Flood In My Hometown

The flood started few days ago from the boarder of Thailand to Perlis and then Kedah. Many streets and housing areas in Alor Star were flooded, ie: Taman Golf, Kampung Pisang, ‘Second Road’, the market in Teluk Wanjah…… Those areas which were first in time affected were in quite serious conditions. I heard that my ex-high school, SMJK Keat Hwa’s current Head Principle’s house was flooded too and his refrigerator was floating in his house. Many victims of the flood could not get out from the house or couldn’t go back to their house after the flood. I was so worried when I first heard the news in the midnight while chatting with a friend on MSN. I called home on the next day and I was glad that my house was safe.

Unfortunately, my house couldn’t escape from the flood. It was safe in the first two days but since yesterday, the water finally “visited” my house compound area. The water level increased very slowly and after that it entered into the living room. My parents visited to Kuala Lumpur on Friday and they were eager to know about the condition too. So we made a video call this afternoon to see the condition. But the water level was very shallow, it only flooded the first living room for a few inches. The kids in my house weren’t at home too, they’d visited to their grandmother’s house in Sungai Petani before the flood. Otherwise, it will create worries for the elders regarding their safety. The elders in my house can’t get out from the house now because the cars could not be used. Hopefully there are enough food for them and the electric power and water supply will not be cut off.

This is the first time that Kedah is in such a serious flood. Many people are homeless now until the water is ebb and we don’t know how many days we should wait. Luckily our government had supply food and water to the victims, they had sent some agents to vacate some areas and send the victims to places which safe so that they have shelter and have something to eat. There are also Kedahans who formed a recue team themselves to rescue the people. Check out from this link. 吉打你我成长地， 赈灾救济一起来

I’m currently in UKM and can’t do much to help my family, whatmore the people in my hometown. I only can rely on the government agents and also the rescue team, They are the real life heros. We are not sure that whether more areas will be affected or which state is going to be affected after Perlis and Kedah. Things that we couldn’t stop it from happening, we must stay strong and go through it together. Friends and relatives out there, whether you are studying abroad or working abroad or currently at the other state, please call home to make sure that your family are safe before it is too late. God bless you.

Tips and Tricks to face Finals

I’m already doing my third year degree now and I’m not sure how many finals I still can have. But from now on, I wish to do more than good in my future finals. It’s not too late to discuss about the tips and tricks. So I’m here to share something that I’ve learnt throughout these 8 days of my finals.

1. Study Smart

I used to study EVERYTHING that I’ve learnt in the lecturer class and seldom spot on the question which might come out in the exam. I feel more secure this way in case I left out any and it came out in the exam. But this time is totally different, we only have a few days to study before our finals, not even one week and it is impossible to cover everything topics since our time are so limited, we can’t remember everything just by reading it once!

I guess this time our lecturers understood our critical situation and took pity on us, we knew the scope to focus for most subjects. There are usually 4 questions in the paper and we are only required to answer 2 out of 4 unless stated otherwise. Thus in my case, I usually will focus on 2 main topics and I’ll make sure that I can answer on that particular questions and back up another topic. It is important to note that do not pick the topic that is very new to you and you don’t really understand what you really read. Because at the end, you’re just wasting your time and you’re losing out of time.

2. Update facebook and email from time to time.

This is a very sarcastic story. The first paper is the most hardest subject among the 7 because the scope is so wide and there are 3 lecturers who are teaching us on this subject and we are required to answer 3 questions from 3 parts. We did know what they want and can’t satisfy every single lecturer without understanding their demands. Thus, 3 days before exam I’d started to prepare for it and die hard for it.

After the paper, although I can answer the questions but I wouldn’t say that I’ve reached the objectives of that paper and I found out that there were errors in my answers. A few friends even broke down on that day because they felt bad for that paper. Only until the next 2 days, we only realized that actually others already knew what question would come out. People had been sending mails and even announced it on facebook status. I had actually received a few articles sent from my course-mate which would help us in answering and some of the questions were designed based on that articles but I ignored them. Because on that time, I just wanted to settle what I was reading.

It was undeniable a heart-broken news and it was to late to regret. So from now on, I’ve decided to click and open the documents and look at the contents before I choose whether I should rely on it, it is better than not to take the first step to open it.

It become a trend to post everything on facebook nowadays including exam tips. The top student of my batch, the so-called ‘Professor’ also posted on facebook the tips that he got and it was really accurate! That helped us a lot in out studies and also in answering. Therefore, it is suggested that while you’re studying, please check on your facebook from time to time. It won’t waste you a lot of time and it is worth doing it.

3. Share your knowledge with your friends.

Always disclose the information that you got that is related to your study. As mentioned, we have really limited time to study therefore this time, we relied on each other very much. I really want to thanks to my course-mates and friends because they disclosed everything that they’ve known instead of keeping it to themselves. It’s my luck to study together with them.

Apart from that, it is better to have a mini group discussion with your group before exam. It is better to absorb things than memorizing it alone in your room. But you must be well-prepared before you participate, otherwise the result is a negative one.

4. Maintain stable mentality

It is very important to keep yourself calm while studying. Don’t keep on thinking on the negative way  and stop worrying about the exam next day.  Just go with the flow and read in a usual way like you always did. You’ll find it easy and effective. It will be hard to focus and absorb if you got panic. So, just stay calm and try to understand the text before you start memorizing. Take some health products or chicken essence if necessary.

5. Take good care of your health

After studying for the whole day, you should award yourself and sleep early. Don’t stay up whole night and until exam in the morning because your second day will be runied by your tiredness and dizziness. You won’t be able to focus on the next subject later on. Besides, you must make sure that you don’t get sick. Take vitamin C regularly if your immune system is weak and rest you eyes and mind when you feel tired while studying.

You can always have a break and do other activities to relax your mind before you proceed to the next chapter. But make sure that you manage your time well. Spend time wisely and precisely.

6. Seek for advice when necessary

Consultation is also a factor to help you to achieve calmness and keep you away from stress. Whenever you feel stress and don’t know how to manage it, find someone, for example your best friend or a person reliable to talk about it. Don’t keep it to yourself. I’m sure that they’ll be there for you. If you feel like crying, just cry out loudly; If you feel like eating, grab some food! Just let go whatever emotion and release it. Otherwise, it will be a trauma to you.

I’m not writing any thesis or assignment. Just enjoy reading it, I hope it will be useful to you and help you to solve your pre-tension for exam. :)