OOLONG TEA

OOLONG TEA……

 

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of Oolong tea…You will never look at a cup of Oolong the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed Oolong tea. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the Oolong out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and Oolong tea," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the Oolong. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The Oolong tea was unique, however. After they were in the boiling water , they had changed the water color and taste.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a Oolong tea?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the Oolong tea? The tea actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the tea, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level?

 

How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a Oolong tea?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
You might want to send this message to those people who mean something to you; to those who have touched your life in one way or another; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to those whose friendship you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life.

If you don't send it, you will just miss out on the opportunity to brighten someone's day with this message!

May we all be OOLONG TEA !!!!!!!!!

How to Boost Your Immune System against the H1N1

Increase your intake of vitamin c. Vitamin C not only boosts your immune system, but in higher dosages has been shown to be an antiviral as well. The recommendation is to dramatically increase your intake at the first sign you may have been exposed to the flu. Search for "the Vitamin C Foundation" to find an effective dosage for you.


Step 2

Add green tea or green tea extract to your diet. Several clinical studies have shown that the polyphenols within green tea have strong antiviral and therefore anti-flu properties. There have been many other health benefits linked to green tea as well, so this supplement should be a must have.

Step 3

Spice your foods with turmeric. Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, has both antiviral and antioxidant properties to help you body ward off any viral infections. In addition, this compound modulates the inflammation response and decreases the likelihood that your immune system will over react with inflammatory defenses. If you do not like the taste of this spice, curcumin is also sold in an extract form for convenience.

Step 4

Ensure you are getting enough vitamin E in your diet. There has been at least one clinical study completed that links adequate vitamin E intake with reduced viral activity. Studies have also shown there may be a link between vitamin E and a reduced duration and severity of flu symptoms.


Step 5

Add a whey protein shake or two to your diet. Not only is whey protein a great source of protein and essential amino acids, but it also directly boosts glutathione levels in your bloodstream. Glutathione is a strong antioxidant that directly supports your immune system. Having increased levels of glutathione increases your ability to fight off infections and illness.



source : ehow

Guru Lelaki dan Guru Perempuan Seimbang

 Mulai tahun ini, nisbah pengambilan calon lelaki dan wanita untuk mengikuti kursus latihan perguruan akan diseimbangkan, kata Timbalan Menteri Pelajaran Puad Zarkashi.

Katanya pada pengambilan pelatih guru tahun ini, 50 peratus calon adalah lelaki dan nisbah sama untuk wanita di mana 40 peratus pelatih adalah dari Semenanjung dan 30 peratus masing-masing dari Sabah dan Sarawak.

"Ini adalah salah satu langkah kementerian bagi memastikan pelatih dari Sabah dan Sarawak boleh dihantar semula ke negeri asal mereka selepas tamat latihan manakala pelatih lain berkhidmat di Semenanjung.

"Ketika ini guru dari Semenanjung dihantar berkhidmat di Sabah dan Sarawak dan sebaliknya. Ini menimbulkan banyak masalah di samping kita dapat mengatasi masalah pertukaran guru ke kawasan pedalaman," katanya.

Puad berkata demikian dalam sesi dialog bersama persatuan ibu bapa dan guru dari sekolah-sekolah di sekitar Batang Kali, dekat Hulu Selangor, hari ini.

Menurutnya, pertukaran guru wanita ke kawasan pedalaman telah menimbulkan kebimbangan keselamatan dari pelbagai pihak.

"Kami juga ada kes di mana sebuah sekolah hanya mempunyai dua atau tiga guru lelaki dan mereka perlu menjaga aktiviti sukan bagi seluruh sekolah itu.

"Dalam menjaga soal disiplin, guru lelaki adalah pilihan yang lebih baik berbanding guru wanita," katanya.

Dalam perkembangan lain, Puad berkata kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN) tidak akan mengabaikan sekolah vernakular di negara ini malah akan terus memberi bantuan dan geran kepada sekolah-sekolah tersebut.

Selain sekolah Cina dan Tamil, kerajaan juga akan melindungi sekolah agama kerana sekolah-sekolah ini memainkan peranan penting dalam pembangunan modal insan.

"Adalah menjadi tanggungjawab kerajaan bagi memastikan semua sekolah mendapat perhatian seimbang. Kita akan terus menyediakan geran dan bantuan kepada sekolah-sekolah ini kerana mahu pelajar yang berdaftar di sekolah ini mendapat pendidikan berkualiti," katanya.

Menurutnya, di bawah Rancangan Malaysia Kesembilan (RMK-9), sekolah jenis kebangsaan Cina diberi peruntukan RM134 juta bagi melaksanakan pelbagai kerja menaiktaraf infrastruktur manakala sekolah Tamil pula menerima RM64 juta untuk tujuan sama.

Puad juga berkata di bawah pakej rangsangan ekonomi yang dimumkan tahun lalu, kedua-dua sekolah Cina dan Tamil menerima peruntukan tambahan RM50 juta.

"Dalam tempoh setahun, kerajaan membelanjakan RM1.8 bilion untuk membayar gaji guru-guru di sekolah Tamil dan Cina. Ini adalah antara beberapa perkara yang kerajaan lakukan untuk sekolah-sekolah ini," katanya.

- Bernama

Listen and Learn

Listen and Learn
Learning by listening to information as we sleep has long been a mainstay of science fiction—and wishful thinking— but a new study suggests the idea may not be so far fetched. What we hear during deep sleep can strengthen memories of information learned while awake. Researchers at Northwestern University taught 12 subjects to associate 50 images with specifi c positions on a computer screen. When the subjects saw each image, they also heard a matching noise—for instance, on seeing a cat, they heard a meow. Then the subjects each took a 60 to 80 minute nap. While they were in  slow wave sleep (a deep sleep phase marked by slow electrical oscillations in the brain), the researchers played the noises that matched 25 of the images they had been studying. On waking, the subjects were asked to perform the same image matching task. They were much better at correctly placing the images for which they had heard the noise cues while they napped. The participants reported they had no idea sounds had been played during their naps, and when asked to guess which sound cues they heard, they were just as likely to pick the wrong ones as the right ones.

“We were certainly surprised,” says coauthor Ken Paller, director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Program at Northwestern, explaining that he did not expect such strong results. Although previous research has suggested that sleep alone can help consolidate memories, this study is the first to show that sound cues can strengthen specific spatial memories. Paller and his colleagues will next explore how long these effects last and whether aural cues can strengthen other types of memories as well. Until then, go ahead and play those French tapes while you snooze—it couldn’t hurt. —Melinda Wenner

source : scientific american mind

Pengaruh selebriti beri kesan buruk kanak-kanak

LONDON: Satu kajian terbaru mendakwa budaya yang terlalu mengagungkan selebriti meninggalkan kesan bahaya termasuk menghasilkan generasi muda yang percaya pendidikan dan kerja keras bukan lagi penentu kejayaan dalam hidup.


Tinjauan Persatuan Guru dan Pensyarah Britain mendapati lebih 70 peratus guru sekolah rendah dan menengah juga mendakwa budaya memuja selebriti khususnya kalangan artis dan ahli sukan sebagai idola sebaliknya menjadi halangan utama bagi kanak-kanak menyemai cita-cita murni dan mencapai kejayaan dengan cara yang betul.

Elizabeth Farrar, guru sekolah rendah di Scunthorpe, berkata terlalu ramai pelajar yang beranggapan kejayaan akademik bukan lagi satu keperluan kerana mampu meraih kejayaan dan kekayaan dengan hanya menjadi bintang program realiti televisyen.

Sebanyak 37 peratus guru percaya ramai anak murid mereka mahu menjadi terkenal kerana terpengaruh dengan takrifan salah kejayaan yang dipaparkan selebriti.

“Guru bimbang anak muda ini tidak dapat menyelami erti kejayaan sebenar dan susah payah yang perlu dilalui sebelum idola mereka itu mencapai kedudukan itu. Bagi mereka, kejayaan sebenar adalah dengan menjadi popular.

“Berikutan itu, apabila mereka dewasa, generasi itu akan mengasingkan diri, tersisih dan memiliki daya keyakinan diri yang amat rendah hanya kerana tidak popular atau gagal mencapai status selebriti seperti idola mereka,” kata Dr Mary Bousted, Setiausaha Agung persatuan.

“Tidak dinafikan ada selebriti yang mampu memberi inspirasi kepada pelajar. Tetapi apa yang lebih kita bimbangkan adalah ramai kanak-kanak ini percaya yang status selebriti itu mudah dan boleh dicapai sesiapa pun. “Mereka tidak lagi memikirkan kepentingan untuk belajar atau kerja keras yang menjadi asas kejayaan.”

Tinjauan itu juga mendapati bintang bola sepak, David Beckham dan isterinya, Victoria atau ‘Posh’ Spice, adalah selebriti yang paling berpengaruh kepada golongan muda.

Beckham yang kini bermain untuk sebuah kelab bola sepak Amerika Syarikat, berada di kedudukan teratas dengan purata 53 peratus sokongan oleh pelajar, manakala isterinya, di tempat kedua.

Secara keseluruhan, bintang sukan menjadi kelompok selebriti paling diminati, manakala penyanyi pop seperti Sugababes dan Leona Lewis, di tempat kedua.

Kegilaan pelajar terhadap idola mereka itu menimbulkan kebimbangan kepada guru yang khuatir kesan pengaruh selebriti itu kepada bentuk aspirasi kejayaan yang mahu diraih pelajar. – Agensi