MMT. Lang Buana Camp Site, Kuala Kangsar, Perak

Day 2

Boring. I'm of course referring to the traditional ice breaking we have during the first night. I don't blame the committee and it's not their fault. The participants are the ones to blame. Everything's the same 'ol boring stuff they say and those who tried their best to be funny failed miserably. Thanks to us seniors to spice things up.
Okay, moving on. Day 2 began with a heavy breakfast (so much for the 'camping' feel) and me being me, I ate a can of baked beans =)
The next agenda would be a jungle trekking session across the river. We seniors were tasked to 'torture' them juniors. We did pretty well although it was slightly cruel. What bugged us was the lack of respect from the freshmen. Their leader (which by then obviously didn't deserve being one) not only stressed us but his team as well. An immature leader is immature. Period.
Camp site's extremely hot today and the fact that hot water is pouring out from unheated pipes didn't really help.
Theatre night's tonight followed by grilled dinner and Night Walk which I'm definitely looking forward to. That's it for now. The heat is causing me to suffer from migrain. Till next time, peeps.

MMT. Lang Buana Camp Site, Kuala Kangsar, Perak.

Day 1
Let's do a short diary on what has happened today. Woke up early to pack 'cuz I'm not the type who packs the night before a trip. Things didn't go so well with the participants from my batch of students and the organizers. We got lost midway and it annoyed us, the lecturers and our freshmen juniors.
The place isn't what I expect it would be but I love being outdoors so it didn't bother me that much. But boy am I starving. What was initially planned as a three-day stock became two. I've went through an entire loaf of bread even before midnight. I should definitely learn to be conservative during jungle trips. Dinner's almost ready so that's my cue to leave. Stay tuned for updates.

**NOTE: my internet line is incredibly slow if non-existent. It's a jungle anyway so you can't expect much.

2 + 2 = SMART READING

Another day, another blog.
A few days ago a friend of mine came up with a brilliant question: How do you act smart in front of people smarter than you? The question was addressed to a lawyer during a one-day seminar last week. The answer she gave was expected. You have to read a lot. I asked the same question to my Professor and he answered the same thing but he added: You have to know the person and engage him by showing an interest in his 'field'.
Good that's settled.

So here's the thing. Today's blog will be about how to read articles smartly. I came across a great book touching on this very topic itself. It's called Why Do Positive Thinkers Win by Ken Bossone.
An interesting part of the book mentioned that 'smart' people DO NOT read newspapers and magazines. Before you start flaming me, understand that the author meant NOT reading an entire article in those printed media (is there such a term?). What they do is they'll read the first few paragraphs, skip the body and head straight for the conclusion. Intriguing, no?
I immediately sought out for a newspaper and read the front page article. instantly, I knew why.
Most articles posted online or in print begin with the main point. The first two paragraphs always contain the issue and who did it and when.
The body will either mention past events or something that doesn't give much of an impact to the article itself. Somehow it makes me wonder why the body existed in the first place. It's an unnecessary filler that will either create another problem or contradictions. What smart people like you and I should do is ignore the body and continue on to the last few paragraphs. There is an 80% chance you can guess what the body will talk about.
The topic resumes at the closer. What action has been taken? What will happen next? They're all in the conclusion. Don't believe me? Go grab a newspaper right now. Even an online article would suffice.

This can be applied to a majority of articles out there. Unless it's a scholarly article or something related to national security, I can guarantee that that'll be the case.

Thanks for reading and if you have any ideas you would like to share, feel free to comment below.

Randomousity Part 2

Ah, October is here! I'm back after a long hiatus from both blog- and vlogging. This would be my last semester here in UiTM Shah Alam and what and important semester this is. Part of me wanted to focus on my thesis paper tonight. Another says I should relax and continue playing my favourite MMORPG. The other 1/3 says I should finish all the books I bought last week. Well, screw them. I feel like writing tonight. I know, I'm THAT bored.

To be honest, I have a confession to make. During my 2 months break I had my internship/industrial training or practical training, however you want to call it. I had a blast but that's not the point. Someone I grown to like in THAT company has said I'm not how other 21 year olds are. And I accept that. I don't mind people telling me that I'm way over my head or overconfident. I KNOW I AM. Thing is, she has inadvertently challenged me to be someone else in 6 months time (when I see her next, PROBABLY). Whoever knows me will know that I'm not the type that give in to what others say about me. I like who I am eventhough it's way off the norm. But somehow what she said kept me thinking: should I continue being like this?

It's insane how people around you can influence your behaviour obliviously. One minute I'm the usual me pretending I'm the King of the World and the next I feel like an massive idiot in front of them. Last weekend I attended a module called 'Finishing School' whereby final semester students are required to attend a one-day course on what to expect once we're done with our degree (job hunting, interview etiquettes, etc). It's strange how someone with a high degree of self-esteem like me can be so nervous about something so simple such as introducing myself to others. I had this amazingly hot coordinator and we were tasked to conduct a mock-interview. While everyone was thinking on their strengths and weaknesses I was busy trying to figure out how to attract her. Everyone did the typical greetings and stuff but I opened in a different way. Compliments. Without going into too much details let's just say I got what I wanted. I wasn't aiming on hitting on her. I just needed her attention so that she remembers me. The topic she wanted didn't matter anymore. Where am I going with this? I'm way off topic, if there's even one to begin with.

Back to the task on being 'mature'. I have thrown away a lot of my past attitudes and I'm gradually developing a new me. It's not an easy task to abolish that 'happy-go-lucky' me. It was me who took up the challenge so I can't blame anyone if I fail myself. I like it that way. 6 months from now I expect a different me. The one thing that's holding me back is creativity. I lack that skill. I'm also an extremely schematic person and I love following the rules and stuff. Big task ahead of me.

Also, I've been working on a novel. Yeap, my own novel. The framework part is done so I definitely know what I'll be writing about except for the genre. Frankly, I'm thinking of doing a non-fiction story because it's real that way. I'm a big fan of fantasy books but the way my story is constructed isn't suitable for that genre. Besides, my vocabulary and language isn't that good enough to create flowery bombastic sentences. Nevertheless, I'll do my best and hopefully I'm done with it next year.

It is now 11.49pm so it's time for me to go. I have a meeting with my thesis supervisor in the morning and a good night rest is what I desperately need right now.

Till then. Cherio =)

NIC

P/s Current readings (Amazon Associate links): I Can Read You Like a Book, A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3),The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists,The Mortal Instruments