I became a host for TV2’s program [email protected] on 2. (Watch me! – RTM TV2, each Saturday, shown during cartoon breaks every half hour from 7:30am – 10:00am [i.e. 7:30, 8:00, 8,30 … 10:00])
I got 5A’s in the UPSR exam!
My second poetry book, Creative Row Your Boats, was appreciated and ordered by the National Libraries of Malaysia.
I made my first short film!
Secondary School
So yeah, I’ve turned 13 years old on January 3rd, 2011, so I’m no longer 12 years old. *sighs* Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
(Hahaha. Get it? “Fruit flies” *like* a banana. :P)
So now, I’m in Victoria Institution (aka V.I.) secondary school. I’m really thankful I got into this school, because it is one of the oldest schools in Kuala Lumpur.
The first weeks of school has been great for me. I made a lot of new friends.
I stay in a hostel, and I can only get to go back home approximately once a week, so I couldn’t go online frequently, at the moment.
Short Film: The Highest Skyscraper on Earth
My first short film, is called The Highest Skyscraper on Earth, based on my poem. I finished it during the last week of December 2009. It is something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.
Here it is! 🙂
I hope you enjoyed it!
I’ll really appreciate it if you can give it a thumbs up/favorite on YouTube or share it with your friends. Thanks a lot! 🙂
It took me about 1 week to finish the whole thing because I had to illustrate the illustrations, edit the video, and compose the music too.
If you want to see how I made it, here is the making-of and behind-the-scenes. Although it is 10 minutes, I hope you take the time to watch it 🙂 .
I hope you enjoyed both videos! Thank you very much for viewing them! 🙂
Plans for Gloson Blog
Even though I live in a hostel, I’ll do my best to find a way to manage my blog as well.
And maybe, since I’ve done the making-of for my short film, I think I’ll consider vlogging (or video-blogging) because you can be more creative with it and your readers will get to know you on a more personal level. Vlogging is a thing that complements your blogging!
Also, I’ve got a blog post by a guest blogger coming up on the 31st of January. More interesting posts are on the way too, so stay tuned my dear readers! 🙂
Wrong:Please volunteer to bring some food for the party, i.e., fries, nuggets, and chips. Correct:Please volunteer to bring some food for the party. e.g., fries, nuggets, and chips
Believe it or not, last time, I thought i.e. and e.g. can be used interchangeably! But I was wrong. i.e. and e.g. have different meanings.
e.g. = For example i.e. = That is/In other words (for clarifying stuff)
Here are some examples.
To stay healthy, eat vegetables, e.g., spinach. <— Here I used an example of a vegetable.
I love to eat the vegetable that I like the most (i.e., carrots). <— Here I used i.e. because it clarifies the “vegetable that I like the most”. I cannot use e.g. because there is no vegetable other than that.
6. Lightening
This is perhaps the most common spelling mistake ever.
Wrong: Being struck by lightening is a shocking experience!
Correct: Being struck by lightning is a shocking experience!
Wrong: If I was an elephant, I would give you a ride. Correct: If I were an elephant, I would give you a ride.
Wrong: If I were rude, I apologize. Correct:If I was rude, I apologize.
“If I were” is more for situations when you are imagining things, usually followed by a sentence on what you would do in that situation.
If I were you, I would read more books about animals.
If he were an animal, he would be a parrot!
“If I was” is more for things that could have happened in the past or now.
If he was singing that well, he should become a singer. (This is an answer to a girl who told me that when her friend sang just now, her heart melted)
If she really was kind to animals, I respect her. (This is a thought after reading news about a girl saving a cat from drowning, but you are not really sure whether it’s true)
Here is an example of the differences between “If I were” and “If I was”.
If she was hardworking, she would be a famous singer by now. <– I’ve only met her once and all I know is she wants to be a famous singer.
If she were hardworking, she would be a famous singer by now. <– I know her very well; she wants to be a famous singer but she’s very lazy.
Conclusion: “If I were” is for imagination. “If I was” is for things that could have happened.
8. Lie down, don’t lie to me, and birds lay eggs
Oh dear. These 3 words are perhaps the most confusing as some parts of the three words are parts of each other.
Lie has two completely different meanings. The first meaning is to rest in a horizontal position. The second is to bear false witness.
Lay means to put into a position of rest or bring forth eggs.
Here are the tenses of the words:
Lie down – lie, lay, lain. Don’t lie to me – Lie, lied, lied. Lay eggs – lay, laid, laid.
That’s why they are confusing! They sound similar and you can easily have them mixed up!
Here are some examples of common mistakes when using those words.
Wrong:I have lied on the grass all morning. Correct: I have lain on the grass all morning.
Wrong:I laid on the couch. Correct: I lay on the couch.
So, here’s three things to remember when you’re not sure how to use those words:
Remember that lie (don’t lie) and lay are regular verbs, which mean they add the usual suffix “-d” to form the past tense (lied, laid). Their past participles (have lied, have laid) are the same.
Remember that the word lie (lie down) is the most complicated; an irregular verb; doesn’t use “-d”; past tense is lay, and past participle is lain.
Remember that the word layis the only transitive verb – You can’t “lay” on the bed; you must lay something. You can lay yourself on the bed, though.
This is probably one of the most confusing confusions in grammar!
Whether to use bring or take all depends on the perspective. You use take when the item is going away from the perspective and bring when the item is coming to the perspective.
For example, you and your friend are going to a place. You might ask your friend, “Are you going to bring your cell phone?”
If you’re not going but your friend is, you might ask your friend, “Are you going to take your cell phone?”
But still, it can be confusing. So, use substitutes instead.
“Are you going to carry your cell phone with you?”
Problem solved 🙂 .
I hope you’ve enjoyed my post! I hope that you are not confused now. LOL 😛 .
So, have you ever made the grammar mistakes above? Please share your experience in the comments below. I know I’ve made every single one of them before. 🙂
Update 2020: This post is now outdated and archived, but feel free to read it to remember what it was like. ?
Today is 10/10/10, a very unique date, because the number 10 signifies perfection. 10 appearing three times in a date signifies perfect perfection 😉 .
So, I would like to quickly release the first version of the 1Malaysia song that I wrote and composed after I finished my UPSR exam on 23 September.
Here’s the video of me performing the song, titled Kita 1Malaysia. I dedicate this song to our beloved Prime Minister and First Lady who initiated the 1Malaysia spirit, & every Malaysian.
In this video, I am wearing Baju Melayu, a traditional Malay outfit. I also sung the song in Malay because it is our national language.
This is the first version of the song. The complete version of it, sung in Tamil, Mandarin and English, with its instrumental, will be uploaded on 20/10/2010! 🙂
Here are the lyrics of the song:
Kita 1Malaysia
Malaysia, kita Malaysia, kitalah 1Malaysia, Malaysia, kita Malaysia, kitalah 1Malaysia
Sejiwa, untuk Malaysia, Sehati, kita bersama Tak kira, agama dan bangsa, Bersatu, kita berjaya
Chorus Kita 1Malaysia, Kita hidup sejahtera Kita maju ke hadapan, Kita 1Malaysia
Malaysia, kita Malaysia, kitalah 1Malaysia, Malaysia, kita Malaysia, kitalah 1Malaysia
Hormati, dengan penuh nyata, Diversiti, kegagahan kita, Hidupkanlah, jiwa 1Malaysia, Kesatuan, destini kita
(CHORUS) (x3)
Malaysia, kita Malaysia, kitalah 1Malaysia, Malaysia, kita Malaysia, kitalah 1Malaysia
There! I hope you like my song! Please come back on 20/10/2010 to watch the complete version of it.*
*Due to unforeseen circumstances, I apologize that the full version is delayed. Still, I’m working on it and I hope to release it as soon as possible! =)
I wrote the song because I would like to express my patriotism and also to share the beauty of my country to the world. My country is made of 3 major races – Malay, Indian, and Chinese. So, we can easily get to know different cultures and religions.
To get to know more about my unique country, you can view my blog post about Malaysia filled with colorful pictures.
The post is about Kuala Lumpur, the “heartbeat” of Malaysia, with modern buildings, landscaped parks, fabulous food, colourful bazaars, multiple cultures-religions-traditions, you name it.
In fact, this blog post is an entry of the Blog4FT contest, in which I won the second place in the Junior category (below 18).
Second from right is Datuk Raja Nong Chik, the Minister of the Federal Territories and Urban-wellbeing, who initiated the contest.
I believe it’s a blessing to talk about the beauty of your own country, because in return, you’ll be blessed one way or another.
My tribute to the Prime Minister and the First Lady of Malaysia
I got to know more about my country when we got a new Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak. I really admire him because he is a very wise Prime Minister, and handsome too. 🙂
According to his principles, he wants to make sure that the government achieves a society-centered condition.
He always looks for people’s feedback and participation about his ideas so that he can flash out his best policies for his country.
His wisdom and humility inspired him to create the 1Malaysia vision, “People First, Performance Now”.
His Government Transformation Programme (GTP) will lead our country towards a high-income society towards 2020. With his wisdom and diligence, I believe this GTP program will be a success and bless every rakyat (people) of Malaysia..
“You know that when I make a promise I make sure that it is delivered,” he said on October 8, in front of a crowd of 13,000 Malaysian Telugus at the 150-year Malaysian Telugu Heritage Celebrations. (source: The Star, 9 Oct 2010, pg N2) My Prime Minister is truly a man with highest capability and humility.
I also adore my First Lady, Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor,who, to me, is the most beautiful First Lady among all First Ladies in the world. I regard her as the Mother of Love of Malaysia, as she is very focused on children education.
She is the pioneer of the PERMATA Pintar Project, in which she locates gifted children to bring them up in a special school, which is opening next year for gifted teens 15 and above.
Very memorably, last year on 10 July 2009, she took notice of me. So, she and my Prime Minister organized a press release as encouragement and recognition of my talents as a funny poet and a tech blogger.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister read aloud my poem Autumn from my poetry book Creative & Funny Poetry for Kids, which was published in June 2009. I was very happy that he enjoyed my poem.
I also acted out my poem If I Did Write a Poem, and they enjoyed it and laughed.
This is one of the most memorable events in my life. I really thank my Prime Minister and my First Lady for giving me such appreciation, recognition, and encouragement. =)
And most recently, my First Lady has organized the first ever First Ladies Summit, themed ”A Child Today, A Leader Tomorrow”, which will be attended by First ladies, ministers and special envoys from 31 different countries.
The summit will focusing on issues pertinent to children, such as poverty, domestic violence, stress, lack of parental care, etc.
The purpose of the summit was to discuss the matters above in order to find solutions to the problems so that
the current generation of children will grow up to become good leaders.
the future generation will not have the face the problems mentioned.
You can see that the reason I call her the Mother of Love is because she is really diligent in taking care of issues related to the welfare, especially the education, of children.
Meanwhile, my country’s education system is very advanced. Part of the GTP is the National Key Results Area (NKRA), which aims to provide accessibility to quality education. It focuses on four areas – pre-school education: the literacy and numeracy programme (LINUS); high performance schools (HPS); and improved performance management of head teachers and principals.
A great thanks to our Minister of Education, Tan Sri Dato’ Muhyiddin Yassin, (who is also the Deputy Prime Minister; left) and his team in MOE for providing quality education for all.
I feel so proud to be a Malaysian student because our country’s education system is always being updated and upgraded. 🙂
On 10/10/10, I also gave a special present to the Prime Minister of Malaysia after his speech in MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association). The present is a portrait of him that I drew and a poem of him that I wrote to show my appreciation for his excellence in leading the country and for his birthday.
While I was giving my present to him, I told him that this is my special portrait for him for his birthday. He looked at it and enjoyed it, and jokingly asked me why I drew his moustache all black and his hair all white. Then everybody laughed =P . Haha. Actually, I drew it like that because it makes my Prime Minister look more fun and handsome.
He showed my portrait and poem to the press who were busy photographing him. I found out that the photograph was published in Sin Chew Daily. A big thank you to Sin Chew for acknowledging my gifts. 😀
From right to left: MCA President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Deputy MCA President Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, my mom Grace, & me.
Here is the large version of the portrait and the poem.
There! I hope you have enjoyed my song, my tribute to my country, and my portrait and my poem of the Prime Minister! 🙂