Students You Might See Around Campus

There are many students you might notice or encounter on campus.  Here are five of them.

1. Athletes

ADPians in particular are very sporty.  This can be seen during the popular ADP Cup events throughout the Spring and Fall semester.  Do go check some of the games out if you're free!

2. Fashionable Students

These people are really into fashion.  You could go up to them anytime for fashion advice, and some of them would even be willing enough to accompany you on shopping sprees!

3. OnZ 

What is onz?  It's a Malaysian slang substitute for "Okay sure" and these type of people pretty much agree to everything.

A : Let's go eat at the mamak!

B: Onz

A: Let's go watch a movie!

B: Onz

A : Let's PARTY

B : ONZ

4. Genius

Typically, these people are often seen studying in the library or any available space during their free time.  They're all really smart and do very well in their studies.

5. Camwhores

These people love being in photos, and will grab any available DSLR or iPhone nearby.  

So there you have it, you may just bump into some of them soon!  Hahah.

Top 5 Places to Nap On Campus

As students, we become nocturnal creatures to an increasing extent. By and of itself, catching up on our beauty sleep by napping during the day is needed. Going to and fro from college/university just for a nap however seems like a waste of time especially considering if you do go home; chances are you won’t make it back to college/university for your afternoon lectures.

Hence, here are some of the best napping spots on campus. Need a quick power nap to recharge before afternoon lectures? Catch a quick snooze in one of these top-napping spots on the Lakeside Campus!

1. Starbucks. 

Instead of spending money on a coffee to keep the caffeine coming until the end of your lectures, just sit yourself down in one of the armchairs and let yourself drift off into sleep lulled by the sound of chattering. Body recharged, zero amount of money spent. Why not? 

2. Library. 

Rooms surrounded by books and silence apart from the odd whisper. After an intense study session surely everyone can admit to putting his or her head down on the desk for a little snooze?

3. 24/7 Study Room

The 24/7 study room is, at its essence, a place for pulling all-nighters. The stacks of books are really just a backdrop for spending 24 hours stressing out about your next final, and needing a place other than your room or apartment to do so. The lighting is a little bright and not quite ideal for naps, but if you throw your textbook over your eyes, you should be just fine. And, depending on what textbook it is, just trying to read a page or two might be enough to put you into a deep, deep sleep.

4. Student Life Center.

Fairly quiet with comfortable sofas, the Student Life Center is one of the well known napping spots. It is relatively easy to find a sofa to curl up and fall asleep in, or even better stretch out on a sofa for ultimate relaxation time as there are plenty of them in the center.

5. Empty Classrooms.

This usually applies to TADP students, as empty classrooms are often available. Being able to dominate the whole classroom supplied with air-conditioners and electricity with a group of friends, empty classrooms have become one of the most popular spots to hang around during breaks between classes among the ADP students. 

5 Ways To Stay Healthy in School During The Haze Season

In Malaysia, we have either the dry or wet season. Sometimes during the dry season, we have the most annoying occurrence -the haze. The smell of that annoying, dry, thick smoke is just plain horrible. It is very important to stay healthy in school when there is haze. You don't want to be inhaling dangerous chemicals (excessively) into your system that will leads you to being sick, especially the fact that the exam season in coming so soon!

1. Park at the basement

Why? it's because the basement parking is so much closer to classes compared to the free parking. But, you got to pay your RM3. Just remember, health first!

2. Wear Your Face Mask

You get get a free face mask from the Health Services Centre at Block C Level 1. Remember, every time you need to go outdoors, just wear these babies. I know for most people, it may look very ugly. After all, you need to wear them because it's all for your health. 

3. Stay Hydrated With H2O

Plain water guys- not any sweetened carbonated drinks. Water is important to flush all toxins from your body. Just look out for water vending machines on campus near the library. When you're on the go, just pop in RM1 and instantly you will receive a bottle of water. Remember, you need 8 glasses of water a day.

4. Stop Smoking!

The haze is already killing us. There are still many smokers that like to continue smoking in public areas and this only contributes to more smoke to the environment that leads to so many dangerous effects to the human body. Please, all of you smokers just lay off the cigarettes during the haze season. 

5. Stop Drinking Coffee.........for a little while

We all love coffee do we? But, did you know that caffeine is recognised as having a diuretic action, and consumers are often advised to avoid beverages containing these compounds in situations where fluid loss will occur. So, it is advised to drink more plain water instead and ditch your favourite green tea Frappuccino.

Library Etiquette

Ah, the library.

Serene, peaceful, inspiration brimming from wall to wall, the smell of knowledge one could acquire from its many shelves of books fills the air, so full of life, so-

Full of people taking afternoon naps on the couches?!

Alright so let's get real.  50 percent of the time, it's packed with students cramming for finals and upcoming tests, the other half for the ones who have either nowhere else to go, nothing to do or are hoping to make a ruckus to annoy other students around.

Eitherway, whether you're part of the former or the latter, here are a few basic etiquette rules that aren't going to get you kicked out of the library or shushed by the librarian countless of times.

1.  Don't fangirl.

Keep the pictures of Chris Evans and Alex Pettyfer away.  Don't watch a Zac Efron movie or any romance movie where the guy sweeps the girl off her feet with a grand, elaborate (normally cringe worthy in my opinion) gesture.  Don't even listen to One Direction, the last thing you want is to be caught by the librarian on duty glaring at you as you swoon and hyperventilate at the sound of Harry Style's british accent.

2.  Don't break out into a dance routine.

All the world's a stage but NOT when you're in the library guys.  Unless you want a video of you shuffling, doing the chicken dance and pirouetting circulating round YouTube, I'd advice you not to.

3.  Keep all Karaoke sessions at bay.

Reminder : This is a library, you're not here to film a music video nor audition for American Idol.  Keep it up and there'll probably be a Simon Cowell at the other end of the room yelling "It's a no for me, now shut up or get out."  Harsh.

4.  Pick up a book.

Books are great, and I don't just mean textbooks or reference books, but novels.  Even if you're not an avid reader and don't have a penchant for fiction, you could pick up a magazine or two!

5.  Sleep.

I think this is pretty self-explanatory.  Libraries are a great place if you're hoping to catch a few winks.  Aircond and peace & quiet, what more could you ask for?

Well, peace and quiet if this etiquette is instilled in every student.

Ha ha, like that's gonna happen.  Starbucks it is.

7 Ways To Put A Positive Spin On Taylor's Open Air Parking

You drive through the gates, looking for an empty spot.

You pass the first tower, none.

You pass the second tower...nope, it's just unsuspecting kelisa that's playing with your feelings.

You reach the third tower and you finally find a spot, you step out onto what seems like the longest road ever built that leads to the main building. The sun is beating down on you and your walk almost seems like a pilgrimage.




But hey, is the long walk really that bad? Here are 5 ways to put a positive spin on the walk.


1. Your daily bit of exercise.

As Malaysians, the most walking we do is probably from our front doors to our cars, let's admit it.
So let's take the "opportunity" to have our bout of exercise for the day without the treadmills...and to walk off that JC pancake you had in between classes.


2. Getting your daily dose of Vitamin D.

The perpetual heat makes none of us like the sun but hey, let's take that sunshine as your natural source of Vitamin Ds for the day.


3. A good way to get energized.

Every time I'm feeling a little sleepy or groggy in the morning, the long brisk walk I take from tower 2 always wakes me up for my 8 am classes. Works better than caffeine, cheaper too! ;)



4. A time to appreciate the sunrise (and sunset)

Living in a city, it's probably something we take for granted, that coupled with the fact that we love to stay indoors and air-conditioned. Taking the walk to and fro lets allows you to catch the sunrise (and some times sunset) that you might be missing out on if not for the walks.


5. Motivation to be early for classes

We've all been late at least once, or maybe more than once. In most cases, the competitive parking has made us get up a little earlier, leave home a little earlier, and even get to classes a little earlier. This is a good habit to keep, it also impresses lecturers when you're in class before them. So be a smarty, don't be tardy.


6. You make new friends

It's happened several times, where I'm taking the long walk to my car and another student (late for class,desperate for a spot) offers to drive me to my car in exchange for my parking. We became friends after, a friend I wouldn't have had it not been for the long work that I (and he) had to walk to class. :)

7. At least you aren't this guy :x

Don't you feel better about just walking (and not basking) in the sun now?

So there you go! Hopefully this has given you a fresh perspective on those long walks to your car and you find a bright shiny silver lining to the spot you found after the third tower. Isn't so bad after all is it? :)

6 Essential Apps to Own for Taylors Students

Living in the digital age, simply means everyone owns a smartphone. Imagine the time when you just bought a shiny new smartphone, what is the first thing you do? Obviously, it'll be setting the phone up and....installing new apps! Apps makes our everyday smartphone usage so much simpler and easier; apps are our best friend as well.
In this blog post, i'm going to provide a list of essential apps to own for Taylors students. I can guarantee you, my list of essential apps will make your everyday life simpler.

1. Dropbox

Dropbox is basically an online file storage service. And the best part? it is FREE and it is available on IOS, Android, Blackberry OS. I don't know about you guys, but have you ever had days where you don't know whether to bring your laptop or tablet? Dropbox is here to help you, I like to keep my important files in dropbox (course notes, course outlines, important documents etc.). Keeping these important files saves you the hassle of logging onto Times portal, which does not work and very slow sometimes! You'll also get to be able to keep all files in your dropbox in sync with all your other devices.

2. Evernote 

Evernote is basically an app for note taking and archiving. I would say that it is kind of like a note taking app and it is in sync with your other devices. Yes, it is free and available to be downloaded on IOS, Android, Blackberry OS. I use this app to take notes every time i go for classes. What I absolutely love about it is that you can highlight text, use different cool fonts and different note backgrounds. Look at the bright side, you don't need to bring your pencil case to class, save paper and save trees!

3. Waze

Waze is a GPS-based geographical navigation application. It it is free and available to be downloaded on IOS, Android, Blackberry OS. Most of us, have no choice but to drive from far distances to Taylors early in the morning. Don't get me started on traffic jams! With waze, you can forget about buying expensive GPS navigators like Papago and Garmin. Waze is kind of like a social navigation app. So, other drivers report on traffic jams, accidents, police check etc. And it also gives you alternate routes when you are in a jam.

4. MyTeksi

This app is an instant taxi booking app. Myteksi is local and is known as the fastest and safest taxi booking app. It is free and only available on IOS and Android only. This app is useful for all of you Taylorians who lives in the U-Residence and do not own a car. Just one tap, you can get a taxi instantly. For you girls who are afraid to take a taxi alone, this app is great because the taxi driver's personal details will be kept open. You can also track the location of the taxi driver when he is on the way to pick you up.


5. YouTube

We are know what YouTube is. YouTube carries all forms of user generated content, whether it is entertainment, tutorial videos, gaming videos, educational video etc. This YouTube app is free as well, and available on all mobile operating systems. I think everyone should have a YouTube app on their smartphones and tablets. If you are taking any advanced course like calculus, physics or chemistry, YouTube is awesome. When you are facing any problems in any course, there are numerous educational videos to choose from. I personally like Khan Academy, he makes all my homework difficulties go away!

6. Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Paid)

An offline dictionary in your pocket. This app costs about RM45 and only available on iOS. Although expensive for an app, it's all worth it. With Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, you get so many advantages. One of the advantage is simply having an offline dictionary- no wifi and data roaming required. You get to star new words and browse through your word search history.

All you need is these 6 apps to make your study life at Taylor's Lakeside simpler. Enjoy!

6 Tips to Survive Morning Classes

“Some people jump out of bed in the morning, hit the ground running, and leave a trail of creative thinking and focused accomplishment in their wake. And then there’re the rest of us.”  

Not a morning person? Neither am I. One of the toughest challenges I come across on a daily basis are my 8AM classes. It’s almost impossible to go through college and/or university life without at least one morning class no matter how much you try to avoid them. Who cares about whether or not to be one of the “early birds that catches the worm” when everything is perfect under the blanket? Unfortunately, as ADP students whose attendances are taken into account, our success is measured by whether or not we make it to morning classes.

Here are some tips to get through the dreaded morning classes:

1. Get yourself a Starbucks. 

There’s no better way to stay awake in class than having a cup of Starbucks to keep the caffeine coming until the end of the lecture. Caramel Macchiato with double shots and extra caramel drizzle is definitely one of the must-try! 

2. Doodle! 

According to lifehacker.com, it was said that doodling increases focus and recall. Feeling bored and falling asleep in morning classes? Grab a pen and a piece of scrap paper; doodle, and keep the brain on task. 

3. Chew a gum. 

This is a suggestion from a senior who struggled a lot through morning classes. The act of chewing gum provides constant sensory input to the muscles in the jaw and ear thus helps us to concentrate better. 

4. Get dressed.

If you’re one of those people who like to go to class in your comfiest clothes, this is for you. Putting on your coziest sweatpants might feel great at the time, but it could make you guilty of the post 8AM class nap. Dressing smart will make you less likely to laze around for the rest of the day and helps you stay productive.

5. Never let the snooze button get the better of you.

Getting out of bed is always the toughest part. For those of you who have become best friends with your snooze button and press it as many times as possible to avoid the bleak reality of class, my advice to you would be to move your alarm from beside your bed. This forces you to actually get up to turn it off, whether you like it or not!

6. Get refreshed.

A quick shower is the perfect thing to wake you up and make you feel refreshed. Your first thought is probably a nice hot shower, but cold showers are proven to be better for your health, energy levels and well-being. Basically, hot showers slow you down, so switch things up and give the cool shower a try! 

3 Residence Areas Near Taylor's Lakeside Campus

Is staying at U-Residence at Taylor University Lakeside too expensive for you?  Need access to a bigger variety of food?  Need a shopping mall nearby for groceries? Or you just simply want to stay away from campus?

Well, good news for all of you as today I will introduce 3 main places that you can stay at when you study at Taylor's University!

1. PJS 7 Area 

At PJS 7, you can either stay in a apartment or rent a room/house. 

Sunway Court has 24 hour security which is good if your parents are particular on safety.  The price range of a room varies but the highest price will be RM 900 for master room and cheapest will be RM 400 for smallest room. There's even free wifi in most of the rooms.  It's walking distance from campus and you can avoid the morning jam.

2. SS15, Subang Jaya

What's the one thing that goes through your head when someone says SS15?

FOOD!  SS15 is famous for its variety of food.  Which is why Subang Avenue is a great place to stay at.  It is conveniently located near the KTM, Carrefour and Subang Parade.  

You can access everything here with walking distance and a good place to chill. However, staying here will be a bit pricey as everything is well maintained.  

The residence has its own pool and park which you can enjoy. The highest price will be RM 1200 for a master room and the cheapest room, RM600. Don't worry about transport to campus as Taylor's provides a shuttle bus that costs RM 1.50 per trip.

3. Suriamas Condominium 

This places is quite cool with swimming pools and parks. Not only that, they also have a gym, tennis court and badminton hall for you to use. Suriamas also provides a BBQ pit for party purposes. Is a great place to stay and is quite far from campus. Don't worry about the transport too as a shuttle bus will be there, costing RM1.50 per trip. You can easily access the KTM and also Sunway Pyramid Mall. Every Sunday, there will be night market where you can buy fresh vegetables and meat for your cooking purposes. The price is reasonable, fromRM450-900,  depending on the room size you rent.

Overall, these three places I suggest are pretty cool to stay at and you will definitely love your new lifestyle here. If you need more information you could always google iBilik to rent a room around this area. I hope this will help all the freshmen students who enter Taylor's University for their first semester.