Has it really been that long? I almost forgot I had a blog until just now. So here I am trying to get back on track.
So whats new? I've got a job that pays the bills now.. phew.... where? BFM 89.9. Whats that you say? Well, it stands for Business FM. It's a relatively new radio station in Malaysia, just turned one year old actually. The content is great, definately always something to learn from those really interesting interviews, and the news bulletins....dont get me started on those...they are absolutely fantastic!!! I happen to write them! :)
For me it stands for Basic Fight Manouvers! Why? Well, getting a job was a necessity at the time, and still is mind you. What does it stand for you? Here's some of the things people have come up with:
Bagi Free Minyak
Break Fasting Malaysian
Bribe Free Malaysian
Business For Money
Basically Fabulous Me
BMW Ferarri Maserati
Big Funky Mama
Being Fabulous Matters
Can you think of any?
Friday, September 11, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
SMS, email or a nice greeting card? Which one would you like to receive?
I don't know about you but I feel lucky to be living in Malaysia! I love this country, it's my home. Why? Well, there are a lot of reasons but the one that I'm gonna touch on today is the cultural diversity. Where else in the world do you get to experience so many different festivities, practically all year around? We've got Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Thaipusam, not to mention the commercial ones like Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Teachers Day!
I can remember a time not too long ago when every festive celebration I'd make a greeting card list of friends and family, then I'd go out and buy a whole bunch of cards to send out. I'd write a personal message in each card depending on who its intended for, usually some silly joke ended with a festive wish. Nowadays, people have gotten lazy, all they do is pull out their mobiles, compose a generic message (maybe even one they used and saved from the year before) and send to many! Easy peesy...two shakes of a lambs tail! Its gotten so bad, you can hardly even find a good selection of cards in the shops. It's a shame really because once your inbox reaches max, you'll probably delete all those well wishing messages you received for your birthday or hari raya or whatever the occasion was. You'll never be able to take a walk down memory lane as you look at all the cards you received over the years because they wont be there!
Coming back to the question sms, email or greeting card...Here's my top 3:
1) Greeting Card - because to receive a personally written card or letter means so much more!
2) E-Card - semi permanent, you could probably go through your old emails and read them through or maybe even print them out but you'll probably lose them in an unfortunate computer crashing incident before you even get around to it.
3) SMS - Least permanent form, its too easy to delete.Each card would be written
Having said that, I'd be sad if I didn't get any SMS or email wishes at hari raya or on my birthday or any other important event cause it still means that people are thinking of you and that they care. I just think that people should take the time to cherish things more and put in a little extra effort by adding that personal touch, don't you? So guys, whenever you have the time, give it your personal touch...put a pen to paper.
I can remember a time not too long ago when every festive celebration I'd make a greeting card list of friends and family, then I'd go out and buy a whole bunch of cards to send out. I'd write a personal message in each card depending on who its intended for, usually some silly joke ended with a festive wish. Nowadays, people have gotten lazy, all they do is pull out their mobiles, compose a generic message (maybe even one they used and saved from the year before) and send to many! Easy peesy...two shakes of a lambs tail! Its gotten so bad, you can hardly even find a good selection of cards in the shops. It's a shame really because once your inbox reaches max, you'll probably delete all those well wishing messages you received for your birthday or hari raya or whatever the occasion was. You'll never be able to take a walk down memory lane as you look at all the cards you received over the years because they wont be there!
Coming back to the question sms, email or greeting card...Here's my top 3:
1) Greeting Card - because to receive a personally written card or letter means so much more!
2) E-Card - semi permanent, you could probably go through your old emails and read them through or maybe even print them out but you'll probably lose them in an unfortunate computer crashing incident before you even get around to it.
3) SMS - Least permanent form, its too easy to delete.Each card would be written
Having said that, I'd be sad if I didn't get any SMS or email wishes at hari raya or on my birthday or any other important event cause it still means that people are thinking of you and that they care. I just think that people should take the time to cherish things more and put in a little extra effort by adding that personal touch, don't you? So guys, whenever you have the time, give it your personal touch...put a pen to paper.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Plastic bags and the environment
I think that the time has come for all of us to start making a conscious effort to help sustain the environment. We really can't afford to take things for granted anymore! Just look at the climate changes we are hearing about in the news more and more often. All of this is mainly caused by global warming which is, in turn a result of human activities.
There are many things that we can do to help preserve and protect the environment such as recycling, reducing the use of electricity, reducing wastage and even reducing the use of plastic bags. All we need to do is consciously make a few small minor changes to our lifestyles, simple things like remembering to turn off electrical appliances when they're not being used, separating your plastic bottles and tins and even saying no to plastic bags at the check out counter.
Saying NO to plastic bags and carrying your own re-usable shopping bag is a relatively new concept in Malaysia. Over the past year, Malaysian supermarkets and department stores like Cold Storage and Jaya Jusco have begun campaigning against the use of plastic bags. In fact, nowadays, a lot of retailers have jumped on the bandwagon and started selling their own re-usable shopping bags, probably as a marketing tactic but nevertheless one with a good cause.
In some European countries, retailers are now charging a small fee for plastic bags when customers don't bring their own. I believe that one day in the near future this will also be the case in Malaysia. Its funny because according to stories told by my mum, way back in the day before plastic bags were introduced people used to bring their own bags to the grocery stores. Then when they first introduced the plastic bags, you were required to pay a small fee for the plastics bags until todays practise where plastic bags are given freely. I guess we're going back to square one only this time for different reasons, the environment, our home, earth.
You may be wondering what is the big deal about plastic bags, why are they so bad for the environment? Well, I did some searching online and here are some environmental facts about plastic bags:
a) Every year hundreds and thousands of animals die from mistakenly eating plastic bags, which they thought was food. These animals include sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals as humans negligently discard plastic bags in the sea or along beaches.
b) Most plastic bags are not biodegradable - it takes months or hundreds of years for a single plastic bag to breakdown or disintegrate, and as they decompose tiny toxic bits seep into our soils, lakes, rivers and oceans.
c) Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups!
Empower yourself to make a change! Everytime you make a conscious effort to use your own shopping bag instead of accepting a plastic bag at the cash counter - you are potentially eliminating hundreds, if not thousands of plastic bags over the lifetime of your shopping bag!
There are many things that we can do to help preserve and protect the environment such as recycling, reducing the use of electricity, reducing wastage and even reducing the use of plastic bags. All we need to do is consciously make a few small minor changes to our lifestyles, simple things like remembering to turn off electrical appliances when they're not being used, separating your plastic bottles and tins and even saying no to plastic bags at the check out counter.
Saying NO to plastic bags and carrying your own re-usable shopping bag is a relatively new concept in Malaysia. Over the past year, Malaysian supermarkets and department stores like Cold Storage and Jaya Jusco have begun campaigning against the use of plastic bags. In fact, nowadays, a lot of retailers have jumped on the bandwagon and started selling their own re-usable shopping bags, probably as a marketing tactic but nevertheless one with a good cause.
In some European countries, retailers are now charging a small fee for plastic bags when customers don't bring their own. I believe that one day in the near future this will also be the case in Malaysia. Its funny because according to stories told by my mum, way back in the day before plastic bags were introduced people used to bring their own bags to the grocery stores. Then when they first introduced the plastic bags, you were required to pay a small fee for the plastics bags until todays practise where plastic bags are given freely. I guess we're going back to square one only this time for different reasons, the environment, our home, earth.
You may be wondering what is the big deal about plastic bags, why are they so bad for the environment? Well, I did some searching online and here are some environmental facts about plastic bags:
a) Every year hundreds and thousands of animals die from mistakenly eating plastic bags, which they thought was food. These animals include sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals as humans negligently discard plastic bags in the sea or along beaches.
b) Most plastic bags are not biodegradable - it takes months or hundreds of years for a single plastic bag to breakdown or disintegrate, and as they decompose tiny toxic bits seep into our soils, lakes, rivers and oceans.
c) Plastic bags are among the 12 items of debris most often found in coastal cleanups!
Empower yourself to make a change! Everytime you make a conscious effort to use your own shopping bag instead of accepting a plastic bag at the cash counter - you are potentially eliminating hundreds, if not thousands of plastic bags over the lifetime of your shopping bag!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Kissing when greeting!
When you meet someone, a friend, an acquaintance or are introduced to someone for the first time...what do you do? Do you immediately execute the cheek kissing thing or a simple hand shake or in some cases just smile? How do you know which greeting to execute in what situation? It can be pretty confusing sometimes, especially with the cheek kissing greeting. Here's what I do when facing different social occassions.
1) Take into account who it is you are meeting or greeting. The rule of thumb here would be the age, social and how well you know the person. If you are greeting a female of substantial age, it's usually ok to do the cheek kissing thing (if you're a guy reading this, don't!) or a respectful salam or hand shake. If you're greeting a male of substantial age, normally a hand shake would do, but even then in some cases even this is not acceptable. You know, lelaki dan perempuan haram bersentuhan. In these circumstances I usually wait for an indiction, if the man offers his hand then yes I would salam but if not then no. Its really kind of an awkward situation to be in after all we're only trying to be polite.
2) Kissing when greeting - once, twice or three times? Yes, another confusing thing. So you've determined that the cheek kissing greeting is the way to go, but how many? In my experience some people practice two times and some three times. I've actually been in a situation where you offer two cheeks but find the other person is going in for the third...that can be awkward. I usually just laugh and make a joke out of never knowing if its two or three times, that normally works to defuse the awkwardness.
ok malas nak tulis lagi...hehehehhehe :)
1) Take into account who it is you are meeting or greeting. The rule of thumb here would be the age, social and how well you know the person. If you are greeting a female of substantial age, it's usually ok to do the cheek kissing thing (if you're a guy reading this, don't!) or a respectful salam or hand shake. If you're greeting a male of substantial age, normally a hand shake would do, but even then in some cases even this is not acceptable. You know, lelaki dan perempuan haram bersentuhan. In these circumstances I usually wait for an indiction, if the man offers his hand then yes I would salam but if not then no. Its really kind of an awkward situation to be in after all we're only trying to be polite.
2) Kissing when greeting - once, twice or three times? Yes, another confusing thing. So you've determined that the cheek kissing greeting is the way to go, but how many? In my experience some people practice two times and some three times. I've actually been in a situation where you offer two cheeks but find the other person is going in for the third...that can be awkward. I usually just laugh and make a joke out of never knowing if its two or three times, that normally works to defuse the awkwardness.
ok malas nak tulis lagi...hehehehhehe :)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
The scary truths you're children may tell you one day....
Today I was reading an article in the paper which makes you wonder what kind of world we're bringing up our children in. Anyway, in this article, a mother wrote that she was shocked by a story her 13 year old daughter told her. The daughter had apparently went to a party, where she came across a friend (also 13) performing oral sex on a boy who was recording the act on his mobile! I found this to be extremely disturbing, scary and shocking.
As a mother (I have a boy aged 6 and hope to one day have a girl) I find myself wondering how am I ever going to protect my children from all these dangers. I would not want anything like this to happen to any of my kids and I certainly would not want any of my kids to even dream of doing such things. Number one, the issue of performing oral sex at the age of 13, a mere child. Do they even know what they're doing? My niece is 10 this year, just 3 years short of 13. Is this the kind of behaviour she is going to be exposed to?
Number two, the fact that the incident is being recorded on a mobile phone. This boy probably has every intention of bragging about his little conquest to all his friends, he'll probably even upload it onto the internet for all to see. The act then is immortalised, it doesn't become a whispered story that is forgotten after a while. It can be passed on like lighting jumping from one email inbox to another.
So as parents, what can we do to protect our children from these dangers? And don't think its just the girls that we have to protect either. Nowadays things can happen to boys too. We can't lock them up and shield them from the world altogether because one day they are going to be out there on their own and they will need to know how to take care of themselves. To a certain extent they need to be exposed to the dangers. I think the best thing we can do is to tell them about things, talk to them about the dangers of sex, drugs or whatever it may be. Answer their questions openly and honestly, most importantly be their friend, take an interest in their lives, be accessible and be around for them. Do your best and hope for the best.
As a mother (I have a boy aged 6 and hope to one day have a girl) I find myself wondering how am I ever going to protect my children from all these dangers. I would not want anything like this to happen to any of my kids and I certainly would not want any of my kids to even dream of doing such things. Number one, the issue of performing oral sex at the age of 13, a mere child. Do they even know what they're doing? My niece is 10 this year, just 3 years short of 13. Is this the kind of behaviour she is going to be exposed to?
Number two, the fact that the incident is being recorded on a mobile phone. This boy probably has every intention of bragging about his little conquest to all his friends, he'll probably even upload it onto the internet for all to see. The act then is immortalised, it doesn't become a whispered story that is forgotten after a while. It can be passed on like lighting jumping from one email inbox to another.
So as parents, what can we do to protect our children from these dangers? And don't think its just the girls that we have to protect either. Nowadays things can happen to boys too. We can't lock them up and shield them from the world altogether because one day they are going to be out there on their own and they will need to know how to take care of themselves. To a certain extent they need to be exposed to the dangers. I think the best thing we can do is to tell them about things, talk to them about the dangers of sex, drugs or whatever it may be. Answer their questions openly and honestly, most importantly be their friend, take an interest in their lives, be accessible and be around for them. Do your best and hope for the best.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Most Embarassing Moments...
Embarassing moments are when incidences happen that are beyond our control that cause us to wish we were invisible or that the earth would suddenly swallow us alive....!!! I have a natural reaction when it comes to embarassing moments and that is uncontrollable laughter, which can actually add to the overall embarassment especially when you're alone. Here are some of mine....
The one where I fell down
This took place while I was in uni. I was staying in a place called Bangi, which is about 30-45 minutes drive from KL, home. Being a typical student with no washing facilities at the hostel apart from my bare hands, I would haul a big heavy bag of dirty washing home at the weekends. Now, I didn't have my own car at the time so I would have to hop on a crowded bus from Kajang to Pudu, and then walk some distance to another bus station to get another bus home. Imagine doing that while carrying a huge bag of dirty clothes....not easy especially when there are crowds of people. So there I was (white chic wearing platforms lugging an enormous bag) wrestling my way onto the bus...of course I had to stand...the bus was packed like sardines. Now just as I was trying to settle my bag on the floor between my legs, the bus suddenly jerked into motion....I didn't have time to grab a hold of one of the handle bars and before I knew it I found myself falling face down on the floor of the bus in front of all those people. The weirdest part was although the whole incident happened in a matter of a few seconds, to me it was like everything was suddenly in slow motion. I can remember frantically looking for something to grab onto but all I could see was the back of a guys head go past as I was falling....I even thought "Eh, I can't grab a hold of his head, I might bash it into the seat in front of him." As I was picking myself up, red faced and giggling with embarassment, I could hear people say "Eh, Mat Salleh tu jatuh" some even laughed out loud! Aiyo, drop my waterface I tell you!!!! But I couldn't stop giggling myself....even when the moment had past, I found myself giggling over it and that too was embarassing...macam orang gila ketawa sorang-sorang...!!
The one where I lost something without realising it!!
Ok this one happened during orientation week at uni. For one week during orientation, we were required to wear a tudung and a special uniform. I don't have very much experience wearing a tudung (head scarf), in fact I didn't even have a proper one. I had a white satin scarf (shiny and slippery) that my mum had given me for orientation week. I didn't own a sekop, so I used the little square cloth (which is basically like a small handkerchief, trust me you wouldn't be wearing this on its own in public) that comes with a telekung to hold my hair underneath the scarf. We had to gather in the dewan at a certain time for yet another orientation program! I was late...everyone was already in the dewan. As I rushed in everyone turned and stared at me and then they all started laughing and giggling. I didn't know why at first but it didn't take me long to realise that the slippery white satin scarf had slipped off my head leaving me with that funny looking handkerchief thingy sitting perkily on my head. I was later described as "macam anak toyol masuk dewan". I was so embarassed, dah lah I didn't know anyone and I kinda stuck out like a sore thumb...
Ok well, I can't think of anymore at the moment and I think its time to hit the sack. Do feel free to tell me about your embarassing moments....!!
The one where I fell down
This took place while I was in uni. I was staying in a place called Bangi, which is about 30-45 minutes drive from KL, home. Being a typical student with no washing facilities at the hostel apart from my bare hands, I would haul a big heavy bag of dirty washing home at the weekends. Now, I didn't have my own car at the time so I would have to hop on a crowded bus from Kajang to Pudu, and then walk some distance to another bus station to get another bus home. Imagine doing that while carrying a huge bag of dirty clothes....not easy especially when there are crowds of people. So there I was (white chic wearing platforms lugging an enormous bag) wrestling my way onto the bus...of course I had to stand...the bus was packed like sardines. Now just as I was trying to settle my bag on the floor between my legs, the bus suddenly jerked into motion....I didn't have time to grab a hold of one of the handle bars and before I knew it I found myself falling face down on the floor of the bus in front of all those people. The weirdest part was although the whole incident happened in a matter of a few seconds, to me it was like everything was suddenly in slow motion. I can remember frantically looking for something to grab onto but all I could see was the back of a guys head go past as I was falling....I even thought "Eh, I can't grab a hold of his head, I might bash it into the seat in front of him." As I was picking myself up, red faced and giggling with embarassment, I could hear people say "Eh, Mat Salleh tu jatuh" some even laughed out loud! Aiyo, drop my waterface I tell you!!!! But I couldn't stop giggling myself....even when the moment had past, I found myself giggling over it and that too was embarassing...macam orang gila ketawa sorang-sorang...!!
The one where I lost something without realising it!!
Ok this one happened during orientation week at uni. For one week during orientation, we were required to wear a tudung and a special uniform. I don't have very much experience wearing a tudung (head scarf), in fact I didn't even have a proper one. I had a white satin scarf (shiny and slippery) that my mum had given me for orientation week. I didn't own a sekop, so I used the little square cloth (which is basically like a small handkerchief, trust me you wouldn't be wearing this on its own in public) that comes with a telekung to hold my hair underneath the scarf. We had to gather in the dewan at a certain time for yet another orientation program! I was late...everyone was already in the dewan. As I rushed in everyone turned and stared at me and then they all started laughing and giggling. I didn't know why at first but it didn't take me long to realise that the slippery white satin scarf had slipped off my head leaving me with that funny looking handkerchief thingy sitting perkily on my head. I was later described as "macam anak toyol masuk dewan". I was so embarassed, dah lah I didn't know anyone and I kinda stuck out like a sore thumb...
Ok well, I can't think of anymore at the moment and I think its time to hit the sack. Do feel free to tell me about your embarassing moments....!!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
How I came to be known as Onet.....
This is my first blog post and I thought it would be fitting to blog about the name Onet since I have in fact chosen to use it as the name for this blog. Writing a blog is like writing a diary the only difference is the whole world can see it, its not locked up in a diary kept safe from unwanted eyes. Therefore, I've decided to use my long lost nickname Onet (this is the short version), the full version is Ponet Sanyo, as the identity for this blog.
Only those who know me from a certain era would know about this nickname. So, here is the story of how it came about. Shortly after finishing high school or should I say Sekolah Menengah, I was accepted into a local university. It is a tradition that all new students are required to go through a ragging period. The purpose of this ragging period is to allow new students to adjust and get to know fellow classmates, senior students and the place itself. During this ragging period senior students have the grandest time taking a mickey out of the newbies and getting them to do all sorts of funny and silly things in exchange for signatures. Another tradition was that the newbies would all be given nicknames, some stuck and some were forgotten. Why they chose it for me? I have no idea. It was probably just the first thing that popped into their heads and for some strange reason mine stuck and I was called onet or net all throughout my uni days by everyone. I guess to a certain extent the name actually does suit me.
Nowadays, I am seldom called Ponet, Onet or Net, only by those who knew me then. Sometimes people who know me now just happen to hear it and get a shock. "What did she call you?" they might ask. Reading this you may be wondering why would they be shocked, well if you don't hear it clearly, it kinda sounds like the malay word "konet", which means penis in Malay.... (pardon my directness!!!) :)
Only those who know me from a certain era would know about this nickname. So, here is the story of how it came about. Shortly after finishing high school or should I say Sekolah Menengah, I was accepted into a local university. It is a tradition that all new students are required to go through a ragging period. The purpose of this ragging period is to allow new students to adjust and get to know fellow classmates, senior students and the place itself. During this ragging period senior students have the grandest time taking a mickey out of the newbies and getting them to do all sorts of funny and silly things in exchange for signatures. Another tradition was that the newbies would all be given nicknames, some stuck and some were forgotten. Why they chose it for me? I have no idea. It was probably just the first thing that popped into their heads and for some strange reason mine stuck and I was called onet or net all throughout my uni days by everyone. I guess to a certain extent the name actually does suit me.
Nowadays, I am seldom called Ponet, Onet or Net, only by those who knew me then. Sometimes people who know me now just happen to hear it and get a shock. "What did she call you?" they might ask. Reading this you may be wondering why would they be shocked, well if you don't hear it clearly, it kinda sounds like the malay word "konet", which means penis in Malay.... (pardon my directness!!!) :)
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