5 People You Should Know in College

The way we choose our friends reflects on who we are. Okay, I just came up with that statement but somehow I kind of remember reading a similar one sometime somewhere.

Anyway, read the following article which is extremely interesting and informative. Perhaps you have questions on what kind of friends to choose? Who should you hang out with? Who would you like to stay 500 metres away from? Heheh!

5 People You Should Know in College
Written by Michael Francis

The Geek

Who?
While there are many definitions of a geek, the one you want is the tech geek. He spends most of his time at a computer or tinkering with gadgets. He knows all of the new things that are coming out, and it get’s him excited. Not only is he excited about the technology, he is also excited about telling everyone about it. He’s probably a pirate, so don’t take any music or software from him if you are concerned about piracy.

Why you need him?
You need this guy to fix your computer, tell you how to work your new iPhone, and help you do projects where you need to do some techie stuff like make a video. If you invite him over on occasion he will probably automatically go to your computer and do all those nice updates that you have been letting go for some time.

Be Careful
Make sure you get the right gal or girl. Some “geeks” aren’t really geeks. They pretend to be, and they will end up destroying your computer instead of fixing it. The perfect geek will know how to fix your stuff, but they also will not go overboard and do things to your computer that you do not want them to.

The Writer

Who?
This is the person who has written or is in the process of writing a book. Not only are they a clever writer, they are quick and they have all the fundamentals down to a science. Finding this person may not be easy. Most writers don’t usually flaunt their writing about, especially when they are working on it. Speech class is a good place to spot these guys out.

Why you need a writer?
Before you even think about turning in a paper, you take it to this person. Since they are a fast writer, they will be able to quickly skim your paper and look for grammar mistakes and points that need improvement. Doing this can easily turn your ‘B’ papers into ‘A’ papers. And if your friend is good, he teach you how to write, so you don’t have to keep coming back to him.

Be Careful
You still have to write your papers, you can’t get someone to do them for you. Perhaps you are not great with words, but make sure your ideas are solid. When you go to your friend for help be able to express what you would like to say. Also, don’t let the writer completely redo your paper, make sure when you leave your friend that the paper still has the same exact points you wanted, just maybe written differently.

The Activist

Who?
Have you ever seen someone with a tremendous amount of passion for a social issue. Someone passionate about child mortality, education, or the current events in Iran. This person is extremely emotional and is not afraid to say their opinion.

Why an Activist?
Because you have a voice, you just have to use it. An activist friend will know about all the political rallies and protests. They will inform you of issues that you never knew about, and they tell you what you can do about it.

Be Careful
Don’t believe everything they say. Sometimes an activist will become obsessed and they will search for anything and everything to complain about. Also, there are many sides to an issue, and you need to do your own research to determine which side of the issue you are going to take.

The News Junkie

Who?
You may not find just one news junkie, but will probably find multiple people who know the latest in different topics. For example, you may find a politics junkie, a sports junkie, and a science junkie.

Why do you need to know the news?
The key with news is to delegate, so you are not spending hours every day just keeping up with the latest news. Knowing what is going on in the world is extremely important. Events can affect you in many ways; from work to your social life.

Be Careful
Learn your junkies bias. The guy you are getting your political news from, make sure you know if he is a conservative or liberal. Make sure you ask where they got the information from; therefore, if you need more information you can directly to the source.

Don’t become a junkie yourself. If you have ever watched any 24-hour news station before, you probably know that a lot of news is propaganda and speculation. Just pay attention to the facts, and formulate your own opinions.

The Partier

Who?
Um… the guy that gets wasted 3 times every weekend. Ok, or maybe he doesn’t even drink. But still he seems to be at every party you have ever gone to.

Why a Partier?
Once you get done getting an ‘A’ on your paper, keeping up with the news, and writing your senator a letter; you may need to relax and have some fun. Finding out what to do for the weekend shouldn’t be a difficult task. A quick call to a friend should do it. If you are not big on parties, make sure you have a handful of friends you can hang out with on a regular basis.

Be Careful
Moderation. Make sure you balance your social life with the rest of your life.

Exceptionally Unique Individuals

You are going to meet a lot of people in college, and on occasion you will meet a person that just WOWs you. These people are extremely gifted and have unique thoughts. These are the people you learn from, they stretch your potential, and will carry you along in their success. Latch on to these people and see where they will take you.

I Feel Like A Criminal

In my own university. I'm not allowed to drive in there because I don't have the precious car sticker on my window!

The security guards' job is to make my life miserable by slapping fines on me if they caught me. The price of the fine has increased too. In my first year of study, it was RM20. Now in my second year, they've increased it to RM30. Even illegal motorcycles seen riding in campus are forced to pay RM30.

Why are they doing this? It's obvious that they do not want students driving and parking in campus. If they let more students in, then the lecturers wouldn't have spots for their own vehicles. Ugh, but I don't even park at the lecturers' carparks. I'm not even in the campus for the whole day.

These security people are kind of cunning. They purposely hold roadblocks at any random spot at any random hour. This way, the poor unsuspecting students will need to be extra careful so as not to run into them. If they do, then it's all the best to them to try and convince the guard why he or she shouldn't be fined.

What irks me the most is that they allow visitors to come in! If you say that you're a visitor and your purpose for being there, then they'll let you in. But if you say that you're a student, they fine you. Where's the justice in that? Silly, silly, silly.

Why Am I In University?

I only began asking this question at the beginning of this semester! I should have thought of it way back before entering university. But better to have thought of it now than when it’s much too late.

Do other students ponder over this question? Do they know why they go to university? Are they like me who just went to uni because it was the next step in completing our education? Will education be ever complete? I thought we learn throughout our lives because we always learn something new each day.

This morning during a tutorial, my lecturer reminded us why we are in university. We were asked to define some communications concepts which we answered pathetically but still understandable. She said that we needed to learn to express our ideas in words in order for other people to understand us clearly. It’ll also be useful when answering exam questions if we knew how to form our ideas properly.

Anyway, she said that we come to university to learn how to think. I don’t know how she got to that part but that’s what she said. That comment of hers got me thinking all about it all over again.

So that brings us back to the first question, which is why am I or why are we in university? I’ve just searched via Google and found some insightful articles on why students are in university in the first place even if they don't know it themselves.

I realized a few things earlier. One of them was learning in university is completely different from learning in school. Yeah, the hours spent in classes were less but scattered throughout the day. Still, it is less if compared to normal school hours. That gives us the chance to pursue our other interests so we join societies, clubs, etc.

Spending less time in class should give us more time to study, right? Well, that isn’t the case since students take advantage of their extra free time doing other things unrelated to school work. We students should be using the free time to read our required readings or get started on assignments. Sadly, we like to procrastinate!

Besides that, we are in university to form ideas and ask questions, aren’t we? It’s usually known as the time when shy students learn to speak up in class and during discussions. However, in class, it’s normally quiet when the lecturer asks for questions. Why is that so? Nowadays, lecturers expect this to happen because it’s been happening for quite a while now where students don’t like to ask questions anymore. I’m not sure about ten years ago but this is true for now.

During tutorials, the students and the tutor or lecturer are supposed to be discussing, aren’t they? That’s what I’ve been told but tutorials are becoming like lectures where the tutor/lecturer still talk the most. Sometimes, only a few brave souls will ask something or just give their opinion on an issue. As usual, students will be holding a pen and some paper on the table. It's the copying notes syndrome again.

I’m also amazed at some people in university. When I ask them a simple question, they give me answers which are not related to my question. This shows that they haven’t understood my question in the first place! They also plagiarize in assignments and presentations. They don’t put forth any ideas or opinions of their own. But I’m amazed that they can still do fairly well in exams.

Questions, questions, and more questions. It’s all a mystery to me. But at least I have an inkling of why I’m in university and what I should do to survive there. I think.

This has been a messy post, I know but I just had to get this out. And for those planning to enter university or are already in university, you’ve gotta read this!

What If You Had To Hand In Your Term Paper Tomorrow?

...and it's not even done yet??? What do you do? Panic? Go into hibernation and pray that your research paper will write it by itself? Unless you have magic powers and a wand to swish and flick to create a term paper, you still need to write it out yourself. If you don't, then what excuse will you give to your lecturer?

And no, it's not good to copy and paste information that you find on the Internet. That's called plagiarism and as university students, that is one thing you would need to avoid!

Anyway, yesterday, I searched the Internet for tips on writing a last-minute term paper or research paper and got a bunch of useful links. Let me list them out now.

• How to Write a Great Term Paper in One Evening
  
• HOW TO WRITE A PAPER AT THE LAST MINUTE
  
• Last Minute Paper
  
• The Last Minute: How to Write Good Essays When Time is Short?
  
• Last-Minute Term Paper Advice
  
• How to Write a College Paper at the Last Minute
  
• How to Write a Last-Minute Paper
  How to Write a Last Minute Essay
  
• How to Write Your Essay Under Pressure
  
• Survive: Writing A Last Minute Paper
  

Yay! This morning, I felt so happy because I finished my Apocalypse Now assignment, had it printed and handed in. So now I have only one other assignment left, which is a Theories and Communication Research paper. I only need to hand that paper in after the Hari Raya Puasa holidays. But still, it's better if I get started on it now. Been procrastinating a lot lately and believe me, it's not good.

The links above should only be used when in dire need. Like I said, it's better to get started on your research paper way earlier before the deadline.

But if you need some tips on how to write a great research paper, check out How To Write A Great Term Paper. Actually there are tons of such websites handing out tips on writing papers and you can just search for them via Google or Yahoo. You can also find books on writing term papers right in your library.

You've got to be responsible and also learn to study the smart way. Don't put off your term papers till the last minute. Yeah yeah, that's what I'm telling you...but do I practise what I preach? That's a tough one to answer! :D However, learn to utilize your library and learn how to search for things on the Internet. Don't say 'I don't know'. There's nothing more irritating than somebody saying 'I don't know' when asked to do something simple!

Good luck writing your papers!

Bounce, Bounce, Shoot!

It was a rainy day today, wasn't it? Anyway, today I went for my first Introduction to Theatre class. I wasn't sure if I wanted to take this class or not because some of the Theatre papers offered to me are not that interesting. Learning about English doesn't really appeal to me and I'm not interested in Management, political science, etc.

After class, I found 3 others who are from my faculty. Yay!!! I thought I was the only weird one from my faculty who's taking courses in drama and theatre. I got to make new friends too! Although we were in almost the same classes for a year over, we still didn't know each other's names. So today, I made 3 new friends who are from my faculty/school.

I also spotted a notice for girls' basketball. I remembered one of my friends showing an interest in playing basketball and I sent her an SMS to ask if she wants to play or not. She said 'yes' and half an hour later, we were walking to the basketball court.

There were around 10 or 11 girls only who came. The coach came too. He's supposed to be a stern old guy because somebody hastily told everyone to tuck in our shirts. It was funny to see everyone quickly tucking in their shirts, including me.

After that, he ordered us to run AROUND campus. I was relatively inactive and was quite a couch potato for the last month. So, to suddenly run long distance would be absurd. I was already out of breath after running for, like, 5 minutes. I stopped running and the others were already out of sight. Hah!

I took a shortcut and went back to the court. :D Yeah, that was cheating but if I were to walk while they ran, I wonder when I would ever reach the court again! Next week, I hope I can actually run the actual length. Gotta do some running and building up of stamina before the next meeting, then.

The coach also told us to stand in the middle of the court and throw the ball towards the net. A few of us newbies couldn't even manage to get the ball to touch the net. The more experienced players could throw farther and some managed to score or shoot through the hoop. Nah, I don't know much about basketball terms.

It's been quite an exciting day. Looking forward to tomorrow's classes!

*Picture from here*

Back To School and IComLeavWe

Yeah, great start for my first day back at university. First class was okay. Then, I went to my school's office to fax a letter. Unfortunately, the fax/letter couldn't be sent so I guess I have to try again another day. Well, today's a busy day for them and for all those electronical stuff because today's the last day for us students to register our courses. You know, computers running, people using the Internet, telephones ringing, etc.

Okay, my second class was supposed to start at 4 pm and I thought I might take a nap. Hah! I went to sleep and woke up at 3.15 pm and checked my phone. My friend sent me an SMS at 2.43 pm telling me that class would start at 3 pm instead! I quickly ate my lunch, changed, hopped into my car and drove away! Luckily, this lecturer is not that strict and anyway, it's first day of class. So, no legal action was taken. There were a few others who were later than me too.

Ooh, I'm not taking Spanish this semester. :( I already have enough papers. Perhaps next semester!

Anyway, I found out about IComLeavWe (International Comment Leaving Week) through Out of the Blue.





From July 21 until July 28, you have to comment 6 times a day. Please click on the IComLeavWe link to find out more. This should be fun. If you want more people to come comment at your blog, do consider taking part! See ya!

What I Read About Gender Stereotyping

When I used to watch my favourite fairy tales when I was younger, I didn't see the gender inequality in them. For example, in cartoons like The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and so on and so forth, do you realize that the women are being portrayed negatively?

Let's look at Little Mermaid. She's young, beautiful, has a fantastic singing voice, and a princess. Later, she falls in love with a prince. The only obstacle is that he's human and she's a mermaid. He then almost drowns after a shipwreck and the mermaid, Ariel, saves him. Okay, that part is fine. It shows a woman of being capable of saving a man's live, but then she's a mermaid, so she can swim way better than the drowning prince.

Anyway, the prince wakes up, hearing Ariel's beautiful voice only but doesn't see how she looks like. After that, Ariel willingly exchanges her voice for a pair of legs so that she can meet the silly prince again. Now, is Ariel thinking right? She must be very confident if she thinks that she will win the prince's heart even though she won't be able to talk?

Unfortunately, the prince doesn't fall in love with her. He falls for the witch instead! The witch already has the mermaid's beautiful voice and she's using it for herself. Of course, the prince thought it was the witch who saved him because he recognised the voice.

And then, they planned to get married in such short notice. Now, you will go 'Poor Ariel' right? Well, if you watch the Disney movie, it'll be a happy ending. Ariel gets her man after all. But in the real Hans Christian Andersen version, the prince doesn't fall in love with her. Read the story here. She's supposed to kill him in order to save herself but since she loves the prince so much, she decided to just die.

I guess gender stereotyping occurred a very long time ago. My coursemates and I agreed that what the mermaid did was plain stupid. Why give up everything just for a prince who doesn't love her for who she is? It was quite fun analysing these fairy tales and looking at them differently for the first time. Sigh...gone were the days when we would just watch the fairy tales and smile delightedly at the happy endings.

If you haven't realized yet, gender stereotyping is almost everywhere, especially in the media. Magazines, movies, songs, etc have stereotyping in them. So far, I find that this topic is the most interesting in my course. The other topics are painfully boring and I can't bring myself to read the required readings for them. But for this gender stereotyping thing, like I said, it's remarkably interesting.

When you're bored and have nothing to do, pick a movie, cartoon or not, and watch it critically. Perhaps you could list out all the stereotyping in it - whether it's gender, race, religion, etc.

I Learnt About Copywriting!

I attended a copywriting workshop today. It was pretty interesting. The speaker is a copywriter from Australia. His talk was quite short and I wished it had been more. He used Microsoft Power Point to help with his presentation. Plus, he showed us numerous interesting TV advertisements from Thailand, Australia, England, and also Malaysia. There were some which he just wouldn't show us, as he said that we were a mixed audience and he thought that it's better not to show them.

Wow! Thailand advertisements are really creative and funny! All of us laughed a lot when they were shown. The most memorable advertisement was the one promoting some kind of B-cream, I think. It's a 4-series advertisement about this girl who changes her image so that she can attract her 'soulmate'. She doesn't realize that her real soulmate is her best friend! That was a really funny ad!

Then, the Vodafone advertisements were darn funny, too. The 'Talk for 60 minutes, pay for 3' advertisement. If only I can find those ads on the Internet! I'll go search around.

Ah! Here's one:

Wah...if you want to download the ads, you need to pay! Anyway, viewing it is quite slow as the downloading or speed is slow and the video doesn't play smoothly.

The Vodafone's ads are simply hilarious! The 3-minute conversations, those you have to watch. And if possible, watch the Thai ad about the facial cream thing.

During the workshop, we had to get into groups and then come up with our own copywriting ideas on a product. My group had 12 people but only some people were actually participating and giving ideas. The rest were just quiet, sadly. We did ask them to contribute their ideas but some said, No idea lah.... That's not an excuse!

Well, at least I got to watch really good ads during this workshop. It was worth it.

I Can Swim!

Just got back from a rather miserable dinner at Tesco. I had murtabak and orange juice.


This murtabak is just an example. It's not the one that I ate.

Murtabak = RM3.50 and not worth it! I prefer the murtabak from the nasi kandar restaurant in my uni and it's cheaper there too! I'm getting sick of Tesco food already but then, car park at Tesco is free and easy. If I wanted decent Chinese economy rice food, I'll have to walk a little further.

Anyway, I can swim with the board! No, I'd sink without the board. I just realized that when kicking, I'd have to kick out really hard so as to push myself forward. Hah, why didn't anyone tell me that before? All this while, I was doing the 'frog style' kicking wrong. The other swimming beginners could already swim with the board but I was still struggling. Hah! Now, I can swim with the board, too!!! I was so happy when I found myself finally moving to further places in the water.

Well, tomorrow's Thaipusam. I've never been to a Thaipusam event before. But, I guess it'll be very crowded tomorrow. One of my lecturers even encouraged us to go and see everything for ourselves. He even reminded us to bring along our cameras so we can snap lots of memorable pictures!

To know more about what Thaipusam is all about, where Thaipusam is held in Penang, and what do they do, click here. THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST.

And tomorrow, NO CLASSES!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!

Creativity Takes Work

Maybe. I spent a couple of hours just now designing bookmarks and now I'm practically exhausted. You think making hand-made bookmarks is easy??? Yeah, I did a lot of cut and paste to produce those bookmarks. Even my mom said they look nice and it's very difficult to get a positive remark from her when it comes to my art!

Will people buy bookmarks? I'm making them as it is my turn to make them for my entrepreneurship class. My previous bookmarks aren't very nice unfortunately...well, I like the latest ones better.

Oh no, I haven't reviewed 'New Moon' yet! I've finished reading that book about a week ago and still no review. Very bad of me. I'll try to write the review today. There's class tomorrow and tutorial in the evening where the lecturer may just call someone randomly and ask questions! I forgot what we're supposed to read lah! Better check soon.

Anyway, last night, I 'accidentally' stumbled across someone's blog. Don't we do that everyday? But, this is different. I came across a course mate's blog. Haih, so boring. The blog was more like his diary where he poured out his feelings and frustrations. What time he woke up, what time he slept...blah blah blah. Definitely not going back.

Got presentation for my BM class soon! Tatabahasa stuff. I hope I got my tatabahasa correct.

'Basically' Is Such An Overused Word

I attended a few club meetings and was drowned in all those 'basicallys' used by the speakers. Basically this, basically that...can't they substitute it with another not-so-stale word? I got bored and I decided to count the number of times a speaker used that B word.

The speakers are students of course. Yes, they are good speakers but to improve on their speaking, I'd suggest they try to use different words and not use 'basically' so often. What's so great about the word anyway? Maybe there's a rhythm to it. Basically... Do they like the 'k' sound in the 3rd syllable? Maybe they like the 'kli' sound.

Bay-see-kli. Bay-see-ke-li.

It's so irritating but fortunately I can still concentrate on what they're trying to say. Won't you go bonkers if someone used the same word again and again and again?

I Woke Up At 12 p.m.!

Well, almost 12 p.m. actually. =) I don't sleep like a pig you know though last time my friend used to say that I hibernate instead of sleeping normally.

Yesterday morning was my Spanish class and we learned the alphabet in Spanish. A is ah, B is bear, C is theh, CH is chair and so on. After that, we had to spell out our Spanish names in Spanish! We also learnt new Spanish words. Looks like we have to memorize them in case the teacher randomly calls us to translate the word!

After class, my friends and I went to a nearby shopping mall to look for stuff to make to sell for our Entrepreneurship class. Yeah, we have to sell things for almost a month and then see if we make a profit or not from our little 'business'.

We were out almost the whole day walking around, looking for our 'sources'. We couldn't find much unfortunately. Today, I'll look in some more shops.

Hola!

My second Spanish class was today! It was fun as we had to choose our Spanish names to use in class. Too bad the Spanish version of my name was already taken by someone else! So I had to choose another one.

It was really funny to see normal-looking people with new names like Marcella, Nikolas or Nicolas, Sergio, Alfonso, etc. We only encounter these names in all those telenovela shows on TV! The Marcella that I knew on TV (was she from Mis Tres Hermanas?) was sophisticated, snobbish, stylish and everything that the new Marcella in my class was not. I don't think I'm anything like my new name either!

But it's all for fun and for the sake of learning. That way, we got to know almost everyone in class. The teacher asked us to memorize everyone's new names and then she'll randomly call out somebody to tell out almost everyone's names! So, everybody quickly looked around and asked one another their new names. Now, that's an effective icebreaker.

Today's class was short. She just gave us some basic Spanish expressions and then we were dismissed. I'm so looking forward to the next class.

Quite A Depressing Day

3rd day of school. How was it? Well, if you noticed the title of my post, then you can guess how it went. Just felt totally moody today. Maybe it's because I slept late last night - couldn't sleep cos I slept a lot in the afternoon.

This morning had a class. In this class, I didn't know anybody. So far, so good. I could just stay invisible and just listen to the lecturer. But no, she can't leave me alone. She had to ask us to get into groups. She gave us the 'opportunity' to choose our own group members. Aduh.......I was dying there.

It would be better if she chose for us, then I would not need to ask some group to take me in. Anyway, most of them already knew one another. So, this fella next to me was writing down the names of his group members and I noticed that there were only 3 names. The lecturer said we should have 4. So, I quickly asked him if I could join. He said okay. But, I was still feeling left out. They didn't even know how to pronounce my name!

Anyway, tonight's class was better. Again, we had to get into groups and the members in every group had to be of differnt gender, race, and course. So two of my friends and I had to scout around to look for 2 more members who are not Chinese, not a girl, and not from our school. In the end, we found 2 new members.

Today it's been a lot of 'group work' stuff for me. Ahh...I don't look forward to next Wednesday....

2nd day of the 2nd Semester

Yesterday and today weren't so stressful. That's because tutorial classes haven't started yet! That's why I'm still so free now. Well, tomorrow I have to wake up really early so I don't miss my first class of the day!

Today's class was okay. It wouldn't be okay if I were the girl who was sent out of the class. For good. There's this girl who signed up for my class but the lecturer said she's not allowed to take it this semester. The lecturer talked to her through the microphone so all of us heard everything. The poor girl. To be sent out of class and to be told to return the course sheet too! I won't be surprised if the girl wouldn't want to sign up for my class again. She can take my class but not this semester.

Well, I finished watching Season 1 of Roswell. That's good progress. And I'm still reading New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. Haven't reached the middle page yet.

Okay. Good night!

New Way of Taking Notes in Class

Gone are the old-fashioned way of taking notes in class, which is holding a pen and writing your notes down on paper. Now, students are taking out their cameras and snapping pictures of their notes in class.

In university, blackboards and whiteboards are rarely used. The projector and transparency screens are used most of the time now because it's quick and easy although it wastes electricity.

However, in my Tamadun Islam dan Tamadun Asia classes, some students can be seen clicking their digital cameras away. For one thing, it's quite effective because some lecturers don't give you much time to copy everything down. So, taking photos of your notes is one way to make sure that you can have everything taken down!

Effective but waste of camera battery and electricity!

Don't Wanna Sneeze! Achooo!

I've got the flu! I've got the flu!

NO, I'm certainly not happy about it, it's obvious! How did I get the flu? I have no idea. This morning, in class, while writing notes, I was busy wiping my nose away. Disgusting, yeah, but I can't help it. I had to go to class like a good girl on a Monday morning. Even though my nose was behaving like a waterfall.

Then, I got home and continued sneezing. I can't count the number of times my heart stopped to give way to my sneezes. It is terrible. I hate getting the flu.

Well, I bought Scott's Emulsion Orange Flavour and will take 3 spoonfuls a day after every meal and at the same time hoping that my flu will miraculously go away. I have more classes to attend tomorrow!

I'm still reading Holes by Louis Sachar. If I set my mind to it, I can finish it today because I'm halfway through the book. Most unfortunately, I'm busy sneezing so I don't think I'll get much reading done. And I have one more assignment to complete. Yes, only one assignment left for me. My friends have two more! But, after the assignment, it's time to get ready for my exams, which will most likely begin at the end of next month.

All right. See ya then.

Simply Irresponsible

In the university library, there are computers available for students to use to search for books. There aren't many but there are enough, I think. They should only be used for searching books in the library anyway, so going online to send and check e-mail with them is totally out of the question. There's the Internet room anyway but it's usually full, too.

However, what do students care? Somehow, they managed to log on to blogger.com and other websites with the library search computer. No wonder I see some students sit so comfortably in front of it. When I want to search for books and I want to use a computer, I get frustrated when the computers that are available are not working! I move the mouse and click, click on the screen but nothing happens. The page is totally stagnant. Somebody must have caused the computer to hang. Then, when I check on what the other computer users are doing, they don't look like they're searching for books. Some are chatting with their friends or doing something else, don't know what.

There was even a girl who sat with her legs crossed or folded or whatever on the chair! She's getting really comfortable lah. Is it going to take her that long to search for a book or two? What about other students who want to use the computer, too?

You know, they should limit one person to a computer for only 10 minutes. Yes, TEN! SEPULUH! It's enough for a student to search for a book or two right? If they can't find the book, they can always come back to the computer and search again. A student can only borrow 4 books at a time anyway. I don't think they need more than ten minutes to search.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows at only RM69.90? Unbelievable!

Today is the 21st of July. Today is the day all die-hard fans of Harry Potter are waiting for. I only managed to read yesterday's Star newspaper and was mesmerized with Carrefour's, and Tesco's advertisements on the latest Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book.

It'll only be sold at RM69.90! The retail price is RM109.90. Check out the big difference! Since I'm only writing about it now, I wonder if there are still any books left at those supermarkets! Wish I could write about it earlier so those who are unaware might have known about it.

I won't buy the book now. At the moment, my spending is more focused on textbooks for my courses. I might only buy the book many months later when the price would drop. Nah, I'm not that excited to read the book NOW. I've not even read Half-Blood Prince yet!

Anyway, guess what? There are some interesting old movies at my uni's library! Now, I can watch movies in uni, too. I don't know where the TV room is and I'm not so bothered to find out. I suspect I'll have to fight with others to watch the channels I want! I spotted the movie 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' and was eager to watch it. I asked the man in charge if I could watch another show, he said I could watch as many as I want! Now, isn't that nice??

The poor international students!

Whoa! I'm quite sick of travelling around almost everyday in uni. And my class hours are scattered throughout the day. Now, I miss my old school days where learning in classrooms only takes place from around 8 am to 1 or 2 pm, and then it's home sweet home after that. I still have lots of time for homework and studying when I come home from school.

Plus when we're in school, we don't have to travel around to get to classes unlike in university. I feel it's quite a waste of time travelling to classes. Waiting for the bus, then rushing to get on it first...and my hostel is at the other end of the world!

Yeah, yeah...I know I should not complain. I should be grateful that I'm even there in the first place. Like what some people would say, I should adapt myself to the new environment. Well, new to me anyway.

So far, classes were okay. Lecturers could speak in understandable English and sometimes, they'll teach in Bahasa Malaysia. One of my friends was not so fortunate to get a lecturer who taught in English. He taught in BM and there are INTERNATIONAL students in class who don't understand the language.

What she told me was very funny. The lecturer would teach mostly in Malay and sometimes throwing in some English words, too. Luckily, the notes on the screen are in English although the grammar is wrong!

Let's say he's talking about the environment. He asked, "Adakah kamu gunakan air untuk bathing?"

Then, "Adakah kamu gunakan air untuk cooking?"

That's his way of teaching in English, too???

If you were an international student in his class without any knowledge of Bahasa Malaysia, all you would understand is..."Blah blah blah bathing?" and "Blah blah blah cooking?"

When class was over, he would then say, "International students, untuk mengetahui masa tutorial, sila jumpa saya di bilik one-oh-one (101)."

The poor international students would then only understand 'International students', 'tutorial', and '101'!!! They would certainly get the wrong message! They would think that international students would have their tutorial classes at either room 101 or at 1.01 p.m.. Well, see how they received the message!

What in the world is the lecturer thinking??? He could at least have said this in plain English, couldn't he? You know, the stories get funnier each day.

This is what they have to go through in almost all their classes. I thought the universities were supposed to teach almost everything in English? What happened? And the course that the international students were in was not even a Bahasa Malaysia course.