Dogathon 2014 at UPM #throwbackpost

Dogathon 2014: Battlefield, In Dog We Trust.

Dogathon is an annual event organised by veterinary students of University Putra Malaysia during the first semester of the year. How could I miss the biggest dog gathering in Malaysia? I became a volunteer this time instead of just being a visitor. Well I think the volunteers were somehow more than enough, so I was just being there to stand-by. Being a volunteer there means having less time to wander around, less photos were taken. Thus this post will be super short as I have explained the objectives of this event before last time (link at below) but I hope that photos below will bring back some memories!

Me as a part-time volunteer at the veterinary consultation! Saw some caring dog owners bringing their sweethearts over for a checkup. There was even one owner who noticed her dog had dandruff problem even though the dog was just a mongrel! It is really heart-warming to see people who are not bias towards dog breeds. 

Shades that blocked away some heat from the sun! The weather could get really hot during noon and doggies can get heat stroke easily. That is one of the reason that owners shouldn't leave their dogs in the car! 

There were water stations at various corners to rehydrate the dogs. I found that when big dogs drank from the basin after some exercises, the basin will be half-filled with their saliva. lol

What a sweetie~

Big dogs can be gentle too!

One of the most seen dog breeds in Dogathon. This one was without eye-brow make up, hahaha. Some owners drew eye brows for their Beagles! They looked really weird to me.

I fell in love with pugs (the once ugly dogs in my mind) after following Pewdiepie and Cutiepie on Youtube. 

As long as they are healthy and happy, breed doesn't matter!

You can always find 'gangs' of huski at Dogathon, either grey or brown. This one was quite small in size, there were gigantic ones!

Besides inserting chips for your dogs, it is good too if you have your dog wearing his name and your phone number when you take him for a walk or when he is allowed to go outside the house on its own. Just in case that he is lost someone can contact you immediately.

Dressing up for battlefield!

Owner and dog with matching outfit! How sweet is that?

The sweetest photo of the year! Can I get a kiss too?

Many people would prefer to keep pure breed dogs as pets because of their distinct features and desired personalities. To me, however, pure breed dogs are the results of human's modification on their genes for many many years so that they inherit the characteristics that the people want. They are beautiful and sweet, but they carry the genetic diseases with them which will explode when the time comes, when they get old. Because of their prices in the market, some people who breed the dogs in an inhumane way, making the dogs the breeding machines so that they can yield more puppies and more money. Thus, whichever kind of dogs that we have decided to keep, we should be a responsible owner since the birth of the dog to avoid contributing to the horrible industry. Adopt is a way better option since there are way too many strays wandering the streets looking for home.

Personally I have not owned any dog (except feeding the strays living at the alley), but I do have friends and relatives who owned these adorable furry friends. The dog might just be part of your life, but to him, you are his life. Cherish them, love them. =)

Dogathon 2015 coming soon! I can imagine the theme for the next event by seeing this trailer image. Will Dogathon 2015 break the record of 1216 dogs in Dogathon 2014? Lets make it happen!

P/S: Ahh this post was supposed to be written and posted last year!!! Well last semester I was really inactive in blogging so I think I should write up more now instead of just rotting at home. This was the second Dogathon event that I have attended and you might be interested with the first one Dogathon Stoneage 2013. I included more details regarding the aims of this event in that post. Don't be surprised if you see familiar dog faces in that old post! (I just realised it as well, hahaha)

Locks of Hope - Donate Your Hair!

You might have heard of or even experienced donation of body parts (ok... I consider blood as part of our body, hahaha), but have you thought about donating your hair? Maybe cutting hair is just like cutting nails to you (same goes to keeping long hair and keeping long nails), the hair will always end up in the dustbin, to be precise, on the floor of the saloon. Actually, a charity called Locks of Love was started back in 1997 in Florida, United States to collect hair which will be used to make wigs for cancer patients. Hair loss can be traumatic for cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy but a wig can be too expensive to be afforded since the patients already need to pay for their medical expenses. So this kind act in helping them to regain confidence is not something really new in this world.

Hair Donation Campaign of Malaysia version! Locks of Hope brought to you by MMIS Professional (I couldn't find its official website) and supported by National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM) and Amber Chia Academy.
(image taken from JLBuzzBee blog)

I have a group of friends who had been planning to donate their ponytails long time ago and finally got the motivation to do so. I will always remember that day when I spent four hours accompanying them to do the donation. Chinese New Year is just around the corner and the saloon was full of people wanting to look good for this big event. But I did not regret for tagging along even though I didn't do any donation (I have not mentally prepared myself to lose my long hair which finally passed the length of annoyance, and my hair is still not long enough for the donation).

I first knew that we can donate our hair for cancer patients when I saw this photo of Khe Sin holding her ponytail on Facebook (this photo got over one thousand likes!). 

The requirements are simple:

• the ponytail must be at least 8 inches long 
• the hair must be clean and dry
• the hair cannot be bleached, permanently coloured or chemically treated
• the hair must not more than 5% grey

According to the official website of Locks of Hope, it takes 8 to 15 ponytails to make a wig. So the hair will be processed and dyed to get a uniform colour. It is important that the hair take up the dye at the same rate so that they look the same although they came from different persons. The healthier your hair, the better. However, wavy or curly hair is acceptable as well.

There are two methods you can choose from in order to donate your ponytail:

• go to one of the saloons with Locks of Hope logo (a list of saloons which provide such service can be found on the official website)
• cut your hair according to the requirements by yourself and mail it (again, for more detailed information please refer to the official website)

(from the left) Erika, Wenly and Feather, the determined girls who decided to completely make a change to their hairstyle while doing some good deeds!

When you can get a brand new hairstyle while contributing to a charity, will you do it?

A Post Dedicated to Erika

It was a cloudy afternoon when I happily got back to my dorm after the Calculus examination. While I was taking off my shoes, I noticed a colourful envelop at the mailbox (every room has a small mail box where you can leave notes). The envelop was made of folded cosmetic flyer which you won't notice that it is actually a piece of advertisement unless you look closely. Wondering who would give me a self-made envelop with maybe a letter inside (a hand-written letter is something representing sincerity to me), I entered the dorm and settled down before examining this envelop carefully. It stated To Wendy at the front. Usually people who are really close to me will call me by my Chinese name, so who could it be? It took me a minute to finally find the opening of the envelop (it's not my fault!! The 'open here' was written so so small, hahaha).

Who won't like hand-made gift? I mean, letter. 

Gingerly opening the envelop (I don't want to damage it), I took out a piece of folded lined paper sealed with a black piggy sticker showing his butt back. The paper seemed to be torn off from a cute notebook with a quote You are the shaper of your own destiny. Again, I gingerly tore the sticker away and finally the content of this mysterious letter was revealed! The first clue was, it was written in Chinese. I immediately jumped to the lower right corner of the letter without looking through the content and found that the letter was written in 2014 (I received a letter from last year!!! Ok just fooling around, I noticed the letter a few days after it was placed there), by Erika my coursemate. After knowing the identity of the secret admirer person who wrote me letter, the first thing came into my mind was, Erika really wrote me a letter? Why?

This is Erika......who is enjoying some 'rests' during class. Don't judge. =P

There are very limited similarities between two of us except: graduated from matriculation (mine was in Selangor, hers was in Perak), chosen Bachelor of Environmental Science and Technology of UPM as first choice, girl, long hair, wearing spectacles and....I think that's it. She is one year younger than me (the privilege of being born on the first of January and indeed she behaves like one too =P) but already taking Bachelor course at the age of 18 which is two year faster than normal people (we took matriculation, that's why I am one year ahead and she is two). We quarrel a lot due to many many reasons. Our frequencies are just not right. She does not understand why I love pan mee and I don't understand why she loves bread with peanut butter.

She complains that I go to the class too early.

She complains that I like to go to the noodle stall or mamak stall.

She complains that I keep complaining about the songs she likes (I am only human~~~~~ Ugh)

She complains that the weather is very hot......while cycling (eh it has nothing to do with me, right).

She looks at me with a boring face when she knows that I am going to ask her to have early breakfast together.

She looks at me with a boring face when I show her my favourite songs (really nice what).

She looks at me with a boring face when I told her something I find interesting. 

She looks at me with a boring face watching me laughing like a maniac about my own jokes.

Despite of all the dislikes she has on me, she is one of the people who really tolerate my not-very-nice personalities. I am kinda pushy sometimes, but she still can tahan me. We don't have complimentary personalities, seriously, and we don't spend lots of time sticking to one another either. However, it is really something to have her as my coursemate. =)

Our first year in UPM. This was during Malam Silang Budaya at Kolej Tun Perak.

We rarely go outing together. This is at Simple Life, Midvalley.

This is at Subway, The Mines.

Chilling at Bukit Exspo. When shall we do it again?

Siao zha bor during Wildlife Seminar 2014. 

During one of the lab session.

We went volunteering together during MENGO H2O Hunt at Publika last year.

Actually I mentioned Erika a few times before in my blog. In case you have not noticed her in any of the posts, let me direct you to the link below (she is still single and available, no worries =P), she is either mentioned, or featured.

• Kayaking
• My First Fieldwork in University - Forest
• Conclusion for Lake Chini Fieldwork 2014
• The End of My Teen-age
• Mid-sem Break Update #2: A Lttile Bit about The Farm in UPM
• Everything Is Awesome - Comfort Zone
• Events on Labour Day (part 2) - 7th Chinese Orchestra Concert in UPM

P/S: Sorry that I didn't manage to celebrate your birthday with you as I slept through the countdown (LOL I know it's once in a lifetime), so I dedicated my first post of 2015 to you as my gratitude to have you as my coursemate, collegemate and friend. Have a blessing year ahead! Finally someone is catching up! Enjoy your 20-year-old! ^^

Community Service 2014 - Felda Air Tawar 3, Kota Tinggi, Johor

Honestly, I really dislike this 'subject' which is compulsory for all UPM students (I am not sure whether it is still compulsory for the following batch). Because of this 'subject', I lost my chance to participate in many events that I was interested in during Saturdays and I completed tasks because I had to, not because I wanted to. Community service is a good cause that encourages students to contribute to the community, but it is not good when students don't get to make their own decisions as in choosing the village that they want to go and activities that they want to carry out there to improve the community's living condition and awareness there. I had been hoping that this semester flew past, so that I can spend quality time doing things I like on weekends, and finally, it did.

Kampung Felda Air Tawar 3 (I didn't manage to see this view though)
(photo taken from Felda Air Tawar 3 blog)

However, there is one thing that I appreciate deeply, even after I left the place - our foster family, I believe all of us feel the same towards them. For two and a half days in Johor, we spent less than half of the time with them but still we could feel their tender loving care towards us. It was already school holidays when we went to Felda Air Tawar 3. There were weddings going on and villagers were busy doing the preparation (they have the rewang tradition where everyone in the village volunteerily participates in the cooking preparation for the wedding) but still they accepted our arrival. As a result, one family was willing to foster up to 11 students so that all 62 of us could joined this 'community service'! My foster family took 6 students, including me, Faa, Kogi, Mary, Idah and Mira who made up of 5 races: Malay, Chinese, India, Iban and Melanau.

At the beginning I was kinda worried. Firstly, I am not close to my foster-mates (we were not even acquaintances). Secondly, I am not really good in speaking daily Malay (writing is not a problem to me). Thirdly, I am shy and this was the first time I got adopted (LOL). My ayah angkat and mak angkat are orang Jawa and they are from the same generation as my grandparents. Ayah angkat is talkative and humourous, I really didn't expect an old man to keep making fun of me with language (ok he was just joking with me hahaha). Mak angkat is just like my grandmother who is always busy in the kitchen to prepare food for us. We felt her caring towards us through three meals that we had there. As soon as we reached our home (Kak Chombi, our foster sister fetched us), we were greeted with chilling ice bars (childhood!), drinks and a traditional Indonesian snack called Tampi which is made of dhal (food is really something that connects people together!). We chatted with ayah angkat to get to know each other more (and also among the foster-mates, hahaha) while munching on the snacks (mak angkat was cooking our lunch at the kitchen).  

Me and my lovely foster-mates!
(from left: Kogi, Faa, me, Mira, Idah and Mary)

After having eaten-with-hand lunch (I know it sounds weird, it feels weird too, to me, hehe), we headed back to the Wisma (the place where we had all the ceremonies and activities) for the preparation of station games for all the villagers especially children. I was surprised by the trust existed among the villagers. We went door to door to ask the children come out and join the station games and they did! They were happy and cheerful, unlike many children living in the city, unlike many of us there. I was somehow taken aback when a 9-year-old girl asked me my name and my age, and told me she had an older brother studying in university just like me. It was easy to feel close with them because of the trust they gave us. For the second day, many mak cik who were supposed to be busying in the kitchen joined the talk we held because they understood our situation and how awkward would it be if there was no audience (not many people attended because there were weddings going on).

They are just so sweet together!

At the night before we went back to UPM, we made currypuffs with mak angkat. We had lots of laughters due to our unskillfulness (except Mira who has such a gift!) and ugly currypuffs. Mak angkat felt just like my grandmother who cooks our meals and makes all the delicacies to feed our tummy. Grandma knows how to make currypuffs too, but I never helped out. I feel really ashamed for not spending quality time with grandma and suddenly I miss her very much. The next morning, we had to leave at noon. There was just not much time for us to mingle around. We walked around the village for awhile (the houses are quite far apart with hills going up and down) and headed back home to 'help out' in making baskets out of old newspapers. Yes we really wanted to help in making those baskets which will be given away as gift during our foster brother's wedding next year but we ended up messing around with the newspapers. The newspapers need to be rolled around thin stick which will be removed and the rolled newspapers will be used to make the basket. The basket will then be painted using lacquer as final touch. Before I managed to learn the waving skills, it's time to pack our luggage.

Us with our mak angkat and ayah angkat. Behind these smiling faces, there was sorrow. We have no idea whether we would ever meet again in future. Kota Tinggi is not really far away, I hope that one day we can gather again in this warm family.

Unsurprisingly, we all cried. It was a super emotional moment to me as well. How could some complete strangers accept you with open arms and treat you just like their children? And what kind of 'service' we had given to them that we deserve such a warm welcome? We have certainly gained something from this 'community service', not experience in organising activities or formal ceremonies, but the giving of unconditional love towards others, even strangers. You won't know how much people will be touched with your kind act. Maybe just a smile, maybe just a helping hand. This could be a happier world to live in.

Mak dan ayah, kami akan sentiasa merindui detik-detik manis sepanjang dua hari setengah tersebut. Jaga diri baik-baik ya, inshaallah kita akan berjumpa lagi!

Dear Fellow University Students, It's Time to Get Up! Bangkitlah!

First and foremost I feel sorry that both of my blogs have been deserted for quite some time. I have to force myself to pick up the keyboard again after putting blogging at a less important priority and it became a habit. Before this, whenever I blog, inspiration kept flowing into my mind that I feel relaxed and confident in writing. But now... I have to slowly recover from the laziness to blog although the final examinations are just around the corner in less than two weeks time!

For this post I just want to update a bit to round up this whole third semester of my life here in UPM. This semester is a great leap for me, not in terms of achievement (I have somehow abandoned Wushu, boohoo...) but my ideology and determination in doing something I really want to do. All these happened after I went to a charity lunch organised by Baramkini which was held to raise fund besides raising public awareness on this issue. The whole issue is about the protest towards the building of mega dam at Baram, a place belongs to native people (orang asli). If the dam is built, villages will be submerged and people there will have nowhere to go. Activists built houses and barrage to block the way getting into Baram to stop the construction progress. I believe that not many people in Peninsular Malaysia have known about this issue which involves human rights and also the environment because we are living comfortably without the risk of getting chased away from our home. There must be someone who are willing to stand up for the people whose voice couldn't be heard. Not many people are willing to do so, risking their life for the welfare of others. But still, this group of people do. They are volunteers from all walks of life who fight for people's right.

The barrages which are rebuilt and rebuilt to protect the homes of indigenous people.
(photo taken from the Facebook page of Baramkini)

What have university students done for the community? Focusing on studies? Nah, everyone knows that is bu*****t! This is not about politics, this is social movement. University students need to have the awareness regarding human rights and do something when we see unrighteous things happening around us instead of isolating ourselves from all these current critical issues because the adults asked us not to do so, it's against the 'rules', 'rules' that restrict us to do the right thing, 'rules' that turn us into a mere working force for the 'ruling' force in the future, 'rules' that scare us from speaking up for our own welfare! Since we were young, an ideology was planted in our head - obey the rules and feel afraid of the rules. Yes, rules that keep the society in order such as the traffic laws need to be followed, however, unrighteous rules that erode our rights must be fought against! We have learnt in the history of Malaysia that all the pahlawan were once a 'traitor' in the eyes of the authority. They sacrifice their reputation or even life to uphold the people's right, to prevent their people from being further bullied by the colonizers! On the other hand, do you see what happen here? Who are the poor victims and who are big bullies?

The reason I wrote this post is not to provoke university students in creating chaos but to remind everyone regarding our dangerous state of ignorance and indifference. We might be young and inexperience, we have no income and power, but there must be something we can do to help the unfortunate ones. It is still not a culture here in Malaysia for students to be proactive in fulfilling social responsibility, however we can initiate it and be the re-pioneer to bring back the past where students are the conscience of the society, the eyes for the era（社会的良知，时代的眼睛）who stand up for justice. We can slowly pick up the pace by starting with something small:

• Make complaints to the authority whenever you encounter a leaking tap, a broken street lamp, damaged road or any facility which is not functioning.
• Report to the authority if you witness or discover any criminal case such as stealing and burglary, especially if it happens on you.
• Keep yourself updated regarding the current issues especially those happening in Malaysia.
• Lending those in need a helping hand. For example, join Community Kitchen (Dapur Komuniti) which distributes food to poor people or be a volunteer to give tuition classes for children from poor families.
• Educate others regarding social awareness like consumer rights through conversations or writing.
• Sign petition to against unrighteous policies and regulations.

Every small deed counts. We are weak and insignificant if we act alone. Together, we stand strong. Let's make a change, a change that can make our lives a better one.

Give me ten young man, I will rock the world.   

                                                 --- Soekarno, former president of Indonesia

suteF

(Image taken from Rotten Tater website)

SPOILER! This is no ordinary platform game...
For a good game (even if it is a platform game), the background story is important because it is something that drive you to overcome the obstacles level by level. However, for this game, I do not quite understand the whole storyline which is quite confusing to me. Even though I tried to understand the story by reading through the blog of suteF after I played the game but I still get no clue. All I want to do was to help Aramas (the name of the main character you are controlling) to get the hell out of the eerie place and back to the reality. And it is obvious that the boss is named 'Fetus' which does not seem to die no matter how many times you pierce it using the laser beam until a spirit-like creature that looks like you gorges its eye out (blood and gore!!!).

You can see heaps of carcasses in that game. A contrast of blue and red.
(Image taken from the Games is Art website)

The escaping screen and a 'I-don't-know-what-is-that' monster.
(Image taken from Volcod website)

The fetus (which will multiply in size each time you kill it).
(Image taken from Rock, Paper, Shotgun website)

Again it is a 2D pixellated game which successfully caught my attention (I swear it is not because of the bloody scenes!) that I cracked my head for hours to finish the whole game. You have to press on switch, move crates and reverse the gravity so that you can get to the screen to proceed to the next level (for the last chapter there is no more screen though, it changes into an upward force as you go after the Fetus). Sometimes you work alone, sometimes you have a backpack that allows you to use clamp, sometimes with some other blue man which looks like you. Actually I am not sure whether I have really completed it because although it showed 'end' at the end of the game, there seems to be one chapter left to be unlocked. Besides, I like the font and the sound effects used which give more bonus to this game.

It is a very old game published back in 2010 and people are still playing it! You can download it here. If you figure out what is going on, please do tell me in the comment! Warning: You might be driven crazy for getting stuck at some levels for a long time, hahaha...

Trailer:

Flash Games Recommendations [from Game Jolt, no download needed]

For almost twenty years I am not able to play 3D games without getting myself a nausea which would last for hours. Tomb Raider, Call of Duty, Counter Strike, Prince of Persia, Bio Shock etc. especially those action ones. And I believe even if I overcome the nausea problem I will still be unable to play the game because those games are simply too tough for me. I get frustrated easily when playing a game so a complicated one is definitely a no no. An awesome game in my opinion is either it has a very nice graphic (nice graphic does not exist in 3D only) or a very good and unexpected storyline. And overall it has to be clean and neat, nothing is overdone.

Platform games can be boring because they look universal. You have to avoid monsters (or kill them), pick up power-up and at the end reach the check point like Mario (legendary!). Here's some platform games from Game Jolt that require no downloading. They are pretty good in their unique ways. Enjoy!

Simple colour and nice soundtrack.
(Screenshot from Game Jolt)

1) Persist
So you are a while spirit-like thing who seeks forgiveness from a cruel goddess who slowly takes away your arms (ability to swim), your legs (ability to jump) and your body (you can barely see your own presence). You have to survive through all the trials handicapped (yeah this should be the right word) and at the end been forgiven as you give up your life for 'her' in the story.

Three of you move parallelly in a not parallel universe. LOL
(Screenshot from Game Jolt)

2) Parallel 2
So you have to control three tiny people at the same time with only one set of control towards the check point in three different surroundings. Multi-functioning of your brain is a must. You must have no bias towards anyone of them. Or I should put it this way, you should set your priority so that all of them can reach the check points at the same time.

I fell in love with the rabbit. Cute, right?
(Screenshot from Game Jolt)

3) Tim_
So this is a very cute platform game where you are a rabbit and there are lots of crocodiles. The angry ones are bad (who are overprotective over their eggs) while the smiley ones are good but annoying, haha. As the game progresses, I found out that actually the rabbit is the villain who kills the crocodile king and be the king. As overall, it is a cute game. (Psst. The rabbit can freeze time)

A cute love story like the one from Warm Bodies, haha.
(Screenshot from Game Jolt)

4) I saw her standing there
So you saw her standing there...and? Well you fell in love with a zombie girlfriend and you have to lure her and keep her in a cage when there are other zombies around trying to kill you. At the end...you got bitten by your girlfriend and you two carry on your life happily ever after. LOL. After you complete the game, you will unlock some 'cheats' which can make the game more challenging.

The hot air balloon.
(Image taken form Youtube)

5) Moky SOS
So this is quite a new game and it already got some 5/5 reviews. The concept is very simple. Blow at the hot air balloon so that it reaches some pity fellas on some deserted places and send them to the checkpoint platform. Those fellas cannot board the hot air balloon if the balloon lands on the group, it should be afloat so that they can climb the rope stair. Besides, don't let the balloon hit the obstacles, or else some of the fellas will fall out and die.