Introduction

Hi! I am Daniel Lim Jhao Jian. Since the inception of this blog in June 2009, I have been sharing a lot of my experience, knowledge and ideas here. I hope you will find this blog useful. Thank you for visiting my blog.

Thursday, 27 December 2012

Install Windows 8

Here, I am going to write about how to install Windows 8 on your conputer. Windows 8 is the new version of Windows operating system after Windows 7. Windows 8 was released on 26 October 2012. I am been hearing about Windows 8 since year 2010. At the end of year 2011, a few preview versions of Windows 8 were released, which were Release Preview, Developer Preview and Consumer Preview. They could be downloaded and installed for free. I was interested to install Windows 8, but I did not do so because the Windows 8 preview would eventually expire and the computer hard disk must be formatted in order to revert to Windows 7. Later, because I was busy studying for my SPM examination, I did not pay attention to the release of Windows 8. However, at November 2012, I often saw advertisements about Windows 8 on the television. Therefore, after my SPM ended, I decided to upgrade my Windows 7 computer to Windows 8. The upgrade was successful, although I faced some problems during the installation. Here, I am going to share with you on the procedure to install Windows 8.

There are 4 different methods to install Windows 8:
1. Upgrade: This method will replace the current version of windows with Windows 8. All the files, settings and programs in your computer will be kept. This method is the easiest of all. However, some programs may not work properly after the upgrade, and the computer performance may decrease.
2. Clean installation: This mehod will delete the current version of Windows and delete all files, programs and settings on your computer, then install Windows 8 on your computer. Therefore, you have to backup your files and programs before installing Windows 8.
3. Dual-boot: This method will install Windows 8 alongside the current version of Windows. All your files, settings and programs will be kept. It allows you to have 2 different versions of Windows on your computer at the same time. You can choose to use either one whenever you start your computer. However, this can destroy all files on the computer if it is done wrongly. Also, your computer hard drive must have more disk space to do so.
4. Virtual machine: This method will install Windows 8 on a virtual machine. It won't affect your current version of Windows or any files and programs on your computer, even if it is done wrongly. You can use Windows 8 inside the current version of Windows. However, the performance of Windows 8 may decrease if you use this method. Also, your computer hardware specification must be high.

Before you install Windows 8, you must make sure that your computer hardware meets the system requirements of Windows 8. If your computer does not meet the requirements, you must upgrade your computer hardware first. If you are installing Windows 8 in a virtual machine (Method 4), your computer must have RAM and hard disk space that is double the system requirement. The system requirement of Windows 8 are as follows:
1. Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX and SSE2
2. RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
3. Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
4. Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver

You are also advised to run the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant software on your computer to see if the software and hardware you use are compatible with Windows 8. You can download Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant for free at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-MY/windows-8/upgrade-to-windows-8 . If it detects some problems, follow its instructions to solve the problems. If you performing a clean installation of Windows 8, you should also back up all your files on a pen drive, external hard drive, memory cards or others. If your computer is currently running Windows ME or older, your computer is probably very old and therefore you should not attempt to install Windows 8 on that computer.

If you are ready to upgrade to Windows 8, you have to buy a Windows 8 DVD. Note that Windows 8 is not a free software. The price is around a few hundred ringgits. Windows 8 have 2 editions, Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro. Windows 8 Pro is more expensive than Windows 8, but has more features. There are 2 versions of Windows 8, which are 32-bit and 64-bit. 64-bit Windows 8 is faster and better than 32-bit Windows 8, but needs higher system requirements (Refer to the system requirements above). Note that 64-bit Windows 8 can run both 64-bit and 32-bit programs but not 16-bit programs, while 32-bit Windows 8 can run both 32-bit and 16-bit programs but not 64-bit programs. You can purchase Windows 8 DVD at computer stores.

The steps to install Windows 8 depends on the method you are using. Here are the steps:

Method 1: Upgrade
(Note: You can keep all programs and files if you are currently using Windows 7. If you are using Windows Vista or XP, you can keep files only but not programs. This method does not work with Windows 2000.)

1. Start your computer and log into the current version of Windows.
2. Insert the Windows 8 DVD into the CD drive, then go to Computer to open it.
3. Open setup.exe .
4. Wait until the setup preparation is complete.
5. Key in the Windows 8 Product Key and click Next. The product key can be found on the box of the Windows 8 DVD.
6. Tick I accept the license terms and click Accept.
7. Select Keep Windows settings, personal files, and apps and click Next.
8. Wait for the system checking to complete.
9. When it says ready to install, click Install.
10. Wait for the Windows 8 installation to complete.
11. After the installation is complete, restart your computer.
12. You have successfully installed Windows 8.

Method 2: Clean Installation
(Note: This method will delete all files and programs on your computer. Make sure that you backup all your files before you begin.)

1. Start your computer.
2. At the start screen showing your computer's manufacturer which appears before the starting windows screen, look for something like Press F2 to enter BIOS Setup or similar.
3. Press the key displayed to enter BIOS Setup. Usually the key is F2, DEL, F1 or ESC.
4. In the BIOS Setup, look for an option named Boot Device Priority or something similar and go to that option.
5. Rearrange the devices so that the CD or DVD Drive is arranged before the hard disk drive.
6. Save the settings and exit. To do so, usually you have to press a key displayed on the screen.
7. Insert the Windows 8  DVD into the CD drive, then restart the computer.
8. When the screen says Press any key to boot from CD or DVD. , press a key on your keyboard.
9. Wait while the Windows 8 setup is loading.
10. Choose the language for Windows and set Keyboard or input method as US.
11. Click Next and then click Install Now.
12. Wait for the Windows 8 setup to start.
13. Key in the Windows 8 Product Key and click Next. The product key can be found on the box of the Windows 8 DVD.
14. Tick I accept the license terms and click Accept.
15. Select Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).
16. Select the hard disk partition that you want to install Windows 8 on. Usually it is Drive 0 Partition 1, which is the C: drive. All data in that partition will be erased to install Windows 8. If you see an error message, try selecting other partitions.
17. Click Next.
18. Wait for the Windows 8 installation to complete.
19. When your computer restarts, remove the Windows 8 DVD from the CD drive.
20. You have successfully installed Windows 8.

Method 3: Virtual Machine
(Note: Your computer must have RAM and hard disk space that is double the system requirement of Windows 8. Refer to above for the Windows 8 system requirements.)

1. Download VMWare Player from http://www.vmware.com/products/player/ then install it.
2. Open VMWare Player.
3. Click Create a New Virtual Machine.
4. Insert the Windows 8 DVD into the CD drive of your computer.
5. Click Installer disc, select your CD drive and click Next.
6. Select Guest Operating System as Microsoft Windows and version as Windows 8.
7. Key in the Windows 8 product key and your name, then click Next.
8. Click Next.
9. Ensure that the Maximum disk size is 100GB and store virtual disk as a single file is selected, then click Next.
10. Click Finish.
11. VMWare will automatically install Windows 8. Follow the on-screen instructions on continue. About 30 minutes is needed to install Windows 8.
12. After Windows 8 has finished installing, the virtual machine will automatically turn on.
13. On the bottom, there should be a bar about VMWare Tools. Connect to the internet and click Download Tools or Update Tools.
14. Wait for the download of VMWare Tools to complete.
15. In the virtual machine, open My Computer and double-click the CD drive with the name of VMWare Tools.
16. Install VMWare Tools in the virtual computer.
17. You have successfully installed Windows 8 in VMWare Player.

Method 4: Dual-boot

The process to set up dual-boot is rather complicated and can destroy the current version of Windows and all data on your computer if done incorrectly. It involves creating a new hard disk partition for Windows 8. Note that a hard disk can have a maximum of only 4 partitions. If you create a 5th partition, your hard disk will be converted from Basic disk to Dynamic disk. This can cause serious problems to your computer and Windows 8 cannot be installed on Dynamic disk . Additionally, Windows 8 must be installed AFTER the earlier version of Windows has been installed, not the other way round, otherwise it can cause your computer to be unusable. I have tried to set up dual-boot before but it failed, so I won't write about the steps to set up dual boot here. If you want to know more, you can search on the internet.

Whatever method you use, you may have to activate Windows 8 after installing. You will be notified by Windows to activate it. To activate Windows 8, just follow the instructions given at the notification windows. Activation is completely free, but requires internet connection. If you install Windows 8 on more than 1 computer using the same product key, you can only activate it successfully on either 1 computer. If you do not activate Windows 8, certain features such as Personalization will be disabled and you will be periodically notified to activate. Unlike Windows Vista and Windows 7, there is no 30 days grace period for Windows 8 and Windows 8 will not enter Reduced Functionality Mode if you do not activate it.

Wednesday, 26 December 2012

My Primary School and Secondary School Life

What do you do every day, other than going to school? For me, my activities are almost the same every day, but it changes from time to time. For example, my daily life changed when I entered Form 1 from Standard 6. I can remember my daily live from the year 2007 until now.

At the year 2007, I was in Standard 6. I was studying in SRJK(C) Chong Cheng. The school started at 7:25AM and ended at 1:05PM. Every day, I woke up at 6:45AM. I did not take my bath early in the morning, but I only brushed my teeth and washed my face. After that, I would have breakfast and then go to school. My grandfather took me to school with his car. Usually, I was just in time for school, but sometimes I was late. After coming back from school, I would have my unch. After that, I would take my bath. Then, I would do my homework and study. I usually do not sleep in the afternoon. From 6PM to 7PM, I would watch the drama series "The Spirits of Love" shown on Astro AEC every Monday to Friday. At 8PM, I would have dinner. After dinner, I would continue to study or do homework until 11PM. Then, I would take my bath and go to bed.

After I entered Form 1 in SMK Sultan Badlishah, I attended school in the afternoon. The school started at 12:30PM and ended at 6:30PM. I woke up at 9:30AM every day. After that, I would have breakfast. I did not take my bath at this time, I just brushed my teeth, washed my face and changed clothes. Sometimes my grandparents would buy home breakfast for me while sometimes I would follow them out to eat. After breakfast, I would study or do yesterday's homework. At 11:30AM, I would take my bath and then eat lunch. After that, I would go to school. Again, usually I was just in time for school, and sometimes I was late. After coming back from school, it was already 6:45PM. The drama series "The Spirits of Love" was still showing when I was in Form 1 and ended at 30 December 2008. Every day it showed from 6:00PM to 7:00PM and it repeated at 12:00PM to 1:00PM on the next day. Because of that, I could watch only 2 episodes per week on Friday, while for the others I could watch only a little part after coming back from school every day. After watching that little part, I would take my bath. I would eat dinner at 8PM. Then, I would do homework and study until 11.30PM. After that, I would brush my teeth, wash my face and then sleep.

When I entered From 2, most of my daily activities were the same as when I was in Form 1. I also attended school in the afternnoon. However, there were some changes. I took my bath in the morning every day when I woke up. Because of that, I could study until 12.00PM every day, then I would eat lunch and go to school. When I was in Form 2, the drama series "The Spirits of Love" had already over, and I did not have any new shows to watch, so I seldom watch TV. After coming back from school every day, my activities were basically the same as when I was in Form 1, except that I slept daily at 12AM, not at 11:30PM.

During the Ramadhan month when I was in Form 1 and From 2, the school started at 11:45AM and ended at 5:30PM every day. I woke up at 9AM every day, half an hour earliar than usual. I had to eat lunch early every day, which is at 11:15AM. When I was in Form 1, I could watch "The Spirits of Love" every day because it was only 5:45PM when I came home from school.

When I entered Form 3 on 2010, I have to attend school in the morning, as when I was in Primary school. The school starts at 7:20AM and ends at 1:10PM. For Sunday and Monday, it ends at 1:45PM. I wake up at 6:30AM every day. I do not take my bath because it was too early. I only wash my face, brush my teeth and change clothes. I eat breakfast and then go to school. I usually arrive at school very early. After coming back from school, I will eat lunch and then take my bath. Sometimes, I will take my bath before I have lunch. After that, I will sleep for an hour. After I wake up, I will do homework and study. Now, I have a new drama series to watch, which is "My Family My Love". It is shown on 8TV from 6PM to 7PM every Monday to Friday. I watch it every day. I have my dinner at 8PM every day. Then, I will continue to study and do homework until 11.30PM. After that, I will take my bath and sleep.

Every Friday and Saturday, I have no school. My daily activities are basically like other days and are the same from Standard 6 until now, but there are some differences. I usually wake up at 9:30AM every day. After waking up, I will follow my grandparents outside to eat breakfast, either in Kulim, Bukit Mertajam or even Butterworth. During Standard 6 and Form 1, I usually take my bath at 1:00PM but from Form 2 onwards until now, I take my bath when I wake up in the morning. During Form 1, I watched "The Spirits of Love" every Friday at 12PM to 1PM and at 6PM to 7PM. At every Saturday, usually I have no show to watch. At Standard 6 and Form 1, I usually sleep at 11:45PM while at Form 2 and Form 3, I sleep at 12:15AM.

Starting from June until one week before my PMR exam, I had to attended night classes at school every Sunday to Wednesday. My daily activities are basically the same like normal school days. However, I every afternoon I sleep only until 4:30PM. After that, I will do homework and study until 6PM. From 6PM until 7PM, I will watch the drama series 'My Family My Love'. After that, I will get ready to go for the night class. At 7:15PM, I will have dinner. I went to the night class every day at 8PM. The night class started at 8:15PM and ended at 10:15PM. My grandfather took me to the night class and back home every day with his car. When I reached home from night class every day, it is 10:45PM. At that time, I will take my bath. After that, I will do homework and study until 12:15AM, then I will sleep.

During exam, my daily activities also changed. I studied the whole day. Usually, I do not watch my drama series. At Form 1 and 2, I wake up at 8:30AM daily. At Friday and Saturday during From 3, I also wake up at 8:30AM daily. At night, I will study until 12:30AM. These will ensure that I have more time to study for my exam. However, in the afternoon I still sleep for an hour.

After my PMR exam, I spend most of my time enjoying myself, rather than to study. I used the usual studying time to play computer games, surf the internet and carry out other leisure activities. Of course, sometimes I would study for the Form 4 topics. Also, I will attend school every day and will not play truants.

When I was in Standard 6, I liked the Standard 6 life and was worried about Form 1 life. Then when I entered Form 1, I found out that it was quite good. However, at that time I disliked afternoon school, and I preferred morning school. Then when I was in Form 2, I began to like afternoon school. However, soon I had to study in morning school when I entered Form 3. Form 3 life is good, but I feel that Form 1 and Form 2 life is better, because I preferred afternoon school. I am hoping to go back to Form 1 or Form 2, but I know it is impossibble. The after PMR life is the best.

I entered Form 4 on 2011. My daily life is basically the same as my Form 3 life, but there are some differences. The school starts on 7:20AM and ends on 1:45PM daily. On Sunday and Monday, the school starts on 7:20AM and ends on 2:20PM. However, the Chinese class is held after school hours on certain days. Since I took Chinese for Form 4 so I had to attend the classes. In the beginning, the Chinese class was held every Thursday from 2:15PM to 3:15PM. Every Thursday after the school ended on 1:45PM, I would have lunch in my grandparents' car. My grandmother usually bring food for me. I would go home at 3:15PM. However, the time for Form 4 Chinese class had changed since June 2011. The Chinese class is held every Tuesday and Thursday from 1:45PM to 2:15PM. Therefore, I no longer need to have lunch in the car but I had to go home everyday at 2:15PM except every Wednesday. Later, I decided to drop Chinese but I still attended every Chinese class and will continue to do so.

At July 2011, my favourite drama series 'My Family My Love' comes to an end. The new drama series 'Family Harmony' replaced it. I liked the drama series 'Family Harmony' as well. So, every Monday to Friday from 6:00PM to 7:00PM, I would watch the drama series 'Family Harmony'. Since Form 4, I attended tuition classes for Malay, Mathematics and Additional Mathematics subjects. The Malay tuition is held every Friday from 8:30AM to 10:15AM. Every Friday, I had to wake up early at 7:30AM. I will have breakfast before going for the Malay tuition. The Mathematics and Additional Mathematics tuition was held every Wednesday from 3:15PM to 6:45PM and every Saturday from 2:30PM to 6:00PM. After returning home from school every Wednesday at 1:45PM, I will have lunch and take my bath. After that, I will go for Mathematics and Additional Mathematics tuition at 3:15PM. I cannot watch the drama series 'Family Harmony' every Wednesday because it usually ends before I return home from tuition.

After I finished my Form 4 Year-end examination which was held from 9 October 2011 to 20 October 2011, I had the chance to experience the life similar to my 'After PMR life' once again. I spend most of my time enjoying myself, rather than to study. I used the usual studying time to play computer games, surf the internet and carry out other leisure activities. Of course, sometimes I would study for the Form 5 topics. Also, I attended school every day although most of the other students would skip school sometimes.

I entered Form 5 in 2012. My Form 5 life was almost the same as Form 4 life. However, in Form 5, I was busier than when I was in Form 4. I spent most of the time studying for the SPM. The time for Form 5 Chinese Class also changed. It was held every Wednesday and Thursday from 1:45PM to 2:15PM. I no longer took Chinese in Form 5, but I continued to attend every Chinese Class. The Malay tuition also changed time. It was held on every Friday from 8:00AM to 9:45AM. Every Friday, I still woke up at 7:30AM. I always went straight for the tuition without taking breakfast. After the tuition, I would have breakfast with my grandparents.

After I finished my SPM which was held from 5 November 2012 to 27 November 2012, I spent most of my time enjoying myself. My 'After SPM life' was much like my 'After PMR life' and 'After Form 4 Year-end Exam life'. I spent my time playing computer games, surfing the internet, watching television and carrying out other leisure activities. Sometimes I would also read some of the Form 6 topics. Although I do not plan to enter Form 6, the Form 6 topics are similar to the topics in A-levels and Matriculation. I also started learning how to drive a car.

When I was in Form 4 and 5, I liked my form 4 life and form 5 life. I did not miss my form 1 to form 3 life. In fact, after an incident happened on 10 July 2012, I treasured every moment of my form 5 life. (I will write more about the incident on 10 July 2012 on this blog soon) That incident also made me miss my form 4 and form 5 life so much after my SPM. My after SPM life may be relaxing but I still preferred my form 4 and form 5 life much more.

Saturday, 22 December 2012

My 2011 Year-end School Holiday

The 2011 year-end school holiday started on 18 November 2011. But for me, it actually started on 20 October 2011. The reason is that 20 October 2011 was the last day of the Form 4 year end examination. The Form 4 year end examination started on 9 October 2011. Compared to the previous years, the examination started very early because the deadline to key in the examination marks to the Sistem Analisis Peperiksaan Sekolah (SAPS) was at 2 November 2011. I remembered how hard I had to study to ensure that I could finish revising all the topics before the exam. Therefore, I wanted to relax after the exam ends. On 20 October 2011, one teacher in my school retired. After the exam ended, a celebration was held at the school hall.

There was actually a one-week school holiday from 21 to 29 October 2011 for celeberation of Deepavali. I used that week to relax myself. I did not go anywhere and I just stayed in Kulim. I spent my time surfing the internet, playing computer games and watching television. My parents also came back from Kuala Lumpur to visit me. I also bought some Form 5 revision books to read. I was a bit worried of my examination results, especially for Bahasa Melayu, because I did not get any the results yet.

The school reopened on 30 October 2011. During that week, I got my examination results. The first subject I got was Bahasa Melayu, which was the subject that I worried the most. Before my teacher gave back the examination papers, she was very angry because 2 students in my class played truant. Later, I was quite happy when I knew that I got 88 marks for Bahasa Melayu. Even though it was not A+, I expected to get only A-. I also heard that many students could not score well in Pendidikan Moral because the teacher was strict. I was quite worried about Pendidikan Moral. Later, I was so happy when I got 94 marks for Pendidikan Moral. Our teacher also agreed to give 2 bonus marks to all students. A few of my friends borrowed my exam paper to help them claim for extra marks from the teacher. Soon, I knew the results for all the other subjects except Biology and managed to score A+ for all the subjects.

I considered 2 November 2011 as an interesting day. Our Chemistry teacher let us carry out an experiment because although the exam was over, we did not finish our PEKA. The experiment was on neutralisation reaction between hydrochloric acid (HCl) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution. However, our teacher was not free and she asked another Chemistry teacher to take over. A few boys in my class arrived late at the laboratory. They explained that another teacher was in the class and stopped them from going to the lab. This resulted in a quarrel between the boys and the teacher. The experiment was carried out in groups with 2 students in each group. My group partner was my friend, NBL. The experiment was quite successful, except that our teacher mistaken HCl to be NaOH and NaOH to be HCl. After the experiment, it was Biology. I knew the marks for Biology Paper 1 and Paper 2 on that day. I was quite confident in Biology but was disappointed when I knew that I got only 80/100 for Paper 2. Later, I found out that my teacher counted wrongly and I actually got 84/100. My teacher said she would be giving Biology Paper 3 only on the next day. I was very worried because I need at least 47/50 for Paper 3 in order to get an A+. On the next day, I was so disappointed to know that I only got 44/50 for Paper 3, which means that I only got 88 marks (no A+). But I could actually get 1 more mark for Paper 3 due to marking errors, so my teacher added 1 mark for me and my marks became 89. Since I was just 1 mark away from A+, my teacher finally agreed to give me 1 bonus mark so that I could get 90. I got A+ for Biology successfully. What a narrow escape! So, overall I got 9A+ 1A, A for Bahasa Melayu.

After that, there were 2 more weeks before the year-end school holidays started. During that 2 weeks, I went to school every day. However, there were no more lessons, even though our teacher had not finished the topics for many subjects because the exam started too early. In school, I played with my friends. I learnt for the first time how to play poker and I enjoyed playing it very much. Our teacher asked the Form 4 students to move to the Form 5 classrooms because the Form 5 classrooms are just opposite the staffroom and they could monitor us easier. It was very much like year 2010 after the PMR ended.

11 November 2011 should be a special day because of 11/11/11. I was waiting for 11:11PM. However 11:11PM of 11 November 2011 turned up to be very frightening. At that time, I was doing some exercises on Chemistry and it was raining very heavily. I heard a lot of thunders. I was afraid that the main switch of my house might cut off the electricity. Suddenly, I heard a very loud thunder. It seemed that the lightning struck directly in front my house. Strangely, the electricity was not cut off. But on the next day, I knew that the roof a house located near my house had a big hole broken, caused by the lightning.

However, 14 November 2011 was a sad day for me. My mother telephoned me and told me that my mother-side-grandmother living in Penang had passed away on the night before that. My grandparents and I attended her funeral on 16 November 2011. My parents also came back to Penang from Kuala Lumpur. The SPM 2011 also started on 14 November 2011. On the 15 November 2011, all students throughout Malaysia received RM100 from the government. My grandparents did not go to school to take it so I took it myself. 17 November 2011 was the last day of school. The Konferensi Waris of my school was held on that day. My grandparents also did not attend it.

The 2011 year-end school holiday officially started on 18 November 2011. For the first 2 weeks of the school holidays, I stayed in Kulim. For the 1st week, I just relaxed. I surfed the internet, played computer games and watched television. However, for the 2nd week, I began studying. I revised the Form 4 topics instead of studying Form 5 topics because my teachers did not finish the last few topics for every subjects.

2 weeks later, I went to Kuala Lumpur on 4 December 2011. My parents came back to Kulim on 3 December 2011 to fetch me. There, I stayed in my parents' house in Subang Jaya. I went shopping at many shopping malls.

On 12 December 2011, I went to Singapore with my parents for holidays. We went there for 3 days and 2 nights. We did not plan to visit Singapore this year because we went to Singapore during year 2010 and 2009. However, my mother-side-grandfather had booked plane tickets for our family to go to Singapore and therefore we had to go. We flew there in a Silk Air aeroplane. In Singapore, we stayed in Meritus Mandarin Hotel, which was the same hotel we stayed when we visited Singapore in 2009. We did not visit any places in Singapore because the trip was short and we already went there twice. We only went shopping in shopping centres near the hotel. We went back to Kuala Lumpur on 14 December 2011.

Two days later, at night of 16 December 2011, my father drove my family and I back to Penang. According to the Chinese custom, we had to pray to my mother-side-grandmother who had passed away. Early morning on 17 December 2011, we went to Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang to pray to my mother-side-grandmother. After that, we had lunch in Penang. After lunch, we went back straight to Kuala Lumpur. We did not go to Kulim.

I spent another week in Kuala Lumpur. On 25 December 2011, my father drove me back to Kulim. There was another week before the school reopened. During that week, I spent my time studying. I still revised on the Form 4 topics and did not read any of the Form 5 topics. A few days later, at night of 30 December 2011, my parents came back to Kulim again. We had to pray to my mother-side-grandmother again. Early morning of 31 December 2011, I and my parents went to Kek Lok Si temple in Penang. After that, we stayed in Penang for a night at Vistana Hotel. On the next day 1 January 2012, we had lunch at Equatorial Hotel in Penang. After lunch, we went back to Kulim. That night, my parents returned to Kuala Lumpur.

The school reopened on 3 January 2012. Actually, all students in my school were required to go to school on 1 January 2012 for 'gotong-royong', but I did not attend it because I was in Penang. I also heard rumours that the school would rearrange all students into different classes. I hoped that the school don't do that because I did not want to part with my friends. At last, it turned up to be not true.

3 January 2012 marked the end of the 2011 year-end school holiday.