'the dead tree belongs to me'

All I did for holidays so far was eat, sleep, watch TV, internet (you get the picture). My parents were kinda pissed off with me for being such a lazy bum these holidays. I mean, how many of you people actually open up a 'real' book and study it during holidays??? How many???

So they nagged me a few days ago and asked me to start preparing for next year, start doin' my art work since I suck badly in art and also to pick up my violin and to start playing back after I had put it to 'rest' for more than a month.

I started doin' my drawing yesterday. I ran out of art blocks so I had to do it on A4 paper and colour pencils. Whatever, my job was to do a drawing and get it done no matter what material I used. I noticed that when I listened to Jessica Simpson's 'I Belong To Me' while doin' my art work, it got me really inspired to do it and finish up the piece (which most of the time I have problem to even get started).

So, by listening to the song plus the frustration of being nagged 'bout.... and WALLAH!! This is my master piece:


I know it sounds lame to make such a big deal out of a drawing that looked like it belong to some kindergarten kid but I'm actually kinda proud of myself of having to draw something that didn't look that weird without the help of ANYBODY. After like 3 months of not doin' anything artistic, I thought I'd lost my touches (not that I have any magical touches).

I don't know why I drew a dead tree, actually.

having a hard time getting surveys done

I had an assignment which I was supposed to complete from the Young Reporter's Workshop I attended in the early Dec. I was supposed to do a survey on 5 people on global climate and water conservation and hand it on 15th of Dec.

But being the forgetful me, I totally forgot 'bout it after having a blast at my cousin's house for a week and missed the deadline until the NST people rang up my DAD and reminded him 'bout me not submitting the bloody assignment. They actually rang up my dad!!! WOW! This is more serious than not completing my schoolwork. They gave me 'till 20th Dec to finish it up. I feel a bit abused here (I have to photocopy survey forms, find respondents, etc etc.And what do I get? Nada!

But I went to Ikano, anyway, to do the survey. I know I could interview the same people (mum, dad, grandma, grandpa, etc...) but I opted for something different. Journalists don't interview the same old people over and over again, do they? So, in I went to the post office with my mum.The PO seemed like a perfect spot to do a survey since the service was slow and people would wait a long time.

Boy, was I wrong! The people there were really in-cooperative. They gave me all sorts of reason to avoid answering the survey. For god's sake, it's just a survey! One man said he could not speak English, (well,ok, that I can respect since he was an old man) and others when they said they could, after looking at it, they refused to fill in anything. One even complained it was time consuming and said she was in a hurry. Oh,yeah? Then why did I see her sitting at the same spot for another 20 minutes just staring at her nails when she could have actually answered a survey which would only take 5 to 7 minutes???

Haizz....so my mum and I just approached any one we spotted and asked them 'bout global warming and water conservation (including two young men trying to sell us something!)

I found out that Malaysians can be so unconcerned about their surroundings.What's wrong with answering a bloody survey??? Maybe it was a bit tough. Here are some of the questions:

1. What is global warming

2. Who is responsible for keeping water clean and how?

3. How will you save water from now on?

I noticed that when they were asked these questions, they hesitated before answering. Which just shows that we still don't get enough exposure on how to save the earth and make it a better place to live in.

Hey, government and NGOs, your campaigns on water conservation, save the rivers, yadda, yadda, ain't working!!



A copy of the survey that so many refused to answer....

reporter in the making

On 2nd & 3rd of dec (last week), I went to an NST workshop called the 'Young Reporter's Workshop'. Yeah, I'm on my way to be a journalist...NOT!! Actually my parents sent me to this workshop to kill off some of my boredom due to the school holidays.

So I did learn some of the basic reporting skills needed to be a reporter. On the 2nd day of the workshop, my team (Bombastic Reporters!!) were supposed to interview a restaurant operator 'bout their water supply and they sent us to a 'mamak' restaurant. I don't mind being sent to a 'mamak' restaurant since I myself sometimes favour their food.

But the problem was that, the workers there didn't speak English and spoke a minimal of Malay. So I had to speak to them in very slow and simple Malay. I asked one worker, "Air paip dekat sini, belanja untuk sebulan berapa?" Loosely translated, the question meant: How much is the water usage here for a month?".

The guy answered me, "Ada banyak. Itu satu teh tarik RM 1.20. Milo ais, semua ada." Translation: There's a lot. One 'teh tarik' is RM 1.20. There's also Milo ice, there's everything,"
He thought I was asking him 'bout the drinks in the restaurant!!! Oh, well, I can't actually blame them, can I?

So then, we still had to go back and write up a story on water usage and water conservation in a restaurant. With practically nothing in hand, I still had to write the news and make the best out of it.

But it was rather interesting to be able to join this workshop. I did meet new friends and friends that I'd known before. But one thing for sure, I don't want to be a journalist 'cause writing is not really my 'cup of tea'.