My StreamyX Is Down

My streamyx line has been down up since 20th December 2007.

TMnet's contractor has came and go a total of 3 times including today.


Unfortunately they still could not fix the problem. TM's contractor could not do anything anymore, they've tried their best. Now we need TM's staff technician to fix the shit.

Now i realize how bad is it living without internet. Im currently posting this post from a friends' place.


Meanwhile, Happy New Year to everyone!

To see photos taken by me ...

go to my Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/subject2changes.
Some of them are also posted on nalandabs.blogspot.com.
Comments and critiques are most welcome :D~

My Contract With Fitness First

I'm contemplating on renewing my current 1-year member contract with Fitness First. I have until late February 2008 to decide on it.

Most of my friends are asking me why do I need to think twice to renew a passport membership contract that only requires me to pay RM105 per-month. It's something I believe every commercial gym goer will be begging on their knees to get such package.

The things that really make my head spinning to think about are:


Cons

1. The nearest Fitness First clubs are 15km away from my home, which is IOI and Leisure Mall respectively. Driving 15km which could take up to 30minutes due to heavy trafic or JAM is no fun. Besides, petrol price will be increasing in 2008, plus with the toll rate, I'll be having less pocket money to spend. Used to drop by the gym on the way coming home from college, but due to various reasons, I've hardly do so.
   
2. Getting a back injury on August and caused me not able to workout regularly started to make me think about paying for nothing. Although members are allowed to freeze their account, but you'll have to go one long hell of a ride before getting it frozen.
   
3. I don't like working out in air-conditioned environment.

Pro

1. I enjoy group exercise classes. Especially RPM.
2. I don't just workout in the gym, but I observe how the Personal Trainers there work with clients. It somehow broadens my perspective on being a Personal Trainer.
   
3. Having girls with tight fitting attire in sight improves my blood circulation.

I'm currently waiting for news from Fitness First in regards to another branch in Mines that is supposed to be opened by December 2007(information according to the Membership Consultant when I signed up). Now it's already December, but still no sign of Fitness First at The Mines, or even any news about it.

Opening of a branch at The Mines will affect my decision making a lot more.

YOU, please give me some thoughts about it. Yeah, I mean YOU!!!!

Canon Speedlite 580EX II

Picture worth a thousand words.

My dad called me while he was at Klang Parade today afternoon, confirming the model of the Speedlite with me. I finally got my hands on it. All thanks to my dad.

Now all I need is to brush up my skills. =))


Related post
Canon EOS 400D
BG-E3 Battery Grip

Personal Feedback on BSN N.O Xplode

I'm posting this entry immediately coming back from Fitness First IOI Mall.
I purchased my first tub of N.O Xplode back in August and I was so excited about it. But until today, I've used only 7 servings(broken into 3 workouts). And I doubt I'll be touching it anymore after today.

According to dailymuscle, N.O Xplode works perfectly for him. But it works the other way round for me.

I consumed it on an empty stomach as instructed by the label and my workout for today was Rippetoe Workout A. I did not feel the 'kick' as many users claimed to give them. Infact, I feel really weak and did not have the strength to perform my workout well. My hands were shaking(similar effect of working out on an empty stomach) as I lifted the barbell off the bench press. A workout without RPM is not a complete workout for me. I proceeded to the cycling studio.

After completing my workout, I was overcome by a feeling of nausea. I immediately rushed into the locker room, fill up my shaker with Cytosport MuscleMilk, gulped it down, sat down and calm myself. 5 minutes later, I felt better.

I'm not sure why is my body reacting so negatively towards N.O Xplode. But end of the day, I'll give it up because my previous workouts with it did not go well either(same effect as today). I'm better well off taking 2 slices of wholemeal bread with peanut butter and a cup of coffee 1 hour before my workout.

Marriage Rings

They say there are three rings in a marriage:. - The engagement ring, - The wedding ring, and suffering.

Random Thoughts Of The Week

Being a coach at the gym;

On Tuesday morning, I made 2 students vomited by running 3 rounds around the college's Olympic-sized swimming pool. I was leading the students in the run and they tried to keep up with my pace.

2 days later, I threatened a small size girl that If she could not lift 30pounds on the shoulder press machine, she'll fail. She cried. The reason I treated her like that because she was playing around during warm up session, and I got sibeh tulan with that kind of attitude. But of course, I joked with her and she start smiling again. But I hope it was a sincere smile.

I hope they hold no grudges towards me.


Being a student at class;

Having Miss Aggy to be our tutor is real darn fun. She plays game with us during tutorial classes instead of giving tutorial questions. And often it will spark out arguments among classmates on who's idea on tackling certain situation is the best.

It just amuses me to see how people intellectualizes a subject or issue, according to their level of understanding.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Ding Martial Art Gymnasium

I have been training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu(BJJ) for a month now. And it's really an enjoyable martial art where I get a full body workout every training session. BJJ isn't easy as what it seems to be. Before I started to train BJJ, I thought it was easy stuffs to pull submissions and all through watching BJJ videos. However, now I know I'm wrong. There are lot of details to take note off in every step or move we make. 1 SMALL mistake and you're gone! Either being dominated or submitted by your opponent.

Interesting enough, BJJ is known as the Chess Of Martial Art. Each technique pulled doesn't end there, it always has something to counter against, provided you have the foundation and know your stuffs.

If you are interested to learn more about BJJ, drop by to Ding Martial Art Gymnasium, Kelana Jaya. They are charging pretty fair price too.

Registration Fee: RM50
Annual Membership Fee: RM30
Adult (2x per week) 3 months: RM400
Adult (1x per week) 3 months: RM240
Adult (2x per week) 1 month: RM160
Student (2x per week) 3 months: RM350
Student (1x per week) 3 months: RM200
Student (2x per week) 1 month: RM140
Coupon (prepaid system) 8 lessons: RM180
Single Lesson Drop-In: RM30

One of our regular training session. Quico, our instructor demonstrating a new move.

Family Photo, missing a few though.

Private Institutions That Offers Undergraduate Psychology Course - International Medical University

In my two previous post on Private Institutions That Offers Undergraduate Psychology Course and Private Institutions That Offers Undergraduate Psychology Course via ADP, I managed to list down quite a number of Institutions.

Recently International Medical University (IMU) introduced to the public about their new degree programmes which includes Psychology. Sounds interesting to me, and I was more than happy to know IMU will be offering Psychology by July 2008.

I was impressed with their programme structure arrangement, teaching-learning-approaches and features after checking IMU Psychology programme syllabus via their website.

But after clicking on IMU Psychology programme's fee structure, I got to think twice about it. It cost RM12,000 per semester and a total of RM76,000 for a 3 years IMU Bachelor of Science (Hons) Psychology programme.

Related post : Private Institutions That Offers Undergraduate Psychology Course

Course Preview - 5th Semester ( Changes made )

I started my new semester last week, where I got involved in an accident on the first day of my new semester itself. We only had lecture on the first week, whereas tutorial and practical starts from second week onwards. There are 5 subjects this semester;

Interpersonal Communication Skills
I was quite surprised to see the lecturer and tutor who is teaching us this subject. She taught us before in our very first semester of our course, and that was like 1 year and 14 weeks ago(roughly) ? She was teaching us Introduction to Information Technology practical classes back then. Judging from her first tutorial class, it's going to be interesting to have her teaching. Discussion without a one sided answer and learning from each other style.

Another lecturer walked into our lecture hall today. She introduced herself as Miss Kik, a lecturer who usually teaches Advertising courses. She told us that there is changes in the course programme, no idea what exactly the changes were, but she just follow orders from the college to lecture us. 1st lecture with her, and my name was already been called by her to answer question. A question on Johari Window and I gave the wrong asnwer. Anyway, she has a very interesting way of conducting her lectures and without using a mic to get her student's attention.

2 hours later, in our tutorial class of the same subject, a pretty tutor walked in to our tutorial venue. She introduced herself as Miss Cheng, a TAR College graduate in Advanced Diploma in Media Studies, attended LJMU's Summer Semester Programme for her Degree and got her MA in International Journalism from Liverpool John Moores University last year.

Group Dynamics
Teaches us how to conduct group counselling. We'll have to work in pair with a classmate, and get at least 5 people who are willing to help us to help them. Taught by our head of school, Dr Chai. Previous year, our seniors seeked our help to help them to conduct their group counselling experiment. But my group's session ended up as a yam cha session with our seniors.

Counselling Methods & Techniques II
Continuation from Counselling Methods & Techniques I from semester 3. I enjoyed the practical classes in CM&T I, and I'll continue enjoying this one I guess? Lectures and Practical conducted by Miss Eva Li, while tutorial by Aggy Hooi, another lecturer/tutor whom I enjoy her class a lot. She was my class's tutor for Introduction to Psychology in our first semester. She's someone who challenges her students to think out of the box and not to rely too much on textbook.

Ethical and Legal Aspects of Counselling
I won't comment much on this subject. All I can say is I'm praying hard there is improvement in this subject's lecturer teaching style. Senior citizen Mr Kuan Ah Kan is the name of this subject's lecturer.

Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Taught by Miss Aggy Hooi. Need more I say about her?
I'm glad that she is teaching us. According to our senior, their batch got a part-time lecturer who isn't very good in teaching and made the subject very boring.


Sometimes, a dry subject can be fun if being taught by the correct person.

Although there are 5 subjects this semester, but I'll be sitting for 7 papers in total for finals.
I haven't pass two subjects from 4th semester ( notice that I did not say I fail, I said I haven't pass! ), Basic Management Principles and Family Counselling. Rumours are saying that 1/3 of the course ( around 40 students? ) did not pass Family Counselling and majority of them are pointing fingers at the lecturer. But for me, I'll take full responsibility for my own actions.

I've been hired by the college to coach at Co-curricular Gym-Workout Programme again this semester. I wasn't hired last semester because the Sports Coordinator of Gym-Workout Programme was on maternity leave and a guy took over and hired an all girls team of student assistant.

Course Preview - 5th Semester

I started my new semester last week, where I got involved in an accident on the first day of my new semester itself. We only had lecture on the first week, whereas tutorial and practical starts from second week onwards. There are 5 subjects this semester;

Interpersonal Communication Skills
I was quite surprised to see the lecturer and tutor who is teaching us this subject. She taught us before in our very first semester of our course, and that was like 1 year and 14 weeks ago(roughly) ? She was teaching us Introduction to Information Technology practical classes back then. Judging from her first tutorial class, it's going to be interesting to have her teaching. Discussion without a one sided answer and learning from each other style.

Group Dynamics
Teaches us how to conduct group counselling. We'll have to work in pair with a classmate, and get at least 5 people who are willing to help us to help them. Taught by our head of school, Dr Chai. Previous year, our seniors seeked our help to help them to conduct their group counselling experiment. But my group's session ended up as a yam cha session with our seniors.

Counselling Methods & Techniques II
Continuation from Counselling Methods & Techniques I from semester 3. I enjoyed the practical classes in CM&T I, and I'll continue enjoying this one I guess? Lectures and Practical conducted by Miss Eva Li, while tutorial by Aggy Hooi, another lecturer/tutor whom I enjoy her class a lot. She was my class's tutor for Introduction to Psychology in our first semester. She's someone who challenges her students to think out of the box and not to rely too much on textbook.

Ethical and Legal Aspects of Counselling
I won't comment much on this subject. All I can say is I'm praying hard there is improvement in this subject's lecturer teaching style. Senior citizen Mr Kuan Ah Kan is the name of this subject's lecturer.

Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Taught by Miss Aggy Hooi. Need more I say about her?
I'm glad that she is teaching us. According to our senior, their batch got a part-time lecturer who isn't very good in teaching and made the subject very boring.


Sometimes, a dry subject can be fun if being taught by the correct person.

Although there are 5 subjects this semester, but I'll be sitting for 7 papers in total for finals.
I haven't pass two subjects from 4th semester ( notice that I did not say I fail, I said I haven't pass! ), Basic Management Principles and Family Counselling. Rumours are saying that 1/3 of the course ( around 40 students? ) did not pass Family Counselling and majority of them are pointing fingers at the lecturer. But for me, I'll take full responsibility for my own actions.

I've been hired by the college to coach at Co-curricular Gym-Workout Programme again this semester. I wasn't hired last semester because the Sports Coordinator of Gym-Workout Programme was on maternity leave and a guy took over and hired an all girls team of student assistant.

Canon Battery Grip BG-E3 for Digital Rebel XT

Got my BG-E3 battery grip today, part of the wishlist of accessories for my Canon EOS 400D. For the price of RM450, inclusive of a piece of NB-2LH, the first word that came into my mind was; cheap.

Thanks to Liew Kah Fai once again for helping me to purchase them.

Now I'm saving for a Speedlite 580EX II. I don't mind if you would like to donate or sponsor me an external flash. Even a small loan, I would appreciate them.

Lessons Learned After An Accident

Today was the first day of my new college semester. New timetable showed that my Monday classes starts and end at the same time with a college mate. So fetched her to college, and then fetched her home as well.

After dropping her at her home, while I was on my way home, at one of the cross junction, my car was hit by a on coming car.

At the cross junction, I was suppose to stop to see if there is any on coming cars, which I did. But it was raining heavily and my mirror was blurred by vapour, I saw no cars coming from any direction and I was clear to go. However, my judgment was wrong, there was a Grey Naza Ria coming from my left direction, it hit directly on the left of my car, there goes my left side's front and back door. I think the reason I could not see the car coming was probably the Naza Ria's light wasn't turned on, plus with the dark sky and it's Grey in colour.

The Naza Ria's driver was kind to check how was my condition. But my main concern was my car when I came down [ How am I going to travel around without a car? Never mind, make full use of public transport then. ]. Naza Ria's driver decided to make things easy by making a police report and insurance claim. I agreed with that. I'm in the wrong in the eyes of law, because Naza Ria had the priority to move, while my side has the "Berhenti" line. But too bad, I can't see it coming due to the blurred window. The driver apparently told me that he's actually rushing to send his daughter to college.

Photo courtesy of Mr Oh

I'm not cursing or going to blame anyone, if anyone is to be blamed, it would be yours truly for being careless. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. I'm very grateful that I have no serious injuries in a serious accident I would say. My car almost turned turtle, call natural reflex of a skillful driver [ Cheewahhh :P ] or just plain pure luck, I managed to pull my steering to control it, something that my driving instructor told me before when I was learning how to drive [ How fortunate for being able to finally unleashed the skill ;P ].


Lessons Learned from this incident;

• When it's raining, drive carefully. Finally I know why people around me always tell me that. Before this, I was overconfident. But now, I know I'm good, but it's other people that might suck. [LOL]
  

• Window blurred and can't see clearly? take a few seconds to open your window to check how's the situation like. rather than trying to save a few seconds, you'll end up few hours trying to solve the problem ( wait for tow truck, go police station etc )
  

• Managed to learn how to deal with insurance company thinggy when involved in an accident.

• Knowing where, what and how to do a police report in an accident.

Photo courtesy of Mr Oh

My New Toy : Canon EOS 400D

The photo above is the last photo taken with my Canon S3is before it was packed into it's original box, ready to find it's new owner. Posted at forum for the price of RM1.1K inclusive with all accessories worth close to RM500.

Paid RM2499 for a new Canon EOS 400D. Comes with Scandisk Ultra II CompactFlash 2GB, Raydawn 58mm UV Filter, EF Lens Work III: The Eyes of EOS, Canon DSLR Bag and a D-POD TR-38 Tripod.

Thanks to Liew Kah Fai for helping me to place an order through his college lecturer. It's slightly cheaper than market price.

Canon S3is is packed and ready to meet it's new owner soon.

Not to forget, with gratitude, thanks to my father for everything that you can see on both photos. He got me a Canon S3is, then now a Canon 400D when I want them.

Now I'm hoping to get a Canon Speedlite 580EX II and BG-E3 battery grip soon.

Gameness Platinum Weave Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Gi

On Monday night, I rolled without a Jiu Jitsu Gi, was rolling with a pair of Fairtex AB1 and T-shirt instead.

Ding Martial Art Gymnasium doesn't sell any Jiu Jitsu Gi, but they were offering Judogi instead.
I didn't want to rush into any decision on getting which Gi, decided to survey instead.

According to Grapplemonkey's Guide to Buying a Gi;

The Difference Between a Judo and Jiu Jitsu Gi
If you are considering using a Judogi for BJJ or vice versa, you may want to know what the differences are. The main difference is the cut. Judogi have a looser fit and are easier to grab at the lapel or sleeve. In BJJ, this makes it more advantageous for your opponent, making it easier for him/her to get and maintain their grips. It’s also more lapel to choke you out with. Judo has strict rules for the length of the sleeve and style of the gi. It is not uncommon for competitors wearing BJJ kimonos to be disqualified or not allowed to compete in Judo competitions.

As the statement above, I certainly don't like looser fit clothing, and this applies to my Martial Arts uniform as well. The last time I wore a looser fit TaeKwonDo Uniform, I felt clumsy. So I decided that I'll be definitely be getting a Jiu Jitsu Gi.

The first place I thought about of getting my Gi was from KDT Academy's store, where I get my Fairtex grappling shorts from. Not many variety available compared to the last time I checked their online store. So I emailed Vince ( sometimes the store's stock are not updated ) in regards to getting a BJJ Gi, and he recommended Fuji "Victory" Single Weave BJJ Gi size A2 for RM358. But what I wanted was a Gameness Gi. The remainder of Gameness Single Weave Gi was in size A3, selling for RM375.

Fortunately for me,under the "Specials" section of the store, the last piece of Gameness Platinum Weave Gi size A2 was available, best still, blue in colour, the exact weave and colour I wanted. Was quoted RM448, 20% off from usual RM560 price tag. Quite worth it I would say, according to Gameness Official Store, Platinum Weave Gi is sold at USD135, and that's excluding shipping. ( Initially I thought of buying directly from the States if KDTA did not have any stock available )


So I asked Vince to reserve the last piece for me and collected the piece of Platinum this morning. Gameness Gis doesn't come with belt, so it was another RM60 for Gameness's white belt. Total was RM508, but Vince gave me another RM8 off (thanks man!) to make it RM500 in total.


To be very honest, I really don't like wearing my new BJJ Gi after first time trying to put them on. The feeling is so different compared to my TaeKwonDo uniform. It's so heavy. I certainly need sometime and a few rolling sessions to get used to it. But then, there goes RM500, no matter what, don't like also must say LIKE ! xD

A New Beginning With Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Started a new journey in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Portuguese Purple Belt, Francisco Cunha "Quico".

Francisco Cunha "Quico" flanked by his instructors

Before Quico started our class, he explained a few things to everyone, a total of 17 athletes was there for the first session, including one Blue Belt from KDT Academy;

1. We must be in shape( being fit ).
2. Everyone learns from each other, no matter what belt you are.
3. What BJJ is all about.
4. ...and finally his BJJ experiences.


So we started the class with the usual warming up, then followed up with conditioning. Worked on the core, arms n legs with our body weight. I can tell myself that I'm not in shape at all before I could finished the conditioning routine. Now I'm having DOMS all over my tights, arms and abs as I'm typing this. Whatever routine we did, Quico explained to us the anatomical reason to it and how it helps us in our BJJ game.

Learned the basics of Guard and Mount in our first rolling session.
Quico also explains that during our rolling sessions, we should not go TOO hard with our rolling partner, just in case we might break or dislocated a joint.

All I can say is, after 2 years of hiatus from martial arts training, I'm very, very happy to be training again. What's even better is that I'm training under a friendly and humble instructor.

Guard


Side Mount

Currently there's only two Brazilian Jiu Jitsu clubs in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
For those who are interested to learn the art of ground self-defense may check our the link below.

• KDT Academy - Bangsar
• Brutal Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Malaysia - Kelana Jaya
  

Body and Mental Strength

Julien Greaux

I admire someone with a great physique(muscles etc) and athletic ability. But by just looking and admiring, wont bring me anywhere. I got to train, eat properly and be disciplined to build the great physique appearance and athletic ability. TRAIN with right effort!



Similarly, by admiring someone who is smart, intelligent, having high intellectual ability, simply by just admiring and not doing anything about it, will not bring me anywhere. What I need to do is train the "mental muscles" as well. By reading, learning with discipline and right effort.


Same concept applies, just on different goals.


In the gym, the harder I train with the right training approach, I get better physique.


In daily life, the more problem people around me gives me, the harder the problem, but with a right attitude and approach to face it, I toughen my mental strength.

Thank you for all the challenges in life =)

Where Is My Girlfriend?

Had a family gathering recently. Most of my cousins came with their partner.
Then my uncle(s) asked me when I want to find one ?, when am I going to bring mine to show to uncles and aunties for approval?

Hmm.... good question. Hahaha!

One of my uncle even joked that I should not be waiting too long, or else it will grow shorter if I don't start using it. (A certain level of dirt in the mind is needed to understand this)

Who's name will be filled up in this certificate?

Well, I just can't seem to get myself a girlfriend for the past 2 years since my last breakup.


The reason: Till now, there's only 1 girl I really still want to be with, but she doesn't want me anymore. So I'll just leave the space empty for now. I can't find the right girl.

Frustrating Lower Back Pain

The month of August has been a very frustrating one for me. After hurting my lower and seek for Chiropractor's help, there is still a little discomfort as I'm typing this and I'm still not allowed to start working out. I really miss RPM classes and weight lifting.

Infact, I've went to consult my Orthopedics for some pain killer and muscle relaxer, preparing myself for my semester finals which will be starting on this coming Friday. Whenever I sit too long, I'll have my lower back screaming for help. It's so frustrating that I can't sit long to concentrate on my revision.

What Major Is Right For You?

You scored as Psychology/Sociology, You should strongly consider majoring (or minoring) in Psychology, Sociology, or related majors (e.g., Counseling, Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology, Social Work, or other social science majors). It is possible that the best major for you is your 2nd, 3rd, or even 5th listed category, so be sure to consider ALL majors in your OTHER high scoring categories (below). You may score high in a category you didnt think you would--it is possible that a great major for you is something you once dismissed as not for you. The right major for you will be something 1) you love and enjoy and 2) are really great at it. Consider adding a minor or double majoring to make yourself standout and to combine your interests. Psychology and Sociology are both great minors to add to any major. Psychology/Sociology 94% Nursing/AthleticTraining/Health 88% Religion/Theology 63% History/Anthropology/LiberalArts 56% Education/Counseling 56% English/Journalism/Comm 56% HR/BusinessManagement 50% Physics/Engineering/Computer 50% PoliticalScience/Philosophy 50% French/Spanish/OtherLanguage 44% Biology/Chemistry/Geology 38% Visual&PerformingArts 31% Accounting/Finance/Marketing 25% Mathematics/Statistics 0% WHAT MAJOR IS RIGHT FOR YOU? created with QuizFarm.com

It seems that the courses that I'm taking now matches all top 3 fields that is best for me;

Diploma in Social Science(Counselling) under Education/Counselling is ranked 5th, but Diploma in Counselling is just one of the pathways I choosed to achieve my Degree in Psychology, which is top of my list.

Certificate in Buddhist Studies under Religion/Theology ranked 3rd while ISSA Personal Trainer Certification under Nursing/Athletic Training/Health ranked 2nd.

Did I mention that I ticked on Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science as my second choice after Diploma in Social Science(Counselling) while filling up my college's application form?

Private Institutions That Offers Undergraduate Psychology Course - via American Degree Programme

Let's go for American Degree Program!
Warning: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO SUCH ARTWORK WITH JALUR GEMILANG

In my previous write up, I was focusing more on private institutions that offers undergraduate Psychology course based on UK and Australian education system. Whereas In the United States, they adapt a totally different system. They adapt the system of Liberal Arts.

Unlike UK based education system where the syllabus has been set since from Pre-University year until students finally graduate, Liberal Arts give students a considerable amount of freedom to choose their subjects, which consist of;

General Papers

• Compulsory to be taken

• Consist of papers from various fields such as Communication,Computer,Mathematic,Social Science, Arts and Humanities, Natural Science, English etc

• Certain amount of subjects are set by institution that has to be taken by students, on the other hand students are allowed to choose certain subjects related from the fields mentioned above that interest them. [ eg: In the field of Humanities, the institution requires student to choose 2 subjects out of the offered 5 subjects. ]
  

Major Related

• The name says it all. It's also known as the Core Requirements or Requirements for Specialization.

• A certain amount of subjects are being set by institution that has to be taken by students, another certain amount are to be chosen by students. In another words, students choose their Elective of the Major.
  

Elective

• The widest range of subjects are available in this slot. Some might not be related to your major at all.

How the actual system works might vary from different institutions to another. So i'll just write roughly about it.

The minimum requirement for Malaysian students to enroll into ADP is SPM or it's equilavent.
It will be a 4 years duration of study years and the indication used on students to indicate the level of advancement are Freshmen(1st year), Sophomore(2nd year), Junior(3rd year) and finally Senior(4th year).

By Junior year(3rd year), students are required to declare their Major, and to graduate with a major, students are required to have a good amount of courses for them to be an expert in the field chosen. For example, a student who choses Psychology major, but only done two courses on Psychology, sounds unrealistic isn't it? That student has to take courses that makes him/her familiar with the basics of the different fields in Psychology.

And finally, to graduate, student has to fulfill a certain amount of credit hours. 100 credit hours for instance. You've accumulated 50 credit hours from your Core subjects, and you'll have to accumulated another 50 credit hours combined from both Minor and Electives paper. If student thinks that it's useless for them to study unrelated subjects to their major, they can still choose elective of their major. It's up to students to be narrow or broad.

*credits to Lowyat.Net forumers for sharing information that contributes to the write up above.



Usually private institutions in Malaysia offers student 2+2, where 2 years program are completed locally, and the remainder of 2 years will be completed in their respective Universities overseas. So basically Freshmen and Sophomore years are done locally, while Junior and Senior years are done overseas.

• Taylor's University College - American Degree Transfer Program
• Sunway University College - American Degree Transfer Program
• HELP University College - Department of American Degree Program
• Inti International University College - American Degree Transfer Program
• Nilai International University College - American Degree Transfer Program
• Stamford College - North American Degree Program
• SEGi College - Faculty of American Degree Program ( 4+0 programme with Upper Iowa University )

The number of institutions offering American Degree Transfer Program is not limited to the list above. Those that are not listed above means their institution doesn't offer Psychology in their American Degree Program list. This could be due to the institutions lacking on resources.

Private Institutions That Offers Undergraduate Psychology Course

As far as we know there isn't many Private Institutions offering undergraduate Psychology course in Malaysia. Being a student who is interested to pursue a degree in Psychology myself, I used to face difficulty on getting information that I wanted/needed after I completed my SPM(equivalent to GCE "O" Levels). When I was at college, I was quite surprise to find that most of my course mates doesn't know WHERE and HOW to acquire for such information. They just enroll and study without knowing what's their next direction?

I'm doing this writeup hoping that it will be useful to prospect students of Psychology. Take note that I'm not endorsing any of the institutions mentioned nor being affiliated to them. This will just serve as a shallow platform of information and It's based on my personal survey with limited resources, therefore I do not guarantee full accuracy of information provided as institutions mentioned might alter them from time to time.


To date, there are 5 private institutions that offers Undergraduate Psychology course;


HELP University College

• Offers their own 3+0 HELP University College Bachelor of Psychology(Hons) Program under the Faculty of Behavioral Sciences
  

• Students may also opt to transfer credits to leading universities in Australia, United Kingdom or New Zealand

Sunway University College

• Offers Bachelor of Psychology(Hons), a joint Honours Degree with Lancaster University under the Department of Psychology
  
  

University College Sedaya International

• Offers a 3+0 Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Psychology under the School of Social Science & Liberal Arts.

• Student may opt for UCSI's International Degree Pathway with Universties in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom or USA

Monash University, Malaysia Campus

• Offers 3+0 Bachelor of Arts with a few major to choose from, Communication, International Studies, Writing and Psychology. Offered under the School of Arts and Sciences.

• Under the School of Business Bachelor of Psychology & Business is being offered as well.
  

University Tunku Abdul Rahman

• Offers 3+0 Bachelor of Social Science (Hons) Psychology program under the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences(FAS)

All 5 institutions requires student to go through a Pre-University programme before being allowed to enroll into their undergraduate programme. It could be the generally accepted GCE 'A' Levels, STPM, AUSMAT, SAM, CIMP to name a few, or the institution's very own foundation programme. However, due to the fact that there is no 1 standardized foundation programme in Malaysia, every institution sets their own standard for their offered foundation programme. Students who opt for Institution's own foundation program may need to resit certain subject papers if they were to transfer to another institution.


My next writeup would be Private Institutions That Offers Undergraduate Psychology Course - via American Degree Programme.

Tunku Abdul Rahman College UK Collaboratives

I can't help but to post this information up just in case if there is any TARC-ian who might be facing dilemma on their progression route after Diploma. This writeup would just serve as a very shallow information based on my limited resources.

Based on my batch's prospectus (2006/2007), students who are interested in studying at United Kingdom for a Honours Degree will have to complete TARC's Advance Diploma, then they are entitled to proceed for a 3 months summer programme with either Liverpool Johns Moores University or Sheffield Hallam University depending on the course they are studying.

BUT, that's not the only choice. There are certain route that wasn't mentioned in the prospectus. Something that I just found out last night while surfing for information about UK Universities that offers Post Graduate studies in Sport Psychology.



Sheffield Hallam University actually has 3 special tailored programmes for TARC students. Not only the mentioned 3 months summer programme, but also Two Years Progression Degree Programmes for Diploma graduates and Continuation Masters Programme for those who graduate with Sheffield Hallam University degrees on the Summer Semester Programme or Progression Degree programme.


On the other hand, to pursue a Liverpool Johns Moores University degree, only Summer Programme is offered. Postgraduate Masters Courses are also offered, but totally different to what Sheffield Hallam University has to offer. Sheffield Hallam University's Postgraduate programmes are said to be specially tailored for TAR College students only. While Liverpool John Moores University are chosen ones deemed to be most suitable to students on the Malaysian Summer Programme.

If you still need any information with regards to the issue mentioned above, wait for the periodic visits of academic staffs from the respective University to TAR College.

Making Orders with Binabadan.com

Binabadan.com , one of the link shown on my sidebar, and a site which I got to know recently from Chrisdaanimal's recommendation.

Among those websites available on my sidebar links, I found that Binabadan.com has the cheapest pricing among all. ONS 100% WHEY Gold 5lbs is only being sold at RM165, that's RM15 cheaper compared to my tub of WHEY that I purchased from EGOnutritions back last month.

I was talking about me not getting proper Pre-Workout and Post-Workout meals in here, so I made an inquiry to Bidabadan.com regarding Pre-Workout supplement that they have in store.

The store owner, Dave, recommended anything that contain caffeine, synephrine and mahuang or testosterone can boost your workout by 50 to 60%. At the time of correspondence, he only has two items in store available, M1T-Rx and BSN N.O.-Xplode. I never heard of M1T-Rx before, so I made my own research with limited sources via the internet about M1T-Rx and found this;

Is there any side-effects?

M1T-Rx contains actual androgen hormone characteristics, therefore may yield side-effects if taken more than the recommended dosage.

Headache may occur if user has never taken pro-hormone before.

WARNING!

THIS IS A SUPER STRONG STUFF. Please read the label carefully. DO NOT INCREASE THE DOSAGE. USE AS RECOMMENDED. PLEASE DO CYCLE THE PRODUCT IF YOU WANT YOUR LIVER! Take milk thistle daily. Drink plenty of water.

Not intended for use by individuals under the age of 18 or women. This product contains steroid hormones. If taken in the excessive dosage it may cause breast enlargement, testicle shrinkage, and infertility in males and increase facial and body hair, voice deepening, and clitoral enlargement in females. If you are at risk for prostate or breast cancer you should not use this product. Do not use this product if you have pre-existing medical condition such as prostate enlargement, heart disease or hormone abnormalities. Do not exceed the recommended serving. Exceeding recommended serving may cause serious adverse health effects. Possible side effects include hair loss, acne, hair growth on the face (in women), aggressiveness, irritability, and increased levels of estrogens. Discontinue use and call a physician or licensed qualified health care professional immediately if you experience rapid heartbeat, dizziness, blurred vision, or other similar symptoms. Use of this product may be banned by some athletic associations. Anyone subject to drug-testing or doping procedures (e.g. IOC, USOC, NCAA, IPC, IFBB) should consult their governing organization before using this product.

After reading the statement above, my testicles shrunk before I even started consuming M1T-Rx and I told myself not to be exposed to all the risks mentioned above even if it could bring the visible different in growth in just 7 days with M1T-Rx.

I've read alot about BSN's N.O.-Xplode from various sources about how good they are to get us pumped up for a workout, no matter what sports you are doing, they just work great. So I decided to order a tub of N.O.-Xplode 1.81lbs for myself to test how great it is considering Binabadan.com is only selling it for RM190 + RM10 for shipping ( EGOnutritions are selling them at RM253 for the same item ). But only Grape flavor was available at the time of buying and also was the last tub before the next batch arrives.

Banked in RM200 into Binabadan Enterprise's account on Thursday 11am. Item was shipped on Friday, and arrived to my house via Skynet at 11:30am Saturday. But, I wasn't at home.


But Skynet gave me a call this morning at 9am informing me about their delivery, and at 1:30pm, I got my hands on my 1st tub of BSN N.O.-Xplode. Thumbs up to Binabadan.com for a smooth transaction.


I'm really excited to get a taste of XPLODE from it. But I'll still have to be patient for the time being to treat my back injury. I hope to write up my personal review on my current Pre-Workout(BSN N.O.-Xplode) and Post-Workout(ONS 100% WHEY Gold) meal soon.





P/s: My dad is a bit paranoid about me consuming supplements. He believes in getting nutrition from natural sources from daily balance diet only, but for me, it should be a balance between natural sources from our balance diet WITH supplements. What more when it comes to bodybuilding supplements, where the first thing that comes into his mind when I mention "Sport Supplement" is Steroids.

So, I have to hide my tub of N.O.-Xplode inside my cupboard.