Similarities of Chinese Calendar and Muslim Calendar

Our country, Malaysia is a multi-nation country. 4 types of calendar systems are used in Malaysia, which are Western Calendar, Muslim Calendar, Chinese Calendar and Hindu Calendar. Generally, everybody in Malaysia uses the Western Calendar. At the same time, the Muslims use the Muslim Calendar, the Chinese use the Chinese Calendar while the Hindus use the Hindu Calendar.

If you compare the Chinese Calendar and Muslim Calendar, you may notice that they both have some similarities. This is because both the calendar systems follow the cycle of the moon, while the Western Calendar follows the Sun. These are the similarities between the Chinese Calendar and Muslim Calendar.

First, both calendar systems have 12 months in a year. They are the same as the Western Calendar, which also has 12 months in a year. In the Muslim Calendar, every month has its own name, such as Muharram, Syawal and Zulkaedah. In the Chinese Calendar, there are no name for every month. The months are just called as 1st Month, 2nd Month etc. However, in the Chinese Calendar, not every year has 12 months. There is a leap year every 3 years. During a leap year, the Chinese Calendar adds 1 month. Therefore, a leap year of the Chinese Calendar has 13 months instead of 12. The Muslim Calendar has no leap year, so there will always be 12 months in a year.

Second, in both calendar systems there are either 29 or 30 days in a month. The number of days in any month will never be less than 29 days or more than 30 days. Every month does not have a fixed number of days, it will have either 29 or 30 days. For example, for the first year a month has 29 days, then on the second year the same month may have 30 days. In the Chinese calendar, a month with 29 days is known as a 'small' month, while a month with 30 days is known as a 'big' month.

Third, both calendar systems follow the cycle of the moon. In both calendar systems, the 15th day of every month is the full moon day, where the moon is the brightest and biggest among all other days in a month. As the same time, the first day and last day (day 29 or 30) of every month are new moon day, where the moon cannot be seen on the sky. For the Chinese calendar, the 15th day of the 8th month every year is the Mooncake Festival.

Fourth, for both calendar systems, there are about 355 days in a year. Because the Western Calendar has 365 days in a year, the Chinese Calendar and Muslim Calendar are slower than the Western Calendar by 10 days every year. Therefore, for festivals like Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Aidilfitri, their date will be earlier than the previous year by 10 days. However, the Chinese Calendar have a leap year in every 3 years, where one additional month is added to the year, making a total of 385 days in that year. Because of that, during a leap year, the Chinese Calendar is faster than the Western Calendar by 20 days. This causes the Chinese New Year to always fall between 20 January and 19 February. The Muslim Calendar does not have leap years, so it is always slower than the Western Calendar by 10 days, and festivals like Hari Raya Aidilfitri can fall on any month.

Fifth, the date of both calendar systems are always close to each other. The Chinese Calendar is always faster than the Muslim Calendar by 1 or 2 days. For example, if it is day 7 on the Chinese Calendar, it is definitely day 6 or day 5 on the Muslim Calendar; if it is day 8 on the Muslim Calendar, it is definitely day 9 or day 10 on the Chinese Calendar. It is not possible that the dates in both calendar systems to be exactly the same. It is also not possible that the difference of the dates in both calendars to be 3 days or more. This makes it possible for Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Aidilfitri to be on the same date. This happened on year 1995, 1996 and 1997. Starting from year 1998, they were no longer on the same date because of the Chinese leap year. On year 2031 and 2032, they will be on the same date again.

The Chinese Calendar and Muslim Calendar have some similarities as well as differences. As Malaysians, we should understand and respect the cultures of other races and religions so that people from all races and religions can unite together to form 1 Malaysia.

My PMR Examination

My PMR examination was from 5 October 2010 to 12 October 2010. All Form 3 students in the whole Malaysia sat for the examination at the same time. Here's my dairy for every day during my PMR examination.

4 October 2010:
This was the last day before the start of PMR. The subject on the first day of PMR would be Malay and I was very busy studying for it. On that night, I was very worried of Malay as I was not 100% prepared. I could only hope for the best.

5 October 2010:
This was the first day of PMR. The subjects were Malay Paper 1 and Paper 2. After finishing Malay Paper 1, I was quite worried as it was very difficult. I predicted that I would get 28/40. Later, I sat for
Malay Paper 2. It was not too difficult. I estimated that I had 99% chance of getting A for Malay. On that afternoon, the subject was Pendidikan Islam and I did not take this subject. After returning home, I studied for English and Geography.

6 October 2010:
This was the second day of PMR. The subjects were English Paper 1, Paper 2 and Geography. Both English Paper 1 and Paper 2 were moderately easy. I was very confident of getting A. Geography was the subject on that afternoon. It was very easy and was much easier compared to the school exams and the PMR trial exam. I was very sure of getting A. After I went home, I studied for Science and History.

7 October 2010:
This was the third day of PMR. The subjects were Science Paper 1, Paper 2 and History. Science Paper 1 was very easy, but Paper 2 was quite difficult. Still, I was confident of getting A. History was the subject on that afternoon. It was very easy and was much easier compared to the school exams and the PMR trial exam. I was very sure of getting A. After that, I had 3 days of break. I slept on that afternoon and started studying on that night.

8, 9 and 10 October 2010:
I had no exam during these 3 days. There were only 3 subjects remaining, which were Mathematics, Chinese and Living Skills. I spent most of the time studying Chinese and Living Skills. My grandfather also taught me some Mathematics. The only subject I was worried of was Chinese, since I was good at Mathematics and Living Skills.

11 October 2010:
This was the second last day of PMR. The subjects were Mathematics Paper 1, Paper 2 and Living Skills. Both Mathematics Paper 1 and 2 were easy, while Living Skills was moderately easy. I was sure of getting A in these 2 subjects. After that, the Malay students could enjoy themselves since they had no more exams, while I still had to study for Chinese which would be on the next day. I was quite worried of Chinese.

12 October 2010:
This was the last day of PMR. The subjects were Chinese/Tamil Paper 1 and Paper 2. Only the Chinese and Indian students went to school. Chinese Paper 2 started first. It was quite difficult which made me feel quite worried. Luckily, Chinese Paper 1 was quite easy. I estimated that I could get 39/40 for Chinese Paper 1 and that my chance of getting A for Chinese was 99%. After that, I had lunch with my grandparents in OldTown WhiteCoffee. I enjoyed myself for the whole day, and for the rest of the days until I began Form 4 on 2 January 2011.

This is the ranking of the PMR subjects from the hardest to the easiest:

1. Bahasa Melayu Paper 1

2. Bahasa Cina Paper 2

3. Science Paper 2

4. Bahasa Melayu Paper 2

5. English Paper 2

6. English Paper 1

7. Bahasa Cina Paper 1

8. Mathematics Paper 2

9. Kemahiran Hidup Bersepadu (Kemahiran Teknikal)

10. Science Paper 1

11. Mathematics Paper 1
12. Sejarah

13. Geografi

The PMR results was originally planned to be released on 28 December 2010. I estimated that I had 98% chance of getting 8A. I really hoped that I would get 8A in PMR. Later, it was announced that the PMR results would be released on 23 December 2010 instead of 28 December 2010. This made me feel more worried.

On 23 December 2010, I was so happy to see all A's on my PMR results slip. I successfully got 8A for PMR, which had been my target since Form 1. My next target would be getting 11A in SPM.

Zip File in Computing

Nowadays, a lot of computer users like to share files with their friends, especially pictures, music and video. I am sure you do that too. The most common ways to share files are sending them as attachments in e-mail, uploading them to file sharing websites and tranfering them in pendrives. However, I am sure you may face the following problems.

1. The file size is larger than the maximum file size for e-mail attachments. Therefore, the file cannot be sent as attachment in e-mail.
2. The file size is larger than the maximum file size for uploading. Therefore, the file cannot be uploaded to file sharing websites.
3. The file is very large, causing the time to send, upload and download the file to be very long.
4. The file is too large to be saved in pendrives.
5. The file saved in the pendrive uses up a lot of disk space of the pendrive.
6. You want to share a folder that contains many files, but usually it is not possible to send or upload a whole folder.

To solve the problems above, it is quite simple. You just have to zip or compress the file. After zipping it, the file size will be much smaller. A zip folder that contains many files can easily be sent and uploaded. Computers with Windows XP or later have a file zipping feature that allows you to zip files.

To zip a file, just right click on the file, select 'Send to' then click 'Zipped (Compressed) Folder'. The file will be zipped and the zipped file will be saved in the same folder. The zipped file will have the same name as the original file. To zip more than one files, press and hold 'Ctrl' key, select the files you want to zip, right click, select 'Send to' and then 'Zipped (Compressed) Folder'. The zipped folder will be saved in the folder that contains all the original files. The name of the zipped folder is the same as the folder that contains all the original files. When files are zipped, the original files are not deleted, changed or moved.

A zip file or zip folder that contains all the original files is known as a zip archive or compressed archive. To open a zip archive, just double click on it and you can see all the original files. You can open them but not change or modify them. Also, if there is a program in it, the program may not work correctly.

To edit files in a zip archive or to use programs in a zip archive, you have extract or unzip it first. To extract all the files in a zip archive, just right click on it and select 'Extract to'. Choose a location to save the extracted files. To extract just a few but not all the files in a zip archive, first open it, press and hold 'Ctrl', select the files you want to extract, then right click and select 'Extract to', finally choose a location to save the extracted files. The extracted files are exactly the same as before they were zipped. When a zip archive is extracted, the zip archive is not changed, deleted or moved.

The file zipping feature in Windows only allows you to create, open and extract zip archives in .zip format. If you often zip files, then you can download 7-Zip or WinRar to use. They allow you to add files to a zip archive, split a zip archive, set password for a zip archive, create a self extractor, use software in a zip archive without extracting and much more, besides creating, opening and extrating a Zip archive. 7-Zip and WinRar are also more convenient to be used. You can download them from the following websites:
7-Zip: http://www.7-zip.org/download.html
WinRar: http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm

Zip archives created using Windows are in .zip format. Besides .zip , there are many other formats for zip archives such as .rar , .zipx , .7z and many more. You can only open zip archives with those formats using 7-Zip or WinRar. To ensure that you can open and extract all kinds of Zip archives, you should have both 7-Zip and WinRar installed. Besides that, 7-Zip allows you to create Zip archives in both .7z and .zip format, while WinRar allows you to create Zip archives in both .rar and .zip format.

Download A File Easily

Do you often download files from the internet? If yes, I am sure you may face the following problems:

1. The download takes a long time to complete, especially when the file is large and the internet connection is slow.
2. The internet connection is accidentally interupted when the download is halfway done, and you need to redownload it from the beginning.
3. You want to pause the download and resume it later, but Internet Explorer do not let you do so.

If you face the problems above, you may hate downloading files. But don't worry, these problems can be easily solved. You just need a free software, Download Accelerator Plus. It is a program that you can use to download files. These are the advantages of downloading files using Download Accelerator Plus.

1. It splits a downloading file into 5 parts, then it downloads them at the same time. Therefore, the download speed can be increased to 5 times the original speed.
2. It allows you to pause a download and resume it later.
3. If a download is interupted, Download Accelerator Plus pauses them. You can resume the download after you reconnect the internet.
4. It allows you to preview certain types of files while downloading them.
5. It scans the file for viruses after downloading it.
6. The download is more stable.
NOTE: Most download servers support resume, but a few do not. If a server do not support resume, you can't pause the download and the download speed can't be increased even by using Download Accelerator Plus.

To use Download Accelerator Plus, download it free at http://www.speedbit.com/dap . After downloading, install it on your computer. While installing, select the free version. You can choose not to install SpeedBit Video Accelerator or other softwares that are promoted by Download Accelerator Plus. Set it as your default download manager.

Download Accelerator Plus will run every time you turn on your computer. Whenever you click on a download link, it will display a download dialog box. Click 'Open' if you want to open the file automatically after downloading or click 'Save' if you want to choose where to save the downloaded file. The default saving location is the 'My DAP Downloads' folder in 'My Documents'. To pause a download, open Download Accelerator Plus, select the file, then click 'Pause'. To resume it later, open Download Accelerator Plus, select the file, then click 'Start'. After the download had completed, click 'Open' to open the file.

Besides that, Internet Download Manager is a program similar to Download Accelerator Plus. Unlike Download Accelerator Plus, you may use Internet Download Manager free for only 30 days. If you want to try Internet Download Manager, you can download it at http://www.internetdownloadmanager.com/ . After that, install it on your computer. Set it as your default download manager.

Internet Download Manager will run every time you turn on your computer. Whenever you click on a download link, it will display a download dialog box. Click 'Start Download' to start downloading. The default saving location is the 'Downloads' folder in 'My Documents'. To pause a download, open Internet Download Manager, select the file, then click 'Pause'. To resume it later, open Internet Download Manager, select the file, then click 'Resume'. After the download had completed, click 'Open file' to open the file.

Both Download Accelerator Plus and Internet Download Manager have advantages and disadvantages. Internet Download Manager is faster but is less stable and has lesser funtions compared to Download Accelerator Plus. Some downloads work better with Download Accelerator Plus, while others work better with Internet Download Manager. You can use both of them. However, you can only set one as your default download manager.

Tips to remember names

For many subjects in the PMR/PT3 examination, especially Geography, you need to memorise names of places or people. I am sure most people will take it very difficult, since there are so many different names, and sometimes people may get confused. How do you usually remember them? I can give you a tip, that is to relate the names with something you are familiar with. Use your imagination fully. Don't understand what I say? Then look at the example below.

Lokasi Perlombongan Arang Batu di Malaysia:
Batu Arang, Bukit Arang, Silimpopon, Merit-Pila, Mukah dan Silantek.

To remember Batu Arang and Bukit Arang, I am sure everyone knows how. Just remember the word 'Arang'. But what about the others? Its quite easy.
I just think of this story: Ada seorang sedang bakar arang batu. Pembakaran arang batu banyak mengeluarkan asap yang mencemarkan alam sekitar. Disebabkan itu, dia telah kena d'merit. (d'merit > merit > Merit-Pila). Orang lain marah dia padan muka (muka > Mukah). Mereka kata kat dia , "Arang batu hanya orang zaman silam saja yang guna!" (silam > silan > Silantek).
For Silimpopon, I think of this: Kereta yang bakar arang batu selalu berjalan lambat, jadi orang lain asyik hon dia. Kedengaran bunyi pon-pon. (Pon-pon > Silimpopon)
The story above sounds funny and not logic, but never mind, most important is that it helps me to remember the places easily. You can learn my method.

I have another two examples below.

Example 1 -
Telaga petroleum di luar pantai Terengganu:
Dulang, Semangkok, Tapis, Guntong, Tiong, Duyong, Bekok, Sotong, Pilong dan Pilai

To remember these, I memorised only the first one, which is Dulang, then I came up with a story to remember the rest:
Seorang pelombong telah melombong bijih timah dengan kaedah mendulang. (mendulang > Dulang). Hasilnya sebanyak satu mangkuk. (satu mangkuk > semangkuk > Semangkok) Dia telah menapis bilih timah yang diperoleh. (menapis > Tapis) Selepas itu, dia menggantung bijih timah di atas bumbung. (Menggantung > gantung > Guntong) Anaknya yang nakal telah menuang bijih timah tersebut ke dalam sungai. (menuang > tuang > Tiong) Sungai itu ada banyak duyong. (Duyong) Sungai yang berliku-liku itu menyebabkan bentuk bijih timah menjadi bengkok. (bengkok > Bekok) Bijih timah itu nampak macam seekor sotong (Sotong). Ia dibawa ke satu tempat yang bernama Pilong. (Pilong). Di sana, seorang budak yang bernama Pilai ingat bijih timah itu sotong, jadi dia telah memakannya. (Pilai)

Example 2 -
Telaga gas asli di luar pantai Terangganu:
Pilong, Lawit, Damar, Noring, Jerneh, Tangga Barat, Bujang, Angsi, Telok, Bintang, Inas, Resak, Bedong

I only memorised the first one, Pilong, then I came up with this story: Bapa Ali ialah seorang guru yang mengajar di satu tempat jauh yang bernama Pilong. (Pilong) Bapanya berjanji untuk pulang ke rumah pada masa cuti sekolah untuk membantu Ali dalam pelajarannya. Tetapi, bapanya lewat pulang selama seminggu. (lewat > Lawit) Ali marah lalu bergaduh dengan ayahnya. Ibunya berjaya mendamaikan mereka. (mendamaikan > damai > Damar) Sepanjang cuti seminggu itu, dia berasa sangat boring. (boring > Noring) Ilmu pengetahunya sangat cetek kerana bapanya tiada di sisinya untuk mengajarnya semasa cuti. (cetek = jernih, jernih > Jerneh). Akibatnya, Ali telah gagal dalam SPM dan tak dapat masuk universiti di Malaysia. Bapanya menghantarnya ke negara barat untuk masuk universiti. (negara Barat > Tangga Barat). Di sana, Ali enggan berkhawin dengan perempuan barat. Oleh itu, dia masih bujang, sedangkan rakan-rakannya dah berkhawin. (Bujang). Akhirnya, dia terpaksa mengkhawini seorang perempuan yang bernama Goose. (goose > angsa > Angsi) Malam itu, dia pergi ke sebuah teluk. (teluk > Telok) Dia tengok bintang di atas langit (Bintang). Bintang-bintang membentuk perkataan 'INA'. Dia tiba-tiba teringatkan girlfriend dia dulu yang bernama Ina. (Ina > Inas) Dia berasa sedih lalu menangis teresak-esak. (teresak-esak > esak > Resak) Oleh sebab terlalu sedih, dia lompat ke dalam air untuk membunuh diri. Pada masa itu, kedengaran bunyi be-dom. (be-dom > Bedong)

So, this is the way I memorised the names of places in Geography. I also used this method in History , Chinese (ming-ju-jing-hua) and Living Skills. You can try to use this method to memorise. For you, you can come up with your own stories or use mine as above. This may help you in memorising. However, you must not depend fully on this method. Basic understanding is also very important.

Recover deleted files

Have you ever deleted a file by mistake? If you have, you can restore the files from the recycle bin. But what if you have also emptied the recycle bin or deleted the file from the recycle bin? In addition, a file deleted from a removable drive is straight away deleted without first being moved to the recycle bin. Will the file be lost forever? The answer is no.

All files on a disk drive have a directory. Windows read a drive using its directory. When a file is deleted, it is removed from the directory so that Windows ignores it. However, the file is actually still in the disk. By using special softwares, you can find them and restore them.

To recover deleted files, you will need a software named 'PC Inspector File Recovery'. It can be downloaded from http://www.pcinspector.de/default.htm?language=1 . After downloading and installing it on your computer, run the software. This software works with hard disk drives, USB pendrives, floppy disks and memory cards (you must use a card reader). However, it does not work with any types of CD.

First, select a language and press tick. Click the button beside 'Recover deleted files'. Next, under 'Logical drive', select the disk drive where your file was deleted. Then, click the green tick button. The software will scan the disk drive and display a list of deleted files. Find your files inside the folder 'Deleted'. (The files in the folder 'Root' are the files which are not deleted. If you cannot access the disk from 'My Computer' you can try to access it here) When you found it, right click on it and click 'Save to'. Select a location to save the restored file.


Notice:
1. When a file is deleted, you should begin the restoration as soon as possible and do not create or save any new files. This is to prevent the deleted file from being overwritten. If the deleted file is overwrited, it will be lost forever and nothing can help you!
2. There is no 100% guarantee that the deleted file can always be restored. Therefore, you should always be careful.
3. If the disk drive is physically damaged and cannot be read by the computer, it is useless to use this software.

4. If the disk had been formatted or is corrupted, you may not be able to restore the files. PC Inspector File Recovery claims that the 'Find Lost Data' function can restore files on a formatted or corrupted drive, but I have tried it and it doesn't work. However, you may still give it a try.

If you want to delete a file permanently and make it completely impossible to restore it, then you should shred it. By shredding a file, the file is permanently deleted and cannot be restored using PC Inspector File Recovery or any file recovery software. Freeraser is a software that allows you to shred a file. Freeraser can be downloaded from http://www.codyssey.com/products/freeraser.html . After downloading, install it on your computer. To shred a file, open Freeraser. Right click on it and click 'Select file to destroy'. Select the file you want to shred and click 'Open'. Follow the on-screen instructions to shred the file.

Kem Kecemerlangan Matematik

When I was in primary school, I joined a mathematics camp known as the Kem Kecemerlangan Matematik for a total of five times, twice in 2005 when I was in Standard 4 and thrice in 2006 when I was in Standard 5. Most of my friends thought that I was very lucky to be able to join the camp. But in reality, I did not enjoy joining the mathematics camp. You will know why if you continue reading this post.

When I entered Standard 4, my school made it compulsory for every student to take part in at least one co-curricular activity. I chose to join the Mathematics Society, as my favourite subject was mathematics.

At first, I faced some problems in the Mathematics Society. I was not able to answer many of the maths questions, because the questions were at secondary school level. However, I was lucky that my grandfather is good at mathematics so he could teach me, and the teacher in charge never gave up on me. A few months later, there was a mathematics quiz. It was held in SRK Tunku Abdul Malik, Kulim. The teacher wanted three students to take part but there were only two. So, the teacher invited me to take part and I agreed.

My grandparents were happy that I could take part. My grandfather taught me a lot before the quiz. After the quiz, my grandfather checked my question paper and said I answered 15 out of 21 questions correctly. On the second day, I was so shocked when my teacher told me that I was ranked first in the whole district for the quiz. The principal then announced about that during the school assembly. However, much to my disappointment, I did not get any prize for that. Instead, I was asked to join the Kem Kecemerlangan Matematik for 4 days and 3 nights at Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel, Penang.

My grandparents followed me there. There, I had to attend mathematics tutorial for the first 3 days and then take part in a competition on the last day. I did not like the fact that the maths tutorials lasted for the whole day, which made me feel bored. During the tutorials, I usually had to sit at the back of the class so I could not see the whiteboard clearly. The teachers usually taught in Malay language but at that time I was still not good at Malay. Before I went there, I thought that I could have some time to swim in the hotel's swimming pool. It had been almost a year since I last went swimming. However, there was no time for that at all because of the tutorials. There was a glass window in the room where the tutorial was held and the swimming pool was just outside the window. I admired the people swimming very much and I really wished I could go swimming instead of attending the boring tutorial. One day during break time, I stood in front of the window to watch people swimming. I thought the tutorial would resume in a short while, not realising that it would actually continue only at night, because I did not bring along the timetable and I saw the other students leaving their bags on their chairs. I also did not notice that there were only a few students left in that room so I continued standing in front the window instead of leaving the room. Then, my grandfather who was waiting outside came in to call me. My grandparents scolded me for not being aware that the tutorial was over.

Two months later, I was asked to join another Kem Kecemerlangan Matematik at Langkasuka Hotel, Langkawi. I did not want to join but my grandparents kept asking me to join. At that time, my aunt and cousin from Australia came to Kulim to visit us. I was very happy about that because I missed them a lot. Then, I told my grandparents that I would join the mathematics camp if they agree to these conditions: my aunt and cousin must follow along, my cousin must attend the tutorials with me if the teacher allows, and they must stay in Kulim for one more week after returning from Langkawi. They agreed with this, so we went to Langkawi together. However, there were no vacant rooms in Langkasuka Hotel. Therefore, my grandparents stayed in the Continental Hotel located next to Langkasuka Hotel, but my aunt and cousin stayed in Langkawi Lagoon Hotel which was located very far away. My cousin did not attend the tutorial with me as promised. Then, my aunt and cousin told me that they would go back to Australia on the 3rd day of my mathematics camp. I was very upset that they did not keep their promise. My grandfather told me that since the beginning he was actually lying to me about the promise, just to make me join the camp which in his opinion would be helpful for my future. I wanted to leave the mathematics camp and go home immediately, but he refused to let me do so.

Eventually, I did not perform well in the competition due to my poor mood, so I was knocked out. A few months later, I got a certificate for my participation in the mathematics camp. On the following year, when I was Standard 5, I did not want to join the Mathematics Society again. Instead, I chose to join the Chinese Chess Society. However, the Chinese Chess Society was soon closed and I had no choice but to take part in the Mathematics Society. Again, I participated in the mathematics quiz. Two of my friends went with me this time. However, I did not perform as well as I did in the previous year. Still, I and my friends had the opportunity to join the Kem Kecemerlangan Matematik at Cititel Hotel, Penang.

Once again, I was not happy during the mathematics camp. I stayed with my friends this time but my grandparents still followed along. At Cititel Hotel, we had to scan the room card in order to use the lift. We also had to insert the room card to have electricity in our room. One day, I could not use the lift because I left the card in the room so that the air-conditioner could remain on, while my friends brought their cards with them. My grandfather said that I was stupid to make such a sacrifice for my friends. One morning, my grandfather telephoned me and I told him that my friend was still sleeping. I did not know that my friend had already went for breakfast. Later, my friend told my grandparents that he already had breakfast, so my grandfather thought that I was lying to him. Because of those incidents, I was scolded badly by my grandfather.

After that, I and my friends were asked to join another mathematics camp in Berjaya Hotel, Penang. I told my grandparents that I did not want to join and I brought up the incidents in the previous camp, saying that they should not have scolded me. Consequently, I was once again scolded by my grandfather and he forced me to join this mathematics camp. However, this camp turned out to be the happiest one compared to the other camps. I once again stayed with my friends. On the first night, my parents followed along while for the rest of the nights, my grandparents followed along. Nevertheless, there were some issues. My father was disappointed with me because he felt that I was not independent enough. Besides, my mother accidentally placed my wet towel in my bag, causing some clothes to be wet, and my grandmother was upset about that. Even though I explained to my grandmother that it was my mother who did that, she didn't really believe me. However, these issues were just small issues compared to those in the other camps.

Later, I and my friends were once again asked to join a mathematics camp at Langkasuka Hotel, Langkawi for 5 days and 4 nights. This time, my grandparents did not force me to join, but I voluntarily chose to join. At that time, I lost the book I borrowed from the school library and my teacher was going to punish anyone who lost their book, but by joining the camp I could avoid the punishment since I would not be in school. Unfortunately, this camp ended up being the worst of all the camps I joined, as many unhappy incidents happened. My grandparents followed along again and this time I stayed in my grandparents' room. When we arrived at the jetty in Langkawi, I wanted to go to the toilet, so I followed my friend there. My grandfather came to look for us. He was unhappy because he thought that I just wanted to accompany my friend. When we returned to where everyone was waiting, everyone had gone except my grandmother who was still there. My grandfather asked me to follow him to look for the others. He did not see my grandmother, and I was not quite sure what was happening so I just followed him. My grandmother was angry as she had to carry all the bags by herself and run to catch up with us. When we arrived at the hotel, I was scolded by my grandparents. My grandfather said that it was stupid for me to accompany my friend while my grandmother said that I should not have left her alone. They also brought up the issue where I complained about the food when I attended my mother-side grandfather's dinner 2 days ago and scolded me for that.

One afternoon during the mathematics camp, I went to the room for the tutorial but there was no one there. My grandparents asked the hotel worker about that and the hotel worker said that the other students were going on a tour around Langkawi. Luckily, the bus waited for me so I could go along. As expected, my grandparents scolded me because of that. I did pay attention to what the teacher said, but I really did not know that there would be a tour on that afternoon. During the tutorial on that morning, I had a stomach ache so I went to the toilet, and the teacher probably told us about the tour at that time so I missed out on that. On the following night, I forgot to take my bag back to the hotel room after the tutorial, and my grandparents scolded me again. Then, when we went back home after the camp, we accidentally left one of our bags in the taxi. My grandparents blamed me for not helping them to take the bag.

After that experience, I told myself that I would never join any mathematics camp again. I thought I had performed poorly in the competition and would be knocked out. However, I and my friends were once again called to join a mathematics camp on the following year. I definitely did not want to join, especially that it was held during Chinese New Year and I had an exam immediately after that. My grandparents did not force me to join but they wanted me to write 'Yes' on the consent letter before making a decision. I did not want to listen to them, so I wrote 'No' on the letter and placed a tape on it so that it could not be changed. My grandparents scolded me for doing that because they felt that my action was an insult to the education department which issued the letter. In the end, I did not join the mathematics camp.

Since then, I continued to take part in other mathematics competitions, but I would never join a mathematics camp again. Now you know why I did not enjoy joining the camp.

Kerja Kursus PMR Geografi & Sejarah

NOTE: These courseworks were for the PMR examination previously. They may not be suitable for the new Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3 (PT3) examination as PMR and PT3 are very different in many aspects.

All Form One to Form Three students are required to do coursework for the Geography and History subject, once every year. The marks given for the coursework will be added to the PMR examination. Do you face any problems while doing your coursework? If yes, I can help you. I have uploaded my completed coursework to the internet, so you can download it. Use it as a guide for you to do your coursework.

To download the file, copy and paste the links below to the address bar and open the web page. To start downloading, click on 'Download Now' button. All these files are in .doc format and can be opened using any version of Microsoft Word. Below are the download links:

Contoh Kerja Kursus Geografi Tingkatan 3 (Amalan Kitar Semula):
http://www.4shared.com/document/GlU3NhG0/Folio_Geografi_Tingkatan_3.html

Contoh Kerja Kursus Geografi Tingkatan 2 (Dinamik Penduduk):
http://www.4shared.com/document/SM210P_x/Folio_Geografi_Tingkatan_2.html

Contoh Kerja Kursus Geografi Tingkatan 1 (Bentuk Muka Bumi):
http://www.4shared.com/document/8u9AG74Y/Folio_Geografi_Tingkatan_1.html

Contoh Kerja Kursus Sejarah Tingkatan 3 (Sejarah Tahun Baru Cina):
http://www.4shared.com/document/SuRuax3Q/Folio_Sejarah_Tingkatan_3.html

Contoh Kerja Kursus Sejarah Tingkatan 2 (Sejarah SMK Sultan Badlishah):
http://www.4shared.com/document/plm2bVpR/Folio_Sejarah_Tingkatan_2.html

For Kerja Kursus Sejarah Tingkatan 1, I did not do it correctly and I only got very little marks for it, so I am not uploading it.

NOTE: These courseworks were for the PMR examination previously. They may not be suitable for the new Pentaksiran Tingkatan 3 (PT3) examination as PMR and PT3 are very different in many aspects.

My 2009 Year-End Holiday

Everyone likes a long school holiday, especially the year-end holiday. I really enjoy a lot during my 2009 year-end school holiday. I went to many places and did many things for my holiday. The holiday starts at 20 November and ends at 2 January.

From 20 November to 5 December, I stay at home in Kulim. I studied some Form Three topics, learned Mathematics with my grandfather, read books, watched television and played computer games. I also went shopping and eating with my grandparents.

At 6 December, my parents came back to Kulim and took me to Kuala Lumpur for holidays. At there, I stayed in my parents house at Subang Jaya. I visited some places such as Genting Highlands.

At 14 December, my parents took me and my brother to Singapore. We went there by aeroplane. We sat Malaysian Airlines and flew from KLIA to Changi Airport, Singapore. At Singapore, we stayed at Meritus Mandarin Hotel. We visited places such as Orchard Road, Sentosa Island and Raffles Place. Singopore is a very nice city but the things there were very expensive. We stayed there for 3 days and 2 nights.

At 16 December, I went back to Kuala Lumpur and stayed there for a few days. At 19 December, my father and I went back to Kulim and took my grandparents to Kuala Lumpur. They will be going to Taiwan with my uncle and aunt.

At 22 December, I followed my grandparents to Taiwan. We sat Eva Airways from KLIA to Taipei Chongshan Airport. We went around Taiwan. We started from Taipei and went to Wulai, Flying-Cow Farm, Kaoshiung, Sun-Moon Lake, Tainan, Taichung and back to Taipei. At Taiwan, I get to visit many places and taste new foods. Taiwan is not as nice as Singapore but the things there were much cheaper and the people there were very friendly. We stayed there for 6 days and 5 nights.

At 28 December, I went back to Kuala Lumpur. A few days later at 31 December, my parents took me and my grandfather back home in Kulim. They went back to Kuala Lumpur at 3 January. 2 January was the last day of school holiday. The school reopen at 3 January 2010.