Review: Machete is a tough nut to crack!
Blessed Thanksgiving + Chaotic Black Friday + International Get-together
These three days were the heights of the holidays!
I had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at the home of the Martins on Thursday. Thanks to Dave's family and his parents for hosting me and some African students over for the delicious wholesome homemade supper.
The almighty.Everything was so perfect - stuffings, mash potatoes, baked beans, corns, veges, fruits, cookies, pies, and oh, the almighty turkey. The night was made even more unforgettable with the grown-ups playing "Sort It Out" after the supper. Love you all, Martins!
The second most important element of Thanksgiving (after a delicious and warm family dinner), is the time of maniacal shopping - Black Friday!
So, my gracious Vietnamese friends reserved a seat in Huy's new Toyota so I can joined them in the craze too. Off we went to on the adventure of see-who-gets-the-best-deal-first at 10am to the ever busy cities.
Look, the flow at Aeropostale.It wasn't as bad as we had to queue last year. This time round, almost all shops were opened earlier than advertised and the weather did help cutting down the human flood, I guess - it was negative 14 Celsius outside.
So, after three stops and 8 hours of shopping spree, we decided to call it a day, and headed back to St. Cloud. I was totally wasted (from the human squeezing and goods hunting) when I stepped back to my cozy island. I then slept from 8 am to 4 pm.
One of my prized possessions now. Big Nike High - $23.Tonight, ISA decided to give those who are staying over the campus a treat by hosting an International Thanksgiving [potluck] Dinner at Lawrence Hall lounge. We also did celebrate with the November-born babies, a simple birthday bash. (And we sang "Happy Birthday" in 5 languages!)
An excited group of students.The turnout was unexpectedly good, thank God that the food we prepared was enough to feed the hungry souls. We then also had a great time of fellowship as Magied, our honorary ex-president of ISA, led us in playing the Cherrade game.
As we proceed to December, let's take a quick look at our New Year resolutions and mark out those that are yet to be accomplished. Don't wait no more, we have about 30 days before 2011 says 'Hello!'
Ready for winter?This holiday has as if given me an oxygen tank while I was diving in the ocean of school and responsibilities. I really appreciate the privilege of not having to set my alarms for the mornings in these three days.
Boy, I love holidays.
holidays, thanksgiving, black friday, shopping, nike, shoes, boys, jump, happy, family, dinner, sort it out, fun, love, sleep
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 review- It is any good?
Discovering an attitude of gratitude
November is home to the Thanksgiving holiday – the perfect time to reflect on our attitude of gratitude. Before we get too much into preparing the turkey, bread stuffing, mash potatoes and wild rice, let’s set aside a couple of minutes preparing our mind for the occasion.
We know Thanksgiving holiday is a season of get togethers or reunions. Most students normally travel back to their respective homes to meet their families; international students, on the other hand, may be invited over to a few American homes to experience a warm and welcoming dinner.
Yet how many of us really conjecture the meaning for Thanksgiving? I have never celebrated Thanksgiving holiday back in Malaysia. In fact, most countries where my friends are from: Germany, Vietnam and China do not celebration this festival either.
So, this is something new for us.
My first Thanksgiving dinner was spent at the home of an SCSU staff member. It was an all-American dinner I had and it was indeed an experience to be cherished. What I learned last year was that there is more to just getting to meet another and have a delicious meal over turkey and candles. Thanksgiving is a time for celebrating what we have been blessed with and showing our gratitude to whom that has provided our needs.
Before we discuss the importance of showing gratitude, people have to realize what they have forgotten to appreciate during the year – or their life.
People, circumstances and expectations always keep others from truly being grateful.
It is true that sometimes bad company can influence good character. Keep away from people you know may discourage you from doing good and willing to share. Bond with those who know the beauty of life and would appreciate them. People are imperfect. People are often carried away by the happenings in everyday life and forget about that “big picture.” Imagine losing something so dear to you, like your loved ones or your favorite possession, would it be easy to see the other blessings in life and be grateful?
It is not simple.
Circumstances keep us away from being grateful for what we have or had in life. When undesired and unexpected events take place in our life, we feel so vulnerable that no one is in control of things, until we lose that attitude for gratitude. However, we need to always see the multiple sides to things happened. Be appreciative during bad times, because it may have been worse.
Finally, it is the set expectations we set for ourselves that have moved us away from being grateful. This may be the hardest aspect to realize on our own, especially because the nature of this rests in the mind. There are many pressures to be the best in life whether it is the best student, professor, or parent – so some level of respect or satisfaction is reached. But, many may not lead the life they thought they would. And that happens.
Not being able to pass a class, losing control of your rebellious son or a failed campaign could happen to anyone. Whoever endures this can still find appreciation. So much in our life is that search for bigger cars, better friends, and more luxurious lifestyle. But life is not all about things that fall into their right place. It is also about learning to stand up every time you fall. So, be grateful over failures too as they are the best lessons we could have gotten in life.
My pastor at church once said, “avoid complaining at all cost.” Every time we want to grumble over certain issue, first think of the product of such a whine. If whining doesn’t make things better, constructive evaluation does. People get overwhelmed when small matters become complaints. Since it does not really make anyone feel better, quit complaining and start learning how to problem solve and appreciate others’ efforts.
Second, and the most important how-to, is to make a personal choice to be grateful. It is not possible to force one to be appreciative if he or she doesn’t feel that way. This is what makes an attitude of gratitude special and close to heart. Every bit of “thank you” must come from the heart of that individual, which is why it is unique. The more you are grateful for what you have, the more you will receive; the more grumbling and complaints you post, the less you will receive in return; this is the way of life.
So, let’s practice this attitude of gratitude in this perfect timing of Thanksgiving.
thanksgiving, family, gratitude, give thanks, argument, fight, love, holiday, friends,
A little artsy. A little sleepy.
First, I headed the decoration team for the annual Passport to the World event, where the theme was "Celebrations." The turnout for the event was enormous. Kids and parents from all around St. Cloud came over to the human-filled Ballroom on Sunday to experience the different cultures showcased by more than 20 countries and student organizations represented there.
To cover what ISA has done over last year.
I then designed a display for the International Students Association (ISA) expo tri-fold for a university-wide exhibition - a three hour labor and ISA won the most inclusive project award!
The piece that everyone fights for.
Also on Friday, I volunteered at the 1x1 Art Gala held at the Red Carpet downtown St. Cloud. It was a fundraiser event collecting donations for the National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) for both St. Cloud State and St. Cloud Tech teams. Participants made creative art or craft from a single 1x1 square foot wooden block, turning them into something unique. It was another night of sophisticated crafts and artsy productions. People who attended the expo also silent auctioned for the art pieces displayed. Together with some students from SCSU and SCTC, I helped set up and tear down the bar for the event. It was an eye-opener seeing many different creativity overflow.
Also, took some leftovers from the Passport to the World event and adopted to my pity wall.
Finally, I felt my room needed some colors to I used the paint chips I collected from Menards last semester and create three paint chip frames for my wall. The quality is rough but I guess the impression is there, blah, whatever.
Well well, that is it for the weekend. Not much of school work yet feeling very sleepy towards the afternoons. I guess mainly it is because the cold strikes and it brings out the hibernating beast in me.
Looking forward to Thanksgiving holiday. Peace out!
art, paint chips, 1x1 art gala, red carpet, menards, weekend
Looking for a good rest.
I would say I am 90% done with the paper (I am down with 11 pages with a 11 pt font, I think that is good enough). Interviewed my advertising course professor today and will wrap this research paper with his quotes. It shall be all done by tonight!
And then I can sleep soundly tonight.This is a good lesson to all: never wait till last minute or you will end up being me - a laptop, an open Word document, and five hours of praying mantis position - for seven days. Nonetheless I wanna thank God for keeping me focus the past seven days. It was Him who kept me tight sitting in front of the computer, going nowhere, doing nothing else but write.
Well, a week more till Thanksgiving! But I will be having a media presentation and media history test two days before Black Friday, what a bummer.
Guess things are packing up really quickly around this time of the year, so I will just flow with everything else, making sure deadlines are met and expectations are achieved. Thank you for bearing with me, appreciate your patience and interest.
Rite, will keep you posted about this weekend presently. Cheerios!
Darren Aronofsky is the director WOLVERINE sequel
Anyway, enough trolling. The new wolverine
Ace your term papers: Tips to tackle your nightmare.
We may have this common nightmare: just when you were enjoying the last bits of fun in your classes, assuming that everything is going well under control, just to find out that your final grade will be determined by a semester-long term paper.
You begin to panic, yet not to worry that you are alone because your classmates tell you the same stories about how they are burning mid-night oil just rewriting their paper.
Your palms begin to sweat. Then your professor asks, with the sweetest smile ever, “where is your paper?”
Before the above nightmare happens to you, you better off start working on any term papers you may have been assigned for the semester.
“But, how?” you asked. Having to jumpstart on any given task is always tough. Do not fear. Here are the some tips to tackle your killer term papers.
First, always remember that there is an objective in each paper assigned by your professor. Know the reason you are writing a paper, be it a research article, fiction, or non-fiction stories. All you need to do for a head start is to determine the focus of your paper. For example, if you are given a term paper on cultural botany, do not start writing until you have done your preparation: look for relevant subtopics to the assignment.
For example, you can ask yourself if you want to focus on writing the relationship between plants and the human society; or you might want to crack down on the types of botany in different geographical areas and their usage in different fields.
Once you have gotten that light bulb in your head, it is time to look around for sources. Many professors assign students with research papers because they want the students to find out more about certain topics on their own. The university’s library is always a great resource available to campus students. Spend some time in the library and you may be surprised how much these books – that have been sitting at a dark corner – could offer! Better off, head off to the professor’s office and ask him or her questions directly.
This lead into my next point – go to office hours. We do know that professors set aside time for their students to come in and discuss over issues and class topics. Some professors have even set aside the work and have coffee hours so they can socialize with their students, and blend into their perspectives.
Therefore, put your name on that sign-up sheet, or shoot an email to your class professors for an appointment to talk over your struggles with your paper. I personally think that it is also OK to meet with your professors even if you have not much of a trouble writing your paper. Know that it is through informal discussion that we may learn at a deeper level the material delivered in the course.
Next, write, revise, and rewrite your paper. We may not get it right at the first time but that is certainly human. Put yourself in the shoes of your professors and think how they would expect a paper to turn out to be. Also, allow yourself to free-write. That means not writing in a chronological order. For instance, you may think of the usage of certain plants before learning where they are grown. The computer word-processing programs have a very good function, which is to allow you to copy and paste your text anywhere you wish in a document. Hence, do not try to limit yourself and simply let your ideas grow.
Once you have your paper developed into a desired structure, it is time to collect feedback. Many of us, including myself, forget about this final yet the most critical part in the process of writing a paper. When I was interning as a copywriter, I often have my work double-checked by another set of eyes before sending out to production. This is because, again, we are human and no robots.
The more familiar we are with a text, the more we trust that it is written flawlessly. After spending lots of time researching your topic and drafting your paper, you might not notice small spelling or grammatical errors. Or, even worse, you might have a lot of great material, but fail to answer the professor’s question. So, do not hesitate to get your friends (trusted friends) to go through your papers, reading it aloud before you. You will be shocked by some silly mistakes that you might never have made.
Finally, turn in your paper on time. Some professors do accept early submission. Do not wait till the last minute to submit, only to find that your computer crashes or your printer decides to run out of ink. Those marks got deducted for late submissions due to these technical hiccups are not worth it at all.
My concluding advice: hang in there. The semester is almost done and we can look forward to a pretty decent winter break (isn’t it amazing that we still do not have snow at this time of the year?) But for now, start spending hours on your papers before this nightmare becomes awfully true.
Quick Feed
It's Veteran's Day (public holiday in U.S.) so I wanna do a quick entry for update here.
If you've noticed (you should!) I made myself a new header for this blog. I guess after four years it deserves an identity, if not a sort of brand, for its own. So there you go, My Life | His Way is dedicated to keep track of noteworthy happenings as I try to decode the ciphers in my everyday life.
While I was clearing out stuff, i.e. rearranging my paper folder, I was amazed by what has gone by this semester and how quickly time passed. We are two weeks away from Thanksgiving and four weeks till finals!
Things just keep happening non-stop and it is true that time and tide wait for no man.
My biggest concern for the time being is my Media History research paper. If I were to list something that I regret the most this semester, it would be the procrastination to completing this paper. I took the books from the library - like 2 months ago - and held on to them till today.
Well, I am very DETERMINED to start writing today, at least a page or two. All I have to do is to click on the MS Word icon and begin writing.
At a side note, I have also just completed the course registration for Spring '11, with one or two classes pending to be overridden by my professors. This mean the next thing to worry over the winter is tuition fees and scholarship. It is always a headache to look at the outstanding bill on my account. But I believe God will make a way.
Also, Spring will be my second last semester! I am pretty excited about finishing up school and head off to the world. Nonetheless I am keeping grad school in mind - it all depends how God is leading me.
Well, guess I have ranted enough. It's time to double-click the little blue icon that will eventually lead me to a 15-page research essay.
Aite folks, ya'll have a great day!
Top 10 film villains
Where do i start with this guy? Besides wearing some pretty cool clothes and having a cool hairstyle (mini ponytail!), possessing supernatural powers and being a skilled, if not the greatest fighter himself, he is just evil. However, not evil in terms of looking angry all the time nor menacing. But the other type of evil you can fall in love with. Cunning,
Malaysians took stage: A splash of colorful culture
Update: UTVS covers the event. Watch news here!
Sponsored by the Malaysian Students Association (MSA), the evening was held in Atwood Ballroom, Atwood Memorial Center on a Saturday evening. According to the current MSA President, Karthiga Devi Veeramani, the MSA members and volunteers have been preparing for this event since two months ago.
"We practice every Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 6 p.m., for about two months already," said Yong Heng Lee, honorary president of MSA.
The event kicked off right after the Ballroom was filled with guests. According to Joyce Wee, programmer of the night, the total ticket sales was close to 350, no including children under 12 years old who can admit for free.
To begin the night, speeches were delivered by representatives from the Students' Life and Development department, Center for International Studies, Malaysian Students Department (Chicago), and the MSA president.
The first performance presented was Dikir-barat, introduced by emcees, Anasthasya Anthony and Jun Kai Teoh, as a traditional Malay cultural dance originated from Kelantan.
MSA President Veeramani then performed a traditional Indian dance immediately after the lighting ceremony.
The joyful music moved the audience as the dessert of the night was served - Roti Kahwin (bread with butter and coconut jam).
As the guests were enjoying the Roti Kahwin, the next performance, which is "a twist from the traditional" was performed. The 7-member modern dance team took stage and heated up the entire atmosphere. The audience cheer and applause throughout the performance.
Right after that hyping show, the dinner bell was rung. It was the time the guests have been longing for, to taste the local cuisine wholly prepared by the Malaysian students.
The menu of the night includes Satay Chicken, Red Spicy Beef, Flavored Rice, and other Malaysian flavors. The featured beverage of the night was Teh Tarik.
As the guests were enjoying their delicious meals, Jason Tham and Hui Ling Lee took stage, performing a duet entitled "Melodi," composed by a Malaysian musician.
After the beautiful song was presented, the fan dance girls brought the Chinese culture back on stage.
The climax of the night was built towards the anticipated 24-season drums performance. According to the emcees, this performance is the signature performance of MSA and it is always asked to be presented during cultural nights.
The 10-minute drumming performance took the audience onto a journey of beats and rhythm.
The final performance of the night was the Fusion dance, combining all three major cultures in Malaysia.
The night ended on a high note when all the performers and volunteers went back on stage to thank the guests for their attendance.
"It is one of the best cultural nights I have ever been to," said an unnamed guests, who is a regular to St. Cloud State cultural nights.
MSA as whole believed the night was a successful event and strives to achieve better for the coming cultural night.
Reported by Jason T.
Author | My Life His Way Times
Michael Jackson's new album on December 14th
Finally Sony unveileved its plans to release the first proper posthumous work of Michael Jackson. The album is called simply "Michael". Within a year:
the Michael Jackson Estate has earned more than 1
Official announcement about Silent Hill sequel from its director
Finally, it’s been announced and I can say officially what I’ve been eager to share with you all for a little while now; I’ve written and am going to be directing the new Silent Hill movie. I love the games and was a huge admirer of the first film. Especially how Christophe Gans and his team managed to capture the look and feel of the
Post test. Exciting Weekend.
So up next is Malaysian night, coming right this Saturday. I will be doing three performances. I would like to invite all of you who are in St. Cloud to come over to Atwood Ballroom at 6p.m. to enjoy an evening of Malaysian cuisines and the splash of our culture. We promise you an unforgettable night!Alright, I am really excited.
I will be going for an ad agency tour with the American Advertising Federation (AAF) at Colle+McVoy at downtown Minneapolis tomorrow. Though I have already interned at Creative Thumbprint last summer, this will be my first experience stepping into an American ad agency.
The rest of the weekend will be practices and rehearsals for M'sian night (look at how much effort we all are putting in, you must come and support us!)
But the boomer is - another big test on Monday: Organizational Communications. God bless me.
Okay, guess I will hit the bed now for a sweet dream. And I hope to see you this Saturday.
Cheerios!
Michael J. Bassett to direct Silent Hill sequel
Word is that Michael J. Bassett, the talented director behind Solomon Kane is going to direct the sequel to one of the best videogame adaptations out there, the awesome Silent hill, in 3D. The storyline will be close to the one of the second game. Roger Avary, the oscar co-writer of Pulp Fiction and Silent Hill, will return after he was released from prison due to his involvement in a fatal
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RED review-its a total blast
It belongs to the weird territory of action comedy, a hybrid that has not too many good examples except for "48 hours" and "