Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Slice Of Life #231 - Stroke Support Group - Tuesday, September 24th, 2019 - Happened on Sunday, September 15th, 2019

    I helped a stroke patient hold their hand up behind their head. "Yup, you're doing just fine," I told her.
    I was at a stroke support group organized by an NGO called Tzu Chi (which I help out at pretty often because my dad is one of the coordinators for the medical division). We were helping stroke patients do some exercise.
    Some of my friends were also helping out too. Ishan and Leo, my friends, were also helping the stroke patients do some exercise. The exercise lasted about 30 minutes. After the exercise session was over, we played a game (which, honestly, I'm pretty confused regarding how it's supposed to be played). In the game, the patients had to pick a piece of paper, and I think they would have to switch pieces of paper or something like that. But basically, to sum it up, the point of the game was to get patients to interact with others and to move around and (I think) strengthen their muscles.
    After that, we watched a video with them. The video also had a short dance (or for them, a "hand dance", I guess). We helped the patients move their hands and perform the "hand dance". I knew the song that they were playing, and it was a really meaningful and nice song. I think that stroke patients also enjoyed moving their hands and singing along.
   Finally, lunch had come. There were two people (stroke patients) with their birthdays on that day. I brought out the cake and my friends, Leo and Ishan, gave the two patients each a present - a small little bear on a keychain.
    We also served the patients cake and some food for lunch. After lunch marked the end of the short event. Time had flown and passed quickly without me realizing. I felt good leaving that day, knowing that I had done a good deed to help others.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Slice Of Life #230 - Escape Room - Tuesday, September 17th, 2019

    I heard the woman lock the door. "Ok guys," I said to my friends. "What's the first thing we have to do?"
    "I don't know." There were numerous replies saying the same thing.
    "Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Tiago said, pointing to an inscription on the wall.
    "Oh, yeah!" Leo said. "What does that mean?"
    "Wait," Adam pointed to the side of a large block. "There are signs and letters on the block!"
    "Wait! The signs are the same as the signs on the inscription!" Julian said.
    After a while of trying to decipher what the inscription meant, we realized that it was telling us to cover the eyes, which were on both sides of the door.
    We covered the eyes, but nothing happened. We called the lady with the phone she had gave us to ask her about why nothing was happening. She told us that because we didn't want to be separated, there was no effect. If we wanted to be separated (by the door), the door would open if the eyes were covered.
    We went back behind the door to try to decipher the code behind it. There were 2 different sets of codes. We found 4 pictures in sets of 2 each. Each set was locked with a combination lock. After a while of deciphering (again...), we managed to find the code for each of the locks.
    We put the pictures on the large blocks with the names of the Egyptian Gods. Each picture was a depiction of the Gods, so we put them according to their names on the stilts. But nothing happened.
    Then, we received a call telling us that we had to hang them up. And so, we did just that. As soon as we finished hanging the pictures up, a mechanical box opened. Inside it was a feather.
    "Wait!" Tiago exclaimed. There was a picture of the Egyptian God of the Dead, Anubis. There was also a weighing scale with blocks by the end of the ropes. "That goes on the weighing scale!"
    "Yeah!" I said, agreeing with him. "If a person's soul was heavier than a feather, then the person would go to hell. If a person's soul was lighter than a feather, then the person would ascend into heaven."
    "But why isn't the 2nd box opened?" Leo asked.
    "Maybe because you didn't put it in correctly?" He asked sarcastically.
    I went and repositioned the picture. Suddenly, the 2nd box started opening. Inside the box was a heart.
    "I told you!" Tiago said happily. We put the heart on another block. But nothing happened.
    Then, we received a call from the woman. "Change the sides of the feather and heart," She told us.
    After we changed the sides of the feather and heart, a cabinet started opening.
    "Hey!" I shouted. "These are the heads of the Egyptian Gods! I think that we're supposed to put their heads on the stilts!"
    We put the heads on the stilts, but nothing happened. Adam went to grab the broken picture and  "English Dictionary" (the dictionary was locked) to see if we could do anything with it.
    We received another call from the woman. "Try pushing something big." She told us.
    Julian pushed something that looked like a door disguised as a wall. It spun open.
    I looked inside. It was dark and (somewhat) creepy. I looked at one of my friends. He looked scared. "Look, I know the music never helps, but we're going to get out of here." Tiago assured him.
    We found a box inside the dark room, which unfortunately, was locked. We also found a key. The key looked like it could open the "English Dictionary". Inside the "English Dictionary", we found two magnets.
    "Maybe the locks for this box are magnetic!" Tiago said.
    We put the magnets on top of painted keyholes, and the box opened. We found the combination to a combination lock in the box. There was also a coffin in the shape of a pharaoh. There was another combination lock on it. We managed to open the lock, but couldn't open the coffin. We then recieved a call from the woman. She told us to "blow out the candles". We did just that and opened the door. There was a curtain. We shoved the curtain aside, and the coffin introduced us to the exit of the room.

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Slice Of Life #229 - Nothing to Write About - Tuesday, September 10th, 2019

    Hi. My name is Zhi Hong and I have nothing to write about today. Last Sunday, I went on a refugee outreach to offer medical aid to refugees (who, unfortunately, don't have any rights in Malaysia). There, I helped out by washing dental equipment and acting as a GP assistant.
    I have almost no homework (other than band homework and humanities homework), which I think I should be able to complete today (even though the due date for band is on Friday and the due date for humanities is next Wednesday).
    Later, I have my Malay class at 6pm. Just after school today, I went to ask for my Malay results for my test at school (the test was actually extremely easy). I know this sounds a little unrealistic (and not to brag), but I got 40/40 marks for the test - I told you it was easy!
    Today, at school, we had our first StuCo (Student Council) meeting. We're currently preparing for the 1st MS party and splitting up into different committees. I've signed up for the promotion and marketing committee, but have yet to hear from the committee leaders.
    Now, I have nothing to write about, so I'm gonna' go now. Bye!

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Slice Of Life #228 - My Life - Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019

    My life is going pretty good right now. Tomorrow, I will be going on a field trip to Ipoh with my class (even though I've just came back from Ipoh last Sunday - Ipoh is my dad's hometown.) In Ipoh, we will be learning about the Orang Asli - The indigenous people of Malaysia.
    Because of that, all my homework is due next week - if we didn't have the field trip, all my homework would be due on Wednesday.
    At school, we have a period everyday called WIN (What I Need) time, which I have to admit, is pretty useful. WIN time lasts 30 minutes, which means that if you really make use of that time, you spend 30 minutes less at home on homework. During WIN time, I managed to finish my science homework and part of my math homework. Now, I just need to complete my math homework (which should take me about only 10 minutes) and my humanities homework, in which I need to finish a few chapter of the book "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio (which, by the way, is really amazing - you should read it) and write a summary of it by next Tuesday.
    Unfortunately, I haven't packed my bags yet, which I have to do after I come back from my Malay class later. I don't really have anything else to write about, so I'm just going to wrap up this post right here. Bye!