Alhamdulillah, I've found a recycling center just outside of Uda. I know recycling bins are around but unfortunately, there are still some people who treat them as rubbish bins and toss in their trash in with the recyclable goods. This makes the recycling procedure more lengthy and more resources have to be used up. More time is spent in separating and sorting the items and more labor is needed to clean and process them.
So, I'm taking my recyclable goods straight to the center. This way, i can help to reduce the load that is contaminated by the rubbish and I am certain that my 'throw-aways' will have a second life as another product.
Now that i think about, sometimes the weirdest things make me happy. I spent three hours at a bank the other day, opening another current account as well as a fixed savings account and signed up for two SSP's (Sijil Simpanan Premium). After three long hours of form filling, going things over with the financial adviser, asking questions and queuing, i walked out with a smile as if I've made a home run =) Even though my convent teammates weren't there to high-five me but i felt good about myself, knowing that I'm investing my money and putting it to good use.
I felt equally happy today. It took a while to find the recycling factory but it was worth it. There were piles of cardboard stacked to the ceiling, shredded paper compacted into cubes and neatly lined, there was a mountain of cans in one corner, bags of recycled wire, bits and bobs of electrical machines, a heap of of old screws, bolts and nuts, a mound of printers, a trailer filled with plastic bags, a big box full of discarded CD's, a corner of old iron rods and scrap metal and a section for other plastic products like old mobile phone covers and damaged plastic casings.
I was in awe 0.0 I thought to myself, "This is soooo COOL!". I mean, we've all seen images of recycling centers on TV and we have a rough idea of what the process is like, but to see it in action was amazing (to me at least, hehe).
After unloading my things, a worker separated everything, weighed it and gave me a receipt to cash in at the counter. I'm pleased enough to know that i can help in saving the environment, but getting paid to do so, i was like "Where my money at? Give me those bills lady!", haha. Those 'surat khabar lama' lorries tu, i da biasa da, but they only collect newspapers and plastic bottles. The stuff they don't take in, i used to throw in the bin guiltily. I know most of the stuff have potential to be reused or recycled tapi nak buat macam mana, tak kan nak simpan je, so to the trash heap it went. BUT NOW I CAN....
AND..
recycle, recycle, recycle, recycle more, more and MORE and visit the recycling center MORE!!! Me happy >_< ngeee..
I recycled a total weight of 32.8kg of goods today and i got RM6.60 for it. Honestly, I'm more excited about the fact that i can recycle rather than about the earnings, they were just icing on the cake for me.
Then, i remembered those people on the streets we see scavenging for cans in rubbish bins. Imagine how its like for them. An empty can only weighs a few grams, they have to collect at least a hundred just to get 1 kg of cans which is sold at a price of 20 cents.
Take a look at this man. He must at least have a few hundred cans in there and may be a couple hundred of bottles. From the way he's pulling at the cart, it sure does look heavy. Rationally estimating, let's say he has 150 kg. That's about the equivalent of two men sitting on that cart, just think of it as a rickshaw ride. Yeah, that would be logically possible. More than 150 kg, would be a challenge even for the most experienced rickshaw men. Now, for 150 kg, this man would get RM30.
Contemplate..
How did you earn and spend your last RM30?
If you're reading this, it means you have internet access, which is a luxury. From this, i assume you're not scavenging in the streets.
A reminder to myself before others, be thankful that you have an education. Be thankful that you might have better job prospects, InsyaAllah. Be thankful that you have parents or other family members that work hard and give you money. No matter how much they earn, they still work, so that you don't have to work as hard as the man in the picture.
Alhamdulillah, Malaysia has a higher religious tolerance rate as compared to other countries in the world. Its one of the main reasons why i enjoy being here. Some Malaysians pandang rendah kat negara sendiri maybe because they don't know any better. They always see other countries blooming and developing, with tall sky scrapers, wide streets, flashing lights and all the glamor on telly, that they sometimes forget to appreciate what they have in the country. As a result, we end up complaining to each other about all the shortcomings Malaysia and skipping all the good parts about it. I've gotta admit, i used to do that too and still do once in a while, but now that I'm older, i can really weigh the goods and bad much more clearly.
When i first came back to Malaysia, all i saw was the bad. I compared everything to the experiences i had in England and never understood why certain things are the way they are here. Alhamdulillah, i'm getting a better understanding of things and can really appreciate what Malaysia has to offer. Like i said, once in a while i still talk about what our country lacks, but now, i say it because i know Malaysia can do and be better, not out of spite anymore. If my emotions get the better of me and i start feeling angry again, i usually try to stop talking about it and just change the subject. (if i forget, please do remind me yea)
InsyaAllah, any comparison i make in my posts about Malaysia and England, remind us all that we should want to improve and be better for our country. Take the constructive ideologies from other nations and disregard the not-so-sesuai ones. For those who are in a position or who have the opportunity to make a change, make it a positive one.
Religious Education (RE) was one of the subjects in Junior school. Unlike the subject Agama/Moral in Malaysia, we weren't separated into groups based on our religion. We sat as a class, learning eachothers cultural and religious beliefs. For example, in week 1 we would learn the basic beliefs and traditions of Muslims, in week 2 we would learn about Christianity. Once in a while we would even visit each others places of worship for example we went to a Gurdwara. By not segregating us, we got to know each other more and learn to respect one another regardless of our beliefs. We felt open enough to ask questions and discuss such a sensitive issue at a young age, yet we know when to agree to disagree and let each other do what they need to do according to their religion. There is religious tolerance because the kids have religious understanding through religious education lessons.
However, religious tolerance have been decreasing nowadays and it seems like a growing trend. The cause and effects of this would be a whole different post, if you know what i mean 0.0
The issue I'm addressing now is on Malaysia's religious understanding. We have a good sense of religious tolerance here, but what surprised me was how little Malaysians knew about beliefs other than their own. For example, how many of you (Malaysians) knew that Gurdwara's are the place of worship for Sikhs?
I know I'm taking a bit of a risk by putting a poll but i can't put my finger on it exactly or give a clear simple example of how and why i think Malaysians have a lower degree of religious understanding. I can see it and feel it and experience it bit by bit the longer i stay in Malaysia but i can't describe it to you in words how i sense this or give you a specific event. I'm sorry but i hope my little poll will speak for itself though. Please vote =) thank you..
Moving on, i think it would be a good idea if we were taught RE in Malaysia for sekolah rendah kids. If its not for all the 6 years, we can do it for just one year, lets say, darjah 5 maybe. Some people may worry that it would shake the faith of a child from his/her original religion that they were born into. But actually, it would encourage the sekolah-sekolah agama, church groups and etc to improve their way of teaching, find and try different methods to reinforce faith among the believers. Since I'm Muslim, I gotta say InsyaAllah, if we are sincere in what we do, which is our amalan and we are sincere in our dakwah and keeping the ummah together, InsyaAllah, things will only improve.
Other than this, religious understanding would encourage children to get to know other cultures and beliefs. Understand why some people pray 5 times a day or go to church on Sundays or give offerings to their ancestors. Sometimes, by investigating other peoples actions, it may reinforce our viewpoint and outlook for what we stand up for and why we believe in our religion (bukan buta-buta ikut je) and it may even give us a boost to lebih mendalami our religion. It can also instill the value of respect in our children, promote healthy discussions and give them confidence to discover and explore whatever interests them.
A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning. The words may be spelled the same, such as rose (flower) and rose (past tense of "rise"), or differently, such as carat, caret, and carrot, or to, two, and too. Homophones that are spelled the same are also both homographs and homonyms. Homophones that are spelled differently are also called heterographs. The term "homophone" may also apply to units longer or shorter than words, such as phrases, letters or groups of letters that are pronounced the same as another phrase, letter or group of letters.
Okay, now that we all know what homophones are, can you think of any?
Go ahead, i'll give you some time..
.....
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Nada?
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Need some help? hm, okay.
Well, lets see, from the top of my head....
This...
and this!
For the last time people, flour is pronounced as flower! not 'fleeeeuuurr', 'flaaaarrr' or 'flaaaaaaaaauu'....
