Sunday, September 21, 2008

INSOMNIA

Hmm...dah pukul 3.55 pagi.@21 September.......rupanya baru ku sedar penyakit lama timbul kembali...tak boleh tidur.........MUST READ BLOG BRO CHENDANA pun dah aku lawati..semua fav blog dah pun ku jelajahi.cuci-cuci mata kat kedai alam maya pun dah aku buat.......BOSANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

#thanks Bro C for the wordweb...


4.43am...stop for a while.,..prepared for sahur.Goreng nugget and keropok for kids and milo panas for my hubby....

nampaknya terus tak tido hingga ke pagi...........

1 syawal...insomnia lagi.,...haiya..esuk raya

6 comments:

Mat Cendana said...

FIRST STEP: Download this dictionary/thesaurus. I've used it since 2000, and it's ALWAYS useful. If you want to splurge, you can get the PRO version, of course (I've never used it - because "kena bayar"). BUT the FREE version is okay enough. Try this one first:

WordWeb
www.wordweb.co.uk OR;
www.wordweb.info

Mat Cendana said...

So, make it a habit to regularly use this very useful tool. Belajar tengok dia punya features, apa dia boleh buat - pronunciation pun ada.

Not perfect, tapi at least kita boleh tahu Xy-word tu camana bunyi dia.

Ada special keys yg kita boleh set untuk bagi meaning perkataan keluar bila kita click on a certain word.

Tak ingat what the default keys are. But I've set mine to be, Ctrl-Left click mouse" - and the synonyms, antonyms, similar words come up. EXCELLENT!

Lagi use dia: When you're not sure of the spelling, open WordWeb and type the word that "you think" is the spelling. If it's correct, then okay-lah. Tapi kalau salah, dia bagi list word-word yang closest.

BTW, I'll tell you how to improve your English in both written and oral after this. Ada kerja sikit.

P/S: Sherry nampak tak, I should actually be writing to complete that post. But I'm doing something else here; macam nak elakkan diri pulak, kan?

NO, I'm just waiting "for the moment"; bukan dok avoid...

Mat Cendana said...

[Cut & Paste from my comment at "Recovery" blog of something UNEXPECTED!]

@sherry
The wonderful thing is; your doa there appears to have worked with me. See my previous comment, which I had edited and added to according to how things had transpired.

I think this is my first ever experience of "spiritual self-discourse that was recorded".

But then the last one was "doa". With this one, it's totally unexpected ... you definitely will never guess this, or even dream that it would ever be possible: Your post at 3:39 am about insomnia and "BOSANNNNNNNNNNNNN" had helped too!

HOW?? Well, things sort of "fell into place" in helping me get back my bearings and poise; your lament of feeling bored too, yes. In fact, it directly connected to where I had jumped off (the Post) I'm saying "Thanks", but you surely will wonder "What for?" :-)

BTW some of you folks might be confused with this comment or/and that long one (which was just edited) stamped 4:44 am Hmm, even the numbers seem to be in harmony:-)

I'll continue with the post and write what must/need to be written. THANKS, sherry; you have been of unexpected help.

Mat Cendana said...

Over the years, I've always had people asking me this: "How do I improve my English?"

They include those among the AADK officers too: I remember the last one was at that PKAADK Kuantan office - actually, I remeber that question was posed at the canteen/hall, to be specific.

My answers were/are always the same as I had told/will tell you. But there were also a few things about it that I had observed over the years:

1) They somehow felt that I had omitted to reveal "one or two crucial things"; like I had "a secret" that I purposely hid.

This is something like the "mahaguru silat" (or whatever) who kept to himself "one or two buah" from his "murid" ... takut silap-silap anak buah dia membelot pada masa depan. Jadi, dia tak mau anak murid dia "sama level".

But what would I gain from NOT telling all?? That the "anak buah" will be better in English than me in the future? What's the problem with that, should he/she indeed improve? That I "will feel `malu' that the anak buah is now better than I am?? HAHA! That's ridiculous, can?

The truth is, if I could teach anyone how to do so - like achieving xy-level within one week - I would have done that! Tapi tak boleh, tak ada cara camtulah.

Okay, the second observation is very short. But it's a fact:

2) Most of them did not do what I had adviced. Or for only just a while and then stopped.

These prove one thing: People were/are looking for a shortcut or "a magical way" - bila kena berusaha, they're not willing to put in the effort. And maintain it.

Something like those who "Nak kerja besar" (macam kerja you la). Tapi bila you beritahu "kuat belajar, baca buku, discuss x jam sehari; masuk university y tahun etc, dia tak nak buat. SEBAB TAK SANGGUP BERUSAHA.

[To be continued]

Mat Cendana said...

This one is a habit - which means you must continuously remind yourself TO DO IT every time you remember what I write here.

It's difficult at first, and you will sometimes get exasperated. In frustration, you might say "Payah lah cara ni! Buat macam dulu-dulu aje lah..."

When you feel this way (YES, you will at times), remind yourself again WHY you are doing it in this manner: A systematic way to improve your English

If you do this, and are patient enough to keep at it for a few weeks (at least), you will notice that the potential for improvement is likely by a few times ... berlipat-kali ganda; not "by x percent". That's how important this way is - it's a fundamental change; perubahan pada peringat asas/akar umbi.

The foreword is quite long but the tip for the habit is very short: Think in English when you want to speak or write it.

That's it! Itu aje? YES, most of things that I may tell you and others (about a lot of things, not just English) are actually "simple and uncomplicated" - But Effective!

Consider this: Although I can't see what goes on in your head, I'm willing to bet everything that I have (which is not much) that ... you think in Malay, then translate that into English, and then write it Betul tak?:-)

Yes, people will understand what we write when we do it this way. But it's prone to errors and mistakes, because the structure of both languages is different. So, isn't it logical then to be "in English mode" when we are going to write sentences in it?

Maybe you're saying that "Macamana nak buat, sebab penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris saya sekarang kat tahap macam ni?!"

And what's wrong with your English (the one inside your head)? How would you know/I know what "tahap" it is when you're THINKING in BM?

But the good thing about your English is ... since you can understand what I had written at the "Recovery" site, then that "tahap" should be "good enough"! You certainly will improve a lot if you implement what I have mentioned here, especially.

You see, I'm confident that your English (the one inside your head) is, at the very least, "adequate". But I think it's "better" than that - although you yourself might not be confident.

I've remembered a few things that I think are correct: You are comparing your writing with that of people like me (ahem!), Elviza, Mat Kodiang, Ariff etc. And when you do that, you lose confidence. Because "you can't write like that". Betul tak?:-)

That's NOT the way to think and do things. Just remember this: How many YEARS do you think people like the above have put into it? It'll be like comparing one's self, who had taken up tennis just two years ago, with Roger Federer (for example). Is the comparison fair? Of course not, kan? So why are you comparing with them, and in that way??

But I KNOW the English in your head is better than you give it credit for. And especially after one incident a couple of days ago.

Remember that SMS you sent - after I had told you about "my case" this Sunday? (was feeling sad, and it just `came out').Your reply of "Actually I got that strong feeling dah..dia mesti mintak divorce one day.." It stunned me!

I was thinking after that: "*How* did she know??" I conclude that it must have been things that I had written there - you had added this and that, and have "a profile of me".

It also means "your level of English is GOOD". If not you would not have understood THAT DEEPLY. Simple as that.

So, the conclusion is: YES, you have more than the basics to THINK DIRECTLY IN ENGLISH and then write. Lepas tu, kalau salah pun, usually "grammatical". Ni benda boleh ajar dengan experience/latihan. Not too big an issue kalau rajin sikit aje...

WASSALAM

Anonymous said...

I'll continue with a few other important tips the next time. I've just thought of something after re-reading your mentioning of insomnia. Rasa kesian jugak, sebab you ni kerja - so next morning, tentu tak berada pada "maximum", kan?

Well, I'm not a doctor but sometimes tips from non-doctors might work [Hmm, maybe I am a doctor since I self-medicate ;-) ]

Fortunately, I DON'T suffer from this. Masa ambik pil kuda, Yes - sometimes would go 4 days without sleep! Patutlah users ni perangai camtu; mental!

Anyway, ada masa-masa when I find difficulty to sleep. Masa kat Gambang dulu, I'd do this - READ while lying down

Tapi the type of material to read is also important. So, to kill two birds with one stone, take home things that are work-related.

But they must be useful/beneficial just the same (for your work). Usually, reading such things will make your body "wish for something else to do" - like sleeping:-)

So, if you don't fall to sleep through that, you'll still gain something, right?...that you've used the time to read up on something that you might not have.