Term 4 subjects

Yeah I know so quick right, UIU’s online program adopts the 8-week semester scheme so all subjects are compressed and double the time spent on them vis-à-vis the regular 16-week semester. UIU’s online program is very demanding too, contrary to Segi’s often diluted, exam-based content, sooooooooooooooooooooooo like  Malaysia waaaaan. Additionally, I’ve realized UIU relies a lot on critical thinking and understanding, not memorization of facts. I have been really enjoying my two courses thus far because I get to put my two cents into it. You know while I attended Segi classes,  the  syllabi of courses came in one page or a little more. In comparison to UIU’s syllabi, they had multiple pages, documented grading procedure,  and what is expected of you. Even if I get Bs for my courses, at least I can rest knowing that the value of my B is much more than Segi’s A. I am very content with my online courses and wish to do as much as possible with UIU online as a result because I feel their course content would be constructive towards my graduate studies and career.

So what am I taking in Term 4? Marketing Principles and American Civilization II. Why marketing in a Psych major? Because I don’t want to be completely dumb in the business sector and also intend do broaden my horizons. I am also interested in advertising, so this course is a pre-requisite to that.

Why A.C. II?  Because I enjoy American History and have done pretty well for AOA in the past. Which is why I do not understand why I scored a C at Segi for A.C. I. I think that this was partly due to the lecturer who taught A.C. I, not my lack of knowledge in that area. This is why I am going to avoid that lecturer’s courses as much as possible,  because that lecturer is biased and not committed to all her students. I am going to prove her otherwise in this course, so help me.

When Professors bring in religious…

qs up for discussion….

 

WT4- Rabbinical tradition defines the beginning of life as marked by the first cry of the infant after the birth. Would adopting this definition resolve any current social debates?

             

            In order to answer this question, the first thing that has to be done is to identify the relevant American social debate. From my understanding, that would be the pro-life versus pro-choice debate. Both sides have had key principles to support their argument regarding abortion. Pro-life supporters believe that the abortion of a fetus is in fact the destruction of a human being and therefore life. On the other hand, pro-choice supporters believe that an abortion is not murder because the fetus is part of a woman’s body while unborn, and as such she has the right to choose what to do with her own body (Samudrala).

            Based on my analysis of the debate, it is my view that the definition of life under Judaism would not solve the debate. This is evident when one studies the rabbinical stance on life and abortion. In an analysis of Jewish law by Rabbi Shraga Simmons, it is stated that a fetus is still a life, albeit a “partial life”. As such, Jewish law places strict conditions as to when an abortion is permissible, such as when the growth of a fetus threatens the life of his or her mother, or grave permanent injury such as blindness or heart failure, which is stated in the Talmud. Therefore, abortions for conveniences such as to continue schooling or for economic difficulties where parents cannot afford the child, are forbidden under Jewish law. The same rules apply in the the abortion of a fetus with congenital defects, as such abortions are even considered evil in Jewish law as the Torah says that a person’s true worth is in their soul which exists despite any congenital defect (Simmons).

            Upon further research, I would conclude that adopting the Judaism definition, which I feel leans towards a pro-life stance, would cause more social debate instead of resolving it. This is because adopting it could be interpreted as a violation of the First Amendment, which protects religious freedom in America, which is a nation comprised of many cultures with different religions, each with their own views of abortion (Robinson, 2006).  For example the Catholic faith forbids abortion under all circumstances, including rape and life endangerment of the mother (Zimak, 2009).

References

1. Robinson, B.A. (2006, March 2). The First amendment to the u.s. constitution: religious aspects. Retrieved from http://www.religioustolerance.org/amend_1.htm
2. Samudrala, R. (n.d.). Life vs. choice . Retrieved from http://www.ram.org/ramblings/philosophy/lifevschoice.html
3. Simmons, S. (n.d.). Birth control, abortion. Retrieved from http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_o/bl_simmons_birthcontrolabortion.htm
4. 4.      Zimak, G. (2009, January 15). Abortion: what does the catholic church teach? . Retrieved from http://thecatholictruthblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/abortion-what-does-catholic-church.html

How I Deal With Handphone Spam

I once got a SMS on my handphone, advertising me to call a certain person if I was interested in losing 5-10 pounds.

At first I was miffed as to how he got my number as I enjoy my privacy very much.

Then I got an idea.

I rang him up. I pretended to be interested. And then I hit him.

“You see sir, with my weight loss plan you can lose up to 20 pounds! Very simple!”

He paused.

“Twenty pounds is a lot of weight! Not healthy!”

I took a deep breath to keep a straight face and the seriousness in my voice. I was worried, ysee. Worried that I’d crack up laughing.

“It’s safe, sir. You see, in the average person, sanity accounts for twenty pounds of body weight. So if you become siau(crazy) like me, you can lose 20 pounds and be a happy happy man!

So what do you say? Do you want to be siau? Happy siau?”

He backed down and stammered that he’ll call me back before hanging up.

Somehow, I felt that I didn’t quite get my message across about being crazy. In short I didn’t feel satisfied. Like when I’ve eaten a meal and am still that bit hungry.

I waited to call him back to see if he was interested in my plan. So I called him.

Twice.

At 2Am.

And once again.

At 7am.

(Yes, I’m a late sleeper and I have an overactive pineal gland)

And I sent him some SMSes of my own, in my own patent art-language of Crazy.

I haven’t received any spam since.

It feels good.

And it was a fun process.

This is tanyiliang, signing out.

The tanyiliang Worldview, or Part Of It

Hello everyone, tanyiliang here.

Was browsing the web (well, wikiquote to be specific) and found this gem from Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

It’s a gem to me because it sums up a large part of why I am who I am.

And because I find it amusing.

“There are a great many people in the country today, who through no fault of their own, are sane. Some of them were born sane, while others became sane later in their lives. It is up to people like us, who are out of our tiny minds, to help them.”

Indeed.

Live Fast, Die Young

“…Every surgery, every scar, every tumor, I would one day relive and call my own. I vowed to live fast and die young, throwing sand in the face of NF2 and taking away its power…I proudly wore my bright yellow singlet, and crossed the finish line into the arms of my husband. I had accomplished something concrete by raising money for CTF, but I had gained so much more along the way… acceptance, friendship, and purpose.I run because it helps me to release the pain, I run because I know my lost loved ones are proud, I run to show others that you can overcome anything, but mostly I run because I can, and I never ever want to forget that again.“  To read more, visit Fabulous Running Mommy , on why she runs for the NF Endurance Team.

For a long time now, I held the belief that I would live to an old age despite NF 2. I did everything possible to avoid NF, I withdrew from my support group, I stopped going to the CTF website, I had hardly visited the blogs of other NFers and I limited my communication with fellow NFers. I clung on to the concept of  ”out of sight, out of mind” because it made me depressed and scared to see what others had gone through. I didn’t want to go through the same things, and I was desperate for a way to escape. After 10 years since my first surgery, I’ve gone through countless MRIS, surgeries,  doctors and tumors and suffered one health problem after the other: hearing, weakness in the limbs, paralysis, vision impairment and back to paralysis and now my hearing. In fact I still live with a physically challenged body: a weak left hand and leg, imbalance and hearing loss. Thinking about how many things I’ve gone through, you can imagine why I had shut myself off, I couldn’t bear worse things happening to me and I wanted to hope for the best. Now, as a 20 year old,  I’ve come to recognize that perhaps my body will be further ravaged my NF 2 in the future but my mind is a lot stronger than it ever was.

I do not know what God’s plans are for me but to say the least, it is reasonable to assume that God will not extend my suffering for too long. I may outlive my mother, I may not. Who knows? But I too vow to live fast and die young, and I will not allow NF to take even a smidgen of my soul with it. This is one of the reasons why I am not a regular 20 year-old. I know what I want out of life before I die.  Four things that come to mind is that I want to become a clinical psychologist, I seek to enter Gallaudet University for a doctorate in clinical psychology. Many people have tried to sway me in a different direction, brandishing America simply for people who are special and rich. I could even remember a time in which my own mother discouraged me from going there. Nevertheless, I know different and I believe different. I have not seen another country in this world that devotes much of its time and resources to the disabled community. I have an unmistaken belief that a person such as I can contribute productively and my quality of life improved. That’s why I dreamt and still dream of America.

Another thing I want out of life is to be a mother, call it primal if you will, I don’t know. In the past, I thought motherhood was not within my reach because I couldn’t fathom the thought of passing on a defective NF gene. That’s not what you call being a selfless mom, to watch your child going through the same things you did. Now, with technology available,  scientists can manipulate embryos without the NF 2 gene in a process called called preimplantation genetic diagnosing or PGD. How elated I am to have found out about this, because my dream is now possible in the near future when I am financially independent with a stable partner.

Third thing I want to do in life is to give back to this world. I’ve thought about this often and my heart rests in those furry creatures we call dogs. No dog in this world is below a human being and I firmly believe that they can teach us a hell of a lot of things like true unconditional love. I love Chanel to bits and she will always have a special place in my heart. Noah is the next in line, he drives me and my mother  crazy but there’s only one Noah who I so dearly love with all my heart.

Finally, I want to travel the world more. I have not seen enough of it. I want to experience what my friends are experiencing in Europe and Asia, taking in the sights of Barcelona or swimming with dolphins in Japan for examples.

These are what I want out of life and I will not rest till I achieve them.

the downfall of humanity

Why must we care about the greater good, you ask? Because it’s the right thing to do instead of making one excuse after the other.

“Science may have found a cure for most evils: but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings.” Helen Keller

Autoeroticism, Anilingus, Fellatio, Cunnilingus

masturbation, oral stimulation of the anus, oral stimulation of the penis, oral stimulation of the vagina in colloquial terms. Slang terms, well you know what they are.

Why the write up?  Because it’s what I’m currently learning: sexual arousal and response, and sexual behavior. All out of my comfort zone but I’m well on my way to becoming a sex therapist! Hahaha!

Seriously, all these four things I personally don’t believe in, maybe my cultural and religious beliefs cloud my judgment?  Maybe I believe that the  three kinds of oral stimulation are unsanitary to me?

Certainly Samantha from sex and the city will have something to say about the benefits of self-exploration….LOL.

I’m just bemused by all these scientific terms, it’s certainly new and easier for me to enunciate clearly without any tongue twisting — note the pun.

Who we really are…

Ms. Huffman, you could not have said any better and I respect you for it!

“I know as actors our job is usually to shed our skins, but I think as people our job is to become who we really are so I would like to salute the men and women who brave ostracism, alienation, and life lived on the margins to become who they really are”

After receiving her Golden Globe for her part in Transamerica.

I know I struggled all my life to be who I really am and I have been ostracized for it! NF made me who I am and I am proud of it! Who will join me?

Pour it slowly, Grandpa!

In times where Grandpa use to tell me his police stories, well the good ones anyway, in the Royal Malaysian Police Force, I use to listen with a child’s earnest and awe that such a man is my one and only Grandpa. But now I think  of him as a lifetime hero and representative of humankind. His superiority in many ways was stemmed from a simplistic yet profound belief, such that all men are created equal….

During the 1960s he participated in a police conference in Florida while carrying a document from the American government that stated he was to be treated with the utmost care and respect. As dusk arrived, he headed to a bistro and bar for a beer. He proceeded to ask the bar tender, “May I please have a beer,” while trying to sit comfortably atop his stool. Unfortunately, to his dismay, the bar tender did not respond. He instinctively knew the reason why: racist attitudes of white men and women pervaded the entire bistro. As he struggled to control his rambunctious response to all these people, he requested the bistro manager immediately.

“Yes, what can I do for you?”

He then pulled out a slip of paper from his jacket pocket. “Please have a look at this document.”

The manager then turned to the bar tender, “Fix this man a drink at once!”

All the white folks in the bistro were rudely staring at my Grandpa mind you.

When the beer arrived, he pulled out a few loose notes and placed it on the bar table said, “thank you very much for your kind service.”

He picks up his beer, stoops over the table to the sink, and begins pouring it very slowly while everyone stares in disbelief.

He then walks out.

Such stories are meant to be preserved in history because it demonstrates his sheer brilliance in showing them all what equality really means.

A mantra I keep repeating to myself today…

I only see these men once, I only see these men once, I ONLY SEE THESE MEN ONCE!!!!

While I’m gracefully having a shower, two construction workers pry open my unlocked door,  only to see my full nudity… FOR A BLISSFUL few seconds, we mutually stared in shock at one another, exposing my woman parts of course. Can’t they bloody hear the shower running? Bozos.

At times, I had to expose my erm modesty to certain people such as nurses at a hospital, and God knows what happens to me during surgery while I am konked……AT ALL OTHER TIMES, MY BODY IS FOR MY EYES AND MY EYES ONLY!

“How will you make love to a man if you’re so self-conscious?” quipped one aunty….

I… *stumbling*….I…..”stumbles”.I….don’t know.

Hahahaha