Last day of 2010

Today marks the last day of 2010. It's 10.08pm here, another 1 hour and 52 minutes will be 2011 year. Pessimist will see next year as a bad year because it signifies the near approach of 2012, but I see it as a year of new hope because my suffering is officially ended - sort of.

2010 is very, very a bad year and I really wish I could put in the past tense here, but grammatically I can't. Two hours later, grammatically, I could put the past tense, but what's the point of me writing this post then?

My class this year is a pain in the ass. And the source of the pain is a tumour that keeps growing bigger and the pain increases exponentially. Luckily the tumour will be taken out from my ass in 00:00:00 of 1 January 2011.

4S3 is by far the worst class I've been. As I've summarised earlier, this class is embarassingly childish, annoyingly uncooperative, and much to my dismay, exceptionally loathing.

Anyway, besides 4S3, the other memories I have are rather jubilant. Everything except my involvement in 4S3 and PBSM is exceedingly pleasing and enjoyable.

The good news of the year: 4 out of 5 most-hated people in 4S3 are not in my class next year. The other one I could endure for the last year. My condolences for the classes they'll be in next year.


Farewell 2010 and happy 2011!

Sick

I was sick yesterday and I suffered pretty badly. I suffered from fever and tympanites (at least I thought it is, in Chinese we call it 胃风) and due to the gas I had no appetite to eat or move. I slept for more than 18 hours a day and now I am recovering, albeit slowly.

And thanks to the gas in my body I lost 2kg in one day.

I hope I can recover first, suffering from this disease - and this is not the first time I have this condition - is really painful.

Merry Christmas!

It's December 25 today! I'm not a Christian so I do not know (shamefully) the story behind Christmas, but I wish all Christians and non-Christians Merry Christmas! Let's celebrate the day together!

What's Wrong with Eating Meat?

This book is published by CAP and it's kind of hard to find it in bookstore nowadays and I do not have a slightest idea why. I bought this from Queensbay Mall and decided to share a few points with you. If you want to read more, please kindly search for this book in Popular Bookstores.

How necessary is meat protein?

The human body does not need a lot of protein because it recycles about 70% of what it has. When old cells die, most of the protein is reused. Only small amounts are lost through the stools, urine, hair, skin and perspiration.

But those who do hard, physical work; and pregnant and lactating woman will need more - but only slightly more, not double or triple the usual intake. Babies and growing children also need more protein - but only more in proportion to their body weight.

In fact, some people actually need less protein that others. Recent studies suggest that vegetarians need less protein that meat-eaters. Yet vegetarians are healthier. Where do they get their protein from?

Practically all foods contain at least tiny amounts of protein. There is protein in rice and other grains, in vegetables and even fruit. Although the tiny amounts may not be enough, if you eat beans and bean products like tempeh, lentils, seeds and nuts (these foods actually contain more protein than meat), you can easily meet your daily requirement for protein.

But doesn't meat (and its muscle-building protein) make us strong? Think about the strongest animals - elephants, horses, oxen, gorillas. What do they eat? Not meat, but grass, grains, fruits, seeds and nuts.

Endurance test with atheletes confirm that a vegetarian diet improves their performance.


FIVE MAIN REASONS WHY WE SHOULD EAT LESS MEAT


1. Full of Chemicals
Eating meat has often been called "eating on top of the food chain". In nature there is a long chain of eaters: plants "eat" sunlight, air and water; animals eat smaller animals.

Now all over the world, fields are being treated with poisonous chemicals (fertilisers and pesticides.) These poisons are retained in the bodies of the animals that eat the plants and grasses.

For instance, fields were sprayed with the insect-killing chemical DDT, a very powerful poison which scientists say can cause cancer, sterilty and serious liver disease. Most countries have now banned this pesticide which is highly persistent in the environment.

DDT and pesticides like it are retained in animal (as well as fish) fat and, once stored, are difficult to break down. Thus, as cows eat grass or feed, whatever pesticides they are retained, so that when you eat meat, you are taking into your body all the concentration of DDT and other chemicals that have accumulated during the animal's lifetime.

Eating at the "top" of the food chain, humans become the final consumer and thus the recipient of the highest concentration of poisonous pesticides. In fact, meat contains 13 times as much DDT as vegetables, fruits and grass.

The lowa State University once performed experiments which showed that most of the DDT in human bodes come from meat.


2. Full of Diseases
The poisoning of the meat does not stop here. Meat animals are treated with many more chemicals to increase their growth, fatten them quickly, improve their meat colour, etc.

In order to produce the most heat at the highest profit, animals are force-fed, injected with hormones to stimulate growth, given appetite stimulants, antibiotics, sedatives and chemical-feed mixtures.

Many of these have been found to be cancer-causing chemicals, and, in fact, many animals die of these drugs even before they are led to slaughter.

As farms have evolved into animal factories, many animals never see the light of the day - their lives are spent in cramped and cruel surroundings (they never get exercise or fresh air).

Such unnatural practices not only unbalance the body chemistry of the chickens and destroy their natural habits, but unfortunately, also result in the growth of malignant tumours and other malformations.

In the US, where 70% of cattle are given antibiotics, even with large-scale usage of antibiotics to suppress disease, the US Department of Agriculture records state that millions of pounds of meat that came from animals contain tumours.

Transferred to Meat-Eaters
The tumours and growths may go undetected or simply ignored by the meat producers or inspectors. Often, if an animal has cancer or a tumour in a certain part of its body, the cancerous part will be cut away and the rest of the body sold as meat.

Worse, the tumours themselves will be incorporated into mixed meats such as hot dogs and labelled "parts". In one area of America, where there is routine inspection of slaughtered animals, 25,000 cattle with eye cancers were sold as beefs!

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Scientists have found experimentally that if the liver of a diseased animal is fed to fish, the fish will get cancer.


3. Full of Animal's Body Toxins
Just before and during the agony of being slaughtered, the biochemistry of the terrified animal undergoes profound changes. Toxic by-products are forced throughout the body, thus poisoning the entire carcass.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, body poisons, including uric acid and other toxic wastes, are present in the blood and tissue.

"Protein obtained from nuts, pulses (lentils, peas, etc), grains and dairy products is said to be relatively pure compared with beef which has a 56% impure water content."

Just as our bodies become ill during times of intense rage of fear, animals, no less than humans, undergo profound biochemical changes in dangerous situations.

The hormone level in the animals' blood - especially the hormone adrenaline (epinephrine) - changes radically as they see other animals dying around them and they struggle futilely for life and freedom.

These large amounts of hormones remain in the meat and later poison the human tissue. According to the Nutrition Institute of America, "The flesh of an animal carcass is loaded with toxic blood and other waste by-products."

4. Full of Decay
Raw meat is always in a state of decay. As soon as an animal is killed, denatured substances, called ptomaines, are formed. These ptomaines that are released immediately after death give animal flesh, fish, and eggs a common property - extremely rapid decomposition and putrefaction.

Meat passes very slowly through the human digestive system, which is not designed to digest it. It takes meat about 5 days to pass out of the body (as opposed to vegetarian food, which takes only 1 and a half days).

During this time, the disease-causing products of decaying meat are in constant contact with the digestive organs. The habit of eating animal flesh in its characteristics state of decomposition creates a poisonous state in the colon and wears out the intestinal tract prematurely.


5. Full of Bacteria
E Coli 0157, a strain of life-threatening bacteria that can cause bloody diarrhoea and dehydration, is naturally present in the intestines of cattle. During or around the processing time, faecal matter can come into contact with the beef and contaminate it. It gets packaged anyway and gets shipped to your supermarket.

In the US for example, ground beef products have been found to be contaminated with this bacteria. In May last year, some 1.1 million pounds of ground beef that caused 22 illnesses in Minnesota, and the potential for more illness in 14 other states, we recalled.

The products were believed to have been contaminated with E Coli 0157:H7. According to the US National Centers for Disease Control in a May 2001 report, both E Coli and Salmonella combine to sicken at least 113,000 people annually.

The very young and elderly, along with those who have compromised immune system, are considered most susceptible to E Coli-related illnesses.

Cooked meats, even if well done, dangerous too

Meats that are barbecued or cooked at high temperatures create the following 2 types of chemicals that may increase your risk of breast, stomach and colorectal cancers:

1. HCAs (heterocyclic amines) are created by cooking meat at high temperatures. Barbecuing, like broiling and pan-frying, produces more HCAs than cooking at cooler temperature does.(Baking and roasting require less heat.) HCAs are also produced in meat that have been cooked until they are well done.

2. PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) are deposited on your food by the smoke and flame created by fat dripping onto hot barbecue coals.




Want to read more? Buy the book! Who knows? You might be a vegetarian - or vegan -the next day. I won't be a vegetarian or vegan, I'll simply eat less meat. Trust me, the book is worth the money (RM2.50 for lifetime health).

The Lost Symbol

I've finished this book a few days ago, but my hands were tied to something else so I didn't get the chance to write this. Here's my review: This book is simply 'unputdownable' and mesmerising. The mysteries are constructed in a way it'll keep you wanting to read more. Well constructed and wisely written, this book is probably The Book of The Year in my world. The only complaint I've is Mal'akh's identity is very predictable, and hence become anti-climatic. Nevertheless, this book marks its territory on my 'Book of Year'. The great mystery (or treasure) is not surprising, but a little bit of a let down. I know it wouldn't be anything huge or valuable, I just didn't thought it'll be this simple......

Well, if you love the book, read it. I highly recommend it.

And I got my Hepatitis B injection today. I received passive immunity through an injection. The procedure was exceptionally fast and I didn't even get a chance to look at the syringe. Well, I guess I'll have a second chance few years later.

High Blood Pressure!?

My mother bought a blood pressure monitor to determine her blood pressure. Aging people must monitor their blood pressure to detect any early onset of debilitating disease which aging people are prone to. Therefore, my mother is not only neurotic, she's solicitous and most frequently annoying.

But let's talk about the blood pressure monitor. My father is within average range, while my mother's is teetering at the line between high and average. Anyway, I tested mine too. I told my father the result would not be accurate because I just drank a cup of coffee which contains caffein, as infamous drug that increases the heartbeat and blood pressure. Nonetheless, he insisted me to do the test and I obliged, and my result: 135/77. Normal blood pressure is 100-140.

It's high, but good, you know why? With the amount of caffein in my body and my adrenaline-filled blood (I know because my hands were sweating, a lot), my blood pressure was still in normal range. If I didn't take the coffee and I wasn't nervous, my blood pressure would have dropped quite a number. Anyway, the conclusion is - I'm healthy, or at least for now. haha

Blood Test

My mum brought me to Pathlab to do a blood test. My father is a Hepatitis B carrier, but not a sufferer. A carrier does not manifest any symptoms but a sufferer does. Therefore, my mum brought me to test for Hepatitis B antibodies in my blood. If my blood does not have the antibodies needed to fight the infection, I'll need an injection, or passive immunity, to ensure I will not be infected. And I saw my blood gushing into the syringe. It look awesome! And no, I'm not a masochist. Results will be out two days later! I hope the antibodies are still present. Pray!

Another trip

This time I'm summarising what I'm going to write.
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Our priority was Botanical Garden International Flower Feast, but a cruel downpour ruined our plan, forcing us to go to Queensbay Mall to kill the time.

While we were there, I had a wonderful lunch - we dined at The Chicken Rice Shop and I specifically ordered the new menu 'The Grilled Butter Chicken' (picture above). Yes, it's fattening, and sad to say it tasted ordinary. Nothing outstanding. Give it a try if you want, you wouldn't lose anything but you also won't gain anything.

Then I went to Popular and bought four books published by CAP - which, the details I'll discuss later.

And I met someone. He isn't my friend, but seeing him in school for four years kind of made me hard to miss him. He's my friend's friend, a scout, TAK, with his family I assumed. I should have acknowledged him, made me looked more friendly!

And while I was at Borders, this naive little girl whose height was few centimetres above my knees came grabbing my legs and assumed me as her daddy. Another awkward situation. I was stunned (again and annoyingly) and her mother were flabbergasted and trying to coax her to let me go. I know I looked old for my age, but I'm not old to be a father, yet.

And MEIKO company is promoting their products. They are - I assume - inveterate liars, or at least good liars who try to con people into buying their products. Their lies are deceiving, and good, and my mother nearly bought their lies. I'm not saying what they said are utter lies, but not all of them are the truth. Even my sister who studies Biomedical Science - who makes her more conversant with blood tests and blood components, albeit not as good as doctors - didn't buy their claims. And I didn't, too. If you are concerned about your health, please consult a doctor. They are definitely more annoying, but 100% more reliable.

Embarrassed

It's very awkward. This afternoon, while I was on my way to my mother's car, someone yelled my name and waved to me repeatedly from a car. I was stunned, and I stood there stock-still. I tried to get a good look of his face (voice was a he) but to no avail. Therefore, I gave him an awkward smile, and I was pretty sure my eyes were radiating my surprise. I have no clue who that is, he looked so eager and ebullient! I'm very sorry to that guy and I really hope I know who that person is........It's so embarrassing! Please accept my sincere apologies for the rudeness (albeit unintentionally) and please don't mind my indifference at the moment. I was really, really floored and my mind went completely blank..........

It's Called Stupid, Not Love!

If you haven't read this, read this:
http://www.kwongwah.com.my/news/2010/12/10/1.html



I'm sure most of you have read the newspaper, especially Kwongwah. The death of the 22 year-old clearly shocked the world. He commited suicide after his girlfriend ditched him, and before he died he were doing his countdown on facebook, and despite all those efforts trying to preclude him from commiting suicide, he did it anyway.

I went to his facebook page and took a look. Many people felt sad that he died because he broke up, saying the girlfriend made a mistake. Many people were touched by his act, saying his love to his girlfriend is touching and great. But I'm glad to know majority said he is stupid!

You know what I feel? Nothing except anger! I don't feel sad or touched, but anger!

It's just a break up! It's not the end of your life! So she ditched you, so what? That signed the contract of your death? Thousands of people got ditched everyday and why did you have to resort to this? It relieved your pain? Your world only had love?

What about your parents who loved you? What about your friends who grew up with you, who couldn't imagine how much fun you guys had enjoyed together? You felt sad you got ditched, so you thought you should share your pain with others?

This is not love, this is called stupidity! Your girlfriend broke up with you, you could try to get her back into your life. She just ditched you, you needed time to get her back, you needed to persuade her. It could take up to months and instead of trying, you commited suicide?

People who said this act is 'touching' and saying he is faithful to love are obviously teenagers who knew nothing about love and strongly influenced by television dramas and novels. She ditched you, you became sad. You commited suicide, everyone you knew got sad. It's so 'nice' of you. Police had to investigate, doctors had to deal with your parents when he delivered the bad news.

Ya your act is brave, but in another way of what people are saying.

Teenagers now need to stop being influenced by television dramas and novels. All those puppy loves and infatuation need to be eradicated! Or at least, suppress them from showing out.

You were stupid to commit suicide. I'm 90% sure if the doctor saved you and you woke up few days later, you would regret what you did and decide to move on with your life.

Act on hormonal rush is always stupid. People like you don't deserve sympathy at all!

And since you had done it, just rest in peace. There's not turning back now. Just rest. The only thing I'm afraid now is you can't find your own peace because you did a stupid thing. I hope you can rest in peace, but I hope you can find peace in whatever place you are in now.

And yes, I'm a teenager, and I'm clearly not influenced by any fictions or love stories. Sad to know people are acting that way.

Too much coffee?

Have you been drinking too much coffee? I don't know about me. I have been taking a cup of coffee a day (almost everyday) and I've surfed the internet to find out if it's good for me. Turns out a cup of coffee is considered moderate, and the myths that says teenagers who drink coffee will have retarded growth has been proven false by researchers. Teenagers and children filter caffein the way adults do. So I guess I'm healthy.

Do you know how many cups of coffee one has to consume to get caffein overdose? 100 cups! So trying to die from caffein overdose by downing coffee will be exceptionally challenging since nobody can drink 100 cups of coffee a day. Kidneys will be bloated with water and I think one will die of too much water before he/she dies of caffein overdose! Haha!

Trip to Penang

As I had mentioned earlier, and I'm going to mention it again, I feel bored and listless to be stuck at home, so I'll grab any opportunities to go out of my house, and I don't care where the destination is. Let it be Penang, Kedah or Singapore...I don't really care where.

Last Friday, my mother benevolently suggested to bring me for a tour in Penang island, and I was literally swoon! I perked up when my mother threw this news to me, and I was literally exuberant after receiving it.

So this was our plan: we went to Penang with our sister who was going to Gleneagles Medical Centre to complete her industrial training (7.30am) and then we would go to Kek Lok Si temple and where I wanted to go. I was astir upon 6.45am to get myself dressed and ready and we started our journey on 7.30am. The traffic in Penang was horrifying! Most people know 7.00-8.00am is the time where industrial places will be choked with cars with cacophony of honks lingering in the air, refusing to leave until all cars successfully arrive their destination. And should I say the drivers now are extremely impatient? They will do whatever they can do squeeze (another literal meaning) their cars in any tiny spaces available. Horrible! But still better than Bangkok and especially China. Stuck in traffic for 9 days? Worse than nightmare!

After we dropped my sister at the hospital, my mother and I decided to have breakfast. While going to eat we passed by my aunty's place (my mum's sister) and realised she was already awake. My aunt recently went under the knife to have her thyroid glands removed due to severe infection, and after that she had become neurotic about her life and my mum, who is both neurotic and solicitous, stopped by and showed her concern to my aunt.

My aunt's husband is a doctor. He was a doctor working in a hospital but he left and opened his own clinic. While he tried to explain what happened to my aunt, he was engaged and kept on dragging until he finally grew tired. I knew my mum was getting annoyed because she was ignorant to the world of science, but I was totally spellbound by the medical jargons he mentioned. After my aunt had her thyroid glands removed, she had to take hormones orally. Then they all talked about their lives and hence, the delay of my breakfast.

Around 9.30am my mother finally brought me to eat, after she told my aunt she was probably going to drop by later. After we withdrew from her place, my mother began to lecture about lives and all that gobbledygook. She always assumes I know nothing about lives, and that really annoys me.

After breakfast, we went to Kek Lok Si temple. At first the place looked deserted to me, then after that I saw beggars loitering around. I didn't give them any money, and I don't show them any sympathy. They are all physically healthy, and none of them is maimed. If they wanted money they should get a job. There are thousands of jobs out there for them, and they choose to do the easiest but the worst one - begging at the public! Shame on them!

Initially I saw many foreigners, but then people of other races began to trickle in later. I'm not really interested in the teaching of religion. I do believe in God, I believe in spirits and I believe in afterlife (in my heart of hearts), but I do not believe our lives are depended on God! I believe we choose the ways we live, and we choose the decision we made. And I certainly do not believe that when God wants us dead, we'll leave. And I don't believe God is just, because there are good people our there suffering and agonising in pain, and evil masterminds are still out there manipulating the world with their evil doings. If God is just, please explain this phenomena to me.

But I respect God. I just don't think He (or She) is always right. Kek Lok Si temple wasn't particularly interesting, but not horribly boring. The only thing that kept me occupied was me feeding the tortoise. I wondered how long the tortoise were there. 100 years? I don't know how long, but I do know they looked more bored than I did. And before we left Kek Lok Si I bought a very nice shirt. I love it very much! After a few bargain the price was lower from RM25 to RM15. Haha.

After that we went back to my aunt's place and conversation there weren't irrelevant. If I write the conversations down this post will be too long.

My lunch was sushi. We went to Sakae Sushi at Queensbay Mall and had our lunch, and of course, the meal was expensive, but had not exceeded RM100. Then we just went window shopping. We couldn't pay a sen for anything there because everything there was beyond our standard. We just couldn't pay RM10++ for a scoop of ice-cream or RM100++ for a school bag.

I bought Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. I had wanted to buy this book a long time ago but due to the unbelievable price (RM99), I forewent that decision when the book first hit the market. But since the price had plummeted to RM32.90, I decided to buy it and finish the novel during the holiday. Hopefully I can finish it in time because next year will be very hectic.

After that, we went to fetch my sister and we went home. The traffic in Penang was - as I stated earlier - frightening.

Hopefully I'll have this trip again soon.