Last Post Of The Year (maybe)

'Tis the end of the year again. For many of us born in the year 1992, 2010 is a year that will shape/mould our future. Think back to one year ago. I certainly wouldn't have expected all that has happened to me. Things haven't but have gone to plan. All of this leaves me to wonder, what does 2011 have in store for me?

On a side note, I am curious to know my Maths and English marks. :/
Still haven't decided between 3A/3B or 3C/3D. Well, New Zealand makes things easier, or does it? Anyway, WACE 2010 results are out today! Good luck to all WACE 2010 candidates. For 2011 candidates, exam is 10 months away. LOL.

I'm still in Christmas-y sorta mood. And I pity those who have classes in this Yuletide season. I am so not used to studying during this period. It just would be absolutely weird to do so. Christmas is a magical time of the year. It makes things that would have been impossible thus far, possible now.

So I shall end my disjointed post. I have half a mind not so publish it (the quality is depreciating). But, quantity is more important that quality right? Kthxbai

 logo iz very awesum !

Lol, sorry for the title. But, don't you think that it IS awesome? I mean, what symbol can Windows computers create? Hahaha, just kidding. Don't get all worked up.

Well, recently, in my course of brainstorming for ideas to write an article about, I found A LOT of ideas to blog about, you know with blogs being so informal and all. Today I am going to write about identity crisis. One more reason I love to blog is that I can control how long my posts should be, and you all will still read it no matter what.  Okay, no big heads here.

What is identity? Trying not to use a dictionary, I define identity as something a person belongs to but also owns. It's like a balance between you owning an identity and your identity owning you. The syllabus for Advanced English in Western Australia (AUSMAT @ Sunway) touches a lot on identity, at least that was what I noticed from the past year papers. Today, I will touch on racial identity and it's complexities.

Racial identity. Is it something that defines who you are, or do you yourself define your own racial identity? Well, there's not much to talk about racial identity for most of us (in the Malaysian context). You're either Indian, Chinese, Malay, Eurasian or the ethnic groups in Sabah/Sarawak. Out of topic for a  bit, have you read Harry Potter? If you haven't, then WHO ARE YOU? And you know that it was almost impossible for the so called "pure-bloods" to marry among themselves completely. They had to mix with the half-bloods and Muggle borns. This is just a literary reference, don't take it so seriously. It is almost the same with humans. Although impossible is of course an inappropriate word in the Malaysian situation, people of various ethnic groups mix and mingle with each other, and thus - interracial marriages are formed.

All's well with the earlier generations. Their own racial identities are defined very clearly indeed. You either belong to a certain ethnic group or you do not. However, did you ever think about those who come from mixed marriages? Their racial identity runs along a blurred line. They do not belong completely to either ethnic group, leaving them somewhere in the middle. With that, the need for new racial identities arise. This mainly stems from the fact that most groups will not fully accept an individual with mixed heritage as one of their own. You think this is cruel and it doesn't happen? Look at the US, read "To Kill A Mockingbird" , a novel widely acclaimed for its accurate depictions of Southern life in the 1930s. Read carefully, and you will find lines about how children of mixed marriages were segregated by the Whites and they were not accepted into the African-American community.

Here in Malaysia, the situation isn't that intense, of course. However, subtle hints still indicate that mixed-heritage individuals lack acceptance. An example, a man of race X marries a woman of race Y. Their child a mixture of both races will be likely to be lost in between. The father's side of race X will tend to view the child as one with race Y and not worthy enough to be of their own race, race X. Vice versa. Well then, ask yourself now. Have you ever seen something like this happening in your life? Surely yes, even if it was so discreet that you had to listen twice to hear the intolerance in their voices.

Where does this leave the children of mixed heritages then? Well, fret not. New racial identities are being created. Many types of creoles now exists worldwide, and we give undue credit to racial segregation for this.

P.s. I finally changed my wallpaper. For Advent, no more apple shooting.

Instead, it's a town in a Zombie apocalypse era (click to enlarge and appreciate it) :P. Have to stop L4D2ing and watching The Walking Dead. LOL.



I'll just let her do the talking now, shall I?

La Liberté Guidant Le Peuple

La Liberté Guidant le Peuple. Liberty Leading The People. It's a very famous painting by Eugéne Delacroix. You may even have seen it on my blog before. It is actually a painting symbolising the French Revolution, and that is Lady Liberty. Now, art is very subjective. The interpretation of art is something to behold as each and every individual has their own unique exposition of art, be it any any form ; paiting, film, literature, poetry, music. I have a sudden urge to write about this painting. The theme is very evident, liberty, something many AUSMATians are feeling, albeit something fleeting.

As far as I can see, Lady Liberty is the only woman in this painting. For some reasons, still unbeknownst to me, abstract things such as liberty and luck are portrayed by women. A possible reason may be the fact that there were the Roman goddesses of luck and liberty. On a side note, look at The Statue of Liberty. Back to the painting, the woman is holding the French flag, the tricolore. It very obviously symbolises freedom of some sort for the French (I have limited knowledge on French history).

But, look to the left of Lady Luck, who do we have here? Merlin's pants! It's Honest Abe. Now what in the world is Abraham Lincoln doing fighting for the French? Haha, it's only a theory, because in fact, this painting was painted in 1830. So, Abraham Lincoln, would've only been about 21 years of age, certainly not that famous to be depicted in a painting by a French artist.

Now to the right of Lady Luck is a young boy, this probably symbolises the universal scale of war. Everyone is involved, affected. Down below, there are many dead bodies, symbolising the devastation brought on the the onslaught of battle. But look at the horizon, behind those smoky clouds of smoldering remains of a French city, blue skies are in sight. So, in this case, it seems, the battle was well worth for.

Actually, I wanted to write about post-exam liberty, but I ended up doing this. Never mind, there's always a time for post-exam analysis. :D Wait in anticipation.

*Insert random blog title here*

Why not put to good use the knowledge I have learnt in English class. The power of literature.
Literary analysis is always so subjective, that it can lead to crazy, irrational statements being made. Who cares, right? It's all fun and games.
So, I shall. Be there or be square.


P/s ZOMG solamegodeleteyourbloglah

Ho Yeah!

Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still. For they must needs be present, that love and live in that which is omnipresent. In this divine glass they see face to face; and their converse is free, as well as pure. This is the comfort of friends, that thought they may be said to die, yet their friendship and society are, in the best sense, ever present, because immortal.

William Penn, More Fruits of Solitude

-Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling-

Epic Fail

Blogging in the month of October = epic fail! 

October is the month of awesome-ness and awesome people are born in October. Just refer to the AWESUM world factbook, it says that about 83% of awesome people were born in the month of October. True story. 

Okay, cut the crap. I can't let my blog just sit here and die, can I? No, my minimum quota is 1 post per month. (Note: The word "quota" carries many negative connotations for myself) 

Okay, let's see what been happening this few weeks... To sum up the Ausmat program from July till now, I quote my classmate's words that precisely and concisely described our predicament; "When we are free, we are super free until got nothing to do. When we are busy, aaaaah, work piling up like hell"

I can hardly say that I agree more with the above statement. Since July, my hobby (one of them) has been to brag about my awesome and relatively free schedule of classes to my more hardworking friends. Well, these past two weeks have been a rush to beating deadlines (not exactly la). Econs report, writing a 5 page report on a newspaper article from the main topic of price elasticity. Truth be told, it was rather interesting. I did a report on the food prices in New Zealand (aha, wannabe!). It's quite interesting to compare the market of food there to Malaysia, since it's something we all know very well. I am starting to observe more real-life situations from a more economic perspective. Okay, grab the newspaper beside you. Not that side, the other side. Yes. Okay, now flip through it, and search for any full page promotional adverts by any major hypermarket. Your reaction now might be " WAAAAA, SO CHEAP AH?!!! MUST GO BUY NOW!!" or *flips page and throws paper aside* .

Haha, well. I got to know about the pricing strategies of major supermarkets, and how they can still gain profit from lower prices of other goods. It's quite interesting to note how effective it is on certain individuals. However, at the same time, indignant feelings because we are subjected to such tricks arise.

Okay, abrupt change of topic: EALD book report. By now, I am so sick of The Joy Luck Club that I am going to store it away somewhere high up my shelve of books. I can think of so many books that would have been better to write on, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. I could've written a 20 page essay if I wanted to. Nevertheless, it's over and I'm glad. 

Maths presentation is finally over as well. As you may have noticed, I am very (extremely) successful at keeping my temper intact in situations of crisis and tension. Well, in cases of extreme emotion, even I have difficulty of masking any excess annoyance. But still, I'm pretty sure that no one, other than Jui Yong noticed it. Haha. End of this chapter of the story. I still want you all to think of me as a happy happy person. LOL

So, all major assignments are done (for now). Shawshank is waiting for me. And yes, I do enjoy English class a lot. I expect it's the vibrance, experience and enthusiasm of my teacher. I am discreetly aware of prying eyes, so I'll just put it at that. 

And yes, one last thing. I have a new record, 3 or 4 consecutive posts without a comment. So, I dare you, try to stop my amazing and unbroken streak if you dare! If not, run along like the nice shy person you are. BYEEEEEEEEEEEE

New Horizons

EALD discussion in class that day was interesting. Come to think of it, EALD is always interesting!
However, back to the point. The topic was transitions in life, and how we have come to change in these past few months, entering college life and all.

Most of my classmates had very clear-cut transitional changes. Physical and mental, as well as emotional. I mean, who can not expect huge changes in one's life when you move to Sunway from all over the country. Leaving your home, parents, siblings, pets behind. It's bound to be a life-changer. Starting life at Casa and Sunway, away from home should make you more independent. I agree. However, I don't live at Casa, nor do I stay at Casa. Once in a blue and yellow moon, perhaps so,  but not that often. I live 11+ km from college. And it takes me just as much time to travel from home to college as Casa to college. So, I choose, for the moment to stay at home. Yes, with all the comforts of home, who wouldn't?

So, at first I thought that this wasn't a particularly big transition for me, in terms of being independent or "young adult". No, I pretty much lived the same way. However, what I failed to realise was the wider or deeper transitions taking place. The widening of my horizon. Broadening of my mind, to things I have never considered before. Encouragement to think more intellectually and radically. Persuasion and support to speak confidently. Yes, that's basically my transition. Something that cannot be seen clearly with the naked eye, but perhaps the microscopic scrutiny of some.

I have opened up my reading options from what limited genres that have dominated my bookshelf for the past few years. Reading classics or controversial and widely debated books are very interesting all of a sudden. But, I have to give due credit to my book-loving friends. Not that there weren't any at school, but most of my classmates (not generalisation with negative purposes) read chick-lit, which doesn't interest me. But here, I can have discussions on books with friends who share my likes or have opposing views on books. And now I am even more open to book recommendations by others.

So, imagine my joy at receiving a book report assignment. I am serious, no sarcasm involved. :D Most of the books are classics, or very thought-provoking books that have become best-sellers and sit on prestigious lists such as Top 100 books of the 20th century. I think that reading these said books can bring about change in perceptions on a variety of issues.

So lo and behold, I have siphoned through the list of books that was given, these few have caught my eye:
1. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding.  Seems to be quite intriguing. It's about a group of boys, who try to maintain control over each other? I'm not so sure. 


2. Atonement, by Ian McEwan. This is about a girl who aspires to be a writer, but makes a mistake, thus spending the rest of her life, well atoning. Haha


3.The Colour Purple , by Alice Walker. A books on the issue of racial segregation and persecution, from what I understand. Perhaps the same major theme as "To Kill A Mockingbird"

4. Life of Pi , by Yann Martel. Robinson Crusoe-ish? I don't think so. Is it about spritiuality? 

5. The Catcher In The Rye , by J.D. Salinger. A teenage rebellion icon book. Veeeerry interesting and perhaps suitable for critical analysis.

6. The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan . Seems to be even more suited to my assignment questions. Character development? Traditional values and conflicts.

Now these are the books that are interesting but I guess I am ruling them out for certain reasons. I have recently read tTo KIll A Mockingbird, and I found the story quite well developed. And the issues discussed were done so by the author very tactfully through the yes of a child. However, after having a discussion on whether is should be banned from schools or not, I think that this may become a popular choice. So, I am trying to opt for something different.
I have also read A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini. I found it to be rather depressing, and having said that, it is a very good book. Having achieved its aim perhaps? But I don't think that I want to analyse this book.

So yes, writer's block has struck me right in the middle of a post. I guess I'll just stop for now.
If you are taking EALD, what book are you choosing and why? 

:D

Reviews in progress : To Kill a Mockingbird (book)
                                    Fantastic Mr Fox (movie)

P.s Holidays are ending soon. :( I want one more week please.

The Prestige

Hooray! It’s the holidays! That means that I can take some time to watch the movies that I have obtained. Movie numero uno that I am going to talk about, not really review because I’m cool like that. Drum roll please…..;

The Prestige!

The Prestige is a movie that was directed by the infamous Christopher Nolan. I think it was released in 2006. Back then, I had no idea who this person was and I didn’t really watch much movies ( not that I do now though) . However, I vaguely remember my cousin telling me that it was, I quote “Awesome! It’s about two magicians trying to outsmart each other”

Uhuh, yeahh. The whole movie can be basically summarise into that short sentence…IF it WASN’T  a movie by Christopher Nolan. However, taking into the account of  who Mr. Nolan is, you should be able to guess that he likes to spin your mind roun’ and roun’. :D

I had no idea that the prestige had anything to do with magic tricks. I just thought that the prestige meant, well, prestige lah!  Higher social status, fame ,infamy etc. The prestige is actually the most important part of the magic trick.  I quote from Cutter, also known as, Alfred the butler in Batman. :D

[First lines] Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".

Okay, now we know what “The Prestige” means. So this movie is about Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christopher Bale) who are two rival magicians. Basically, they became mortal enemies as when they were still “Sorcerer’s Apprentices” they worked for the same magician. And Angier’s wife died in the trick because Borden tried to tie a different knot, making it harder for Angier’s wife to escape from the water-filled container, and thus drowning. (My hypothesis la)

So after she died, they started their own shows, and thus began the sabotaging of each other. Angier and Borden are actually like Tom and Jerry, except that Angier doesn’t try to eat Borden la. :P

One day, Borden came up with this new trick, the Transported Man. It’s basically this trick is about him showing us two doors, just the door and the frame, mind you. And he bounces a rubber ball on the stage. As he does so, he enters from the first door, comes through the second, and catches the bouncing ball. Impressive eh? Oh yeah, don’t expect to understand it immediately. Nolan, for some unknown reason didn’t show us the complete trick. He only showed Borden entering the first door. And expected us to understand. -_-“

Since, Borden’s new trick was so amazing, Angier became Angrier. And tried to find the secret to the trick la. Now enters the super confusing part, with Nikola Tesla, lala and cats and hats. Basically, there is a twist at the end. And then, there is another twist. And then comes another twist. Twisted Nolan. Okay, no spoilers, as I promised. So, just watch it. Come on, you get to see GOLLUM! (Andy Serkis) and David Bowie who plays Nikola Tesla. Look out for his differently coloured eyes- yes it’s true. You get to feel stupid as in “Why didn’t I notice that before?!” and you get to feel confused. At the end of it, you might even have a headache and try to watch Inception instead, maybe finding it less complicating and easier to understand than this movie.

All in all, good story la. Christopher Nolan makes us think. Acting was okay, save the fact that Christian Bale’s British accent was horrid, and he was born in Wales, mind you.

My rating : 7/10

P.s. I’ve also watched Kick-Ass which was bloody bloody. (that wasn’t a kata ganda. I meant it.) I may decide to review it later though. For now, I have these movies to watch :

Boy A

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Memento (Oh no! Nolan again!)

The Hurt Locker ( I will determine if it was worthy of its accolades.)

Moo-vies

Back in December, I carried out one of my ambitious plans. To start an amazing blog with kirakirashahida. It would be amazing, with a Facebook page and I don't know what else. I posted, once, or twice? And then , it died. It's hard to get a following for something so new. And, without followers, what inspiration or incentive did I have? The only two readers of the blog were the two authors. :P Yes, I know, epic fail.

Well, the main objective of the blog was to be a popular reviewing site. Review movies, tv shows, Japanese and Korean stuff (dashi), songs and books. :) I am not releasing the site just yet, I have to double-check with my co-editor first. But since that site is dying, and my co-author has already moved on and started reviewing stuff on her own blog (My co-author's blog) , I have also decided to do the same.

So, right now, I want to make use of the amazing download speeds that I can obtain. Up to 500 kbps, actually it was 600kbps at one time :). I already downloaded four movies, Oscar-winning stuff. :) So, give me suggestions on what movies to download. I'll give ya'll hints on what I like.

I almost always watch English movies, (no, saya bukan racist) but also the occasional Malay, Tamil, or Chinese. Actually occasional means once in a blue moon filled with blue cheese and double cheeseburger™ . The last foreign language movie I watched was quite awesome, "La Vie en Rose" starring Marion Cottilard.

I watch movies across genres. I watched all Disney Pixar movies multiple times. But I like discovering new unknown movies that are illuminating. I don't really like slapstick comedy, save for a few exceptions,  and my movie judgement skills are improving. In contrast with some of my friends, who like thriller/action/gunslinging & shooting , too much action kills a movie for me. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button had an extraordinary idea, that's why I liked it even though it was slow-paced. I HATE TWILIGHT and all those sparkling vampire wannabes.

Oh yeah, I suggest that you suggest movies from last year, because I don't want to download a movie with crappy film quality. :)

Musings

Would you rather think of bad and good as being something based on perspective?

Or is it something that can be define by particular tangible limits?

But there is not a question without an answer. No wrong or right, for who are we to judge on the basis of mere fancies?

It is all a matter of perspective

Our lives are based on perspective

Laws are based on perspective

Lies are based on perspective

Oh wait.

Okay, according to my definition, a dead blog is a blog which has not been updated for more than a month. Example of a dead blog :Hello dahiyah , Dahiyah Aisyah's blog. (Yes, I am trying to provoke an update from you)

So, to prevent my blog from dying, mind you it was on the verge of dying already, I am going to post something. Not sure exactly, let's just see what it's all about.

So, almost reaching one month at Sunway University College. How is college life? Still comparably quite free. (Touch wood) But I am getting more homework, and it's getting tougher. Exhibit A; Accounting and Finance.

So, let's flashback to Prinsip Perakaunan SPM. In 2008, I learn about depreciation, a pity I learnt it in BM. It was all SUSUT NILAI and Peruntukan Susut Nilai, PSN, BSN and what-not. I didn't really understand it fully, because it was a huge leap from the basics journals,ledgers and trial balances straight to more complex accounting. So, in 2009, Susut nilai was still one of my weaker topics in P. Akaun. I remember very clearly it came out for final exam 2008, a complete headache, a mess. I didn;t know what exactly I was doing in that question, but managed to scrape (okay not scrape, quite surprisingly well) an A. :D And I would like to say with full confidence that this question made a huge contribution to certain persons dropping accounts. (why oh, why?) And in 2009, I had a messy tuition arrangement for P. Akaun. Susut nilai continued to be my weak point. And lo, behold, in SPM 2009, question 6 was about what? - yes susut nilai! :D Thankfully, it wasn;t compulsory. I didn't choose it. I chose instead the Penyata Penyesuaian Bank (which interestingly is known as Bank Reconciliation Statement- sounds more civilised)

Now in AUSMAT, ACF, we are doing a slight revision of SPM topics with minor adjustments according to the Australian syllabus. And guess what was the topic this week? YES-depreciation. Yes, I was a bit apprehensive at first, and at second, when I saw the exercise. But I managed to complete it successfully :D And I am very happy to eliminate depreciation of the scary topics list. :) English makes everything sound clearer, even though Australian syllabus a tiny bit redundant, it's all good. So, cheers to Miss Taemyn, I really enjoy ACF classes. Next week we're doing bad debts I guess. Hutang lapuk in BM. lol.

So, this is where my blog has taken us. On an educational journey, (LOL) .The end.
So finishes my desperate attempt to keep this blog alive.

The cow was slain, but it lives on.

Hee hee hee :D

Even Yahoo! makes typo's. On their home page!  :D

Click to enlarge :)

Fran-grances? Like in "The Nanny"? Heee heee heee. :D

Of Sunway, New Zealand and Muhahaha-ness

Okay, 11 more days till I register in Sunway UC and finally begin my studies again. ( 2 weeks at KMS doesn't count) Quite excited! Haha, but still deciding what to take as my 5th subject for Ausmat. It's between Career & Enterprise, Psychology and Specialist Maths. I'm still unsure, and I will probably decide after briefings on Friday.

Oh yeah, orientation is on Monday and Tuesday. So, I think it'll be together with all the July intakes at Sunway UC. Anddd, there's also a barbecue on Saturday! :D Haha, awesome right?

I probably expect to move in to Casa Subang, also known as Raihan's apartment :D Woohoo, I cherish the thought of annoying RAB in Casa. :D Haha. After 3 years of not meeting her, I think she has mellowed down ( MUHAHAHA). But no worries, I shall be there to haunt you, until you edit your blog post and wish that I was staying at Sun-U Residences. Which in some aspects, I do wish to get Sun-U residences, because :

a) got air-cond!!! Weeeeeeeee

b) So near to college, can walk la! No need to wake up at 6 to catch a bus at 6.45 :D 

c) No jam! :D haha

d) got swimming pool, which I believe nothing has happened like what happened in Casa :D

e) got free shuttle bus man! to Pyramid, college, etc :D yeah, i know :D

But, unfortunately, it is extremely expensive. RM650 per month I think for twin-sharing room. So, it's okay Casa is awesome as well, even though it's near Mydin and Summit. Which is dead. and creepy. according to Nashna at least. :P 

But, Casa is also the abode of JPA scholars to Sunway, i.e. Kok Hin, David, Naveen! Haha, we meet again. So, anything is fine by me. 

And yeah, I know some of my classmates-to-be at Sunway already. Kudos to Nik Shahira for initiating this get to know process. There's actually 8 others that I now know. Filzah, Hazman, Helfie, Nik, Jern Siong,Aini, Sze Hong and Trishalla. 

Out of these, so far me, Hazman, Jern Siong and Trisha are accountancy bound to New Zealand. So, awesome :D haha. Proud Kiwis, lol 

Finally, kudos to New Zealand! A draw with Italy! haha. Sorry Italy, I had to support them Kiwis :D

Awesomeness

Awesome! That is what I think of it. It really is awesome. :)
One of me awesomest things to happen to me :)

Century of Posts

:) Finally, my 100th post on Keev-Imagination.

A bit of advice to anyone going to Sunway Pyramid. If you ever see a place called Simply Penang, please do not approach. Because if that's what Penang is all about, I feel extremely sorry for all the Penangites and how they are being misrepresented. Now, I wonder why we chose this place to have lunch, out of the hundreds of awesome places in Pyramid. Fullhouse just around the corner, PappaRich, Sakae Sushi! -_-"

So, basically. Make sure you order from the manager, because the waiters there are extremely blur, forgetful or ignorant. And also, if you have a lot of time to kill, like let's say 10 hours, then I certainly encourage you to go there. If you do not fall into the category, but rather, you are chasing for time to let's say watch a movie that starts in 20 minutes, please ignore the existence of this shop. Thank you, goodbye.

Simply Penang, this is the first and last time. I would rather go to Little Penang Cafe for 10billion million gazillion times then even approach that place again. Yech!!
 >:(

I am back (:

I am back!
I know you missed me. These past 2 weeks have been busy, tough, exciting, happy and sad.
It was unfortunate that I had to temporarily close this blog down.However, things are now better. I am settling back into the old life (LOL) after 2 weeks at Kolej Matrikulasi Selangor (KMS).

So, I now have 1 month plus break until I start my studies yet again. However, after being thrusted into a hectic, fast-paced life 6 months after slow-paced rest, I am now feeling a bit bored. But, no, I would not want to return to KMS. :P

So, stay tuned for more updates from the Keevster.

OMG, my theme song! LOL

HAHAHAHAHAHA.

HSBC

Nicholas Keevan Rajah, HSBC
I am a HSB. A really good one as well. And now, my current subject is proving too easy to decipher. But then again, it is fun to play along with all the games and watch it blow up in it's face. Let me widen my field of research to other subjects. And I shall post my results here soon. When my research is complete.

eelg

Episode 14 was so-so. Episode 15 was better. :D

Here's to more glee!

Interview (:

Same title different content. :D

The story begins on the 7th of April. On Recom, people were saying that their interview timings were being altered. So I check e-Sila and true enough, my interview was changed from 8am to 11.15am on Friday,9th April.
So on the day of the interview I left my house as early as 9am. To be safe, and partly because KDS warned me to go earlier as they called him in about 25 minutes earlier than stated in his letter.
So, at 9am we took a slow drive to PICC. As we were approaching the Putrajaya toll, suddenly my father's phone rang.
"Hello! Nicholas! Where are you? Come faster!"
Lol. Wth, it was only 9.30. My interview was supposed to be at 11.15am. -_-"
So, my father rushed to PICC (140+ km/h)
Then we arrived at that oddly shaped building and parked and rushed to the lobby.
I saw my name, it was under the 11.00-12.00 session. O.o

Well, I then rushed upstairs and saw a lot, A LOT of parents, but like just 1 or 2 students. Then I figured it out, and went to the interview halls. Walked in there, looked for panel 4. And then suddenly the secretary was like
"Hey Nicholassssss! Come here! Here, here !" LOL. I was wondering how she could've recognised me.
Then, like hardly 2 minutes later, that lady was pulling a chair into the interview room. Then she was like "okay, you can go in."
I was  like  :O So soon?! Haha, okay.
And I went in and the interviewers asked us to sit down. My panel consisted of 3 people, 2 Malay ladies and another Malay guy. JPA people I presume.
So, the introductions went on, I was 7 out of 8. Then came my turn. I talked and talked. They asked why I wanted to go overseas. Why this country. Why accountancy. Why UK. Why not Malaysia. So I answered each and every why. :) Oh yeah it was in BM, but ok lah, not much problem.
Then, since each person's intro took quite long, with the questions from the interviewers, the discussion was pretty short. They asked us to sit in a semi-circle. So, we did. Then they gave us the topic " Mental health is important to students". Then I heard them say 5 minutes. But like 10 seconds later, this guy started speaking. Wow, so fast. Okay lah, let him speak first. Then after he spoke, I added on the importance of mental health, especially to us students overseas. Challenges etc etc. Then the interviewers asked the others to elaborate on what is mental health and how to stay strong mentally. So they all spoke. And then I added something that went like, do everything in moderation. Study + de-stress. Something like that. Since it was in English, I could speak like rather spontaneously.
Then like a few minutes later, it was over! Wow, that was fast. Then the panel members asked if we had any questions. Some of us asked, including me. Then they told us, okay you may go now. :)

By the way, the interviewers were super nice, that is always smiling and laughing. However, for future interviews, ie next year, please do at least some research on your course and country of choice. They really grilled those who weren't sure. Don't change your mind so easily.; like going from Social Sciences to education all of a sudden. And be confident, one guy was very jittery, you could hear it from his voice. And the interviewers told him to relax and calm down. His voice was very shaky, almost like as though he was crying.

So, that's that. One big hurdle over. Now to wait for results. They will be out in the 3rd week of May. Long time to go. So cross your fingers and your toes. Hope for the best. :)

Advice by A Recom Senior, Glassylicious

Introduction: The cold, hard facts
The very first thing I need to stress is that for every one scholarship position there is out there, there are likely 10 applicants vying for a place. Simple logic would explain that the nine other applicants would be rejected. And that kid could be you. Could be the bright bespectacled nerd who had his turn of interview right after you. Could be the mousy girl who suffered a nervous breakdown at the corner of the waiting room. Could be anyone, really.

Not Good Enough™, Better Than You™
The point is, scholarship applications are an incredibly brutal process. Definitely lots more people are going to get rejected than get accepted. Even students with a dozen A1's, 60 co-curricular certificates and stunning interview charm and charisma have been known to be slapped with a rejection letter after two agonizing weeks of waiting. We can only speculate what goes on in the selection committee's minds!

Getting a scholarship, as I have said before countless times, is always a bit of a lottery. At this stage where all the top students are battling their guts out for a small amount of scholarships, if you get rejected, it probably doesn't mean you submitted a crappy application or were underqualified. It just means that there were people who were just Better Than You™. It happens everywhere, so please don't beat yourself up about it. You're still the brilliant overachieving straight A's student which you were and getting rejected from a few scholarships will not change that. Your rejections are also not an accurate gauge of your worth as a student and applicant either, so please don't think you're worthless or anything of that nature.

The Backup: Cushioning the Rejection
Given the unfavourable applicant : scholarship ratio, one should never put in an application thinking that he's going to be successful or almost guaranteed to get one. It is also unwise to making your future plans dependent on getting a scholarship, which is what most applicants tend to do. They tend to say "okay, when I get my scholarship I'm going to go to P College for my Q pre-university course, and then fly off to country R to do my degree in S." And when their rejection letter arrives they are suddenly at a loss because they have no idea what to do.

Please take some time to map out a backup plan in the event that you *touches wood* don't get the scholarship you covet for. If you do get rejected, the shock won't hit you as badly as you will already know your next course of action. You can then take your time to get over the rejection without the added stress of figuring out what to do next. You'll basically have gotten one burden out of the way. =)

Broaden your mind
I will now make what is likely to be the most controversial statement ever uttered in Recom history: There is more to life than scholarships! *Expects the quote to make headlines in the papers the next day*

If I may steal a tiny bit of airtime to make a small lament, Malaysians are brainwashed into thinking that scholarships are the be-all-and-end-all. Well, they're not! Back in secondary school, one of my Form Five teachers preached on and on about JPA scholarships and basically implied that everyone HAD to get a scholarship or their future would essentially be screwed and they would have absolutely no chance of studying overseas. In retrospect it probably worked to a good extent, as everyone in my class made a frantic grapple for scholarships right after that.

When I got an offer from a rather prestigious university to study a pretty competitive course and told some relatives about it, the first thing they'd ask, without fail, was: "Did you get a scholarship?" I said no, I was rejected by JPA and every other organization I applied to and they replied with a monotonous, polite "Oh." and looked away. One even pursed his lips disapprovingly. To them, it didn't matter if I gained admission into a decent school like Oxford or a crappy one like Oxford Brookes, as my university was irrelevant; if I didn't have a scholarship I was branded a loser.

The reason why I am saying all this is to show you guys exactly how ridiculous this mad rush for scholarships can be, to the point of missing the bigger picture. A scholarship will be good [and convenient] to have, but it's not the end of your life if you don't get it. Complaining about rejection is essentially akin to buying a lottery ticket and then crying when your numbers don't match the weekly lotto draw. I'm saying relax, chill, broaden your mind to the countless other paths you can take. If you really want to study overseas, there are so many other avenues you could try.

Every cloud has a silver lining
Believe it or not, not getting a scholarship could well be a good thing! Well, for me, it was.

Back during my batch's year, JPA only offered Law for Australia. While I personally preferred going to the UK, I applied for it anyway due to financial woes.

Rejected without interview because I was a science stream student applying for an "Arts" course, and I didn't have a single extra Arts subject in my SPM lineup [I like how this rule was overturned the year after that ._.;;]. Great. After that rejection I had to endure a week of flak for "being lazy" and not taking up any extra subjects when I had the chance to.

But I moved on. Family shelled out money for A levels in a private college. Got a conditional offer from a UK university I wanted, and as luck would conveniently have it, just as I was about to head off to university, JPA chose that particular time to roll out that Ivy League scholarship program. I thus found myself being sponsored to go to a country which I wanted, and this would not have happened had I been accepted into JPA's PILN as I would have been restricted to apply to Aussie unis. It was truly a miracle.

What I'm try to say is, sometimes things happen for a reason. A misfortune today may well be a blessing in disguise for tomorrow. When a door closes in your face, it means that somewhere out there, another has opened. So you can either wail and bang the closed door with your fists until they bleed, or you can start looking for that other open door. Don't give up, and keep telling yourself that there's a better opportunity waiting for you elsewhere.

One day when you're all successful and rich, you'll look back and laugh at yourself for kicking up such a fuss because JPA didn't want you in their PILN program. And you'll say to yourself: "I wouldn't have gotten here if it wasn't for everything that happened!"

Conclusion
For those of you who are unfortunate enough to suffer from ADD and are thus unable to follow the entire program, here's a nifty little summary for you:
1. Competition for scholarships is tight and chances are, people are going to get rejected since there are not enough scholarships to go around.

2. If you get rejected, it doesn't mean that you're worthless. It either just means that there were other candidates who were preferred, or that you simply lost the lottery when they had to select from several equal-standing candidates.

3. Please make backup plans in the event that your applications are not successful so you will at least have a rough idea of what you want/are going to do if the worst happens.

4. There's a lot more to life than getting scholarships. Getting fixated with JPA, Petronas, Khazanah and Shell scholarships is unhealthy but this syndrome can easily be remedied by going out and socializing with friends, or a healthy dose of ice-cream, preferably Baskin & Robbin's chocolate chip cookie dough flavour for best effects.

5. If you don't get a scholarship, don't fret because there are tons of other paths waiting for you to try. Your rejection today might be a blessing in disguise. It is far too early to tell now. 

Oh yeah? What if I said " Blargen feddible no-hip"?

I am giving up on you.
It is getting harder.
But I can't hold this thin strands together for much longer.
So, I say keep watching Spongebob Squarepants and keep singing Nickel :D
Because, I would never have expected this so soon.
Okay lah, I knew, but not this way. Definitely not.
Especially during EST exam day! :D
20th December 2009. I almost thought.
Not anymore. Farewell :D


Spongebob: (in a high-pitched voice like Sandy) Ain't nothin' (normal voice) too big or too ornery for you to catch.


But Sandy never did catch the Alaskan Bull Worm did she? 

Interview (:

Hey-lo

Interview!!! :O

Place : PICC

Date: 9/4/2010

Time : 8.00 am

:D

Yes, I know, it's on the last day! More time to prepare eh? A bit only la.

Good luck everyone else! May we impress the interviewers. Oh yeah, if any of you got tips on this interview. Please share, ya; 

Sharing is caring eh? :)

Universal Studios :)

I want I want I want I want I want!
(:
For more details, please stay tuned to http://keevimagination.blogspot.com

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 go read yourself la

im going crazy.

BYE

WOSFehyb4plqw

Pos Ini Dalam Bahasa Melayu ( Kali Pertama, so bangga lah kan?)

(: EHHH tunggu, entah kenapa tiba-tiba ada dua soalan dalam bahasa alien. saya pun terus jawab lah.
Nama-nama timangan oleh org tersayang

1. Nico/niko- uhh, dimulakan oleh Ernisha kot, masa form 4. Pastu entah kenapa tiba-tiba semua orang guna nama ni. hihi :D
2. Keevan- saya kan ada ramai nama, :D ini nama, keluarga yang gunakan... tapi kalau kamu nak guna, silakanlah.
3. Kim- oleh ibu bapa saya. jangan tanya mengapa, saya pun tak tahu! :D
4.Nickel- ini name saintifik saya! ye, benar! (: nama ini dicipta sewaktu bersama dahiyah dan nadiah semasa kami berhadapan dengan vulkanisasi. Haha, kott.
5. Orang yang tag saya ni, dahiyah popular sangat, dia ada ramai nama timangan. Saya ini kurang sikit. Demikianlah hidup kita kan? (wth am i saying?)
6. Cow! Keevna, oleh saudari or sedara saya pun tak pasti, nashna.

Anda seorang yang

1. Bosan-sebab ini tengah memblog lah kan?
2. Sama tinggi dengan Dahiyah! :P
3. Gila sukan yang munasabah.(bola sepak tidak munasabah sama sekali) ajaklah saya bermain skuasy, tenis atau badminton. lebih baik lagi, berenang!!
4. (:
5..suka tengok orang lain gembira.


Insan teristimewa. Describe apa yg membuatkan dia terlalu istimewa di mata anda.

1. Mak dan abah, (yea, that's what i call 'em)
2. Nashna- yea benarrrrrr. dia ialah sebiji cow. hahahahaha (make fun of my dead animals again la)
3. Close friends - SKIN!, muhibas. and amanahians.

Makanan favourite anda

1. Saya amat adventeruos dalam hal makanan. memang benar, boleh masuk fear factor!
2.lamb chop @ tgif juga dikenali sebagai kambing biri-biri potong di berterima kasih kepada tuhan kerana hari ini adalah hari jumaat. :D:D:D
Favourite color

RED, nuff said

Favourite song

Fireflies, owl city, juga dikenali sebagai kelip-kelip oleh bandar burung hantu.
Sikap yg membuatkan anda stress

1. Orang yang tak menghargai effort orang lain yang cuba menggembirakannya. sama dengan dahiyah. kami selalu membincangkan gejala sosial ini.
2. Orang yang dengki.
3. Orang yang tidak menepati masa.
4. Orang yang terlalu patriotik.

3 benda yg mesti ade dalam bag/handbag anda... 
wait, bag/beg apa? saya mana ada handbag. ini trick question ya?
1. Kotak pensel
2. Kalkulator
3. Tupperware.

Kali terakhir anda menangis beriya-iya..kenapa?? 

Entahlah.

Tag 5 rakan anda 

1. Nicholas, buat lagi ya.
2. Shahida Abd Kazunari.
3. Khairani Hariri
4. Faris Fikri
5. laaaaaaambert, the sheepish lion, laaaaaambert. :D hey you remember this cartoon? on disney...!

Researching

Nashna asked me to do some research about jobs, well indirectly lah. So, here are the results for best jobs in 2010!

From CNBC.COM :
1. Actuary! That’s right, the best job in the country today is that of an actuary. In an economy permeated by risk, the job of an actuary becomes quite relevant, as they deal with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty, calculating the likelihood of events and how companies can build strategies to avoid negative impact on the bottom line. Median salary: $82,800.

2.Software engineer- go mathan anna!


3. not important


4. Biologist! Biological scientists study living organisms and their relationship to the environment, and often work both in the lab and in the field. Areas of study range from the small scale of microorganisms and DNA to larger-scale animal anatomy and even migration patterns. Median salary: $76,320.




From CBS Money Watch: 15 Best and Worst Jobs of 2010
lets just focus on the "best" part

15 Best Jobs for 2010

1. Actuary
2. Software engineer
3. Computer systems analyst
4. Biologist
5. Historian
6. Mathematician
7. Paralegal assistant
8. Statistician
9. Accountant
10. Dental hygienist
11. Philosopher
12. Meteorologist
13. Technical writer
14. Bank officer
15. Web developer

From careercast, :The Best Jobs of 2010.

1. Actuary

Interprets statistics to determine probabilities of accidents, sickness, and death, and loss of property from theft and natural disasters.

4. Biologist

Studies the relationship of plants and animals to their environment.

I ALSO DONNO LAH. huhu

Carrefour

Bonjour! Do you actually know what carrefour means? I know la, it's that hypermarket. But it actually means crossroads in French. Which is basically where I am at now.
So, have to choose carefully and wisely now. A life-changing decision, soon to be made.

Gleeking

Yohoho, it's already nearing the end of february. And now, I've finally finished watching glee!
Yeah, I basically took my time, trying to prolong the gleeful moments. So now i'm done with glee, I just wanna say: I WANT MORE!!! As of today, I have 18 songs in my iPod. Yes it's a record! Haha. So basically, rachel is super awesomely talented! I particularly loved her ballad solo at sectionals! Don't rain on my parade! And also, congratulations to Chris Colfer who won best actor on Twitter! Go kurt. Haha..
And btw, Finn can't dance, Maybe it's because he's too tall. He looks awkward. Heeee heeee heee!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

glee

Hai y'all! I bet all of you have heard of glee, the tv show. It's currently showing on StarWorld, channel 711. Unfortunately, I don't have that channel. But luckily Nashna had all 13 episodes. So I started watching glee after all the hype about it and it winning awards here and there. And so I watched the rest episode online, and I wasn't disappointed at all. It was funny, but like all pilot episodes, it was just an introduction to the series. As the series progresed, I started to remember characters names, haha. The storyline is also quite funny at times.

The characters all undergo their own struggles in life. Up till now I have watched until episode 6. Currently there are only 13 eps released the remaining 9 of season 1 will be released starting from this April. So there's only 7 more episodes for me to watch now. I look forward to watching glee, but I dread finishing it, because then I will be even more bored... Haha. Up til now, I kinda like the counsellor, Emma. She is very sincere but yet so funny.. In the way she is scared of germs.

So, that's it for now. I'll leave you with a quote from facebook;
Taking over the world, one gleek at a time. (:

derob

I'm so bored.

My blog has been pronounce dead for a few weeks already. Who knew that updates would be trickling in like this when I have too much time on my hands.

Many people have started working and just as many are not. What do people like me, who are not working, do?

I also have no idea. Day by day, just the same old routine.

Nothing much is new. I just spend time going online, the same old sites, reading books, iPod-ing, watching TV. and glee.

I think that I have to start working on something to do, not work with a salary or what, just a project. I wonder.. any ideas?

Now, I only have driving lessons to fill up my time. My swimming lessons have just ended, so no more rushing at night.

So, what to do? ? ?