I made a note to come to Merdeka Plaza today and have a look at #hivkuchingawarenessday campaign. It's high time that awareness campaigns like this be held more and more - and to add a value to it so that it achieve its intended purpose. For me, personally, this time, this campaign, is just like any other campaigns is well organised, well coordinated and well executed. I just wished our audience would be more of an active participator even if just cheering for the DJ and emcee, rather than passive onlookers. 

The Event

In the effort to raise awareness of HIV as well as other STD, #HIVKCHAWARENESSDAY is a community event supported by Sarawak AIDS Concern Society (SACS). According to the project manager of the society Rahmah Nicholls, discrimination against AIDS patient did not come from the government, but rather from the society as a whole. She further stated that "Due to the stigma placed on them, those reputed don’t go to the government hospital. This is a difficult area for surveillance" (BorneoPost Online, Feb 21, 2014)

The Sarawak AIDS Concern Society was initially set up in 1998. As a non-profit organisation, its main objective is to address AIDS related issues in Sarawak through the dissemination of information on the disease. It also aims to protect the rights of those living with AIDS as well as to support the families of those affected by AIDS.  

The Objective

1. To reject myths and misconceptions and fight HIV/AIDS related discrimination.
2. To raise awareness on sexually transmitted diseases and help young people to understand the dangers of the disease better
3. To change the “passive cultural’ through education on social environment. 

Perhaps to aid the first objective, I wish to enlighten those not in the know that HIV and AIDS are, in fact, two different conditions related to one another. HIV, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is a virus that infects a human through close contact with HIV infected body fluids - blood, semen and vaginal secretion are some of the examples of such body fluids. It does not, however, infect through saliva and sweat. Persons who has HIV are referred to HIV positive, and without is referred to as HIV negative. According to statistics, 169 cases of HIV positive cases has been reported in Sarawak in 2011. The number decreases to 147 cases in the following year, while in 2013, just last year, the number jumps to 190 reported cases. Do remember that these are reported cases. In many instances, persons who are HIV positive shows no particular symptom and live a healthy life until diagnosed.

AIDS, on the other hand, is a classification of the persons who are HIV positive with their CD4 count falling below 200. CD4 is a type of protein that is found on the surface of immune cells - the lower the count, the lower the body's resistance to infection and diseases, and the slower the body recovers from them. AIDS patients can also be classified when they acquire HIV-related infection such as tuberculosis (TB) as well as other various infections (honestly, the scientific names just escapes me).

In short, while the terms HIV/AIDS are commonly used together, a person may be HIV positive but never developed AIDS even towards the end of his life, but if a person is classified as an AIDS patient, his is therefore HIV positive. 

The Social Stigma

It has always been a society ruling that persons living with HIV/AIDS are sinners by default. Such prejudice against them is so thick in the society that we live in that it's almost tangible. Added with the singular knowledge that this is a "gay's disease", the persons living with the condition is condemned for the rest of his life, and even after his passing. 

This is not completely true, though. In fact, it is completely false. Numbers of new HIV/AIDS cases involving heterosexual sex is increasing in the United States. Closer to home, in Sarawak, state Health Director Datu Dr Zulkifli Jantan told The Borneo Post that most of the reported cases are male and transmission was from a heterosexual relationship. Such stigma and prejudice is unjust and barbaric, and should be purged from the society. 

Community Awareness and Support

Events such as these: #hivkchawarenessday, small as it may be, is a great start and provides continuity in the support of persons living with HIV/AIDS and those affected by it. It might be a small move, but I've always been a believer in the saying Rome wasn't built in a day. It makes me sad to admit that I am one of those few affected by HIV/AIDS, having made privy to the secret that the community believes should be kept between four walls and closed doors.

It was also the missing element in the campaign that was organised by SACS. No, I am not asking for those living with the condition and those affected by it to come forth and announce to the world - though I am not against that as well if it's to raise awareness. The campaign only showcased one side of the story - prevention. It is better than cure, but to those already living with it and to those affected by it, their input and contribution is just as valuable.

We all have a story to tell, and theirs are extraordinary. Once made privy, instead of pity or sorry, you suddenly gain a higher sense of understanding and a totally different perspective of life. The value that visitors take home with them even after just being a passive bystander is what I would like to see.

How? is the question to ask. In this era where communication is supported by technology, I am quite surprised to find that the event did not have it's own Facebook page. But that's on the promotion side. I believe Plaza Merdeka has very good and diverse traffic. Like I said earlier, the value that the community can take home is much more worthwhile in achieving the objective of the awareness campaign.

I look forward to an awareness campaign whereby visitors can engage with the persons living with HIV/AIDS and the persons affected by it through multimedia interaction should there be a need to protect the identities. Audio and visual recordings, two way interaction through multimedia applications, or even a creative representation of the daily life of persons living with HIV/AIDS can effectively show how their lives are no different than ours. That way, perhaps we can address the social stigma that was imposed to them, and remove the stone hard prejudice against them once and for all. 

Here are some of the photos I managed to snap during the event.

I recalled a certain time ago I convinced myself that I'll probably never be happy. Honestly, I think we all have come to that point of time in our life - and we passed eventually. Unfortunately for me though, recent events has reminded me of that feeling. It's not ideal, but neither is it permanent too. I might be able to change it - choices are still plenty, just need the courage to choose one, and follow through. 

Dima Saif (2010) defines happiness as "a state of mind and feeling that is made by love, emotions, pleasure, joy and your satisfaction". WolframAlpha defines happiness as "a state of well-being characterised by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy". The Merriam-Webster dictionary further defines happiness as "a state of well-being and contentment", or "a pleasurable or satisfying experience", first known use of the word was in the 15th century. 

So it it just a state of mind? Are there any physical variables involved? The ancient Greeks were among the first to explore the relationship between the physical body and emotional responses. Fast forwarding to the current advancement of science, a particular field of neurosciences proposed that happiness - like every other emotional experiences - is the result of electrochemical reaction to the brain given a stimuli. Copernicus, Darwin and Freud have provided some ground works for the development of the neuroscience field, and Francis Crick hypothesized that "you, your joys and sorrows, your memories and your ambitions , your sense of personality and free will, are in fact no more than the behaviour of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated neurons. 

Studies has also revealed that there are chemical compounds in the human body related to happiness. Endorphin is released from physical pain, such as exercising, dopamine is released by reward, oxytocin is released when trust is forged in relationships, and serotonin is released when you feel important. 

On the other side of the scale, philosophers and religious thinkers often defines happiness as a way of living, a good life and flourishing, rather than just simply an emotion. 

Martin Seligman(2004) confidently believes that happiness cannot be derived solely by external, momentary pleasures. He coined the acronym PERMA to summarize that humans are most happy when they have 

1. Pleasure
2. Engagement
3. Relationships
4. Meanings
5. Accomplishments

All these technicalities and sciences are not common to my way of writing, but do forgive me as I am trying to understand myself and my feelings a little more. It's also against my own personal believes that emotions should be felt, not rationalised. Perhaps the happiness chemicals are running low for now and takes a little longer to recharge, or perhaps I've grown accustomed to well-being state of mind that happiness no longer feels like happiness. 

Pleasure? Small things like good food and great company used to excite me. I find myself complaining in my head about the people I know, and not happy with what I contribute daily for work, much less for what I am paid for. 

Engagement? I can't find the challenge anymore. And as far as anyone is concerned, I'm pretty much invisible.

Relationship? Hehe I don't even want to start with this one. When your significant other mentions other guys names in bed (a figurative bed), it's a clear sign she's not satisfied with you and desires another, is it not?

Meanings? Where do I belong, really? I'd even go to a cliche phrase "What is the meaning of my life?" (thinking of the answer: 42)

Accomplishments? Almost 30 and hasn't even been able to kick-start my own life. pffftt..

As much as I try to rationalise it though, I know that source of my unhappiness. And let's face it, far from being happy, I am deeply depressed. I'm just good at putting up a show. Putting things into perspective, I'm just gonna focus on what I have to achieve what I want, and maybe think about giving up pursuing what I cannot have. 

What happened??!! Sh*t happened, that's whats happened.. I was distracted when exiting the Summers Mall and took a corner too short that my left hind tyre caught the side ramp. I guess the sudden, uneven change in air pressure inside tyre was too much that it blew. It only took a few seconds for the air to escape the tyre completely. 

Luckily Petronas was nearby. I drove slowly there. I don't think the tyre can be saved as when I tried to pump air into it, it would not inflate. Man.. just when cash is tight.. 

Whining is for losers, right? So I went ahead and changed to the spare tyre. Here's a neat reminder to every car owner out there - PLEASE make sure to maintain your spare tyre. Just because it is not used, does not mean the air pressure stays static or the tyre stays inflated indefinitely. So as you read this, as a gentle reminder, please pick up your phone and put a reminder to check the air pressure of your spare tyre. And check also if the tools are complete and in good condition. Please do. 

Anyways, being near to Petronas is just lucky. My spare tyre was flat like the chest of someone I know >.< (OMG that's actually mean.. sorry dude >.<) Managed to pump it properly and changed to spare tyre in about half an hour with so much sweat and dirt. 

The damaged tyre - loosen the "screws" by using the tool first before you jack up the car. Use your body weight if necessary (it should be necessary >.<) Otherwise, there is no way you can unscrew it unless you're Superman.

Jacking up

This part was difficult - taking out the tyre from its axle. Use plenty of force if necessary. Its built to last years, it can take a little rough handling. 

Slide in the spare tyre and tighten the "screws" as much as you can. Not yet time to use your body weight as the tyre may spin and can be dangerous.

After the jack is removed and the tyre is firmly on the ground, use the same tool to tighten the "screws". Use your bodyweight to really tighten it - you do not want the tyre to come loose when you're driving. 

And there you go.. Of course, being the a typical person I am with social media, I Have to take a SELFIE!

The Box

Hehe.. This is a new topic to me. I was bored out of my mind earlier while my other half goes out and about her businesses (trust me, she has plenty.. Sorry luv..) So I decided to go out window shopping. Eventually, I ended up in one of Watson's outlets. I was thinking of inspecting just about every items they have on the shelves - until I bumped into this little kit. 

It is what it says it is (heehh..??) Grooming has always been my forte. Hair is a whole book of issues altogether, and sideburns is a whole chapter by itself - I can never get them to the even length and thickness - do much so that I'd leave them to grow in until my next haircut. I've always thought of getting myself a small electric shaver or something like that but never got around to get it (procrastination is the mother here). 

Anyways, this kit seems handy and appropriate, I didn't even question myself do I really need to buy it? hahaha! Now let's see what's inside..

Nice packing >.<

1. The battery operated unit with default nose and ear trimmer blades, interchangeable. 

2. 9 interchangeable cutting lengths from 0.5 to 16 mm

3. 2 adjustable cutting guides allowing for 8 different lengths

4. A 5-inches barber comb, fine and medium tooth

5. A cleaning brush

6. A holding base

I haven't tried it out yet for two main reasons - I only have a vague idea on how to operate it and I just got my hair cut - sideburn trimmed and all -  a couple of days ago. 

Nonetheless, I'm a little more confident about keeping sideburns, as well as a goatee now that I have something proper to maintain it with. We'll see how it goes from here >.<

The unit and interchangeable accessories

The unit assembled in it's base

If you think being a girl is tough (when it comes to grooming) guys also has the same problem. Difference is that girls have to do the whole routine every single time while guys will probably groom to details maybe once a week or so. With this kit, I dare say it makes things a lot smoother >.< 

HP Pavilion TX-2500

Ask my friends they'll say I've always been one on the cutting edge of consumer technology. Back when I was an undergraduate student, I got myself a HP Pavilion TX-2500, the second generation tablet laptop of it's time. This was when touch screen technology was still new to the consumer market. To today's standard, the specs are still valid - dual core AMD Turion X2 2.4GHz processor with ATI Mobile Radeon HD 3200 graphic card, I upgraded the RAM to 4GB and maintained a 250GB hard disk. Yeah, not a lot of space now but back then this was the standard. The best part of this model it that it's basically a laptop - tablet hybrid, one of the first of it's kind. Its 12-inch screen supports a single touch (no multi-touch or gestures) and came with a digitizer (that's the pen) for writing on. Great for taking quick notes and annotate on other documents.

This time around, I invested in yet another cool, sleek, durable, tiny and powerful device - the Microsoft Surface Pro (I'm typing away on the Surface Cover - we'll get to that in a minute). First. the specs:

It is marketed as a tablet, but performs like a laptop, and for a 10-incher, it packs more processing power than meets the eyes. I'll be honest - making the switch between a larger screen to this small one can be a learning curve. 

Let's talk techies. Surface Pro is powered by the 3rd Generation Intel Core i5 processor with Intel HD Graphics 4000. Clocking at 1.7GHz, it handles multitasking smoothly, and together with 4GB RAM, runs a lot of heavy loaded software quite efficiently (let it be known that my heavy loaded software are the Adobe suites, MatLab and Eclipse. Surface Pro eats them up >.<) It also has WiFi (duhhh!!) and Bluetooth 4.0, along with 2 cameras front and rear-facing that supports 720p HD video recording. 

Display-wise, 10-inches of screen asset is what you're looking at. Yeap, not much, but it does have it's perks when you're mobile all the time. Maximum resolution that you can enjoy is 1920 x 1080 px, 16:9 aspect ratio, Clear-type Full HD with 10-points multi-touch display. It supports touch and pen input - and the pen is included in the box on purchase. 

Because the Surface Pro is a tablet, it would not be complete without sensors. This model comes with 4 different types of sensors - Ambient Light sensor for automatic adjustment of screen brightness, Accelerometer, Gyroscope and a Digital Compass. 

It also runs on Microsoft Windows 8.1. If you're wondering why is it such a big deal, imagine working on your Words document while referring to a PowerPoint slide and a couple of PDF files, listening to music on YouTube while downloading games from Steam. This is possible on Surface Pro, not on any other tablets that runs on Android or Apple. The only drawback is the storage space: 2 choices are available - 64GB and 128GB. To compensate, the Surface 2 comes with a MicroSD card slot and a solo USB 3.0 port on the sides. I have yet the need for the MicroSD card slot, but the USB 3.0 is not a letdown. Attach a USB 3.0 hub, you can expand the number of USB ports you'll need for your devices i.e. mouse and keyboard, thumbdrives and external hard disks. 

In terms of aesthetics, the whole design of the Surface Pro is pleasing to the eyes and firm to the touch. Heat-wise, expect some warmth in the lower area but not so much that it becomes uncomfortable for prolonged use. The battery can last a good 3 to 4 hours, depending on use. I don't find carrying it on hand as I go about my days - even went out on a shopping spree clutching it. At roughly 2 pounds, it's not too heavy to be cumbersome, nor too light to lost the firm, solid feel. 

All-in-all, a very good investment. I have yet to cover the apps from Microsoft AppStore. That will be in the next instalment. 

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