Does social media help or hinder peoples connection?

Over the past few years the social media has made a huge impact on our lives. Not long ago, information were given in very different ways. For example, back in the day we had to write letters and physically send them, land phones were used to make appointments and phone calls. Over the past five years or so, a new invention has been made to make social connections easier. Since Facebook launched, we have seen the social world majorly changed. 

Social media, such as Facebook, can help and hinder people’s connections. There are many positive and negative sides to Facebook.  Facebook has been a big impact to the young teenagers’ lives, right now they are one of the biggest consumers in the social industry. Teenagers are constantly on Facebook. They are exposed to social pressures as it is, and with the Facebook launching the media pressure is now at its peak point. For example, If a teenager has many friends on Facebook, he/she is considered cool and very popular with friends. At the same time, somebody with a little number of friends might not be popular, and that causes pressure. Even if the teenager has lots of friends, they might not know most of the people they are friends with. Social Media is not only pressuring teens, but also contributes to losing their social skills. Right now most teenagers rather chat at home than seeing their friends face to face.

People, who are usually shy in interpersonal relationships, sometimes find it easier to make friends via Facebook. They become a whole new person on the social network. It gives people a chance to create an image of themselves who they want to be. For example, they become more outgoing on Facebook than in real life. Some people might take it to the next level, where they would even put a picture of somebody else, just to make them look cooler. People sometimes photoshop themselves in photos, just to look pretty.

Even though you can set your privacy settings, it is still easy to spy on other people and find out information about them and their lives. That also gives a chance to manipulate people. People can pretend to be someone else, in order to meet other people, which can turn out to be dangerous.

Despite all the negatives, Facebook has brought positive changes in peoples’ social life. It helps people to stay in touch with their loved ones and friends. Facebook allows you to find your friends again, those that you may have not seen in a while, like friends from your childhood.

Facebook also allows you to help your business by advertising and promoting the company.

So, as we can see, Social media can really do help and hinder people’s relations. In my opinion, I’ll rather have real face-to-face friends than 500 strangers, that I never see. As long as you keep your privacy to yourself, you can have the positive sides of this social media.

Latitude Zero resort review

On my term break, I went to a surf trip in Sumatra. I went there with my brother, uncle, cousins and friends, total amount of people was about 24. The trip was a blast! Great surf, and we also stayed in a very nice resort in a remote island.

The resort Latitude Zero, where we stayed, is located in a remote island called Telo, The island is located off North Sumatra. The hotel got its name “Latitude Zero” due to its location, it lies on the Equator. The island itself is very lush and green, it has the clearest waters and the whitest sands. It has a peaceful atmosphere, you don’t think about time and dates on the island.

If you are looking for a huge selection of amazing waves, catering to all skills level, then this is truly the place to go.  The island offers a wide variety of waves,  from mellow waves to steep, huge waves. The resort offers a boat transportation to take you to the surf spots. The boat itself is quite luxurious for a speedboat, and makes the trip even better. In the boat you get professional surf guides from Australia, the guides are friendly, helpful and easy to talk to, especially if you are looking for a wave that suites your skills. There’s a professional photographer on the boat with you, he takes amazing pictures. Great lunch is also served on the boat, it’s especially delicious after you had an amazing surf.

The boutique resort offers you luxury accommodation. The rooms of the family complex are spacious, there’s a big living room. The living room has satellite tv, a Wii and very comfortable couches. The rooms are very simple yet luxurious, I shared a room with brother and we both got our own beds. All the rooms are air-conditioned, and very clean. If you’re up for some games, there is a games room available in the resort. The games room is open for anyone, it’s a great place to hang out and chat. In the games room you can find billiards, ping pong table, a fully functional gym and a 40 inch tv, which is used in the end of the day, for showing the slideshows of the pictures of you surfing from today. After a surf, everyone seems to go for a dip in a pool, the pool is a great place for the kids and friends.

The food in the resort is amazing, it’s always fresh and delicious. Every day I would be pleasantly surprised by the food I was served. The three meals you get a day, are simply amazing, can’t complain!

The staff in the resort are very welcoming, and very professional.  They always come to you with a smile when you need them. There’s also a golden retriever that lives on the island. The dog’s name is Larry and he sure does make the guest happy. I reckon Larry has the best life for a dog!

If you’re not a surfer, there’s still a lot for you to do. There are different activities on offer such as:

·      Local village tour

·      Island walk

·      Spear fishing

·      Gym

·      Fishing

·      Snorkeling

·      Stand up paddle boarding

My overall rating for this luxurious resort is a 10/10! This trip is worth every penny, definitely a once in a life time experience!

If you’re interested, then go to their website: http://resortlatitudezero.com/

My 5 year plan

In my next five long years, I will be experiencing a whole new world, I would go to places, that I have never been to, and meet new people. In the next five years I may also come across some problems, but it will be worth the experience. 

Next year I will move out of Bali to go to school overseas, I will probably go to a boarding school. My mum reckons that this is a good idea, because I will meet new people, and I will have a better education. My older sister and brother went to boarding schools in Sydney, Australia, for year 11 and 12. They said that it was an amazing experience; they got to meet new people and go to new places. Right now, they still have lots of friends in Australia. So, for the next two years I will be studying overseas, the places I will possibly go are Sydney, Australia, or Chiang Mai, Thailand.

After I graduate, I would like to go straight to University in Australia. I asked advice from my older brother and sister, if I should take a one-year break. They both said “no”, they said it’s a bad idea, because you won’t be used to studying.  They had friends that took a one-year break and found it hard to get back to studying again. I agreed with them. In University, I would like to study either Marketing, Design or Asian Studies. During my time in University, I’ll stay either at my grandma’s house or share an apartment with friends. To make money, I’ll try to get a job somewhere in the surf industry. My older brother has worked in many surf shops, and he said it’s a good job, it’s easy and you get paid fairly well. After I graduate, I would come straight back to Bali, and stay in my home island around a month or two. After that, I would go travelling to places, which I have never been to, like maybe America or Europe. I would be travelling around for two months and after all that travelling, I’ll start looking for a job. I’ll be looking for jobs either in Bali or Sydney. Right now, Bali is becoming a hotspot for tourism, and by the time I will be looking for a job, there will be lots of choices and opportunities for me. I would rather live in Bali though, it’s much easier and I just like it here.

How to put fins onto your surfboard

Hey guys for my blog post I will be teaching you guys how to put fins on your surfboard. This a very easy and simple thing to do, I believe anyone can do this. Fins is a curved object which is placed at the bottom of your board. Fins helps you to make maneuvers when you are on a wave. Without fins, your board would be out of control and there is no fun to that.

First of all, there are two types of fins, FCS fins and Futures Fin. They don’t have much difference at all, what makes it different is that they both have different docks.  The one that I use for surfing are Futures.

Step 1- Resource

These are the list of things you need to assemble your fins onto your surfboard. As you can see there’s not much things that you’ll need. You just need a:

-Surfboard

-Fins

-Fin key

-Sunscreen

Step 2

If you have finished prepping your surf gear, you can now start assembling your fins! First unscrew the bolts on the fins by using the fin key. Turn the key in a anti clockwise direction. Keep turning it until you see the bolts popping out.

                                                        

 Step 3

After unscrewing the bolts, you can start placing the fins! First get your fins out, you should have a total of 3 fins. Make sure you know where to put your fins. Before placing the fins into the dock, it is a tradition of mine to add a bit of sunscreen on the bottom of the fins. This will make the fins slippery and makes it easier to put the fins in the dock.  After you did that, you can now place the fins onto the dock. Make sure that the fins are in the right place, just like the picture down below.

Step 4

After placing your fins on the docks, you now have to make the fins locked and secure. You do that by screwing the bolts all the way in. Start screwing the bolts in an clockwise direction. You must screw the bolts all the way in, so the fins will be totally locked in. Once your done give your fin a little test by giving it a little pull, if its not moving it means its locked and secure.

                                                   

                                                                                                                           

Now you are ready for an amazing surf!

Bali Traffic

Bali’s traffic, the only thing that makes me hate this island paradise. The traffic in Bali drives me mad sometimes! Everyday I hear loud honks and loud engines up my road. In the future, Bali’s horrendous traffic will get even worse.

A few years back, Bali’s traffic wasn’t a big problem to me. I wouldn’t really notice that we stopped moving in a highway. I would never hear my mum complaining about the traffic or canceling plans due to traffic. Some years back, where I live in Seminyak, there wasn’t a big problem with traffic.

 One time, I was reading an article in The Beat Magazine that Seminyak was considered a ghost town. It was showing pictures of empty villas, green rice paddy and empty roads. I could still remember those old days, and I remember when it was safe enough to ride my bicycle to Batu Belig with a friend of mine, Made. But, that all changed now, right now Seminyak is the hotspot for tourist, famous artist, and celebrities performing and staying in Seminyak. Lots of new shops have opened, more restaurants and big hotels, which make the roads even smaller, making it harder to park.

The traffic in Seminyak is absolutely uncontrollable, anything can happen in that road now. This makes me sick! All the places where I’d hangout, when I was little, have now turned into 5 storey buildings.

This is why I hate the traffic in Bali, it can turn the places you loved into a total nightmare of dangerous cars and motorbikes going up your lane.

What makes me who I am today

Throughout the years, I have met memorable people along the way. I met people that have made me into who I am today. But for me, it is not only the people that can inspire you, I believe that anything you touch, see and hear can pretty much change you into a different and better person.

I guess my family is the main people that made me into who I am today. Since I was born, I have always looked up to my family.  Looking up to my family has made me to do stuff that I enjoy. For an example, my brother- he is the only person that made me fall in love with surfing. Everyday I would think about all the time and effort he has put in my surfing.  Without my brother, I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy surfing.

All my friends have influenced me, too. I believe, that if you pick the right friends, you will become a better person.  Without my friends, I wouldn’t have experienced things that I have now today.

Like I said before, not only people can make you who you are today, it’s also your surroundings.  The island that I’m living my life in right now has made me who I am today. In Bali, everything inspires me, the culture, surroundings and the people.  Living in Bali, made me experience unforgettable moments and has inspired me to surf perfect waves everyday.

I am happy to be who I am, I don’t regret anything about it.  I’m sure that I’ll meet people and places that will add to shaping my character, but right now I am happy to be who I am.

TOP 3 MOVIES

For my third post topic will be about my 3 favorite movies of all time. Through out the years I have watched a variety of movies, Mostly action packed or horror and some comedy or documentaries. I consider my self as a big movie fan, I try to watch the latest movies and some times old movies. What I don’t like is re watching movies that I have seen recently. I like to watch movies at home, with my brother, friends but not my sister. She’s pretty annoying watch a movie with, If she has seen a movie she would spoil the ending while I’m watching it. Or when she hasn’t seen a movie she would ask me tons of question.

Hitting the third spot in my top three will have to go I am Legend, this movie is full of action and adventure. I’m a huge zombie movie fan and I really enjoy this movie. This movie features on of my favorite actor Will Smith! He plays a role as a man living in Manhattan New York and he is the only human being in Manhattan New York.

In the number two spot has to be District 9, this movie has an amazing story and to full of heart pumping action! This movie is about an Alien race which has lost their ride home. The government allows these aliens to stay in earth. There are a total of 4 million of them. The government decides to make a concentration center right in the heart of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Number 1 of the list will have to go to a classic movie, Point Break! This has to be my favorite movies of all time. When I was little, my older brother and I would always watch this! The reason why we watch this together is because it has surfing in it. This movie is about an FBI agent who goes to catch a gang of bank robbers, what he doesn’t know that the bank robbers are surfers. His job is to be close to them as possible, and the only way how is by learning how to surf!

Work experience part 3

The final day of work experience, I was so relieved that this had finally come to an end. The final day of my work experience wasn’t the only thing that was going on. It was also my birthday and why not spend the day doing some accounting! I wasn’t excited about this at all. My job was to count and collect the discount tickets. There was a total of 200 coupon tickets, and I had to write how many people went in each ticket. This lasted till 1pm, I was so happy and relieved that I had finished my task. I ate lunch with the Graphic Design team, and they were sad that it was my final day. After lunch, Sayan told me that I had to work at the storage room.  My job was to check if we have enough products for a month, for an example Paint, books and etc. This too wasn’t very exciting, but, thankfully, since it was my birthday Sayan let me go home at 2.30pm. Before I left WaterBom, Sayan gave me a certificate of participation. I’m really thankful for this experience and lucky to pick an amazing place to spend work experience!

Work Experience Part 2

On the third day, I was 10 minutes late for work, I got stuck in traffic, when a Balinese funeral was happening in front of the WaterBom. Some of the staff were late, too, due to the funeral. I met up with Sayan (manager), he said I would be doing two things today, I would be an Engineer and would be working in the head office doing sales. I was astonished to hear that I would be doing two things in one day. I started off as an engineer and met up with head engineer “Putra”, he was a funny guy to be with. Putra then introduced me to the other engineers. Today until 12 o’clock I would be working with him. Putra gave me a tour of where he goes, we went everywhere. Putra also showed me what he does, like checking the water pumps. WaterBom has a total of 16 water pumps, 12 for the slides in the towers and Lazy river. The other 4 belong to the new rides like Boomerang, SuperBowl and the Climax. Every hour, Putra and I had to check the chlorine levels at each pool, we had to check, if it’s ideal or not. We did that until 12 o’clock, once it was 12 o’clock, we have finished and headed straight for our lunch break.  For Lunch we had Babi guling and lawar, it was delicious. After Lunch I met with the Sales executive “ Pande”, he too was a nice guy.  What we had to do, was to deliver the brochures and flyers to hotels, and travel agencies in Centro and near Kuta. We did this util 3pm, this was a tiring job, too, because you have to go places and negotiate with people. Negotiating can take at least an hour. I didn’t find being a sales executive very exciting.  At 3pm, I ran into Sayan and he said I could go home early today, I was so happy and relieved!

On the 4^th day I woke up late, due to the exhausting day I had yesterday. I had no energy in me, I was hoping  that I wouldn’t do any boring jobs at work experience. Amazingly my hopes were heard, and got me a job that I have been waiting for. The job that I was doing today, was Marketing and Graphic Design! I met the head leader of the marketing team, her name was Rani. She is really funny and full of energy! She then introduced me to marketing, she explained the jobs I had to do. The main job that I had to do, was to make sure that all of the WaterBom website is up to date. The other task that I had to do, was to make sure that I replied to the WaterBom fans on Facebook and Twitter. WaterBom has over 1000 fans on Facebook and Twitter, and it was my job to reply to them.  At 1pm was my lunch break, I had lunch with the graphic design team, they too are really fun to hang out with. After lunch I got a surprise from Mr. Mark! I had no idea that he would come to WaterBom! I explained what I did the past few days and gave him a tour at the office.  After Mark left, I went to the Graphic Design team. Their names were Ari and Made, they showed me what they do. I helped them by putting all of their work on Facebook, Twitter and the WaterBom website! I left work around 4.30pm and this too was another great day!

Work Experience Part 1

Today I’m going to work for the first time in my life. I am about to work at the famous waterpark Waterbom! On the way there I was feeling anxious and excited at the same time. Once I got there, I met the manager, I have met him several times before, and he’s a down to earth guy. He introduced me to all the staff and gave me a tour of the park. The place was already packed at 9 am in the morning! Waterbom was a lot bigger than I thought, the total size of Waterbom is 3.4 hectares. On the first day I was a pool attendant, I found this really easy. All I did was to explain what to do and when to go on a slide. The pool attendants changed shifts every 20 minutes. Lunch was at 12 o’clock, I had lunch with the pool attendants at the canteen. The food was free, and it was pretty grub at the same time. I ate with the pool attendants, they were really cool people to hangout with.  I finished at 4pm, this is the time, when all the tourist get exhausted and start leaving.

On the second day I got more comfortable being at Waterbom park. Maybe because the staff was so welcoming and friendly. Today Sayan (manager) said that I would be a lifeguard for the whole day, I was so excited about this opportunity.  They gave me a hat to wear during work, so I wouldn’t get sunburnt or dehydrated. I met with the head lifeguard “Suardiasa”, I stayed with him for the whole day.  We changed pools every 30 minutes, we went to every pool in Waterbom over the whole day. For example, the main pool, Boomerang, Climax, Macaroni and Lazy river. I had to do a variety of things, like returning the tubes, telling people not to do what they are not supposed to do, and helping people with direction.  Thankfully, no one got lost or needed help, but there was one incident at Climax. During my shift in Climax a young girl was stuck inside the tunnel, Suardiasa and I rushed to her. We opened the emergency door at the back and rescued her. Suardiasa told me that, if we didn’t rush, the young girl would be traumatized and shocked, and would find it hard to breathe. Being a lifeguard is sure a tiring job to do, but also an amazing experience. As the day came to an end, I said goodbye to Suardiasa and others, and went home.

A holiday with no surf.

The day before we departed to Chiang Mai, Thailand, I had competed in a RipCurl surf comp. In the comp I came 4^th, I was really happy that I have gotten 4^th place. On that day I kept wanting to surf everyday and not go on holiday where there are no waves. I didn’t want to miss the amazing surf in Bali.  

I went to Thailand with my younger sister, my older brother and my mother. I like going on a holiday with my sister and brother because its always fun with them, we’ll never get bored with each other.  My mum is also a fun person to travel with, she likes to try a bit of everything.

In Chiang Mai Thailand we didn’t stay in a hotel but we did this amazing thing called Home Exchange. Home Exchange is where you swap homes with a family that you have never met before. We often organize this on the Home Exchange website, we have been doing this for many years, travelling to so many different countries.

The location we stayed in was outside of the city surrounded by mountains. During the trip we got lost a lot but still managed to find the places we wanted to go to. Most of the street signs were in Thai, that we couldn’t understand. During the trip we did and saw amazing things, we saw elephants on the road and went swimming in the waterfall. The place that was the most interesting to me was the Tiger Kingdom, the place is filled with small to big tigers. In the Tiger Kingdom the tigers aren’t caged up, and people can walk freely with the tigers. Unfortunately the Tigers are sedated before the Kingdom is open, this makes the tiger sleepy and passive.

Chiang Mai was a enjoyable holiday, I may end up back in Chiang Mai because I went to look at an international boarding school that seemed breathtaking in its facilities.