Rich in the Heart

William Henry Gates III, or better known as Bill Gates, is an American entrepreneur and the co-founder of Microsoft, the world's largest software company. Forbes magazine's list of The World's Billionnaires has ranked him as the richest person on earth for the last thirteen consecutive years, with a current networth of approximately $53 billion. Since amassing his fortune, Gates has donated a large amount of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Here, my frens, is an example of a man worthy of being rich.

Yes, when you are rich, you get to spend as much as you like. It's true, it's your money, you worked hard for it mar. But then, try to spend wisely lar. *Points finger at how rich people like Roman Abramovich spends their money on a football club (paying an estimated £500 million)*. (Please note that I am not saying that Roman is not a kind person. He might be having is own charity organization going on. I am just pointing out at how he spent his money). Hello Rich People, there are many kids who don't have enuf food to eat also u know? Why can't you just spend a little less and sponsor a child? Who knows, he might be a leader in the future if he/she gets to live a proper life.

Unlike many rich people that spend their money unwisely, Bill Gates is one of the few rich guys that I really respected. He's one in a million in terms of giving back to the community. I alwiz believe that one should do so. Imagine how many child can £500 million sponsor. Then there would be a world without poverty. Sadly, humans are born wif greed. Therefore this situation will never exist.

H.B.P

High blood pressure, a.k.a HBP to me, or hypertension is very common in our community. The truth is, HBP sneaks up on you. For years it stays silent in your body and causes no symptoms, even when the pressure is quite high. Then at the wrong moment it bursts out, leaving you with strokes, heart attacks and heart failure. Silent killer sial !

Why is HBP important? HBP causes the heart muscle to enlarge and the heart to weaken. It also damages your blood vessels, especially if you have raised blood cholesterol or diabetis or smoke cigarettes (Wow, I might have hit 2/3 here). When your blood vessels become narrowed or blocked, a heart attack or stroke may occur. Tadaaa.... that's HBP. Now that you guys know about HBP, here's some facts about it.

1. H.B.P is one of the most common complex genetic disorders, with generic heritability averaging 30%.
2. Factors such as being overweight, smoking, not enough physical activity, high alchohol intake, and a diet high in salt contributes to H.B.P.
3. Women of menopausal age are susceptible to developing high blood pressure, which can lead to stroke and heart attack if left untreated.
4. If you feel fatigued all the time, confusion, vision changes, chest pain, and more, it is most likely you have chronic hypertension.
5. Doctors and scientists don’t know exactly what causes it, but many believe that it can be influenced by genetics, diet and stress.

Okay.. So where does this post goes then? Well, my dad has high blood pressure. I'm sure it's pretty normal for men his age. However, it's not a pleasent sight watching your dad suffer when hypertension strikes. In case you don't know, when tension arises, you get a stiff feeling at the back of your neck. It tightens the muscles behind your neck giving you an unpleasant feeling. Imagine being squeeze hard at the back of your head. Besides that, you have super duper headaches which only goes off with medication. In short, it sucks. What's worse is there's nothing you can do to help. Even suckier! Thankfully, my dad is a strong guy. And when I said he's strong, I do mean it. Afterall, he's my hero ! I love you dad !!

P.S : I suspect that I might have H.B.P too. Will get my medical checkup soon :)

Friends for life

Friendships not only tell alot about who we are, in fact they make us who we are. You will know when a friendship is true when it brings out the best in you. Take a look at friends around you. DO they bring out the best in you? Here are some common reasons why people become friends :

1. Common background
2. Common interest
3. Somebody you spent time with anyway
4. Somebody you see frequently anyway

These are a few reasons how people choose friends. Yes, it is the easy, natural way to choose a friend but it is not always in our best interest. Sure, it's a human's nature to try to get along with colleagues, neighbours, siblings and anyone else. Em, that is unless you are an anti-social fella. But the fact is we have to choose our friends, the people whom we are going to open up to, very carefully. Even well-meaning friends can be dream-slashers. On the other hand, some friends have a way of building up your dreams. As we always said, true friends will often lend a hand. Therefore a true frindship should:

1. encourage you to live your dream
2. support you towards your goals
3. symphathize for your losses and help you find a silver lining
4. build your self-esteem

Hmmph, that all sounds like a perfect friend ain't it? Well, how many of those friends have you meet in your life? Yes, ppl alwiz say that true friends have the above characteristics. Well, it's true in a way. As for me, I had alwiz feel that a true friend is one that you can count on no matter what. And yes, I'm grateful for all of you that had came into my life. What's me without you guys n gals? From the current mamak geng back to the secondary skool geng. Thanks alot for coming into my life. I may not be there for u guys at times but I sincerely had you guys close to my heart.

In life, we will meet many types of friends. Some of whom will end up being best buddies while some might just walk out of your life. Some friends will help you in life while some will just bring trouble to you. The fact is, we will not know which category they belong to until a situation arises. When you know who your true friends are, grab them and never let go. They are the ones that will walk with you no matter which path you choose. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge my friends.

• To those that I haven't met for a long time, How are you guys doing?
• To those that are going/studying overseas, Do take care and study hard!
• To those that I hadn't been good enuf, I'm so sorry.
• To those that have graduated, Good luck in worklife and keep in touch k!
• To those that I have just met, I hope our friendship will work out.
• Lastly, to all my friends out there, I wish you all the very best in life!

P.S : I would like to dedicate this entry to a friend of mine who had just lost a best friend due to some reason. It's in tough times of our life that we realize who our true friends are. Glad you realized it sooner rather than later.

Gender Inequality

A firm wants to hire a clerk. Two people attended the interview. Candidate A has qualifications, working experience, and speaks good English. Candidate B, on the other hand, has better qualifications, more working experience, and has a flawless command of English. In this case, Candidate B is of course the better choice for most firms. However, there are firms out there who prefer the Candidate A over B. The reason? Candidate A is a man, while B is a woman. This, my friends, is gender inequality. Yes, we might be in the 21st century but believe it or not, gender inequality still exist among us.

Equality of gender, a western norm, will immediately clash with our Asian mores and religious values. For example, under Islam, the official religion of the country, Muslim men can under the Syariah law take up to four wives. Can a Muslim woman invoke the rules, which guarantees gender equality, to be amended to deny the husband of more than one wife? Furthermore, can a Muslim women be allowed to have four husbands? Think about it.

Recently, the Kota Baru Municipal Council (MPKB) imposed a Rm500 fine on indecently dressed women workers in restaurants and retial outlets. Besides protests from folks around the country, the MB of Kelantan, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has defended the move. According to him, "A woman who wears an indecent outfit does not respect herself, so how can she expect man to respect her?" WTF does peoples dressing has to do with respect on oneself? In fact, your words had just made me disrespect you. Shame on you for blaming the ladies on what man in your country lacks. Self control. Yes, sexy dresses causes men to get high. This is a fact known around the world. However that does not mean that you as a man can do anything you want to a woman just because you are 'high' (referring to the another MB's comment on "Blame rape victims for dressing sexily"). Sadly to say, this is another act of gender inequality that exists in this country. I am pretty sure that if the mindset of people is like this, then some time in the future, rapists will be able to roam around freely in Kelantan. Well, shame on you people then!

Although the world is pushing towards gender equality, I still believe that it will not exist in our community. God created man and woman for a reason. If he intends them to be the same, then he might as well created a human species that combines both man and woman. Imagine a species whereby they are able to reproduce by themselves and multiply without partners. Don't get me wrong, I sincerely respect women as they are and believes that gender does not influence the decisions that we made. However there are events in our daily lives that proves gender equality is hard to achieved. For example, would you expect a lady to open the door/ pull the chair for you on a date? Would you expect a lady to do the heavy jobs that men normally do. The fact is we wouldn't. I personally would not expect the above to happen in my life. It is true that the situation has improved over time, however, I strongly feel that gender equality will never exist among humans.

P.S : Feel free to drop in your comments/opinions. Thz

: Thanks to Livee for the photo :)