I was reading an article over the net about left-handed people will have a shorter lifespan. Because of that, I went to check it out at Wikipedia to read about it.

It's interesting to read about it because I'm part of the left-handed people. I'm not born left-handed but I chose to be left-handed.

A study published in 1991 claimed that these statistics indicate that left-handed people's lifespans are shorter than those of their right-handed counterparts by as much as 9 years. The authors suggested that this may be the result of left-handed people being more likely to die in accidents as a result of their "affliction", which renders them clumsier and ill-equipped to survive in a right-handed world. Many subsequent studies have shown no evidence that left-handed people have reduced longevity compared to right-handed people.

As a born right-handed, I wouldn't have this problem much because I still use my right-hand frequently for normal stuff. At first, when I wanted to change fully to left hand, I realized that it's difficult to use certain things. I remembered that I had to remind myself that I need to use all the things the opposite way such as turning the pipe, holding the scissors differently and so forth. So it's tough because sometimes I just forgot about it. Because of that, I ended up sticking becoming a right-handed person except for writing.

What not many people realize that I could still write with my right hand. I just don't do it frequently. Nowadays, it's just more for fun. Just to keep me amused. I remembered when I learned to sign my own name for all important document, I make sure that I could sign with both hands. Haha just in case if the other hand is not 'working' at that time. What make me feel sad that, we are supposed to choose to do things by ourselves. And not following the pressure from other people.

According to The Left-Hander Syndrome, most people were only forced to write with their right hand and allowed to continue being left-handed in most other respects indicating that the decline in older left-handers is not from being forced or switching in later life.

It's really sad that by doing that, they are actually reducing their brain capabilities. They are not using it to the maximum potential. Nowadays, where the majority of people doesn't really care if you are a right-handed or left-handed, but those left-handed people still need to live under the right-handed world as most of the normal appliances are made to be used by a right-handed person. There have a certain things that they made for the left-handed people but it's limited. So, some of the left-handed people change some of their ways of doing things just to get themselves comfortable.

Historically, the justification of forcing use of the right-hand was in part due to the difficulty left-handers had writing with liquid ink or fountain pens. When writing with these pens, the side of the left-hander's hand would smear the writing as it passed over the still-wet ink. While not as prone to this, modern ballpoint pens do not entirely eliminate this smudging. Writing in pencil also smudges the graphite as the hand passes over what has just been written. A simple solution to smudging and hook-hand writing is to rotate the writing paper about 20 degrees clockwise. An ink pen also has its nib cut or folded at a slight angle. If a left handed user tries to use a regular ink pen the nib will be at the wrong angle and its corner will scratch or dig into the paper on the up stroke and flick ink over the page, unless one is particularly careful when writing.

Forcing someone to write using right-hand because of the difficulty of using liquid pens and fountain pens are such a lame excuse. It can be overcome. Do you know that most of the left-handed writers could write properly even if the paper is upside down? That's one of our ways to avoid the messiness when using the liquid pens or fountains pens. If it's not upside down, the paper would be in horizontal way. You might not realize this, but probably next time when you see a left-handed person writing, you'll see the way they hold the pen, they way their hands are positioned; you would notice that it's different from right-handed person. There's a lot of ways. I've only said a few.

And in terms of handwriting, I wouldn't say all, but most of them had a slightly awkward handwriting compared to those who are right-handed. This is mainly because the teacher who taught them writing does not take into consideration of the left-handed kids. So it's difficult for the left-handed kids to write properly because they might need to take extra effort in learning to write the alphabet.

I think I'm lucky because when I learned how to write from my mother, I used my right hand. Only after when I was 4 plus, when I just started to read then I switched myself from being a right-handed to a left-handed. One thing I realized is that, by changing it, I could actually practice a lot of writing styles. Sometimes, I did drive my mom crazy for having a few different writing styles. She will ask me to at least stick to one and not changing it. But I found that it's interesting to have different handwriting. Each of my subjects during schools tends to have different handwriting. Small, big, round, flat, tall, fat, thin, all I've tried before. Oh, and another reason that I changed because I could eat while I'm writing. Love doing that.

There are a few causes of left-handedness. Genetically born with the DNA, long term impairment of the right-hand, testosterone or mirror twins. In my case, I'm not sure which category I fell in because I'm not a natural left-handed. It's difficult to tell because I did not have most of the criteria under the first cause and also the third cause.

Ok now here's the interesting part of left-handedness. Took it from Wikipedia.

In his book Right-Hand, Left-Hand, Chris McManus of University College London argues that the proportion of left-handers is rising and left-handed people as a group have historically produced an above-average quota of high achievers. He says that left-handers' brains are structured differently in a way that widens their range of abilities, and the genes that determine left-handedness also govern development of the language centres of the brain.

McManus also says that the increase in the 20th century of people identifying as left-handed could produce a corresponding intellectual advance and a leap in the number of mathematical, sporting, or artistic geniuses.

In 2006, researchers at Lafayette College and Johns Hopkins University in a study found that left-handed men are 15 percent richer than right-handed men for those who attended college, and 26 percent richer if they graduated. The wage difference is still unexplainable and does not appear to apply to women.

Hmm, one question that came through my mind was, why can't left-handed women are 15% richer than right-handed women for those who attended college, and 26 percent richer if they graduated? Gotta make this apply to women as well.

~to be continued~

Finally Adam Lambert admitted that he's gay. But since I already knew since the first day he auditioned in LA, it wasn't a shock to me. The truth is, I don't give a damn if he's gay or not as long as I like him as a singer. The thing I love about the internet is that you can find a lot of stuff inside it. Like those pictures oh him smooching with another guy or whether he was dressed in a dress. Apparently the guy whom he kissed a lot was a constant attendance of the American Idol shows. And so that's Adam Lambert's boyfriend. Note that the guy is shorter than Adam though and much more thinner.

So here it goes. Does he being a gay will affect him as a recording artist? Truth to be told, it's difficult. There are a few artist out there being gay but they only admitted that after a while. Just imagine if Lance from N'sync admitted that he's gay just when N'sync started to be famous. Would they be famous then? I don't think so especially back 10-15 years ago, people are much more conservative than nowadays.

So back to Adam issue, did he lost because people know he's gay? The probablity is quite high because the obviously the voter is not limited to a certain age group, let say 15-30 years old where we are much more 'open' in terms of sexuality preferences. And then come to the next question. Aren't girls like Adam more since Kris is married? The answer is no. When a girl find out a guy who they think is hot is gay, it's a total major turn off. It's the matter of availability and non-availability. When people voted based on emotional side, they might ended up voted for Kris (which what was happening). So in the end, Adam lost. I guess, the one who actually voted for Adam were those people who already knew he's gay earlier or who thinks he's much better performer than Kris. I'm not telling anything about how the males will vote because it will also be decided based on similar perception.

It's pity when voters are being clouded by this gay issue. I'm not saying that you should support gay people. I just think that their decision to be a gay is purely private stuff and shouldn't be an issue. We shouldn't judge people just based on their sexual preferences. i'm not even saying that it's okay to be a gay. I still do believe that God created human being as female and male as partners. I still think that being a gay is wrong. It's against human nature. But when a person already decided he's gay, what you could do is to give them guidance to the corect way, not to give condemn and hatred. It doesn't matter what religion you are, the way is just the same. Even if they still choose the path of being gay, then that's their decision to make. Not ours.

I've been browsing through some sites where the visiters leaves some comment on the gay issue and seriously they couldn't just stop critisizing gay people. Don't they think about the emotional stress that will not just affect the person but also to the family members. Think about their mothers, fathers, siblings...what would they feel about it? Just imagine, those people who condemn, one of their family members turns out to be gay, so what would they think about it?

Don't think if you are straight, you are perfect. Everyone had their own flaws. Just remember that God created us an an equal.

~This post was drafted just after American Idol result was out. I was waiting for Adam to admit that he's gay before I could post this.~

I finally watched Angels and Demons yesterday after waiting for so long to watch the movie. It was awesome. A lot better than Da Vinci Code. The way they interpreted the movie was really good. Not much of loopholes as compared to the first movie. Overall, it was excellent. I'm going to read the book again. (p/s: I think the guy who interpreted this movie should do Harry Potter movies because he'll do it better. Harry Potter movies just getting boring).

And I finally watched Twilight and also read the book. A bit outdated of me but there's always something that prevent me from watching the movie. I am so in love with Edward Cullen. Haha old news for other people but he's just so sweet. Do that kind of guy really exists? Other than the vampire stuff of course. Haha. Anyway, can't wait for the sequel though I'm still deciding whether to read the book first or not. Hmm.. maybe will read the book first since the movie will only come out end of this year. I can't wait that long.

KAKA is now a Madrid player. I'm not so sure whether I'm happy or not because damn it, they should get a defender first!!! With Cannavaro already left, they should find another replacement first. Sigh. Since Kaka is already in, I wonder who'll be going out. I got the feeling it will be Van Der Vaart but I have no idea. Sometimes Kaka is highly overrated. Bleh. And they plan to get Ronaldo, Ribery and I forgot who else. Wtf. Where they want to put all this players?  On the bench? SInce Juande Ramos hardly used Van Der Vaart before, I still think he might be the first one to leave. If only he could go back to Ajax, but I don't think Ajax can afford him now they they still need him. Or maybe he should go back to Germany. Probably go back to Hamburg or even to Bayern. That will be fun if he does go to Bayern. He's always one of my favourite player since long long time a go.

Getting Ronaldo is big NO-NO to me. None at all. I would rather he just stick in Man U. He's a selfish type of player. It may have work in Man U but it would be totally distrupt the environment in Bernabeu. Just like how Beckham did though I believe that the impact will be more with Ronaldo. At least Beckham was much more team player and he's much more matured. If he really wants to come to Madrid, please let him come after 3 seasons. Not now. Priority, Get A Center Back! Can't expect Casillas to do all the works. He's not a robot. Hmm.. I keep thinking, if Peter Cech is the goalie for Madrid, I wonder how many goals will pass through him especially will all the lousy defenders Madrid have. Hah.

It's been a while since I write something here. I've been putting everything in the draft without posting those entries. So finally this entry is published. So here's the updates.

I finally had my holiday in Guangzhou and Shenzhen although initially the plan included Hong Kong as well. But due to certain circumstances that cannot be avoided, I did not go to Hong Kong.

Overall, it's totally different experience. It is a lot of FUN. Maybe next time I'll go to different city. Probably Beijing or Shanghai or somewhere else or visit my friend who stays there. But one thing confirm, I plan to go to Hong Kong next year. Maybe for 1 week. Can't wait for it. Will only plan for it sometime in August or September.

There's a lot of interesting happenned while I was there. Language is one major problem. (The mandarin slang is too strong). And I finally getting to practice my Cantonese while I was there. It was rusty though because I haven't watched any Hong Kong dramas for a very long time (probably around 2 years) so my understanding in Cantonese seriously lacking but since I still remember some words, it had save me the trouble some time. One thing is save the energy of speaking English when there's not many people actually speak or understand English.

And FOOD. Yes, it is BIG portion. Hardly my sister and me can finish our food. It's not difficult to find muslim food in both cities. It's quite easy. From a small shop to a big restaurant. I tried all. Shopping is another story. There's some cheap and also expensive stuffs. But one thing for sure, their CDs and DVDs is a lot cheaper there tahn in Malaysia. Even their pirated DVDs only cost around 5 yuan (RM2.50) as compared in here which probably cost us around RM6-8. And they even sell pirated drama series (not English one but the Chinese drama series) which only cost 10 yuan (RM5).  Oh and the stationery is super damn cheap. A pen probably cost around 30-50 cents our money. But in terms of shopping for clothes, I think Bangkok is better. So I didn't shop much for clothes unless it's really a bargain.

I can't wait for my another trip to Jakarta and Bandung this October. Looking forward for it. :)

These few weeks had made me think whether I'm happy or not with current conditions. Well, no, and I am almost reaching to the point that I feel bored with what am I doing. But I'm still leaning towards staying for another 2 years before really deciding what am I going to do in the future. I am not going to end up somewhere in account/finance dept with all those usual routines that most probably made me kill myself. I hope that I won't eat my words back but I wouldn't really mind doing the same thing as what am I doing now but not at the same place. But I really prefer if I could do something different entirely.

Anyway, there's a few options that I may likely to venture. Actuary is one side or I'll go for the management side. I like to meet people, talk to them so that must be taken into serious thought. But I'm still thinking. Sigh. What's good for me?

p/s: If I really do change my direction, I guess some people might be shocked.

I went to this website http://www.quizbox.com/personality/test82.aspx to take the test of getting to know myself better. So here's my result:

Your view on yourself:

Other people find you very interesting, but you are really hiding your true self. Your friends love you because you are a good listener. They'll probably still love you if you learn to be yourself with them.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You like serious, smart and determined people. You don't judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren't necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people's eyes.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You prefer to get to know a person very well before deciding whether you will commit to the relationship.

The seriousness of your love:

You like to flirt and behave seductively. The opposite sex finds this very attractive, and that's why you'll always have admirers hanging off your arms. But how serious are you about choosing someone to be in a relationship with?

Your views on education

Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:

You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success.

How do you view success:

You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:

You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

Yay. It's back. I missed some of the auditions but now it's down to top 36. I love Adam Lambert :) and Danny Gokey :)

Too bad Michael Castro couln't make it. Do it next year buddy.

edit @ 20th Feb: I'm glad Danny made it through to the Final 12. You rock!!!! Can't wait for Group 2. Come on Adam, you're next. I'm seeing you both to at least make it to Top 4. (I want to say my Top 2 but I don't know how's this year voting trend would be).

edit @ 27th Feb: I'm so glad for you Adam for making it through. And I'm glad that Nick/Norman didn't make it.

Here at last is the 25 random things about me after been tagged by I forgot how many of them.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

and my list:

1. I have a different life in my dream. I've been living with that since I was small. If other people like to daydream, I don't need to do that because if I sleep, i'll dream about it..and if I'm desperate enough, I could dream about my exam results, football results..too bad i couldn't dream about exam questions.. If I dream about the same thing 3 times, it will happen in real life.

2. My dream ambition is to be a F1 driver. Haha as if that will happen. But I have never watch any race in Sepang before because it's just freaking hot.

3. I've decided that one day I'm going to visit Santiago Bernabéu Stadium so I have to start saving money for the trip.

4. I can be quite selfish. I don't like to share things with other people. With the exception of food. Haha I wouldn't mind sharing the food since most of the time I couldn't finish it anyway.

5. All this while I always thought that I'm working in the wrong industry. Even my mom said so. I'm doing what I'm doing right now is because I'm just too lazy to study for exams last time (blame to the inability to dream about exam questions). This is called taking the easy way out.

6. I am stubborn most of the time. Once I've decided something important, it's unlikely for me to change it. Not even my parents. They failed to do that.

7. I'm pretty obsess with numbers and patterns. There are always some patterns revolving a person. If you sit beside me, and you tell me all the numbers that relates to you, I would probably come out with something.

8. During college, we had this English paper research on certain topics and at that time, I chose the topic of witchcraft. I'm quite into that particular subject with all the mysteries behind it. Oh don't worry, I don't practice it.

9. I love reading and watching anything to do with detectives. From novels to drama series to movies to anime to manga. So my favourites drama series would be Criminal Minds, Numb3rs, all the CSIs, Sherlock Holmes, Detective Conan, Kindaichi and the list goes on.

10. And I seriously do not watch One Tree Hill or Sex and the City or Desperate Housewives or whatever else. So it's a waste of time if you start talking to me about those series. But I do read those chick/romance novels.

11. At home, the tv remote control is mine. It's MINE unless I don't feel like watching tv.

12. I like to watch almost all the sports available in the planet with the exception of baseball, cricket or any sports that involves bats and throwing balls.

13. I like the smell of rain, books and new money. Nothing beats that.

14. My level of concentration is low. Very low in fact. I get bored very very fast. During school and college. That's why I always think that Malaysian education system is sucks. If I were a bad student, I would probably skipp all the class. It's just a waste of time because I prefer to study on my own. Too bad my mom didn't realise this about me since I was young. Or not, I could just get a home school.

15. The fact that I could tolerate my school life and college life is because the friends I have there. But anyhow, I'm still proud of my school.

16. I was forced to go to tuition class by my parents although it's a waste of money. I tend to skip the classes. If not the whole period, I'll skip 1 period. Math was the most period I skipped during tuition. I skipped tuition class just to watch World Cup before back in 2002. Just to watch Brazil vs England.

17. I believe in karma. What goes around comes around. There's always the consequences of your action.

18. I love to sleep. I can sleep anytime I want. Nowadays, sleep is so precious that I really treasure it.

19. I try to avoid foods that would not do good to my brain and memory. I'm worried that I'll get Alzheimer one day so I'm trying to avoid that.

20. I'm a night owl. The earliest I go to sleep every night is at 12 am. That if I'm too tired. Normal days, I would sleep around 2-3 am everyday. Although it seems that I wouldn't have enough sleep, I'll recover it back during weekends.

21. I like to listen to the guitar sounds which is why I always prefer listening to bands instead of the solo artist. I don't really give a damn if their voice are sucky, as long as they play good music (to my ear only), I'm okay with it.

22. I read a lot and I read quite fast. I hardly buy books. I normally rent the books I'm gonna read. Even that took up 200-300 of my money every months. Rent for a book normally cost me around 1-6 bucks per book. So do the calculation.

23. See number 3, I'm a big big fan of Real Madrid. Take note that I like Real Madrid not because of Beckham. I hate it when people thought otherwise. I like Real Madrid waaayyyyyy before that. And soory, I always thought that Spainish La Liga is better than the EPL.

24. I like teddy bears a lot since I was a small kid. I was never a fan of baby dolls and barbie stuff. If you see my old Kancil, you'll see the car is full of small teddy bears.

25. Finally the last one, I can write with both hands. But I couldn't draw much. I should have practice before.

Finally I'm done and I tagged whoever is reading it.

It doesn't matter what you do
People already know the real you
You can run but you can't hide
No one want to be on your side

I can feel my heartbeat racing
or listening to my sighing
and I'm tired of pretending
Talking, smiling and laughing

Can't you see people are running
Far, far away from you
They think you are disgusting
Too bad it doesn't seem like that to you

I admit that I'm just a fool for you
But it doesn't matter anyway
You just a fool too
No matter what you do, what you say

Here's the outlook for 2009 for those who were born in the year of OX.

Ox Overview

The Ox can do well this year through steady progress. There may be a number of experiences that will provide great joy for the Ox. One area, in particular, is the Ox's personal life. You may see an addition to the family. You will be surrounded by those who care. Look for the early summer months to attend many social occasions, providing many new faces in your social circle. One area of focus is to be open to the advice of others, as you tend to keep your issues to yourself. Overall, your own year can be one that you will look back on with pride and a genuine sense of achievement.

Ox Rating

52% (3 favorable 5 neutral and 4 unfavorable months)

Ox Career

In 2009, the Oxen will be given many opportunities to further your plans and goals, as well as consolidate your position. Steady progress is the position where the Ox is most comfortable and that is where you will find yourself this year. You will also have a chance to impress and gain support from those around you. This is a good year to enhance your skills and add to your repertoire with added training or study. You will be satisfied in knowing that anything you do this year will repay you in this year and the years to come. The months of May, late August and September may mark a change in your career.

Ox Relationships

2009 will be a year of personal happiness. For the single Ox, there may be a chance to engage in new and meaningful friendships, romance, and possibly even marriage. Others will take comfort in their domestic and social lives. Being an Ox year, this is one that will provide enjoyment for you as long as you allow it. Beware of your strong will and do not allow any minor disagreements to escalate and put a damper on a fine year. May is a month that will highly favor a chance meeting or a heightened level in a relationship.

Ox Health

Health matters don't seem to be too much of a concern for the Ox this year, as you are good at implementing some sort of physical activity into your routine. The Ox's discipline does well to carry over into your health. It never hurts to find ways to improve in this area, so don't discount anything that will improve the quality of your life. Even though there may not be any large issues, stress can be a surmounting factor to be aware.

Ox Wealth

The Ox could enjoy an improvement financially, but you may face a number of large expenses over the year. To maneuver your budget through the year of the Ox, exercise care and sensible spending. It would be wise to seek professional advice when it comes to any speculative ventures or risky investments that create some sense of doubt.