Janice Isabel Roscom loved all the little things in life. She had an infectious smile and a bubbly personality,never fail to cheer anyone up who was lucky enough to be around her. She was kind and innocent, and her soul was as beautiful as her looks. She slipped into a coma and passed away on 14th August 2014 due to Brain Aneurysm, 17 days before her 19th Birthday which falls on 31st Aug 2014. One of her wish was that to travel the world before she reached 40 especially Korea, Philippines, America and Europe. It would be a meaningful birthday gift to her if you could help by doing a small gesture below:
1. Downloading her photo
2. Putting up her photo either by printing it up or on your mobile phones and tablets
3. Snapping a picture of Janice Roscom (please find more photos below) wherever you are especially Korea, Philippines, America and Europe as per shown in the example above.
4. Upload it on your social media with the hashtag #Janicewashere
"Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been following closely on Janice’s story via a friend, Uno. Even though Janice had passed away, her life has clearly touched many within our circle hence the start of #JaniceWasHere. As someone who loves traveling and have a bucket list myself, I thought that this gesture done by her family and friends are truly the best gift they could ever give to her and it would last a lifetime so we’re sharing it on WhateverThereWas, hoping that some of our readers around the world can help us create something astounding as a small gift for Janice, and many others who share the same dream. At WhateverThereWas we hope our small gesture of spreading this around will help Janice’s family find closure and know that she’s loved by many."
What is a brain aneurysm?
A brain (cerebral) aneurysm is a bulging, weak area in the wall of an artery that supplies blood to the brain. In most cases, a brain aneurysm causes no symptoms and goes unnoticed. In rare cases, the brain aneurysm ruptures, releasing blood into the skull and causing a stroke.
When a brain aneurysm ruptures, the result is called a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Depending on the severity of the hemorrhage, brain damage or death may result.
The most common location for brain aneurysms is in the network of blood vessels at the base of the brain called the circle of Willis.
I was browsing through Michael Buble's L.O.V.E song when I saw this video. It immediately caught my attention.
With the advancement of technology, everything becomes so competitive. So does education. Mothers are trying to compete with each other in making sure that their children is a top scorer in school. Without realizing what they missed out. There are thousands of disabilities in this world. Some even not being identified yet. Dyslexia is one of the many disability that not many knew. I was a slow learner myself but I don't categorize myself as Dyslexia. But it took a whole lot of patience being my parents in teaching me. Imagine parents with kids who suffers from Dyslexia.
Being parents is not just giving birth, teaching them life lesson, arrange their future financially. Parents also must know how to identify their children's emotions. With both parents working in the modern days, you hardly have time with your children. It's either they're at the day care or being brought up by the nanny. When you have children with Dyslexia, you have to give your undivided attention to them. They need your support.
Bringing up a child in the 21st century isn't the same as the 80s or 90s. 21st century kids are much more brilliant. They learnt by examples portrayed by adults. Wonder how a 2 year old kid can master an Ipad more than other, looks at their parents. Technology can bring good as well as bad influence to young brains. It's all about being moderate, setting boundaries.
So many may ask, what is Dyslexia? Dyslexia is the name for specific learning disabilities in reading. It is often characterized by difficulties with accurate word recognition, decoding and spelling. Dyslexia may cause problems with reading comprehension and slow down vocabulary growth. Dyslexia may result in poor reading fluency and reading out loud. It is neurological and often genetic.
As with other learning disabilities, dyslexia is a lifelong challenge that people are born with. This language processing disorder can hinder reading, writing, spelling and sometimes even speaking. Dyslexia is not a sign of poor intelligence or laziness. It is also not the result of impaired vision. Children and adults with dyslexia simply have a neurological disorder that causes their brains to process and interpret information differently.
Dyslexia occurs among people of all economic and ethnic backgrounds. Often more than one member of a family has dyslexia. According to the National Institute of Child and Human Development, as many as 15 percent of Americans have major troubles with reading.
Much of what happens in a classroom is based on reading and writing. So it's important to identify dyslexia as early as possible. Using alternate learning methods, people with dyslexia can achieve success.
So what are the effects of Dyslexia?
Dyslexia can affect people differently. This depends, in part, upon the severity of the learning disability and the success of alternate learning methods. Some with dyslexia can have trouble with reading and spelling, while others struggle to write, or to tell left from right. Some children show few signs of difficulty with early reading and writing. But later on, they may have trouble with complex language skills, such as grammar, reading comprehension and more in-depth writing.
Dyslexia can also make it difficult for people to express themselves clearly. It can be hard for them to use vocabulary and to structure their thoughts during conversation. Others struggle to understand when people speak to them. This isn't due to hearing problems. Instead, it's from trouble processing verbal information. It becomes even harder with abstract thoughts and non-literal language, such as jokes and proverbs.
All of these effects can have a big impact on a person's self-image. Without help, children often get frustrated with learning. The stress of dealing with schoolwork often makes children with dyslexia lose the motivation to continue and overcome the hurdles they face.
How Is Dyslexia Treated?
It helps to identify dyslexia as early in life as possible. Adults with unidentified dyslexia often work in jobs below their intellectual capacity. But with help from a tutor, teacher, or other trained professional, almost all people with dyslexia can become good readers and writers. Use the following strategies to help to make progress with dyslexia:
Expose your child to early oral reading, writing, drawing, and practice to encourage development of print knowledge, basic letter formation, recognition skills and linguistic awareness (the relationship between sound and meaning).
Have your child practice reading different kinds of texts. This includes books, magazines, ads and comics.
Include multi-sensory, structured language instruction. Practice using sight, sound and touch when introducing new ideas.
Seek modifications in the classroom. This might include extra time to complete assignments, help with note taking, oral testing and other means of assessment.
Use books on tape and assistive technology. Examples are screen readers and voice recognition computer software.
Get help with the emotional issues that arise from struggling to overcome academic difficulties.
Reading and writing are key skills for daily living. However, it is important to also emphasize other aspects of learning and expression. Like all people, those with dyslexia enjoy activities that tap into their strengths and interests. For example, people with dyslexia may be attracted to fields that do not emphasize language skills. Examples are design, art, architecture, engineering and surgery.
2 little boots and a newly wed carvings, carved from bars of soap. Creative. A wedding present I got from my cousin-in-law. Decided to use them as a decorative item on my tv rack. The chinaware is also a wedding present I got from one of my colleague. It came in a set of 2.
A little treat for Juan and myself during our trip to Kuala Lumpur. We were thirsty. Walked into Cold Storage in Times Square. Saw this cute design bottle. Cherry lemonade flavor. Cost me RM13 but actual fact I wanted the bottle so that I could refill it with plain water and store it in the fridge. Currently this glass bottle is my favorite.
So here comes the review on the newly opened place. A cafe with leisure concept. Built around a big tree in Gurney Plaza. A place called Tree Bar.
The visit was not an intention one. Me and Juan had a 3 hours karaoke session (it has been ages) with my ex-colleagues. The karaoke came with lunch meal comprises of mushroom soup and salad (none is near to my delight). With RM20 to pay per pax, you can expect the taste.
Being said, we didn't had any plan right after the karaoke session. We walked down to the Ground Floor to have coffee. Rosa and Hans found this place and wanted to try it out. Everyone agreed. Had our tables prepared and had the menu delivered to us.
Based on the ambiance of the place, one will know that they do no serve big portions of food. Mainly tidbits, light snacks, gourmet burger and drinks. I ordered a pot of Earl Grey (I suggest sharing) which I normally do in any cafe or eatery while Juan ordered a glass of iced passion fruit tea(it was refreshing). A pot of tea cost around RM9 but it comes in a huge pot. I scoffed myself with the tea as I thought not to waste it. You can request for a refill but the tea will be slightly diluted.
Kent wanted to try their truffle fries(options of normal fries, cheese or truffle), so ordered a bin (comes in a small stainless steel bin) but quite a large number of fries. We were able to share among us. It tasted a little mushroomy. It was my first try actual fact.
We had a terrible stay at a hotel on our first night. The booking was done via bookings.com. Apparently, the rooms where refurbished(in the photos) but when we reached, the hotel looked so dull and spooky. At one point it even looked like a prostitution nest. Even the hallway towards our room were dark. The hotel doesn't look welcoming at all and has this bad vibe. The hotel was situated right in the middle of Chow Kit. Right in the middle of bazaars and jams on normal days. The toilet were not clean. With used shampoo bottles on the floor, baby cockroaches running around. The bed sheet didn't smell good too.
I did not had a good feeling when I entered the hotel for check in. I almost cried telling Juan when we entered our room. It felt so wrong but I had no choice because it was midnight and we were very tired as Juan drove from Penang right after work.
We went down again to the receptionist and request for just a one night stay and got the payment for my 2nd night stay reverted back into my card. The same night, we browsed for another hotel and found quite a decent price for a 4 star hotel, Seri Pacific Malaysia. The hotel were so gorgeous that I almost didn't want to go out.
We went down again to the receptionist and request for just a one night stay and got the payment for my 2nd night stay reverted back into my card. The same night, we browsed for another hotel and found quite a decent price for a 4 star hotel, Seri Pacific Malaysia. The hotel were so gorgeous that I almost didn't want to go out.
One thing I learnt is, don't be scared to spend a little more on your accommodation but not to splurge as well. As long as the hotel looks clean, bright and the area is consider safe, that will do.
I would highly recommend anyone to spend a night here. Awarded with Outstanding Hotel Partner Award in 2012, I must say this the hotel to stay when you travel to Kuala Lumpur. But do check the rates on bookings.com or agoda.com
I was complaining on why such nice hotel did not provide coffee and tea for their guest. I thought perhaps the beverages were not included because of the rate on Bookings.com website. You know, when you book a hotel at a lower rate, there are things that you don't get.
Then Juan started to do his little investigation and tadaaaaaaaaa, the mini bar! It felt whole again.
Most of the cabinets are built in. Even the ironing station in the next cabinet. So the room looked tidy and clean.
We had our shower and all. But before we did, I filled the bath tub with shower gel and water. So there were bubbles in the tub so that Juan could 'rendam' himself for about half and hour. This was supposed to be his post-birthday trip, remember?
Every year, me and my best friend will visit each other's place. But for this year, I feel a little bit special because both of us are married. So I feel extra happy as we get to celebrate among the 4 of us.
Me and Juan had only 3 days to spent in Perlis. The 2nd night of Aidilfitri, we had a mini gathering with my high school friends from year 2001 batch. I can't believe that most of us are married now. Some with kids. Overall, my raya celebration was a good one.
Spent the first day of Syawal at in-law's place. It was a bit strange for me, waking up on the first day of raya at another place. Not the usual place, my parent's. I was the last one to shower. The rest of the family were at the hall having their lemang and rendang.
After that, we had our salam session where all of us seek for forgiveness from the elders. Things are done differently here. Well, not all family are the same.
That evening, we drove back to Perlis. My parent's side. Spent a good 3 days. Had good food and ordered another pot of rendang to bring back to Penang (still had that in my freezer -__-)
