Modern News

Oh lolol, SuperForest just updated about this video. It's really funny! The deadpan faces are a total riot!

The girl who silenced the world for five minutes.

Gooood morning, everybody!

"This is what one child told us, 'I wish i was rich. And if i were, i would give all the street children food, clothes, medicines, shelter and love and affection.' If a child on the street who has nothing is willing to share, why are we who have everything are still so greedy? I can't stop thinking that these are children my own age; that it makes tremendous difference where you are born; that i could be one of those children; i could be a child starving in Somalia, or a victim of war in the Middle East, or a beggar in India."

This is none other than Severn Cullis-Suzuki, environmental activist, speaker, television host and author, also none other than David Suzuki's daughter -- wowza!!

I highly recommend you watch this powerful video :)

Have a good day, all!

Braving it out

I have always been attracted to the idea of piercing your (ear) cartilage. There's no other way for me to describe this notion other than that i find it superbly cool. Unfortunately, my dreams were crushed when the one whom i confided this to told me that it hurts really bad when you pierce that spot.

Apparently. You'd be poking a hole in your bone.

MOREOVER. Someone actually went blind after piercing his cartilage once? The horrors. When i'd heard, i laid off the dream for a while, until i went to high school and saw numerous people with piercings all over their ears. And they weren't blind!

My amazing friend who decided to accompany me in my pain, also terrified. :D

So anyway, the idea has been playing around in my head for a while, and after deciding that i couldn't be so lucky as to go blind just by piercing my cartilage, i went for it.

And got two piercings on the cartilage.

On each ear.

Yes. *thumbs up* It's all still awesome.

What i did was, i went to a store in a mall and got it done with a gun. Which i have just found out is extremely bad, actually, because apparently the gun can shatter your cartilage (!!!). My ear's still fine (now) though.

Basically, what people say on the forums are :
- never get it done with a gun (can't be sterilized).
- always go for the needle. At professional places.

I did neither. I promise to keep you posted if my ear starts mutating.

As for what i was so terrified about, it surprisingly didn't hurt that much. My imagination distorted my perspectives so much that i imagined the pain to be so intense that i'd go into shock or die on the spot, or something. According to the wise ones on forums, though, this all varies with the person's pain tolerance :) for me, it hurt just about as much as a lobe piercing would hurt, which is pretty much still tolerable.

Would this be a bad way to reinvent myself? I think not :) i'm glad i went ahead and did it anyway.

No regrets! Question of the day -- what fears borne by your mind will you challenge today?

With joy,
J

Randy Pausch

...is an incredible man.

The Last Lecture : Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, was delivered by Randy Pausch after he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. And this was what made this hour-long lecture so fascinating to me right from the start. Because, despite the fact that this man had already been given a death sentence ["he was told in August 2007 to expect a remaining three to six months of good health"], he still maintained such a remarkably humorous and upbeat personality, the positivity he held clearly emanating off him as he spoke.

Randy Pausch died in July 2008, less than a year after he delivered his "Last Lecture", yet with his video up and his book in the stores, he doesn't cease to inspire.

One thing he spoke of that's stuck with me is this : -- "the brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things."

He further stressed, "they're there not to stop us, but to stop the people who don't want those things enough."

"They help us show our dedication; to separate us from the people who don't really want to achieve their childhood dreams."

Which requires no elaboration, cause the words he chose really speak for themselves. They provide a sound way to look at the things that are stopping us in life; a refreshing reminder for us to never give up -- a brand new perspective.

You know how to dream, to desire, to want things -- but how far are you prepared to go to get these things that you want? Are you ready to get out of your comfort zone to achieve these things? How much of yourself are you willing to give -- and this is in terms of effort and time and passion? If you get not what you want, then perhaps you are not giving enough. You probably don't want what you think you want enough.

Sometimes when we decide to approach something, we chose a method that we decide is the best, and then we get so deep into it that when it doesn't work out, we think that all is lost. But that isn't it. There are so many ways to get what you want -- whatever it is -- and just because the way that you think is best doesn't work out, doesn't mean all else won't either.

Think about it. When you hit a dead end, it's not the end. If you fail at getting your dream job, or your ideal scholarship, or admission into your chosen university, it is not the end.

Your journey isn't over.

It's only over when you say it's over. And that's the most beautiful part of it all -- it's your call.

It's all up to you.

Entirely.

Stay awesome, all.

(source)

Hey Jude, refrain.

Forgive me for the lack of regular updates, i just find myself much too preoccupied these days, swinging by the minutes on these powerful waves of gratitude and love :) it's a wonderful experience.

Anyway, i saw this a really long time ago of SuperForest, and suddenly it resurfaced again and i just felt i had to post it here :)

Who's up for some singing?

(source)

Na na, na na, na na, na na, naaaaa~

Better buses!

So, if you live in Klang Valley (KL) and you haven't heard, there's been a few new bus systems, the Bus Expressway Transit (BET) and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

Key points in this (hopefully) wonderful awesomeness :

• shorter routes for people in targeted areas
• shorter traveling time (dedicated bus lanes)
• MORE EFFICIENCY, which is what we all truly want.
  

The other BET routes are as follows :

(1) Penchala Link (Kota Damansara to Pasar Seni), with an estimated whooping 70 minutes reduction in travelling time (from 120 minutes to 50 minutes).

(2) New Pantai Expressway (Subang Mewah to Pasar Seni), with an estimated 15 minutes reduction in travelling time (from 75minutes to 60 minutes).

(3) Grand Saga (Bandar Sungai Long to Pasar Seni), with an estimated 35 minutes reduction in travelling time (from 85 minutes to 50 minutes).

(4) KESAS (Sri Muda to Pasar Seni), with an estimated 15 minutes reduction in travelling time (from 90 minutes to 75 minutes).

So far, (1) and (3) have been launched already :)

I personally experienced one of these awesome new implementations today, BET2 -- from Pasar Seni to Sungai Long -- which is supposed to be 35-minutes quicker than the usual U41 bus. I must say, me likey :)

Now, BET2 doesn't go through the usual route that U41 takes, which means it doesn't go past Jusco Cheras Selatan. It DOES go past Cheras Leisure Mall, which is a great plus for those of you who are sick of Cheras Selatan already. Other than that, everything's great! Definitely felt like we traveled a much shorter distance as compared to the usual bus.

For full post, click here.

What not to do...

...when you're dying hair, is NEVER let your bare skin touch the dye.

I mean, you probably already knew this, if you read the instructions like i did not do. Or if you have common sense. Or if you're not lazy.

If you DO want to know how your hand turns out, though, then here's to satisfying your curiosity.

My fingers are officially disgusting :D they'll be so embarrassed to show their face at class tomorrow... Oh well.

On another note, the best part about being Malaysian is....

Ice cream potong!!

Durian flavor!!!!!!

Awesome!

Sneeze!

The act of sneezing, as defined by www.thefreedictionary.com is,

to expel air forcibly from the mouth and nose in an explosive, spasmodic involuntary action resulting chiefly from irritation of the nasal mucous membrane.

Which sounds pretty awesome, actually. If we all reacted in explosive, spasmodic and involuntary ways following a disruption of regularity -- well, life would surely be a little bit more unpredictable, eh?

(considering we don't cross the line, of course)

Look at this one go!

According to Wikipedia,

A sneeze is a semi-autonomous, convulsive expulsion of air from the lungs through the nose and mouth, usually caused by foreign particles irritating the nasal mucosa.

During a sneeze, the soft palate and uvula depress while the back of the tongue elevates to partially close the passage to the mouth so that air ejected from the lungs may be expelled through the nose. Because the closing of the mouth is partial, a considerable amount of this air is usually also expelled from the mouth.

It triggers the release of histamines, which irritate the nerve cells in the nose, resulting in signals being sent to the brain to initiate the sneeze through the trigeminal nerve network. The brain then relates this initial signal, activates the pharyngeal and tracheal muscles and creates a large opening of the nasal and oral cavities, resulting in a powerful release of air and bioparticles. The powerful sneeze is attributed to its involvement of numerous organs of the upper body – it is a reflexive response involving the face, throat, and chest muscles

Or you could just take a look at it from the Awesome way and finally realize that each time you convulsively, explosively and involuntarily expel air from your lungs, someone out there is missing you. Like crazy.

Yeah, read it. Process it. Go through the words repeatedly in your head. And then believe it.

Fun facts galore!

-In Ancient Greece, people considered sneezes to be prophetic signs from the Gods they worshiped.
-In Europe, way back in the Middle Ages, people believed sneezing to be fatal (hence the numerous god bless you!s that fill the air following a sneeze).
-In Nepal, sneezers are believed to be remembered by someone at that particular moment.

Let's all be Nepalese, in terms of sneezes.

Good day, all ;)

Spread the love

Today, see if you can stretch your heart and expand your love so that it touches not only those to whom you can give it easily, but also those who need it so much.

- Daphne Rose Kingma

Goooood day everybody!

Here's today's challenge for you all -- be love. I first heard of this from Jason Mraz's blog, and i wasn't really sure of what the man was talking about. To be love? I mean, i know how to love, but to be love? Well, i don't much know how do i define being love, so here it is from the man himself :

“Be Love” is a bold declaration. It’s about choosing kindness over being right. It’s about cutting out the conditions in which you might think are required for love and going straight to the source, or rather, being the source yourself, that which is Love, unconditional.

By just one single sentence in there -- it's about choosing kindness over being right -- i have already encountered several challenges. I think it has been naturally instilled in me over the few years of my life the desire to be right.

When a friend or family member wrongs me (albeit unintentionally), i find it necessary to battle it out till the end, until everyone -- most of all said friend or family member itself -- knows that i am right.

When someone isn't generous enough to me yet expects me to be a completely giving person right back, i become compelled to shun that person right in their face.

When someone says "no" to my request, i get mad and prepare myself to reject that person at their next request of me.

Well, that ain't right. The alternative to entertaining this inane desire to be right all the time is to just take a step back and look at things from a wider perspective, because ultimately at the end of the day, when i am right, the only person who is happy is -- well let's face it -- me. And even most of the time this twisted satisfaction of mine has an underlying guilt to it because now there is a strained vibe to the air -- because of me.

It isn't necessary to be right all the time; to "win" every time. After all, with all the uneasiness/unhappiness caused, the satisfaction i get becomes nothing but a cheap thrill that will be forgotten all too soon -- and then what is the point? The perfect words to sum this up is that "it all amounts to nothing in the end". If all we have is right now, then why do we want to make these Now moments miserable ones?

So i have made it one of my resolutions this year to Be Love, and it will be a challenge. I will have to face off with the Selfish in me everyday, especially when it catches me unaware. It will be tricky. It will be awesome :)

Questions of the day. Will you yourself partake in this challenge to become a transformed person? And how will you go about it?

With love ♥

Exercise your imagination

Sometimes, i fall off my wave of positivity and get hit by certain thoughts and doubts that make me question my own goals and capabilities, and i begin to wonder if i'm stretching myself too thin. Can i really achieve this much? What if i don't do it well?

These are my down times, and i begin to crawl back into my shell, threatened by uncertainty and the absence of conviction. But not too soon i realize that it's all my mind. It is ultimately the mind that tricks you into thinking that you're not good enough for certain things, that tells you to lower your goals, that tells you to be "realistic". In the end, it is the mind that stops you from being your most amazing self.

Let's be truthful with ourselves here. We're not meant to be realistic. "Realistic" is just way of conforming to the situation around you, of changing yourself to fit with the flow. To be realistic is to keep yourself from fully trying to achieve your true potential. Was Edison being realistic when he invented the electric bulb? I think not. But still he did, and how everyone celebrates that success now.

So what we need to do, is to stop. Just stop whatever you're doing, and inhale. Breathe.

And then imagine.

Imagine yourself achieving all your goals, ALL of it. Even the most impossible ones. The secret dreams you have of being an astronaut? Your fifteen-year-old plan to be a landscape artist and design the most amazing park on earth? Your clandestine desire to speak eight different languages?

Imagine the ways you can go about it. If you can't, then think harder. "Impossible" or "i'm not meant for that" are merely limiting conditions that you set upon yourself, and they can most certainly disappear if you should chose so. It really is that simple, believe it or not.

Each of us are meant for great things, and you don't have to have a photographic memory, or be quick at maths, or know how to draw, to have awesome things stored in your future. And that is the reality of it all. Remember the lyrics, look into your heart and you'll find the sky is yours? Think about it.

Why are you stopping yourself?

The world is but a canvas to the imagination.

Henry David Thoreau

Be awesome always.

No Plastic Bag Day

Goooood morning! Well, the day has actually stretched on into noon already by now, but since i am still pre-breakfast, let's take it as a good morning.

So i woke up this morning to wonderful news : [click here]

No more plastic bags on Saturdays! Awesome! Go, Selangor government! Now, how's 'bout the other states start following suit? Or perhaps implement this move on more days of the week?

Did you ever notice the little symbols embedded into the plastic products you use? The recycling symbols with the numbers in between them -- the resin identification code.

These are meant to make our lives easier when sorting out the types of plastics for recycling -- but did you know that only a small part of only TWO out of these seven types of plastics are recycled? That would be code 1 (PET) and code 2 (HDPE).

Now, the soft drink/mineral water bottles we use account for code 1. On the other hand, code 2 plastic materials consist of grocery bags, shampoo bottles, etc. But what happens to the other 5 types of plastics? And what of plastic bags (code 4) -- the very ones that we see at Tesco, Giant, or pasar malam? The ones that are supposedly not given out on Saturdays in Selangor anymore?

Well, as most of these recycled plastic have little market value, most industries are now starting to resort to incineration. Yeap, i believe we just took a high leap from recycling to incinerating. Naturally, this means extreme air pollution AND waste of energy.

So what do we do if recycling isn't really an effective solution? Well, the obvious thing to do would be to cut down on the usage of plastic materials in your everyday life. Instead of buying bottled water every time you go out, why not bring your own water instead? Instead of getting new plastic bags every time you hit the supermarket, why not buy one of those hip reusable bags and reuse it?

Simple as that! Think about it. Less plastic used, less plastic needed to be recycled, less pollution, greener environment! Awesome!

Have a wonderful day, all. :)

It begins now

So, what is FUN-damentally Awesome, anyway? I suppose in a nutshell, you could say that this is an environmental blog, a positivity blog and an awareness blog rolled into one. Mainly, though, i hope to inspire you, yes you, the person reading this.

Fact is, i launched this blog without a clear guideline to follow. All i know is that i've been feeling this amazing sense of positivity, and i just want to share it -- because suddenly, it's easier to pick myself up after shit happens. Suddenly, happiness isn't so hard to find.

Suddenly, life is a breeze.

Now, i'm not an expert on life philosophies, far from it -- but i hate to see the next person discouraged or just plain miserable when actually, it isn't that hard to turn things around on your own. All it takes is some good ol' determination and some guts. Truly.

Well, the new year has begun, and together with the arrival of 2010 is also the birth of a spanking-new decade, one that can be full of successes and love and joy, if YOU chose it to be so (it really is that simple).

So today, i urge you to start caring about your environment, and by this i follow the SuperForest Humanifesto, by which your environment is everything that disappears when you close your eyes. Everything in your vicinity; everything that you can touch, or see, or feel.

Today i officially invite you to start turning your life around. If you feel like you're stuck in a rut, then go on ahead and haul yourself out of it. Lousy job, lousy relationship, lousy routine -- what is that? Here's your chance to wake yourselves up now. 2010 is here already, so what are you waiting for? The world is filled with all these unbelievable and brilliant things, experiences and people that you and i have yet to find -- and they are all out there, waiting for us to come and find them.

I'm here to spread the word, of gratitude and love and awesomeness. I do believe that each and every person has a certain level of awesomeness in them, and it only takes some faith on their part to cause all of that life-transforming, incredible awesomeness to erupt and overflow, bubbling out and bringing them to places of amazing heights and highs.

And then you will realize. :)

With love ♥