*Yawn*

Wow, it's like I've just woken up from a deeeeep sleep from blogging. Hmmph. What has happened over the past few months? Plenty. First semester of International Baccalaureate (IB) at Kolej Mara Banting has ended, what a relief! [I survived! Yayy] But 3 more to go... I'm ready and raring to go! [except that I have 3 Malay novels to read this holiday and I have only barely started one!]

I find that posting up my feelings or personal stuff or whatnot that I've been doing for 2 years is quite unproductive and anyway I'm an INFJ which means I'm a private-ish person so I don't want to share this kinda stuff yeah. Check out this really cool personality test called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) by Carl Jung. Do the test HERE and then google your result and read up about it. It's quite an accurate description. It's the current me: I think I've changed quite a lot over this few months at KMB. I've become more confident, more caring, more sensitive. Especially through the d Encounter camp 09 which was awesome!!

I'm an INFJ: Introvert, iNtuition, Feeling, Judging. I'm the rarest kind: only 1% have it. I think the most important feature is being able to feel others and be compassionate. That's really me. I really want to be able to encourage others and make others feel special. Maybe because that's how I wish others would treat me. That's why I love giving presents, and so this Christmas I spent a lot of the money MARA gave me to buy presents... [what shall I eat next semester? gasp] but it's so worth the smile on people's faces!

So, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

MPP! omg omg omg

Thank you all for your support. I am pleased to anounce that I have won a seat in the Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar of Kolej MARA Banting. I would like to thank my parents, my friends, my support group, my classmates, Pn. Badriyah (Pure Maths teacher) who gave me some wise counsel and of course, my Heavenly Father.

What My Teachers had to say

Comments from Biology Teacher:

"He (Samuel) has the potential to be a good candidate for the MPP post. He shows positive attitude in class and seems to be interested in the subject. He can work well in a group and he's not afraid to voice out his opinion. He would be a good person to represent the voice of the students." (by Cik Ashimah)

Comments from mentor:

"Samuel seorang pelajar yang aktif dan mudah disenangi ramai." (Pn. Roslindawati)
[OK so she didn't say much, but that's only because she's only met me two or three times so far, because she doesn't teach me]

Remember this:
I am here not merely to endure change, no even to profit from it, but to CAUSE it, BE it.

My motto:

"Life is either a daring adventure... or nothing."
The very fact that I RAN for MPP is in itself a daring adventure, because a year ago, I would never have dreamt of even trying to get the position, because I was never brave enough. But now is my time to shine where darkness prevails, to be a voice to speak out in the silence that roars. Now I'm being too poetic. Never mind.
So. Now the adventure begins...

My Manifesto

My name is Samuel Kana Anak Lis. I am an Iban from Kuching, Sarawak. There are a lot of things that I am passionate about, among them are tennis, music, and arts.

Life without dreams is dead, and life without passion is meaningless.

I dream of becoming a doctor, and I am well on my way. But at this present moment, the most pressing dream in my mind and heart is being part of the elite group of students who will take up the challenge of creating change in this college, and now I am one step closer to realising this dream.

I’m sure that most of you are here, if not to give me support, then to hear what I have to say about why you should elect me. There are many things that I wish I can say that I could provide you with, but I can’t tell you that I can give you all the comforts that the world can offer, because truthfully it would all be empty promises. But you know, anything is possible if we set our minds to it. But not everything is beneficial, so do remember that you’re here not just to enjoy life but to study hard and be able to go overseas.

What I can do is to push for more nutritious food from the Dewan Selera, because we all know that food is essential for our survival and success in this college. In fact, I would want all of us to have a say by later choosing the type of food that we like and don’t like, so that we can suggest to the DS people what we would prefer.

Would you agree if I said that not all our scientific equipments in the labs are top-quality or up to standard? How many times are you lucky to enough to get a microscope that has all the lenses functioning? I will make sure the college administration know about this problem and solve it so that we can all benefit from the best scientific equipment.

I often wish that the library would open on weekends, such as today when I might have needed to look up some information about, say, the haemocytometer in the library, but it’s not open! Of course there’s the Internet, but it’s hard to trust the information that is available for free on the Internet. If there is any Internet available at all. Thus I am going to petition for the library to open on weekends as well. Hard to do, but not impossible.

With so much room for improvement everywhere, there are so many more things we as the MPP team would be able to accomplish, and that’s why I need your vote. Nothing will come easily, but where there’s a will there’s a way! Di mana ada kemahuan, di situ ada jalan.

What you are looking for is what I can bring to the MPP team if I were to be elected. I have creativity and an imagination that can be channelled to making this college a better place to stay and to study in. I am ready and able to work with other people I may not know, and with the college admin. I believe that I can be a dynamic addition to the MPP team with my fun spirit but serious attitude, and all these creative ideas that I am able to generate.

I believe that being a leader is having the confidence and intellectual security that you can listen to advice without having to prove that you’re the smartest person in the room. That’s humility. I believe I can make a difference with my commitment to improvement and excellence.

Saya mungkin tidak sama seperti kamu. Saya tidak bercakap seperti kebanyakan kamu, tetapi saya merupakan salah seorang daripada kamu. Saya mahu mewakili bukan sahaja pelajar bukan Melayu tetapi semua orang yang inginkan seorang wakil yang berwawasan dan bertanggungjawab.

If you would allow me to represent you, believe me, I will not keep silent. I am here not for the glory or glamour, nor am I here to have more things to say in my personal statement. I am here because I believe there is a need for me to amplify your voice with mine. How can I do this? I can listen to you and speak out for you when you need to be heard.

I realized that if you all elect me to be in the MPP, there will be a lot of work, a lot of time and energy put in. But I am fully prepared for that, because I know how to manage my time and get things done with optimum speed and efficiency, like I have done in the choirs and youth camps that I have led. I am committed to fight for YOU.

I am prepared to be responsible and to take the blame for mistakes. I will do my very best, and when I have nothing left in me, I will still continue to work for you, with all the strength and willpower that I have – but I need your support, because no one, not a single one of you is insignificant. Why would I do all this? Because I believe that it is worth it to serve you, and to do all I can for this awesome college.

I will close with my life principle, that is, life is either a daring adventure... or nothing. This, my friends, is a very daring adventure that I have begun and will bring to completion.

Thank you.

My throng of supporters


My political advisor and counsel

Running For MPP

I'm running for MPP (Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar), can you believe it? Sometimes I think awhile I wonder at my sudden burst of courage and filial determination to help and to serve my college. Anyway, check out my campaign at Samuel K Lis For MPP!!

Maths Is Actually Quite Cool

In a room with 30 people a gambler makes a wager: "I bet there are at least two people in this room with the same birthday -- day and month."
What is the gambler's chance of winning this bet? Surprisingly, it turns out to be better than 70%!

Check it out, at Numb3rs!

KMB ROCKS!!!

OK let's not get carried away. No, Kolej MARA Banting is not the most comfortable place in the world. No, no, no. It's just that right now, I feel so very proud of my college for doing so well in the Merdeka celebration competitions that was held from 26th to 27th September, 2009. This morning the results were announced; KMB swept the choir, pidato, poster, multimedia competition for first prize, and the sketsa and deklamasi sajak for second place.
I joined the choir, and it was so fun! I would say that it would have sucked if we hadn't won, because it seems like all the other colleges (9 of them: all the Kolej MARA and Kolej Profesional MARA) didn't understand what the meaning of "Nyanyian Lagu Patriotik Berkumpulan" was: only 3 groups were actual choirs; the rest were singing karaoke and dancing and prancing about; it was so funny! In the end I think it was only 3 groups competing seriously; I am so happy that KMB came out tops!
More pictures on the amazing FaceBook... XD

Tomorrow, I return to the college: my home away from home. Really, I do feel like it's almost my third home, because I miss my friends, my comfortable routine, and tennis. XD

Time Travel Again? Nooooo

Holidays, don't we all love holidays? This time I have more than two blessed weeks of holidays because of Hari Raya! A few days ago I watched "13 Going On 30", "17 Again", "Monsters Vs. Aliens" and "Monsters, Inc" on the computer, heheh.

"13 Going On 30" was very sweet because I learnt to not take friends for granted, and "17 Again" was funny and heart-warming because I learnt to not take your loved ones for granted. These two movies are similar, I supppose, but their methods of "time travelling" are opposite; one 13-year-old girl goes forward in time to see how her life would be at 30 years old, whereas the other is a 40-year-old man becoming his 17-year-old self, but still in the same time zone, which would make more sense because they don't change the past, per se, but the present and future. Time is such an abstract thing, like a whole dimension, that's why I find movies that go to the past to change something, do not follow the rules. Like "Back To The Future", or "Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban", or "Lost"... anyway, those were two sweet movies that you should watch. The other two monster movies were... funny and animated but nothing learnt there. XD (by the way, Zac Efron with the long curly hair looked like Rafael Nadal heheheh)

On the other hand, I watched "UP" last week. It was so beautifully done; I think it is one of my favourite movies because it has such deep themes despite its illogical sequence of events. Must watch!

Happy holidays to myself...!!

Singapore!! [And Pulau Pangkor]

I just got back yesterday from holidaying in Singapore with my family for 4 days, and after that an overnight stay at Pulau Pangkor. I don't know whose absurd idea that was, to travel like that; I am so exhausted now, but yet I am swamped by assignments and lab reports and a whole drama "Trem Bernama Desire" to read and write about... but it was a much-needed break from my college life.

Singapore was so very organised, systematic and structured, and the people there are so well-mannered and respectful! On the other side of the [Singapore] coin, Pulau Pangkor was... well, Malaysian. I still can't get over how everything in Singapore was so orderly, from the trains and buses to the queuing up in front of the toilets! Public transport is, of course as rumoured, tried and tested by myself, so very efficient!

But beneath the pristine exterior, there is a culture of competition, stress, and as one may say, a "sterile life". I couldn't possibly live there, as one who loves to relax and take my time, could I? Furthermore, we must be thankful that medical health care in Malaysia is almost free, while in Singapore everything runs as a proft-gaining business. Nevertheless I think we should all learn from our neighbours and adopt the good qualities that they possess.

Oh and Vivo city was beautiful; and I went to Cornerstone on Sunday!! Of course, not forgetting the awesomeness of the Chilli Crab! [which I am allergic to, so I got itchy lips after that, but the taste was well worth the slight discomfort later...] The Singapore Zoo was fun because of the sea lion show at the Splash Ampitheathre... and the penguins were so cute!!

Finally, Pulau Pangkor was... normal. I like Kuching beaches [note the spelling, not the pronunciation] better. XD

"Hey Sam, where're you going?"
"I'm going to SIN!"

Lose My Senses

If you had to lose any one of your five senses, which would you give up?
My answer to this question in Theory of Knowledge (a mind-twisting, confusing and utterly but oddly enlightening subject I have to take) did not take the twinkling of an eye, but after thinking it through, I realized that the decision was not as easy as it seemed.
Let me first order my senses on its importance to obtaining information about the world around me, enjoying life and serving others: Sight, Hearing, Touch, Taste, and finally Smell. That’s right, I would give up my sense of smell if I had no other choice. Why is that so? Because I don’t find any particular joy in smelling something aromatic; in fact, smells overpower me to an extent where I wish I couldn’t smell, for example some noveaux-riches who put on powerful perfumes that could potentially kill someone, or a certain person who smells horrible but doesn’t know it. I could live without smell, definitely. But then I remembered that the sense of taste relies on smell quite heavily. If I couldn’t smell, then I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the wonders of food. But really, I eat to live, not live to eat, so smell and taste are some things I could live without.
Sight? No way, don’t ever take my sight from me (please God, please). I cannot imagine how blind people can survive without some sort of picture of their surroundings. I would be so afraid, so scared. My hearing? My world crashed upon me when I lose my right ear hearing for a few months; I cannot live without it. Touch? I need touch to get around, but what if I was paralyzed?
I must thank God that I am healthy and abled, but I will never take for granted all that I have. And also to think of others who may be less fortunate. How about you? Which of your senses would you give up?

KMB Choir Performance

On the 17th August 09 the choir of MARA College Banting performed for the graduation of the 07-09 batch of MCB students. We had put in many, many hours in practice (for CAS hours, mostly, like co-curriculum marks) and I had arranged the choir parts for 3 of the 4 songs we sang. It was a great experience of learning to work together with other people who may have different capabilities, experience and expectations than I might have, to tolerate and adapt to change at the tenth hour (which happened quite frequently in major proportions), to be punctual, and to manage my time well around the practice hours.

The graduation itself was inspiring. I was quite moved when we were singing “You Raise Me Up” as the graduating students presented their parents with flowers and there were hugs and tears all around. Maybe it was because the solo singer, Asyraf’s voice could melt the coldest hard, but I think the moment and emotions of it all just came rushing in like a blast of warm air that surrounded the grand hall of Dewan Sri Endon, Putrajaya. I was inspired to do my very best to achieve greatness, which I believe is well within the reach of every one of us – not only to go further in our studies but to make my parents proud.

Quite unpleasantly, though, was that I learnt the true meaning of opportunity cost when I had to forgo excellence in tennis for choir. I was dropped from the national competition selection squad because I could not play sports for almost a month due to choir practices which clashed with tennis; worse still when I returned after the graduation; I had completely lost my touch and shot-making abilities (which weren’t all that great before that, anyway) and I was no longer in good stead with the advisor and club president. This, along with the expended time and energy, was the cost of pursuing what I love – music, which will always be a part of me; even when I get too busy to sing, my heart will still have its song.

The Flu Has Finally Reached Me

[written on Friday, 31 July]

These are uncertain times that I am in now. MARA College Banting has officially closed its doors for at least one week due to the recent H1N1 scare that I thought would never affect me, but here we are in such uncertain times. It was only the day before when I heard that there was one suspected case of H1N1. Then yesterday there were four suspected cases. It was such a commotion, as everything was heard from someone else, and no one was sure what was really happening; I heard rumours from the mak ciks at the co-op, hearsays from friends and finally a little more concrete information from teachers; but we were all still quite in the dark, until this afternoon.

At 3 in the afternoon, there was a briefing in the college about the H1N1 outbreak, which cleared the cloud of doubt surrounding the whole issue. An ENT specialist and his professor wife came to give a concise but complete talk about the flu, its causes, symptoms and ways to prevent it. Basically, you would have reason for alarm if you had a fever, runny nose, or sore throat, or a combination of these, or other related illnesses. The good news is, over 90% of those who contracted this disease can recover without antiviral treatment. You just need a lot of rest and fluids for the virus to go away within 7 days. The most important things to do to avoid the disease is social distancing, cough etiquette, not sharing anything, and washing hands regularly. And pray.

Anyway, there were some discrete statistics given to us; there are 1302 cases and 4 deaths in Malaysia so far. 30 students in the college apparently showed symptoms and so are under suspicion of disease; there has been one confirmed case in the college. During the talk, the director said that there was 80% chance that the college will shut down, but I have recently received information that the college is officially under quarantine until 9th August. That is terrific news, until we found out that the school days will be replaced during the December holidays, which means a shorter end-of-year semester break, which sucks. But this is definitely a welcome relief for a hectic past few weeks of lab reports, standardized tests and homework.

I welcome the extra sleep I can get. But I just have to be careful not to get sick. I must not get sick while I stay at my Banting home for the next 9 days with my dad and Evan Sun.

I Quote

"Life is like a piano; the black keys represent the bad times, the white keys represent the good times, but don’t forget that black keys make music too."

"Money won't make you happy... but everybody wants to find out for themselves."
[Zig Ziglar]

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."
[Zig Ziglar]

"Don't frown because you never know who is falling in love with your smile."
[SinVyeSt Tan]

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind"

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose."
[Bill Gates]

"Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often."
[Mark Twain]

"Only kings, presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to use the editorial 'we'."
[Mark Twain]

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."
[Mark Twain]

"There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded."
[Mark Twain]

"What, sir, would the people of the earth be without woman? They would be scarce, sir, almighty scarce."
[Mark Twain]

"Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company."
[Mark Twain]

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell."
[C. S. Lewis]

"Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither."
[C. S. Lewis]

"If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning."
[C. S. Lewis]

"Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see."
[C. S. Lewis]

"You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."
[C. S. Lewis]

Last but not least...

"Christians are supposed not merely to endure change, nor even to profit by it, but to cause it."
[Harry Emerson Fosdick]

It's a BLAST!

It was a dark, dark Thursday night. The junior students of Kolej MARA Banting, still in their first week of their stay, in their formal attire, with no clue whatsoever of what was to happen, were gathered like sheep ready for slaughter, into two groups – one for the rams and one for the ewes. They were then told, by the senior sheep, to remove all valuable items and our bags – in the cold, dark night, under a tall building, with nothing but the faint moonlight to light our path. It was the 25th of June; I should have suspected something was wrong. Yet, we, the juniors, innocently followed ever command from the seniors’ lips. They tied up each group in nylon string, each senior with a gleam in their eyes; we were trapped.

The senior sheep then instructed us to sing Barney’s “I Love You”, with the guise of incalcating unity. He then instructed us to shout “It’s a blast!” to his calls of “IB!” So it went like this:

Senior sheep: “IB!”
Junior sheep: “It’s a blast!”
Senior sheep: “IB!”
Junior sheep: “It’s a BLAST!”

As we, the innocent and helpless juniors, declared those last words with astute confidence, suddenly a wave of cold water crashed down upon our heads. It was a wild chaotic scene of screams and flailing arms as the junior guys started running all over the place. Alas, it was a hoax; a scam; a prank! More water was being splashed upon us, and I was unfortunately directly under the building so I probably got the worst of it.

When the guys eventually plucked up the courage to return to the general vicinity, we realized that the girls were still huddled together in a tight circle due to the nylon bonds that held them. We, the guys, wondered in amazement at the girls’ bravery – that was, until the seniors splashed more water on them. The girls then started screaming and slowly trying to walk away: it was such a comical sight! We then concluded that the girls weren’t all that united; they just couldn’t break free!

“Welcome to KMB,” said the seniors, in a cold, mocking voice that will forever send chills down my spine for the next two years of my life. But it was all good fun; no one got hurt, and we got some junk food later to munch on. After that, all anger and grudges would disappear together with crunchy junk food that satisfied us hungry students who get nothing but a morsel or two of food each day.