So what i did was i finished my second piece of writing. Since the end of last year, i decided to write stories, fictional ones of course. The first one is called 'The Will' and the second one is in the midst of 'post-production'. It's completed but i need to edit it first. This is some excerpts from 'The Will."

"Losing someone is not losing what he has left. On this dear date last year, my father left us for heaven. It definitely has to be heaven because he was a great man, a wonderful father and a loving husband. It does not do him justice for him to live in pain. He might have made new friends already and for sure he will not feel lonely there, just as how he wished for all of us here to be. He was a man of words and his words of wisdom are still fresh and alive, as if he stands before me, uttering those words with pride and dignity...."

"The house was empty at night. Ma was still out. Jen left after the tense moment to meet her friends at OldTown Kopitiam. I made Maggi noodles for dinner and brought it to the living room and ate while watching television. I had lots of thinking to do that I decided not to eat out. I had work the next day too. After dinner, I went into my room and did some typing. I prepared the things needed for the meeting until near midnight. Before I went to bed, I heard noises coming from my living room..."

"Before Max pulled the trigger, I bravely leaped in front of him and held his arms toward the sky. I shouted for Hane to run. We struggled with the gun, but he got the upperhand. He punched me in the face violently and aimed for Hane again. I bled. I bounced off the ground and grappled his hand holding the gun. I pressed his arms downwards. We wrestled for the gun. And I suddenly felt the trigger with my fingers and it was within my reach. Bang!..." read more

I do hope you'll enjoy reading the story. I know that it might be a little long, so be patient when you read it. wc09 is writing stories...