Day 23

Day 23- Something you crave for a lot.

At this moment, i truly, seriously, from the bottom of my heart and all the space above, crave for A LOT of things.. well not actually things, more like A LOT of food!

1. vegetarian chicken rice from Fatt Yan

   ( previous 2 attempts to locate this eatery in Jalan Tun H.S Lee FAILED)

2. kaw curry mee

   (best stall selling this supposedly located behind Fatt Yan)

3. moist chocolate cake with royal icing

   (someone please get me this for my birthday:P)

Amore Mio

27 DAYS MORE!!

MAN, I SO LOVE THE NUMBER 27!!!

Feedback

Okay, so i've got some feedback from friends and family regarding organ and tissue donation. Some very interesting ones that i want to mention is question from a friend and also a family member. 
A family member asked me - "if you donate everything, what are they gonna burn?"
i answered "emmm..my usus and all? i think..:P"  and another family member asked "you might wana ask someone religious if it's okay to donate everything. i mean will the soul be in peace etc", my answer "well i think God wants us to help each other, this is a form of help too. I don't see the harm."
i guess family members will always ask these kind of questions, not because they don't want you to donate, maybe there care for you a little too much :) but thankfully, my family has been very supportive. Mum wants to donate her organs too :)

And a friend of mine sent me a message on facebook after reading my blog post about organ and tissue donation. A very good question in my opinion. I'll copy paste his question and my reply okay.
Question-

what if your kidneys are given to alcoholics who refused to stop drinking, your lungs given to heavy chained smokers who refused to stop smoking, your heart given to a heartless human being, wouldnt it defeat the purpose of u donating at the first place? 

Reply-

regarding your ques abt organ donor, what if i ask you the same? what if there is someone in dire need of organs/tissues but all of us think like what you think and choose not do donate and in the end the person dies? In my opinion, its my intention that matters most. I'm gonna be dead, my organs are no more useful to me, it's gonna be burnt nie na. We even donate our old clothes to the needy, then why the reservation when it comes to organs? and if you read my latest post, the Star report (18th Oct), there are people in serious need of organ transplant. a newly wedded woman, a Masters holder, a young girl.. people like that.. Should consider that too na?

I'm glad someone asked that question.. I mean i bet so many people out there have the same questions in mind, so just to set the records straight :)
Anyway, if I'm not mistaken, i think they have stringent procedures to check who deserve to be an organ recipient?  but I'm not so sure, have do find out about that.


Kesimpulannya, don't let anything hold you back from donating your organs and tissues!! A good deed like this will always be rewarded with something equally good or even better :)

31 DAYS MORE!!!

 

i-am-super-duper-excited!!!

 

*smiles* 

Day 22 after much much delay

Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else?

Emmm..am i different from others? Maybe :)

I guess certain qualities in me (not boasting aye!!) susah nak cari,hehe:P
I love the fact that I'm a loyal friend, i love helping my friends, and to a certain extend, am quite possessive of them ;) you touch them, you die! might be a disadvantage at times, because people tend to misuse me (0NLY certain people, not all) but i like being this way. i mean this is how i really am.

I can emotional-multitask. No, the word doesn't exist, but how else do you describe a person who can scream, cry and laugh all in 1 minute?  Lame, but still, it's a unique talent :P


i guess i'm basically the same like all of you. same qualities, same aspirations.. just that i'm pretty adamant to make a change in the world, hopefully the profession i choose will help me to do so. I want to make people love each other more, sympathize with people's plight, be good citizens..all that stuff.. so i'm trying to change myself first, then hopefully bring a revolution of change to people around me.

keluar topic. seriously. hahaha...


p/s- sorry for M.I.A, I've been busy :)

Over 11,000 patients in organ transplant waiting list

Report about organ donation in The Star newspaper, 18th October 2010.

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 11,000 patients are still waiting for organ and tissue transplants, said Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

The Health Minister said 11,000 patients were in need of kidney transplant while 25 others need transplants for liver, six (heart), four (lungs) and three for both heart and lungs.

“Despite the increasing number of organ pledgers and donors, the number of actual organs donors is very small,” said Liow in his speech before launching the National Organ Donation Awareness Week 2010 celebrations.

Liow said based on a survey by the National Transplant Resource Centre, the number of donors was low because family members often refused to have the organs of their loved ones transplanted.

“Alhough a person has pledged his organs, his family members can still put a stop to the donation when the time comes for the transplant to take place,” he said at a press conference after his speech.

He said the most common reasons given were fear and many were related to religion.

“We hope those who have pledged their organs would inform their family members of their wishes, like Winnie Chen,” he said.

It was reported that mechanical heart patient Chen expressed her wish to donate her organs before she died recently.

Liow said that if family members understood the importance and urgency of this matter, they would consent to it.

“Time is gold in conducting these transplants. We would like to remind the public that the donation has to take place immediately after the person has died in order for the organs to be functional for another person,” he said.

The ministry, he said, would continue to educate and create awareness for family members to allow organ donation pledges to be fulfilled.

According to the centre, 147,092 – less than 1% of the Malaysian population – have pledged to donate their organs from 2006 until September 2010.

From that figure, 66,599 were male while 79,606 female.

The majority of those who pledged their organs were Chinese, totalling 85,100.

Selangor recorded the highest number of pledgers at 29,743.

He said the ministry was drafting out a new law to address several issues, including monitoring organ donations and transplants in the country or abroad and to prevent Malaysians from turning to the black market.

The National Organ Donation Awareness Week 2010 celebration, held for the first time in Malaysia, was themed 1Malaysia 1Harapan – Organ Donation Saves Lives.

Yet again, i urge all my blog readers to pledge to donate their organs and tissues and also to encourage their family and friends to do the same. Thank you.

November 1984

What actually happened in November 1984
  
India Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards on 31st October 1984. The two Sikh bodyguards saw the damage that Indira Gandhi's act had caused to the Sikh community. The swore in front of Guru Maharaaj, Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (the Sikh holy scripture) that they would take revenge for the destruction on the Golden Temple Complex and the death of all the innocent people. 

What happen after the news of the assassination spread was pure chaos.

THOUSANDS of Sikhs were massacred in the most barbaric method of killing. Mobs were assembled to carry out three days of brutal killings, all this encouraged by central government ministers and Members of the Parliament with the help of the police.

On 1st November 1984, hordes of people from suburbs of Delhi were transported to areas with Sikh population. These people carried weapons like iron rods, knives, and combustible materials including kerosene. One interesting fact to be noted is that the mobs were also supplied with government issued voter and ration list of houses and business establishments belonging to Sikhs.This clearly shows the government's involvement in this mass killings.

What these mobs did to the Sikhs is very painful to imagine. Big gangs, led by the leaders and some policeman swarmed into Sikh houses, HACKING the occupants into pieces, CHOPPING OFF heads of the children, RAPING women, tying Sikh men to tires set aflame with kerosene, burning down the houses and shops after ransacking them. They stopped Sikh passengers traveling in buses and trains and set them on fire, burning them alive.

Some Sikhs tried to defend themselves, but somehow the police always arrived before the mobs came and confiscated whatever weapon of self defense the Sikhs had.


There is evidence from various sources that soon after Operation Bluestar, there had been a plan to destroy Sikhs. A plan of retaliation by identifying Sikh targets like houses, shops and Gurdwaras has been made, this included logistics planning and techiques to be employed. 

A point worth stressing here is that all the mobs were armed with iron rods of the same size and had abundant supply of petrol and kerosene which was too costly for and average Indian to purchase in large quantities. Sources of the kerosene was traced, and it was discovered that the dealers belonged to the Congress (I) party. 


"As we were standing just near the house, where I was being sheltered, we saw a child of about ten, dressed in a salwaar-kameez, who was moving on the road. The child was walking quite normally down the street. He was actually a young boy in the process of fleeing to safety and had been dressed as a girl. Something about the child's appearance made the mob suspect that the child was a boy and someone shouted 'sardar ka ladka hoga' (it must be the son of a Sardar-a Sikh). The child panicked and started running but the mob pursued him and caught him. They asked him where the other members of his family were. The boy was really frightened and he pointed in a certain direction and said that his father was lying there and that he was dead. To my horror the mod dragged the boy up to the father's body, threw the child on him and burnt him saying 'yeh sap ka bacha hai, isse bhi khatam kar do' (This is the son of a snake, finish him off also)."
Nandita Haskar and Uma Chakravarti, Interview with Gurmeet Singh Gill. 'The Delhi Riots'

Rape was also a common happening during the mass killing, but was overshadowed by the intense killing. 


On 1st November 1984, Gurdip Kaur, her three sons and husband were at home. Here is how she described the attack. 
'Three of the men ran out and were set on fire. My youngest son stayed in the house with me. But they came into the house.Those young boys, 14 to 16 year olds, began to drag my son out even though he was hiding behind me. They tore my clothes and stripped me naked in front of my son. The raped me right there, in front of my son, in my own house. They were young boys, maybe eight of them.
After they had taken my honor, they left. I took my son to sit among the women but they came and dragged him away. They took him to the street corner, hit him with lathis, sprinkled kerosene over him, and burnt him alive. I tried to save him but the struck me with knives and broke my arm. At that time i was completely naked. I had managed to get hold of an old sheet, which I had wrapped around myself. If I had even one piece of clothing on my body, I would have gone and thrown myself over my son and tried to save him. I would have done anything to save at least one young man of my family. Not one of the four is left."

                                                                                                                     to be continued........

Organ Donor

Just registered myself as an organ donor at the Pusat Sumber Transplan Negara website. It's something that i've wanted to do for a long long time, thankfully i finally did it today. 

The registration process is very very simple, all you have to do is to go to this link at their website click here. And then fill in your personal data (simple stuff like name, IC number, D.O.B, address, contact number and e-mail address), and then fill in the name of your next of kin and your relationship to that person. Lastly, the -your wish- section, where you get to choose which organs you want to donate. You can either donate all your organs and tissues OR select what specifically you want to donate (kidneys/heart/liver/lungs/eyes/bones/skin).
I choose to donate all my organs and tissues. I mean if it can be used to save someone's life or give someone a better living, I'll be more than glad to do it.
So after selecting the organs/tissues to donate, all you have to do is print the form that you filled up, put your signature on it, scan it and then e-mail it back to them. Simple as that. OR you can mail it to them.

It is my sincere hope that all of you read this post will also pledge to donate your organs and tissues.

Lots of love,
Preeti

Day 21

Day 21- A picture of something that makes you happy.

LOL :p

Day 20- Someone you see yourself marrying/being with in the future.

Whoa, this is a super tricky question. I bet many people are curious about what i'm gonna answer (chewah, perasan je lebih!! :p) tapi kan...i mintak maaf banyak2, i cannot divulge any name here..reason-takut ada kontroversi ke apa ke nanti. biarlah aku low profile sikit okay :)

all i can talk about is the characteristics that i like in the person i see myself marrying/being with in the future.

1.Penyabar- oh trust me, i banyak kerenah. Kadang2 super hyper, kadang2 emo gila babi, kadang2 teramatlah romantic, kadang2 just plain annoying. So my man has to be able to tolerate me during my ever changing moods..
2.Smart-i like smart men who can converse in any topic. i find that sexy. i also like men who talk a lot :P
2.Good sense of humor-childish voices that i often chide as annoying but actually find it very cute is most2 welcome :P
4.Gives me freedom- freedom to soar higher, to be successful. I'm planning to be a career woman, my man has to support me.
5.good sense of dressing-because i suck at it, seriously. i'm a jeans and baby tee person, it's hard to see me in anything other than that. my man must be stylo, so he can shop for me and hopefully change my fashion style from boring to glam.
6.successful- i wan the best for my kids ok.
7.religious- he must believe in God and have a good heart.

June 1984

What happened in June 1984

Operation Blue Star, code name for an attack that began on 1st June 1984. Up to 150,000 Indian army troops were sent to the northern Indian state of Punjab, the Sikh homeland, equipped with helicopter gunships and tanks.

The state was sealed off from the rest of the world. Journalists were removed. Telephone lines were cut, preventing internal and external communication. All news and information was controlled by the Indian government. Independent newspapers and radio stations were closed down. An indefinite curfew was imposed across the whole of Punjab, with 20million residents placed in a state of siege and imprisonment.

On June 4th 1984, India's Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, ordered the Indian Army to invade the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar, the Sikh's national institution. As it was the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Sikh's 5th Guru(teacher) Arjan Dev, it was full of thousands of pilgrims.

Forty other Sikh shrines were simultaneously attacked. On the pretext of apprehending 'a handful of militants' lodged inside the Golden Temple, the Indian Army unleashed a terror unprecedented in post-independence India.

It took the use of Vijayanta tanks to win the fight for the army. These let loose a barrage of highly explosive shells, which took off the entire front of Akal Takht, the temporal seat of the Sikhs, setting off fires in many of its internal rooms (some which housed very precious historical relics), and badly damaged its dome.

"The army went into Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) not to eliminate a political figure or a political movement but to suppress the culture of the people, to attack their heart, to strike a blow at their spirit and self-confidence." 
Joyce Pettigrew.Reader in Antropology, Queens University, Belfast.

"For five days the Punjab has been cut off from the rest of the world. There is a 24-hour curfew. All telephone and telex lines are cut.No foreigners are permitted entry and on Tuesday, all Indian journalists were expelled. There are no newspapers, no trains, no buses - not even a bullock cart can move. Orders to shoot on site were widely carried out. The whole of Punjab, with its 5,000 villages and 50 major cities, were turned into a concentration camp. The rules were what the Indian army and its political decision makers decided."
Christian Science Monitor, 8th June 1984.

"It was a virtual massacre. A large number of women, children and pilgrims were gunned down."
The Guardian, 13th June 1984.

 Before and after. The damage on Sikh's holiest shrine, the Akal Takht.

 Kids and women were not spared by the Indian Army.

Does it make any sense?

1. To apprehend a 'handful of militants', the Indian army gathered 150,000 troops equipped with helicopter gunships and tanks, and chemical gas (banned worldwide since World War 2)

2.Such a perfect time chosen, during Guru Arjan Dev's martyrdom anniversary when all Sikhs from all over India will visit the Golden Temple complex to pay respect. 

3.All sources of communication were cut.

4. Women and kids were killed (factual and pictorial evidence present)

5. According to then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, the attack was done as a last resort when all other means to capture 'the so called handful of militants' were unsuccessful. Well, according to an Indian Army officer, speaking on record, the attack was already planned ONE YEAR earlier. The army were trained, and a replica model of the Golden Temple complex was even made by the Indian Army in their preparation for the attack.


P/S- I am not trying to point fingers here. All i want to do is to set the records straight. All my points here are based on facts and evidence. As a Sikh, i believe the world needs to know what really happened on June 1984. No Sikh should tolerate injustice to their fellow Sikh brothers and sisters.  And no one has the rights to destroy our most sacred place of worship for whatsoever reason. And it's my humble request to all Sikhs to spread this message around.
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh.

Attention guys, 

Majority of my blog posts this week will be about the 1984 Sikh Holocaust, in memory of all those innocent people killed. Those who might find my posts offensive/controversial, apologies in advance, I'm just trying to share some facts and spread awareness about the incident. Any queries, don't hesitate to ask me on my Formspring, I'll be glad to answer.

What do you think of when you think of cakes?

Reminder-This is NOT an advertorial. It's merely a personal recommendation ;)

As a kid, i loved to pass by bakeries and look at their cakes on display. But as the years passed, it seemed a tad boring. same cakes, same design.

Thankfully, nowadays some very2 creative individuals have some forward with their too-good-to-eat cakes :) One of them is my personal favorite, Amy from Mom and Daughter Cakes. It's home based, located at Bukit Mertajam, Penang.


The reason why i love Amy's cakes is that it tastes good and looks good, and the prices are very2 affordable. She is very friendly, i find it a pleasure talking to her, brainstorming for ideas on cake/cupcakes design. She has the ability of understanding a client's demands, and turning their vision into a reality. 


Here are some of my favorite cakes/cupcakes that Amy has made. (Pictures taken from Amy's Flickr,Facebook and blog)


My all time favorite :)

And yes, Amy does home delivery for areas around Penang mainland. She can be contacted by email - mndcakes@gmail.com or by calling her at 016 4011319.

Her Facebook page - click here

Flickr- click here

Blog-  click here

 

Day 15 with apologies for the delay

Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play.

Well it's not iPod, i put my E5 on shuffle mode.

1.  Yen Jannal- Theeratha Vilayattu Pillai

2.  Bewafaa - Imran Khan

3.  Halo - Beyonce Knowles

4.  Stole My heart - Singham

5.  Pookal Pookum - Madrassapattinam

6.  Karma - Alicia Keys

7.  Parda - Once Upon a Time in Mumbai

8.  Thaaliaye Thevai illai - Thaamirabharani

9.  Party people - Nelly feat. Fergie

10. Love the way you lie - Eminem feat. Rihanna


My music list is pretty limited at the moment, i only have a few songs..Haven't had the time to transfer

Blessing in Disguise?

i was on MC yesterday for some reason and at 10am i started feeling restless already, i missed work :) and i feel for once, maybe i actually have found something i like.. my criteria for selecting a course for degree was simple. i wanted to do something I'm passionate about, something that will motivate me to get up in the morning and study/ go to work.. surprisingly, working here, i don't have any Monday blues or whatsoever, i actually look forward going to work.. I'm glad =) and hopefully all goes well and i shall be starting my degree by June 2011.

For those who don't know, i was supposed to start my LLB by August 2010, but at that time i choose law not because of passion, but merely because i thought well maybe I might be good at it. Then the fickle minded me decided not to do law, started having interest in psychology and then TESL. and now back to Law :p

Whatever i decide to do, hopefully i will perform well in my degree and be really good at my job =)

p/s- today (12/10/10) is darling Suhania's 21st birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY babe, love you :)

Day 19 with a wide wide smile and mind full of memories =)

Day 19- Nicknames you have; why do you have them?

My name is Harpreet Kaur Grewal. Im fondly known as Preeti by family and friends. No no, i tak perasan cantik, it's just a nama manja, singkatan untuk harPREET. 

Nicknames I've been given throughout these years :-

1. Baby 

Only my grandmother calls me this. Reason being that I'm the youngest granddaughter and her baby manja. 

2. Katek/Ketot/ayam katek

I was very2 short (seriously) since i was a kid until like form2. My sisters used to disturb me by calling me these names.I'm taller than them now (HAHAHA!!)

3.Black

Only for Simi, Bal and Jiju. The reason shall remain a secret :P

4. Preeto

Jiju's friends call me this. i don't like the name :/ makes me sound old. I got this name because i acted as Preeto Ji, the reporter from Punjab News Network in SS Camp drama.

5.Babe

Only for Nalini!! =)

Day 18 with hope of success

Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have.

Forgive me for my ignorance, but aren't plans, dreams and goals basically like all the same? 

Things i wish to achieve in my life.

1.get my Phd. In what course you may ask? I seriously don't know :p

2. earn above 10k (i swear i will work my butt off to make this a reality)

3. do yatra at Hemkunth Sahib

4. get a Nissan 370z or at least a Mazda 6

5. Have a family, good hubby and kids (please kay, all females secretly dream of this:p)

6. Make Mum the happiest woman on earth

There are a couple more, but it's too private to share :) sorry 

Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why?

Hmmmm....
I'll go with Karpal Singh. This has got nothing to do with the fact that he is a Sikh or that he is DAP chairman. Just that i really admire him as a person.

Qualities in him that i admire :-
       1.He is very outspoken, and not afraid to fight for his rights and protest against any
         injustice.
       2.A good politician who has done a lot for his people.
       3.A good husband, father and grandfather. A true family man.
       4.He is a damn good lawyer, one of the best in Malaysia for litigation in my opinion.
         5. Despite all the fame and money he has, he remains very down to earth.

1day is seriously a very short period of time, but if i had the chance, I'd like to know how Karpal Singh manages to do all he has done. He is a true warrior and fighter who never once let his disability get the better out of him. A man i truly admire. 


 
 

Haihz..

Just reading though the headlines in today's The Star newspaper gave me some sort of sick feeling. Man, what has this world come to? My hormones are kinda messed up at this moment and i guess that was the reason why i cried  TWO times (yea i noe, like wtf right?) while reading the paper just now during my lunch break.
WHY you may ask? Let me share some of the depressing news.

1. Macaque vs baby.
I bet most of you already know about this. For those who dunno, well to sum it up, a macaque (some sort of monkey species) mistook a 4day old baby as food/his baby/whatever and caused the baby's death. Poor baby was found by the mom and grandpa in a pool of blood, body bitten badly and thrown from the roof. It was heart wrenching seeing the pic of the parents crying, and it's their first baby. I automatically start crying when i see the mom's grieving face. and here is what the parents told the press (as quoted in The Star) mom- "we were planning a grand Deepavali but that will not happen now. My heart bled when i saw my little baby with stitches on her head and face" . dad on the other hand had planned to register the baby's birth on Sunday, and now the poor baby died without a name... May God bless the family of the baby and give them strength to cope during these trying times..

2. The cremation of the late wife of Lee Kwan Yew, the ex-PM of Singapore.
Sad ending to a beautiful love story. The couple has been married since 1947. and the wife has been ill for a couple of years, in coma if I'm not mistaken. But he still talks to his wife everyday, and tells her about his day and shares stories with her. He said she might not be conscious, but she can hear him. Awww, how romantic. Anyway, what made me tear was this sentence -the 87 year old widower, famous for being a  tough political warrior, tenderly touched his wife's face in an open coffin after bringing his fingers to his own lips- he said to the press later, "my heart is heavy with sorrow and grief."
It's very sad to even imagine your loved one not being there anymore.. I cannot imagine what he must be going through watching his soul mate lying in the coffin, lifeless. Just made me realize that I'm not really appreciating special people in my life as much as they deserve.. Shouldn't take them for granted anymore after this. Life is too short.

M, i love you.

Complain complain complain :P

Edwin has been complaining that i've been selamba-ly skipping some parts of the 30day challenge. haha.. ni nak explain sikit


letter to the person who has hurt me- i'll write la soon, maybe in a day or 2, tgh panas nie, bagi aku cool down sikit:P
family pic- sumpah takde. kami adalah manusia2 paling tak photogenic (tapi still cun :p) tu la wanna take this weekend during the wedding.. tunggu ye :)
ipod- takde :( hp pun takde lagu :( sabar ye, bila i dah beli si E5 tu, akan ku buat challenge ini.

Adios!

Day 16 oh-so-vain

Day 16- Another picture of yourself.

  
Malas nak cari gambar, took this 1 from fb, its my current profile pic. Taken during Uni Soiree Memorable, our Pharmacy Farewell Night.

Nak beli hp baru ?

i need to purchase a phone fast, latest by this week.
Neash suggested Nokia E5. i kinda like it. the specs are cool and it will look awesome if i get the white color instead of black.
Cun tak?

I nak beli blackberry actually, tapi mahal sgt, later la when i start working permanently :)
And YES, i am the most fickle minded person on earth! Just last week i was dying to buy Nokia X3 Touch and Type, now dah tukar fikiran lagi. Better get this phone a.s.a.p, don't wanna change my mind again.


p/s- to see the specs of Nokia E5, click here


 

Day 14 and 15 with more apologies :P

Day 14- A picture of you and your family.

Emmm..request cannot be processed.. reason being that my sisters will KILL me if they see their pic in my blog.. tapi takpe, we are going for a wedding this weekend, i'll make sure i snap some nice pics there and put them up here okay :) sorry people!! 
Day 15 lagi la tak boleh. xde IPod, hp pun kapchai punya.. *waiting patiently for the new Nokia phone to be released in malaysia*

Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.
There has been a friend who has recently hurt me with his actions. But writing a letter to him here would be like washing his dirty linen in public, and that i something i don't like to do so we'll just skip Day13.

Trust is like a vase.. once it's broken, though you can fix it the vase will never be same again. - Author Unknown

Apologies

Sorry for not posting anything since Friday.. went for a trip up north.. will blog about that latter plus need to catch up with the 30day challenge ;)