universal donor

I am a universal donor! Finally, I found out my blood type after we did blood typing yesterday morning. The experiment was very fast; just took within a few minutes. At first Alina pricked me with the sterilized lancet once but there was no blood coming out and then she pricked me again and again (no lahh, it was just twice:P) until finally some blood came out. Apparently my blood agglutinates with Anti-D solution; so I'm an O+!

Aand Alia's adjusting week has just ended about... last week:) Got to take my mid semester papers this week and retake the one I missed on Friday. After that last paper, it felt so good:) Because finally you feel this imaginary heavy heavy weight being lifted over your mind; because suddenly you realize: Yes! No more papers to think about!>_<

Which is really super awesome:) One more week of classes and we begin mid sem holidays!>_<

Owh March is not that far after all:)

fall in love!

I happened to stumble on a junior's blog relating about their feelings to their significant other; blogging about going to school and being able to see 'him' and being so so happy when 'he' is there.

Lol. How nice it is to be young and carefree... and to get up at such annoying hours every morning and get ready all groggily and sleepily and then suddenly realizing; oh wait, I'm going to get to see 'him' today! So you brush your teeth with renewed energy and shower with extra energy and ensure everything is spick and span and you step out of the car at school with that shining smile and that extra bounce. And when you see him, your heart goes aflutter and melts and you think oh, he's so gorgeous and you try to suppress a smile but fail to do so. And he walks by so coolly and you can't help but take a peek once he's passed.

Oh to be young (-er than I am now:P) and have a significant other at college where it gives you that extra boost in the morning and reminds you; this is the motivation for you to wake up and get to class. Lol.

Because when you are in love, everything is brighter and you don't see the weaknesses and flaws and everything is so perfect about them; that is according to Najah. And thanks to her, now I've fallen in love with five (FIVE!) of which makes me wake up in the morning with renewed strength. Bio, Phys, Chem, Pengajian Msia (still in the process) and IntrotoMedPharm. Oh how I love thee...

So, fall in love!:D you won't regret it^^ haha.

This is for you, K

Oh K, you've put me in a bind
And now the wires can't unwind,
You've made a total mess of my mind
You're making me fall far behind.

I trip and fall down to my knees
I don't understand this, so please,
I wish I can work it out with ease
So that this twisted feeling I can release.

Dedicated to Kirchhoff;
the physicist who made the laws about conservation of current and charge in complicated circuits.

extended adjusting week

so my adjusting week has been prolonged due to unexpected (and unwelcomed!) infections.

I was already sick last week and on tuesday I was at the main campus at night so I was exposed to the freezing blast of the aircond. When I reached back at my condo, couldn't do anything else but straight away flop on my bed. Next morning I could hardly move; I had high fever. Felt like my head was burning and throbbing like crazy. It was cold then hot then warm. Nak jalan pun mcm takde energy langsung; just walk slowly with my tearful eyes half swollen. Cough. Flu. Phlegm. Sore throat. The works. I felt so sickly and told kaktqa "I cant go to class today..."

I didn't know how my housemates can be uberly more wonderful than they already are... Kak tqa made me a warm breakfast in the mornings (for three days!); hot drink, biscuits and toasted sandwiches:) Aqilah NurAmirah drove back to the condo just to bring lunch for me eventhough right now lunch times are packed with quizzes and 'last-minute' touch-ups of assignments; she even brought me to the clinic. Sharon requested to buy a banana:) and Azra sang for me:D Najah accompanied me in the consultation room with the doctor:) and dhurgaa asked if i'm alright and everything:)

But most 'torturously' is Wan Alina Khadijah...

• Alia dah makan ubat dah?? (she'd call from downstairs) yes yes alina!>_<>
• Dah mandi dah?? Go and mandi k? *I make a face* You gotta toughen up lady!>_< *and she makes a face at me too*
• No wearing sweaters or pakai selimut okay? *takes away all of them* (noooo....)
• Makan pun tak habis-_-"
• Drink up the 100+ k? My body rejects it. It's okay, just drink smore.

But through it all, she's the one who malam2 ensures my temperature goes down and heats up my dinner and makes sure i drink plenty of water and gave me my medication. Lol. Marah kerana sayang:) Sometimes i mengadu to kaktqa; kaktqa just pujuk2 me but then alina would be all into no-nonsense mode.

Anyway, when I went to the doctor, apparently, I've been diagnosed with Acute Upper Respiratory Infection; by one doctor. and I have allergic rhinitis; as diagnosed by another doctor.

Ayah says God gives this test because He wants to hear your voice...

Manglish is not good.

...

i told my mom sometimes i think i'm scared to face the 'outside' world. Makes me not want to grow up.

My mom said the world needs good people like you to grow up.

qwerty

i feel just so cxnjzalcnxmglarmiancxukan jxk vaufhduslancjk vhsjabcdusilangjdvskanvcjxanvjdflandsajkvndaAAAafaesadsfaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAA!!!

its a test

Out of all the times my laptop had to go haywire.

It was used to play the DVD presentation in front of 1500 final year UKM students for my dad's presentation. And suddenly two seconds before the movie was set to play; it hanged. For the first time ever... So when my dad called out for the vid to be played, I was like "no way no way no way" and everyone was staring expectedly at me... but as always, my level-headed father said "nvm, we'll continue."

I've been so clumsy and out of it since yesterday, im wondering whats happening to me. And im sick... with this nonstop cough which is making my voice kinda raspy. Probably this is a sign to say that I've been talking too much. And im sick probably because i've not been taking enough rest. God's test, God's test....

My adjusting week has until tomorrow. I will survive>_<

Summary of my summary

So basically this week has been the most taxing so far. I'm very very tired up to the point I even have dreams (while I'm asleep!) of getting extra tasks to do. The other night I dreamed of being someone teaching me about Red Blood Cells.

I tried to sleep early and waking up early but I ended up waking up later than usual. Even if I added a few extra sleeping hours, I wake up tired and exhausted. All my friends have been commenting about how tired I look and how stressed I've been. Najah says even if I sleep, probably I'm not having enough rest because I'm worrying too much...

So far, what's on my mind are:

1. Adni's Muslimah Night
2. The SC post and trying to set up a CUCMS TM Club
   
3. Foundy nite Multimedia Presentation
4. Chem Presentation for next week
5. Finish up drawings for a book
6. My upcoming TM speech
7. Mid sem exams next week
8. Assignments and Reports
9. Reflection Session Project
10. Pengajian Malaysia -_-"

Suddenly within the course of a few days had these piled in my head. No wonder I couldn't stop freaking out. Now reminding myself of Faizal's words; the key is to share the responsibility. Sometimes I tell myself; I'll be more busier than this and I just have to get used to it. Sometimes I tell myself give it to someone else; you don't always have to do everything. And other times I remind myself; God is testing me....

SO this week, I allowed myself to trip and to fall and stumble and crumble and giving myself a break. And not to take things too hard on myself. And accept it if I get low marks in my assignments and quizzes. I call it; Alia's ADJUSTING WEEK. phew.

Week Summary Part 2

FRIDAY
Final rat dissection. Of the circulatory system. The toughest because we had to identify the blood vessels. I accidentally cut one of the vessels so it started bleeding near the heart and there was a pool of blood which didn't stop bleeding. We had to... wait until the heart stopped beating and then cut the heart out and slice it in half... and show to the instructor which side is the left and which is the right. Photos of which i will not put up since it may be too gruesomely gory. It sounds inhumane and I felt really sorry for the rat; or rather Mary. Because Kaktqa named it Mary. Don't ask why.

In the afternoon we had an impromptu presentation; Mr Eric gave us 20 mins to prepare, 5 mins to present. Our group didn't have a representative so when it was our turn, he called out "calling for presentation on renal cortex". And nobody stood up so I stood up to stall for time. But then I should have known better because I ended up presenting about it anyways. Mineralocorticoids and Glucocorticoids; I wasn't 100% sure what I was presenting. I mean, i read about it and everything but I didn't have any indepth knowledge about it. and I was really2 hoping Mr Eric wouldn't ask any questions. I was shaking at the front and but like kaktqa says, just bidan terjun. Sat down after presenting and started getting tearful because i hate hate hate presenting something I'm not entirely prepared about. Because how can i convince someone something I'm not sure about either??? Kaktqa and Najah had to hold my hands since I was shaking and my hands were really cold.

After all the presentations, Mr Eric came up to the front and he said; the presentations were messy and not really clear. But; "the only survivor is Alia's Group; because the presenter talked like she knew everything. You have to speak with confidence and really know what you're talking about." So we got one mark extra for bio. And I felt like laughing and crying.

Oh life is so intriguing:)

Week Summary Part 1

SUMMARY of my week:)

TUESDAY

I begin with tuesday because monday was a holiday and class began at 8am. Anyways.. A day according to gregorian, begins at 12am. At 12am, I was crying. Yes, crying. For some emotional non-comprehensive reason. I think I was thinking and worrying too much about my undone work. It's my fault anyways for lingering and daydreaming and procrastinating on monday. Ahmad told me to go to sleep and said he'd wake me up. But then he said he tried waking me up but i didn't. And I woke up at 5.45am, realizing that that's the time I'm supposed to be out already. Didn't even print out my lab report, lab manual and assignments. So; predictably, I was in a rush. Had to do my jotter (mindmap the procedure for the lab experiment that morning) in the car and my prelab assignment as well. Reached cyberjaya with considerably ample time but still had to finish up my lab report. When we entered the lab, I was still working on my half-finished jotter and my classmates were incredously staring and whispering "Omigosh Alia tak siap kerje lagi???" Lagi stress-_-"

That afternoon, Alhamdulillah, managed to hand in my work on time. And that afternoon had a meeting with the drama committee saaaampai petang. Oh, now I am part of the Student Council. Appointed member. And under the Project Bureau and nominated as the Secretary. It's quite a task to do and I'm still adjusting to it. For those who think secretary isn't much to do, it's a lot ok. You have to attend most of the meetings your boss attends, and you have to take down the minutes of meeting. And make sure that the paperwork is done and make sure the minutes are well structured even if the meeting isn't very structured. But it's all great fun. And I get to work with some awesome student leaders here:D They're really awesome:)

WEDNESDAY
Again, rushed to finish off all assignments to meet the deadline. But the most significant thing was we had to cook. That is, me and azra. Because every wednesday is cooking day and this week azra and I have been assigned to cook for everyone. Azra said she'd cook and bring all the ingredients and I had to cook the rice. But let me tell you that cooking rice is NOT as easy as it sounds. Coz the rice we have was all full with the rice bugs and it took me a WHOLE HOUR to get rid of every single one of those creepy crawlies; hiding in the rice pieces and scuttling in between the rice. After that, I was haunted with the rice bugs. I found it on my shirt, and the next day on my bag.... I am rice-bug-o-phobic....
But we managed to pull together blackpeppered-gravied-chicken.. and rice!:)

THURSDAY
Tests, quizzes and assignments.... AAaaaaand my dearest Aki's birthday!:D Treated her to lunch^^ And the day before her classmates surprised her with Secret Recipe cake!:D I also got some:) yum yummy~

25 things

i got tagged twice to write about the 25 random things about me on facebook. I'm quite uncomfortable with facebook so I'd prefer to write it on my blog:) I'm not gonna tag others but perhaps just felt knowing if there really are 25 random things about me.

1. I like being random. Sometimes:)
2. I cringe when things are unorganized and unsystematic. Especially when it comes to information and data.
3. Lactose intolerant.
4. I like sleeping with a pillow on my head. Or at least something; like a teddy bear.
5. I keep forgetting to keep my phone near me these days. and usually its on silent.
   
6. I love letters (i've never emphasized on this enough:P)
7. Even small surprises or a short note on encouragement or how much they love me; means a lot to me:D
8. I don't like it when events aren't on time. Like start late and finish late. Even by a minute. It gets on my nerves.
9. I'm doing a "Keep up spirit of volunteerism" lifelong campaign.
10. I cant believe im saying this but i actually like chemistry.
11. Slacks and long blouse are my favourite.
12. My parents are my number 1 inspiration.
13. I talk to my dad nonstop.
14. Hanging out with friends, i like.
15. Soft toys make me squeal with delight.
16. I like public speaking!:D but not when it's impromptu.
17. I like conversing with older people. Though i'm not that good at interacting with them..
18. I'm in awe of student leaders:)
19. I'd only marry after i receive my degree. lol.
20. I'm working on trying to be more efficient and developing critical thinking skills.
    
21. I like sushi!:D Please treat me to Teriyaki!>_<
22. I tend to overanalyze people when they speak upfront. Perhaps because I've been going to toastmasters too much and listening to the evaluations.
23. I like novels but im trying to broaden my reading material. Richard Hoy told me to read books on philosophy and life. Now searching for The Last Lecture by Paul Rausch.
24. I like making/drawing/creating things for people. Because I like to see the smile on their face:) I like to see people smiling:)
25. I'm happy^^
    

f.h.t.t.o

Wednesday we were having physics experiment. Just seconds before we entered the lab, *BAM!* I suddenly realized I forgot to bring my lab coat. I thought; why not borrow from someone who has a lab coat but then everyone who had lab today had already gone home. I was dreading no no no this is like the beginning of my history of being so undisciplined and probably everyone will be wearing a lab coat and I'd be the only one looking so unprofessional and not abiding by the rules and regulations of the college and not following the safety precautions of conducting an experiment. Okay, it got a bit dramatic there but still! I guess I just couldn't do anything about it... Besides, physics is still okay because we're not dealing with any chemical solutions or anything. Hopefully my lab instructor would be a bit lenient on me...

So then we entered and it was kind of hot in the lab and we realized that the aircond had broken down. Everyone was wearing their lab coat and when the instructor entered, he was like "Tolong on the aircond" But we all said that it's broken down. I was like: yes yes tak payah pakai lab coat.

And then he said that's only on the other side but some can be switched on. And I was like no no no.

And then azra tried to switch it on but it didn't (yes yes yes).

But finally, it was able to be switched on (no no no).

But since it wasn't all the airconds that can be switched on, our lab instructor finally said "Panasnye. Kalau taknak, tak payahlah pakai lab coat."

I was like.. o_O am i dreaming? So then everyone also took off their labcoats. If I DID have my labcoat, I would have worn it. Lol.

But yeah, Alhamdulillah:) funny how things turned out^^

technicalities

"Most of them had their seeds grown to amazingly enormous, stunning and colourful plants."
- taken from previous post, Speech # 2

okay, this is for the dude who is challenging my credibility of a logical story:P
Saying that how would the young men know what plants to grow if the seeds were dead; here's my answer to you:

First of all, it's a folktale. Nobody asks logical questions. And we don't really live in a world where a kingdom is given to someone who doesn't grow or germinate a seed.

Or probably the young men inspected the seeds and made research about them and realised what kind of seed it is. I mean, of course it would be a seed that they know and they can grow in their climate kan? And if they want the throne so much, probably they'd work really hard to know what kind of a seed it is.
And the reason for the variety of plants is probably because some other young men wasn't clever enough to go and research what type of plant it is. Or maybe they speculated that maybe the king just wants to see some really awesome plants:D

So there you go:) But the main point of the story is to take the moral. If you take things too technical, how do you enjoy the message?:P

For example there's this quote: "Reach for the stars" and if people look at it in a technical manner, you'd say how can u reach the stars? You need money to take the rocket and time to train as an astronaut and stuffs like that. Learn to accept some things without thinking about it too much:P But of course, there's nothing wrong with thinking about something so much; so as to ensure a sorta logical story.

Thanks for your feedback:) I'll remember it for sure^^

speech #2

It's really so funny when I recall back the comments I received this morning. Someone came up to me and asked me if I'm really serious in becoming a doctor. Because being a doctor is like all clinical stuff and being able to speak so well like this may not necessarily be fit for a doctor. Well, it was something to that effect. But he said that maybe right now being a doctor is what I want but in the future, I might change my mind lol.

Iman, perhaps it might not sound interesting here. You have to watch it be given as a speech because it's all about the dramatization effects that gives it impact. I must thank you iman azman, for having made me more of a drama queen. But no worries, you'll always be the ultimate drama queen;)

For my second speech, the requirements were basically to have an organized speech with a flow that the audience can follow.

Speech # 2: ORGANIZE YOUR SPEECH

The Truth about Lies

A 5 year-old curious boy once asked his father, “Dad, do parents lie?” (pause) A deafening silence and you guess..is it a YES or NO? For most of the parents here, what do you think would the answer be? Later when his wife asked “Dear, what did you say to him?” The father admitted, “I lied and said parents don’t lie.”

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, fellow Toastmasters and distinguished guests.

ALL RISE.(everyone stands up) Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I SHALL SPEAK THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH. You may be seated.

Now you are under oath. Tell me, have you ever told a lie? If you deny, you are lying. Lies range from the serious extreme end of perjury to the mildest white lies. Whether it is fabrication, prevarication, bluffing, misleading, exaggeration: They are all lies.

Remember the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf?(pause) Or Pinnochio? (pause) What do these stories have in common? In the end, they always have a price to pay. (pause)

Which leads to the purpose of my speech today; that is lying will always have its consequences; whether desirable or not.

Now, to simplify things and know some truth about lies, we can generally classify lies into three: Small lies, necessary lies and big lies.

Small lies: Firstly, small lies are told for convenience and comfort, to smooth things over for others as much as for ourselves.

The common example: “You okay?” “Yeah, I’m okay” “How are things?” “Yeah, thing’s are good.” Even though you’re not okay, even though things aren’t good.

Consequence: Perhaps it does not affect very much; since it may just be temporary. But be careful; because small small lies can eventually accumulate into something big. And it may even result to a habitual norm. Just like in the movie of Liar Liar.

Necessary lies: Secondly, we come to necessary lies. A necessary lie is a fabrication told only under absolutely essential conditions. We tell necessary lies when the need arise and it is usually for noble reasons.

Have you heard of the Lies a loving mother tells? A boy shares the story of his family’s poor conditions: When there was not enough food, my mother would say she is not hungry. When she had been struggling the whole day, she would say she is not tired. Mothers, does this sound familiar to you?

Consequence: With the righteous intentions behind necessary lies, there may not be desired outcomes initially; but one way or another, will lead to something good coming out of it. The boy became a successful and hardworking man. He learned the meaning of compassion. The boy lived a fulfilling life through his mother’s lies.

Big lies: And thirdly, we now move on to big lies. The term big lies can be defined depending on how you look at it. It can be called a big lie if it is downright obvious and clearly outrageous. Or, are told which can ultimately lead to large scale consequences. It can cause disintegration of families, breakdown of society, collapse of a government and even fall of a nation.

In India, Satyam, an electronics company claimed to have millions and profiting but actually, they were making large losses.

Consequence: What happened? The chairman resigned his post. Several executives were arrested. Most of the clients take back their services from the company. Almost 25000 people go jobless. These are the consequences of a big lie. You can lie to someone all the time. You can lie to everyone for some time. But you cannot lie to everyone all the time.

There once was a wise and revered king who was searching for a successor; so he requested for all the best young man in his Kingdom. Hundreds of young men gathered at his palace. The king came and gave a seed to each of the young men and told them to come back next month with the plants they have grown with these seeds.

After one month, they all came back with the plants. Most of them had all ten seeds grown to amazingly enormous, stunning and colourful plants. The King went to each plant and inspected them very carefully. Finally he reached the young man at the end of the row where a young man stood, empty handed.

The man said, “Your Highness, I did try but for the seeds did not germinate or grow.”

The King smiled at him and announced, “He is the new King. I wanted an honest man to rule my kingdom. I had boiled and killed the seeds before giving it to you all, so that they do not germinate and grow at all.” The other young men did not get the throne because they had lied.

The truth about lies is that, regardless of our intentions, there will always be consequences; whether desirable or undesirable. At the end of the day, we must be aware of the outcome and be accountable for our actions. To admit the truth can be difficult. But the rewards far outweigh the risks.

So the next time a child comes up to you and asks; Do parents lie?

Remember; Telling lies may be easy; but telling truths will set you free.

Truth about Lies

Finally! Have finished giving my second Toastmaster's speech. Alina came along as well since I've 'convinced' her to come. It was super fun since she came. My support group has grown. Thanks, dear;) I shall pull more people into Toastmasters! Mwahahahaha.

Anyway, I've had the topic on my mind for a month and started writing it just last week. I wanted to fine tune it and edit things out so i can practice it a week before giving the speech. But there were assignments and reports and I was so scared because at the end of the day, I flopped on my bed and didn't manage to practice at all. I took a look at my written speech in between classes and during little breaks just so that I have a clear flow. And as saturday crept closer and closer, the anxiety started building up and I realized that I only have friday night to practice it.

So last night I talked to my mentor and he gave me pointers on how to make it more engaging and impactful and I finally got the flow and could connect from one idea to another. I think I had to edit about 30% of my speech last minute. When I prepared and practiced at 12am, i was stuttering and forgetting my lines and I thought "can i really give this speech tomorrow?" I cannot speak upfront if I don't think i can give my best. My mom always reminds me that when you speak upfront, people listen because you have something to say. And if you just talk about some nonsense, for one person; u wasted 5 minutes. but what if there are 50 people? You've wasted 5X50 minutes = 250 minutes! of people's time!

But my dad says it's perfectly normal to want to give your best. and feeling anxious, it's absolutely okay.

So I managed to go through my second speech; entitled "Truth about Lies". And as always, it felt so good after that. People came up to me and congratulated me for giving a really good speech. Daniel Teh said some things need to be tweaked a little and my conclusion can be delivered more impactful so as to send the message across because at the end of the day, you want the audience to leave the room remembering YOUR message. He even said that I should join the speech contest; but I think perhaps i'm too new and still need a lot of practice.

I finally got to slow down a bit and inject a few pauses at the right places. But people say I need to pause more and slow down more. So, there's my objective for the next speech. And also, people are saying that my voice is low. Is it really soft? I always thought my voice has always been projected out; up to the extent when I was inquiring the lab instructor about something, suddenly the whole class turned quiet like I'm giving some kind of a speech. Lol.

As always, learnt a lot of things. I especially enjoyed this speech about "Happiness is a choice."
The speaker said that; being happy is having someone to love, having something to look forward to and having something to do.

And now I have fallen in love, I have projects I am looking forward to and right now have assignments to do. Ahh, contented I am:)

wings

Drew this upon inspiration by the song iman posted in her blog; beautiful flower.

These past few days haven't really been myself. To be truthful, it's been one of the most emotionally tiring week (eventhough the week has yet to end). But because of the many quizzes and tests and projects and presentations and sudden nomination of a post, had to quickly buckle up and get over all of it asap. Now my housemates think I have gone insane with a contagious crazy syndrome; but thanks to them, I'm able to keep my mind of things. I'll keep being crazy if that's what helps. Anyways, they say I'm so crazy; to the extent it's normal. Aren't they sweet:)

After (continuously) listening to the song, suddenly felt this strong feeling of just... going all out. Do all the crazy (crazy like crazier than my norm) things I've never thought I'd do. Dare myself to go over the limit. Take the bull by the horns. Make all the mistakes I need to. Learn to live a meaningful life.

Time to spread my wings:)

equilibrium point

if you think about it, all things on earth generally wants to reach stability.

Chemistry: Thermochemistry first basic thing to know is that chemical reactions occur so that they can achieve stability.

Biology: Homeostatis; In order to maintain internal body STABILITY, the body and all organs work out the negative feedback just to get the body normal again.

Physics: Simple Harmonic Motion; an object springs back and forth in order to get back to its equilibrium point.

It's crazy when you think about it; all things on earth wishes to reach stability. Perhaps the same goes for me right now... One day I've been erratic and out-of-mind and the next I've been so quiet deep in thoughts and on and on and on; i think my housemates are wondering what's wrong with me. *smiles*

Imagine a graph of damped harmonic motion... except for its my mood against time. My life is a bit like that at the moment, still fluctuating wildly up and down; but getting somewhere closer and closer to equilibrium point.