Merry Christmas!

Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle all the way! HEY!

December is almost over. Christmas Day is approaching, and as they say, "Tis' the season to be Merry".

Been pretty busy this month, what with my younger sister's wedding back in Sarawak early during the month, and then another ceremony over in West Malaysia. With various family dinners, celebration itself, driving around here and there, and before you know it, it is over.

Then comes the carolling around various shopping malls and a gig or two to supplement the ever important pocket money! :P

Was shorthanded in the office last Friday, but manageable. Already in the holiday mood, and am currently off from work until after Christmas. Back at work on 27Dec07.

Had a gift exchange in the office, and bought some pressies for my friends earlier on. Also commissioned some "book thongs" from a colleague, which came out pretty nice I must say. A nice change from the usual bookmarks. Received various gifts also from colleagues and friends, showing the generosity of heart, and the thought of giving a gift without expecting something in return. As they say, a time of giving...

Anyways, here's a "HO! HO! HO!" and to wishing all a very Merry Christmas and a bountiful New Year!

8 Things - a meme

Tagged by anigma. So here goes:

8 things I am passionate about:
1. Eating GOOD sweet and sour pork! :P
2. Reading an exciting sci-fi (fantasy) book.
3. Travelling, exploring new places (not the nature type though).
4. Singing well.
5. Bowling well.
6. Collecting "stuffs".
7. Collecting even more "stuffs".
8. Work (well, sometimes).

8 things I want to do before I die:
1. Eat more sweet and sour pork.
2. Go on a world tour!
3. Mend broken bridges.
4. Pray more.
5. Write my will!
6. Spend more time with close friends.
7. Spend more time with the family.
8. Find inner peace.

8 things I say often:
1. SHIT! (ranks top on my list)
2. IS IT?
3. OK!
4. ASO!
5. WAT!
6. WHY AH?
7. DUN WAN!
8. DUN KNOW?!

8 books I have recently read:
1. Fall of Kings - David and Stella Gemmell
2. Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson
3. Deadhouse Gates - Steven Erikson
4. Forest Mage - Robin Hobb
5. Brilliance of the Moon - Lian Hearn
6. Voice of the Gods - Trudi Canavan
7. Mistress of the Pearl - Eric Van Lustbader
8. Soarer's Choice - L.E. Modesitt, Jr

8 songs that I can listen to over and over:
1. Pie Jesu
2. Tears in Heaven
3. Home (Michael Buble's)
(Only three oh...)

8 things that attract me to my best friends:
1. being honest
2. being on time (females ah, tsk..tsk..tsk..)
3. no hidden agendas
4. have a big heart
5. bearing with my fickle mindedness
6. bearing with my "sometimes" competitive nature (esp bowling!)
7. ordering a good sweet and sour pork dish without me asking. :)
8. bearing with my moodiness

8 things I have learned this past year:
1. Freshly fallen durian from trees have exceedingly sharp thorns (ouch).
2. How to hit and hold a top Aflat comfortably for five counts!
3. Where Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are situated on the world map.
4. When to shut up and keep my comments to myself when I want to criticise something (as the phrase goes, "When you have nothing good to say, don't say anything at all".
5. Certain Chinese traditions pertaining to wedding events (not mine!).
6. How to take nicer photographs and later show them off (use picasa!).
7. Not all hot chocolate taste the same.
8. Need to sleep earlier.

8 people I think should do this too-free-nothing-to-do-so-I-do meme:
Up to you guys'lah, but let me know, so that I can go snoop-snoop! :P

Dover College 1

Following the previous post, it made me think back about my school days, and whilst back in Sarawak for a brief period last weekend, I quickly took the opportunity to dig up and recapture some of the old photographs.

It has been more than 15 years since I last set foot in Dover. And when I first arrived in Dover in 1987, I was shown to Leamington House, and introduced to another student who was assigned to look after me during my initial period (Thanks EL!). Alas, unlike the Harry Porter version, there was no "sorting hat" to determine which house I would be attached to. After four years in Leamington House, this is a picture taken during my final year in 1991. Can you tell which is me? :P



I few things which I remember about Leamington House from the time there:

a. The house had good runners, especially one guy from Nigeria if I am not mistaken, (running in the yearly steeple chase), but alas, I was not good at running.
b. The house had good musicians, especially during the 6th Form. A very good clarinetist from Bermuda who played a clarinet concerto during the final year concert. Very well played. I still have a recording, and sometimes listen back to it. And the good thing is that, we are still in contact.
c. I first met friends from Hong Kong, and thanks to Facebook, have managed to find old friends. And that's where I polished my "colourful" vocabulary in Cantonese! :P
d. My house colour tie was navy blue with purple stripes.
e. My house put on a musical/play called "CindaAlfred".
f. Some students used to climb out from some of the rooms' windows to have unauthorised nightly sojourns in town.
g. I was the only Malaysian in the house.
h. My first roommate was French (forgot his name), and we shared a room in the basement for one term (Michaelmas). I remember chatting one night, and he couldn't understand what I was saying. I said "dog" with a very silent "g", and when he finally deciphered what I was trying to say, it finally dawned on me that I had to pronounce my consonants a lot clearer.
i. My housemaster (Mr. Cruickshank) subsequently scooted me upstairs to share a room with AF and another British-born Korean.
j. My 1st housemaster was Scottish, but I could still understand his accent, cos' it wasn't as strong as other Scots which I have subsequently heard. Surprised myself that I could understand, especially given that it was the first time I heard a Scot's accent.
k. Also the first time I heard the cockney accent, with "Arthur" sounding something like "Alfa".
l. I experienced my first hurricane in the 1st term, (luckily I was still in the basement), and heard the rattling of the windows. I remember my roommate getting up pretty annoyed with the noisy rattling of the windows, and tried to shut them properly, without realising that there was a major storm outside. Come morning, looked out the window and saw that the roof to the bursary had collapsed. My other friends who stayed higher up said their beds shook.
m. Lights out (i.e. night night) at different time for students, depending how junior you are. 3rd formers get lights out at 10pm, with the prefect on duty going around the house switching off the lights and making sure everyone is in bed.
n. Roll Calls in the morning before breakfast, and in the evenings.
o. My second housemaster was Mr. Vanderhoeven. He's still in Dover College till today, but not housemaster anymore. And yes, found him on Facebook as well.

And the list goes on... too many memories to put down on paper... but suffice to say, it was certainly an experience.

So, have you spotted me yet from the picture? If not, here's a closeup taken with my digital camera. And no, am not wearing the purple striped tie. I had a special tie in 1991 and had the privilege to sit next to the housemaster and his wife during the photo session! :P



To be continued...

Those were the days...

Recently joined Facebook, and found some old friends online. Managed to hook up with some of my old college mates, and one of them posted a picture from my college days. It was taken during the 1991 summer ball in Dover College. Wow! So long ago, and golly! I was so skinny back then! Certainly bring back a lot of memories... One or two of my friends have asked me to go back for a visit, but since returning so many years ago, haven't been back to the UK at all. I know some of my college mates have been back to the school, and yes, have been tempted more than once to revisit and see the changes that have occured, but alas, have not found the right time. One day... one day...


It was then predominantly a boarding school, but I think it has changed with the majority now being day students. I was in Leamington house for four years, and yes, rivalry in terms of athleticism and sports activities were pretty intense amongst the various houses. For those who have not stayed in a boarding school in UK, think Harry Porter with the various houses. :P

I guess overall, it was certainly an experience, and a time for personal growth. I relish the exposure given in terms of music (which I was active in, and will post about this one day), sports (tried a bit of rugby, cricket, hockey, tennis, but never excelled in any, except perhaps for badminton), and the opportunity to socialise with people from various countries. Got to know some English mates, Scots, Welsh, Germans, Spaniards, Bermudian, Japanese, Greeks, Hongkies, Americans, Singaporeans, Malaysians, Guyanans :P, etc. Of course, some were friendlier than others... And it was interesting to pick up a few foreign words here and there! More often than not, such words were not suitable for polite conversations... LOL!!! And I can actually remember some of the words...!!! Hahaha....

And once every four years or so, there will be a photo session with the entire school, and by individual houses. I actually have this group photo framed up, somewhere in my room back in Sarawak. Looking at these pictures make me want to dig back those old photos and imagine myself back in the yesteryears... Can you tell which is me? :P

FedEx and Pistol Pete

Got an invite for an exclusive mingling session with Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, two tennis legends here in Malaysia for the "Clash of the Titans" series. How not to go? Actually, I declined the invitation earlier on when asked last weekend, on the expectation that the place (Shooks! at Starhill) will be jam-packed like sardines.

But, changed my mind last minute, and rechecked whether I could still go. Initially, was told that the available spaces have been taken up, but later got a call confirming a place for me. Yippeee! Cocktail was scheduled for 6pm, and I only managed to get there about 6:35pm, and the cordoned off place was filled with so many people! How on earth will FedEx and Pistol Pete be able to mingle simple boggles the mind. And true enough, their scheduled arrival at 6:45pm was delayed due to a prior press conference, only getting there about 7:15pm, and they couldn't mingle. Sigh...

What transpired? A lot of digital cameras and handphone cameras flashing away. Both were asked a couple of questions which they kindly answered, but when it came to phototaking time, it was like a mad rush. No one-on-one photo session, more like group shots, and no autographs. BUMMER! And time was also limited for phototaking. Initially, I wanted to go up and have my photo taken with them, but there were just too many people still in queue before the announcement of "Time's Up!", with them being ushered away for the next appointment to have dinner with the Deputy Prime Minister. Humpph...

Now, I enjoy tennis (more like watching on telly), and have a few favourite players. Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, and now, Roger Federer! He is simply the best!!! Currently at No. 1 in the world, and hungry for more grandslam titles!

My consolation? Some good shots of the famous duo, and I stood at the exact same spot where Roger Federer stood barely a few moments before! :P

Chinese for the Banana...

HAHAHAaaa...!

After a tiring week...

After a week of several late nights, and busy running arounds, it's the weekend!!! YAY!!!!!!



YIPPEEEE YAYYY!!! JENG! JENG! JENG!!! :P

A tale of one scoop too many

It was another binging session, this time at Etoile (pronounced Ee-too-ah), for all you can eat Haagen-Dazs ice-cream. The last time I had a session like this, it was a while back, and had it at the Haagen-Dazs outlet proper, for 11 (yes, ELEVEN!) scoops of deliciously varied flavours of creamy ice-cream and much needed few glasses of plain water. After that session, I swore off ice-cream for at least two weeks. Incidentally, someone else out-ate me, with twelve scoops, and that someone happened to be a girl! Oh dearie me...



This time, Etoile carried only 8 flavours, but that didn't stop the bunch of us from having a go at the all you can eat session. Not only that, at least Etoile served other cakes and some meat skewers (almost like kebabs), with coffee and tea inclusive. For the all you can eat price, RM35++ per person, we reckoned that we would need to consume 6 scoops each to breakeven.

How many scoops did I whallop? I had 8 scoops, but wasn't adventurous to try all 8 different flavours (Etoile had a limited range, but they provided other food). I stuck to a few tried and tested ones:
a. 1 scoop of Tiramisu
b. 1 scoop of Vanilla
c. 1 scoop of Cookies and Cream
d. 1 scoop of Chocolate
e. 2 scoops of Rum and Raisin
f. 2 scoops of Macadamia Nut

However, this time, instead of having the 8 ice-cream scoops as is, had them in a variety of styles. Freshly made waffles went well with a mixture of "yummilicious" scoop of Rum and Raisin as well as a scoop of silky Macadamia Nut ice-cream, and even the vanilla was taken ala Affogato, that is, pure black coffee, with a large dollop of rich creamy vanilla ice-cream! For the others, I went easy on the toppings! :P

Although I had ONLY 8 scoops, (2 scoops less than the previously binging session), I felt terribly full, especially having taken in 3 of those heavenly tasting little meringues and another 3 of those crunchy walnut tartlets on top of a skewer of the chicken kebab. Oh, they even have a chocolate fountain! Even writing this, I feel full already just thinking about all the food earlier on.

I may think that 8 is a lot, but two of the guys managed to consume 10 (TEN!!) scoops each after trying out the other food as well. Another two small sized skinny girls also ate 8 scoops, while others were hitting limits of 6, 4 and even 3 scoops only. All in all, the ten of us had 66 scoops of sinfully rich creamy ice-cream on top of the other food provided, so we did a tad better than just breaking even! :P

Incidentally, I had to unbuckle my belt whilst driving home. Pants are getting pretty tight! Groan... time to hit the gym...

A taste of food somewhere...

Went "somewhere" to have a bite, and drove "someplace" to try new food last weekend. Decided to go for Chinese food, and like usual, would order the sweet and sour pork as a meter-ology (huh?) to gauge the competency of the various culinary experts in the kitchen in preparing this somehow simple dish. Now mind you, many have said that this dish is easy to prepare, which is true enough, but hard to prepare well I reckon, at least to my not-so-high standards. :P The sweet and sour pork in this outlet, oh dearie me, didn't have the crispness and the tomato sauce kick I get when I find a good one! (incidentally, someone once told me that ketchup was not made from tomato, but from pineapples. Have not verified this though). Oh, I was also trying out my new Canon Ixus 960 IS! What do you think? :)


Would hesistate to identify the place where I ate, but surfice to say that the food was rather bland. Even the butter crabs' sauce was kind of diluted. What is more telling, is that the aromatic scent of the various dishes didn't get soaked into the meat/seafood. More like cooked separately, and the sauce just gets poured over. Sigh...

I guess the first indication of a potential disappointment was the drink I ordered. Supposed to be a longan drink, but I didn't see any longans in the drink! Hey! That's almost like ordering a roti pisang without the pisang!

I think out of the whole meal, the best was the appetizer. How can you go wrong with peanuts coated with heaps loads of sugar and fried?

Incidentally, healthy or not, I have a sweet tooth!

End of bitching session...

A festival of light

Haven't been blogging for a while, been pretty busy lately, so last Thursday's national holiday break for the Deepavali celebration was a welcomed moment. However, a shortened working week meant more late nights to complete reports and such, otherwise, would have had to bring work back.

Saw this "kolam" at the mall next to my office. Imagine the attention to detail, and the painstaking effort to ensure the various coloured rice grains were arranged to depict a particular scene or picture. This was actually one of the nicer ones I have seen so far.

With the rest time available, instead of staying at home and recuperate from the various running around I have been doing lately, I met up with some friends and hit the lanes for a game or two (or three!) of tenpin bowling. Didn't bowl too well though, below my average, and lost a couple cups of coffee as a side bet. Incidentally, the best hot chocolate (rather than going for coffee) I have tried so far is at Starbucks! Yumm!

Also managed to catch "Stardust", a movie along the Fantasy Genre. Quite good actually, light and humurous to boot. Somehow, got into a discussion with a friend about "stars", especially when Yvaine towards the end, said that stars shine:

Alex: What do stars do?
Friend: They glitter or twinkle.
Alex: No'lah, they shine!
Friend: They don't shine, they reflect the sun!

So? What do you reckon? Stars shine brightly or they twinkle in the night? Hmmm...

Student vs Working Life

Got this through the email, and I think it has been circulating for a while already. However, it still holds true. Working life is so much different from being a student. What is worse? Try working and studying at the same time, which many still have to do...!

**************************************************

Bill Gates once gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Dinosaur no more

My PC at home has been likened to a dinosaur. Was still running on a Pentium II, with very limited harddisk space. However, all that has finally changed, and thanks to some friends who persistently nudged me to get some technological upgrades. :P

And would you believe it? In this day and age, some still use dial-up connections? Cheaper muh, especially for people who do not use the internet much, except to check emails and do a few basic things. Again, yeah, FINALLY got myself converted to using broadband!!! and yes, it's faster! Wireless to boot! Yippeee, less wires running around .... :P

So, what shall I do with my current dinosaur? Not quite extinct yet...

Dog-tired

Groan.... am glad it is the weekend. Am tired out from the week... I need a break... a looooong break.... SOON!!!

The other day, had to do homework for my group's music rehearsal, and as I was plonking away on the keyboard trying to pitch my notes, my eyes were literally closing. Nodded off a couple of times, and finally decided to gather my various music sheets before they scatter on the ground, and to sight read instead for rehearsal. Thank goodness I can still get away with sight reading at this initial stage, otherwise will surely "kena" from the group's music directors.

On another note, was home for dinner the other day, and as I was supping, my elder sister was watching "Brothers and Sisters", a TV series currently showing in the US. I watched for a bit, and oh no... I got hooked! Would normally avoid protracted drama series, but this one is pretty interesting. Damn! Now I have to start watching again...

Bizzzeeeeee Ramblings

Been a hectic week for me at the office. The holiday shortened week didn't help, what with various reports due, bankers knocking on the door asking for meet ups to present something or rather, and other unending things to clear. For the unit, having about a quarter of the team resigned, dampened working spirits somewhat, and I am sure my other colleagues who are left holding the work, are even more stressed. A few bonds undergoing restructuring, some primary issuances, reviews due, issues with a convertible bond, and my colleagues sure have it up to their necks! I can't imagine how smaller companies with only a staff force of one or two in the team can cope. But then again, they may not be as stringent as us. As a friend would say it, "HAIZ"! enough bitching about work... Have to look on the positive side, at least I still have a job in a market which is short of manpower. Economics theory at work... demand vs supply.

Other than that, had a gig or two, be it with WP, or singing at church weddings and getting a bit of extra pocket money, and then, blow it all away shopping! Bought a tie at RAOUL in KLCC. "A bit" overpriced at RM199, but had a 30% discount voucher. How to resist? Sigh... To make myself feel better, I checked out other ties at Parkson, with differing price ranges, and I saw one at about RM235 for a freaking tie! Nice though, but not within my budget at the moment. Think I need to upgrade some of my workshirts. Some are kind of wornout looking but comfy, so hard to recycle, or heavens forbid, throw away. Then, after all these, I read in the newspapers about some families living at the fringe of society, barely scraping by, malnourished, and living in a one-room apartment, and I feel truely blessed indeed.

Actually, was conducting interviews (hiring staff) with my boss, and once after an interview session, my boss commented, "We are very blessed and lucky", and I couldn't agree more. Why? Some candidates are struggling to look for a suitable job, we wish to help, but alas, does not match our criteria. We put an ad out about 2 weeks ago, and within 5 days, there were a lot of applicants. What does that say about the job market out there? How can I say that there's a shortage of supply? Well, I need to rephrase it by saying, shortage of supply of people with the relevant experience. Sure, we are willing to hire "fresher" staff and train them, but the immediate contribution to the team in already a short-handed position, will be slower in coming. Ok, ok! I digressed, and am bitching about work again... but seriously, that's not the point. The point is being THANKFUL. Being thankful that we still draw a pay cheque, being thankful that we have a roof over our heads, being thankful we are still alive (especially after reading about the terror attacks where over 130 people were killed in Pakistan).

Being thankful also for friends and family, and of course, the almighty. Talking about friends, finally signed on to Facebook, and managed to find a few lost college/university mates, and even some family members who I hardly contact. Still have my friendster account, but hardly utilise nowadays. Didn't play around with Multiply, too many'lah of such networking sites! Tiring'leh, having to keep track of so many community accounts.

Oh, found out I have another nephew this month, Jayden. My cousin Rufina gave birth to a baby boy. Family tree is expanding and hard to keep track, especially given that I have so many cousins. I think another cousin set up an online family tree mapped out somewhere, so that will be good for a name refresher course given the ever expanding next generation, and ever critical in the various family functions. That is, of course, provided I can find the link somewhere...

Finished reading "Fall of Kings", by David and Stella Gemmell, and thus ended the TROY trilogy. Will start on book 3 of "The Malazan Book of the Fallen" saga, entitled "Memories of Ice" soon, by Steven Erikson. Another friend recommended me to read Haruki Murakami's books, and lent me "Norwegian Wood". Hmmm, will get round to it soon I hope. Oh, am also "stuck" on the Essentials of Dr. Strange Volume 1 (comic book), but it is not holding my interest. Will somehow also plow through.

In between all these, I run around meeting friends (and bankers!) for lunch, dinner, raya gatherings, etc. So, am reminding myself to exercise. Alas, this running around doesn't count as exercise though, a pity really. Eat, eat and eat even more. How? Yeah, I have heard it before, eat in moderation, make sure I take my medication, yadayadayada...

Was singing for a church wedding this morning, after having taken my car in for a service. You know ah, the service centre officially opens at 8:30am, but luckily, I recall the sales lady informing me that I can come at 8:00am (sadly, they don't take service bookings). I got there about 8:10am (groan, have to wake up early on a Saturday morning! but at least I have Sunday to sleep in - have sunday plans all mapped out though from 2:30pm onwards until the evening! bizzzeeeeeee - weekend, oh weekend, why do you pass so fast?), and I was already like in queue at number 6! I noted that by 8:30am, the queue number got to 16! Wah!... Ok, back to topic - or some semblance of it (singing in church for a wedding), one tune keeps humming in my head. It's a new hymn/song, but beautiful music if sung well. Of course out of the 5 singers, some were miked up, while one or two didn't require a mic - those who can project their voices'lah and sing with proper support, given the good acoustic design of the church. Oh how I wish can sing in four-part harmony in such a location... but that will have to be with a different choir group. Sigh... But, on the bright side, have started learning our jingles and what nots, in preparation for December gigs. Yay! Hopefully more pocket money, and in time for christmas pressies.. :P

To the beat of the drums

Having attended a Waidako concert a few years back, with a guest artist from Japan at the Malaysian Philharmonic Concert Hall, my eyes opened to the myriad thumpety thumps of a single drum, and how those drumbeats could dictate my feelings and even the beating of my own heart. It was certainly a very good experience.

So, once I chanced upon the Hands Percussion Team performing at one of the Chinese New Year functions at The Weld this year, I have tried to follow their concert schedule to give myself a more thorough experience.

However, I missed the previous concert a while back (because I didn’t manage to get tickets, yeah, I tried to buy at the last minute), I finally caught Hands Percussion’s concert last weekend at KLPac with some friends, and am glad I went (this time, I bought my tickets early, and they played to a full house!). It was not really what I expected though, but enjoyed it nonetheless. It was a combination of drums, dance, and even song. But of course, the focal point was on drums, be it the Chinese drums, the Indian drums, or even the Gamelan type of percussion instruments.

The first number was the typical Hands Percussion style combination. choreographed drumming movements between quite a number of drummers, which set a good beginning to the concert. I liked the sets, and the lighting. Very artsy. When the white cloth flowed down at the start of the second number, I went like “Wow!”. The effect was so beautiful. Then a solo unaccompanied soprano voice rang out in Chinese to a haunting tune, and although I couldn’t understand what was being sung, it was very expressive.

I suppose I could go on and on, but will limit it to just a few thoughts:

1. Very artsy, good choreo and use of stage.
2. Some dance routine were a tad on the draggy side, but maybe I don’t appreciate dance as much as I do music. But the energy of the dancers were brilliant to my non-critical eye.
3. Costumes and props used to good effect. Even to having a water pool with dancers splashing to the Indian music extravaganza. Before the start of this number, there were some light water droplets sprayed on audiences as a precursor to the entire number. Good effect.
4. Use of gamelan percussion instruments to showcase the various percussive sounds, portraying a message was a sight to behold. Am not sure of what was entire being portrayed, but my take on it was that in the frenzied movements of the drummers, there lies an inner peace and calm. So, when the repetitive xylophone tune was heard all on its own, it moved me somewhat. With the backdrop of the 3 drummers energetically drumming away “silently”, it was a definitely a very good effect.
5. The Malay number had a mini skit, and began with a wayang kulit like setting, welcoming and hoping that the audiences have so far enjoyed the programme. Energy was high, and it was a real joy to watch.
6. No score, no drums? So what do you do? You beat the drum sticks, you clap to differing rhythmic patterns, you stomp around, creating a body percussion number with high energy, AND even get the audience involved. Seen this, done that, but they were good!
7. The final number had 3 major stars showcasing different categories of drums, culminating in an explosive finale.
8. Alas, would have liked for them to do an encore, but they didn’t. Sigh.
9. I had two "goosebumps" session - one in the first number, and one in the final number, when the drummers came together and performed in a controlled frenzy.
10. During the entire show, only saw one drumstick fly in the air, but the performer carried on as though it didn't happen. Good recovery, but I guess performing in a group with choreo, the other drummers could help cover the minor mishap.
11. However, wished there were more full ensemble drumming sessions, as that was what I really came to see (MORE! MORE!).

Till their next concert…. :)

Clockwise? Anti Clockwise?

What do you see? Do you see the dancer moving clockwise or anti clockwise??? It's pretty interesting...


A] Clockwise
- Right Brain

B] Anti Clockwise
- Left Brain

A] Right Brain Function

1) uses feeling
2) "big picture" oriented
3) imagination rules
4) symbols and images
5) present and future
6) philosophy & religion
7) can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
8) believes
9) appreciates
10) spatial perception
11) knows object function
12) fantasy based
13) presents possibilities
14) impetuous
15) risk taking


B] Left Brain Function

1) uses logic
2) detail oriented
3) facts rule
4) words and language
5) present and past
6) math and science
7) can comprehend
8) knowing
9) acknowledges
10) order/pattern perception
11) knows object name
12) reality based
13) forms strategies
14) practical
15) safe


Initially, I saw the dancer turning clockwise, indicating that perhaps I am right brain dominant. Later, was wondering if the dancer could actually be turning anti clockwise, and then, I saw it and it did!!!

Incidentally, if you don't see the dancer moving, time to get a newer PC! :P
Seriously, click on the picture and you will see the dancer move.

So, what do you see? Clockwise? Anti clockwise?

What De...??

The SP Choir presented "Circlesongs" recently at The Actors Studio Bangsar, and I went on 2Oct07 mainly to support a few members I know who were performing. The programme described the concert as:

1. Choral Improvisation
2. Dynamic Vocal Exploration
3. Rhythmic Energy
4. Universal Sounds
5. Musical Celebration of Spontaneity

And, it was certainly that! In short, it was essentially an on-the-spot jamming session for singing as well as body percussion, and even some tap dancing. Now before going to the concert, I did not expect much (after hearing mixed reviews about it), but somehow found it pretty interesting. The tap dancing added a different feel and literally gave some variation to the show, which I liked. Way cool!

Certain "songs" were highly charged, while others almost made it. Again, a few members literally shone on stage, while others were slightly more inhibited. But then again, for such a spontaneous jamming session, got to really let loose. Of course, some were more creative than others. As usual, for such improvisation, ZL, YOU ROCK!!! :)

Strangely enough, given that I am usually "in the box" kind of guy, I do appreciate such jamming sessions. Have you ever sat at a piano and letting loose on the ivories? Once a while, it creates such an adrenaline rush, that it is amazing. Of course, one can literally fall flat on the face too...

But the show was not only for the particants and audiences, it was also to support the Independent Pet Rescuers Malaysia. Awww... More can be found about the IPR here.

Move It!

Attended a concert last Sunday titled "Move It!" by the Young KL Singers at the Actors Studio in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur. They were celebrating their 5th Anniversary.

This was the first time I have heard them perform in a full concert, (there was another time as a guest slot in another concert sometime back), and was pleasantly surprised at the talents and effort put in by one and all. And yes, the group has definitely improved.

Here are some of my thoughts on the concert:

1. Good audience attendance! Full house, even to sitting on the steps!
2. Introduced as a choral choir, but personally think the group was more pop sounding. True, not to the likes of beat boxing or body percussion, or even rockappella types, so I guess somewhere in between. Certainly not to the extent of "Choral"-ness as compared to one or two other groups in KL.
3. Pitchy in parts, especially the guys at the beginning. However, the guys have a tighter sound compared to the girls.
4. So many tenors compared to basses! Hard to find basses these days! Still, impressive to have that many guys in a choir! Even my group has like 5 tenors (part and fulltime) and 2 (one part and one fulltime) bass. Still, the women outnumbered the men, but the balance between the various voices was overall quite good (except for the bass part).
5. Untidy endings (but this is nitpicking here). Given that there are quite a few people singing, it was difficult to get all the "t"s, and what nots to end together. Understable for a large group, but is this an excuse?.
6. I liked Autumn Leaves, especially the arrangement, but thought it was too "airily" sung. More so, when the basses came in with the change in style. Could have been more contrast. Overall, one of the few songs which I really liked and remember.
7. Good keeping of time without conductor for most of the songs. No small feat this!
8. I also particularly liked the African Game Song - "Sansa Kroma". Good Choreo and energy!
9. Pie Jesu was lovely and in pitch and clear notes! However, lead soloist could do with holding the note value more instead of cutting it too short. Matter of phrasing? Still one of my favourites though.
10. Somehow, I prefered the 1st half of the programme compared to the 2nd half. Now, I am a fan of musicals, so may be a bit bias. However, I have seen another group perform similar musical numbers more solidly.
11. I like "Kenangan Lagenda" and one of the male soloist has a very, very good voice. Such pure tones! Wow!
12. The french number was a difficult one, "Yver, Vous N'estes Qu'un Villain" (meaning, "Winter, You Are A Villian"). It was performed in a smaller group, and done well, I must add! I know this one because I have gone through the music score with another choir a few years back. However, the sopranos sounded a bit "piercing" towards the end.
13. Good Choreo for "Light at the End of the Tunnel".
14. Actually, the choreo for the entire show was pretty impressive, and to be honest, "saved" some of the more lacklustre songs/soloists. Good effort though.
15. As encore, the group repeated "Magnificent Horses", which was a difficult piece to get it together. Thought it lacked energy, even when performed as a main song. Maybe the members were tired, as this was the last show for the concert. Would have liked a different song as an encore though, as supposed to repeating a number.
16. Good to see that almost all were enjoying themselves on stage. Some literally let loose, which was brilliant.

Overall, I was glad I went for the show. Enjoyed myself, and heard some very good voices from the group. Well done to all those involved in the production. "Bravo!".

Incidentally, I wonder if some of the members would be open to sing/perform with other groups. I know my group is certainly still looking for a bass. Hmm.... :)

Vrooomm-Vrooooomm.....

Finally!, after a waiting period of 2 and a half months, I bid adieu to my trusty 10-year old blue Honda, and welcome a sleeker and curvier new dark grey Honda. It's barely 24 hours old, and am slowly getting use to the new feel and handling of the car. Seems a bit wider though, so parking at narrow spaces may be tougher, but at least this time I have reverse sensors. Dread to think about parking at certain shopping malls which have very limited and small parking spaces.

I snapped this picture when the odometer was slightly lower. Total mileage of my previous car came in around 92,970km which is quite low for a vehicle approaching a decade. This equates on average, to approximately:

1. 9,297.0 km travelled in a year.

2. 774.7 km travelled within a month.

3. 25.8 km travelled in a single day!

As for the car registration number, some would be indifferent, yet others would kick up a big fuss about getting a "good" number. Me, I am somewhere in between. :) This is my third car (after selling the other two previously), and the number is a variation of my previous ones.

Alas, now I am broke...

What's in a name?

Was in Singapore again last week for a couple of days, and this time met up with my eldest uncle and his family for dinner. My eldest uncle is studying calligraphy, which involves paintings, and words. Think he has graduated from the paintings and is pursuing the word writing aspect now. He was showing the different styles which may be used to write a single chinese character.

Luckily for me, he had some "spare" paintings which he offered me to take home, and yes, my place is even more "Cina" now. Substituted some paintings for the chinese ones! Was having a tough time choosing which I liked, and he somehow gave me a painting which he submitted for an exhibition sometime back with some Chinese wordings. My dad translated the chinese wordings which were very meaningful (I forgot already, something about an iron tree bearing flowers, and a golden rooster, etc...), as opposed to the mass produced ones which we can readily get in China. I also have another one dedicated to me (with my chinese name written on the painting) which is now nicely framed up and displayed.

Somemore ah, I commissioned another one (prompted by my eldest aunty!), and I asked for one with our surname on it. Me being chinese illiterate, had a tough time remembering how to write my own name in Chinese! It's been so long already since I wrote my name in Chinese that I had to rake my brains just thinking about the various strokes. Luckily enough, my uncle is Chinese literate! And the outcome should be better than whatever I can ever make out...

Incidentally, what's in a name? My dad previously told me to say "Muk Yi te Yang" when asked about my surname, and I finally understand after reading here.

The Yang character is a derivative from the word for "Sunlight." However, a search in any dictionary reveals it to be a type of tree such as a poplar or a willow tree. The character is composed of two parts, the left part means wood referring to a type of tree in ancient myth used to measure the height of the sun thereby establishing the calendar.

The second part on the right hand side of the character is a graphic description of "the sun rising over Tanggu" (the place in ancient myth where the sun rose). In Tanggu there was a type of large lizard in the water, now known as a dragon, also called a thunder-beast. That is why Tanggu was represented by the character yi [second character in the ‘large lizard’ cited above], pronounced yang, and its master was Fu Xi (the founding ancestor of mankind in ancient myth, aka Xi He), and its heavenly almanac was called the Book of Changes (Yijing) (the yi character is the same as the right-hand component of the lizard character and the Yang family character).

What does your name mean?

2nd Year Anniversary!

Yay! My blog is officially two years old!!!
Wow, time certainly flies!!!

Happy Birthday to ..... zingptzpzz,
Happy Birthday to ..... zingptzpzz,
Happy Birthday to ..... zingptzpzz,
Happy Birthday to ..... zingptzpzz!!

Cameron Highlands - Part 4

I guess a trip to the Highlands wouldn't be complete without a trip to the tea plantation, with views of the rolling hillside, filled with tea plants and leaves ready to be plucked for that perfect cup-a-tea!

Now seriously, what better way to enjoy the cooling weather than to have a sip (or two!) of unsweetened tea and some scones, with that extra dollop of butter and strawberry jam for a little afternoon breather in the company of similar minded friends? With a picture perfect view to boot! :)

Ooohh! The pleasure of it all, but to be honest, I had better scones in Frasiers Hill (another Highland resort), but that's another story altogether....

Cameron Highlands - Part 3

Incidentally, what is there to do and see in Cameron Highlands? Well, there are the flowers, and flowers, and err.. flowers… of varying degrees of shapes, sizes, and colours. And no, I still don't know my flowers, except for the obvious few (like roses, and err.. daisies... and err..tulips!, sunflower,... orchids!... and one or two more types!). Hei! I can name petunias, dandelions, carnations, etc... and even bluebells, but ask me to identify them from a picture, well, sorry mate... no can do. Then again, would go by powers of deduction, and guess that bluebells are flowers which are blue in colour and are shaped like bells! :P Prices are cheap too! (but then again, it's not valentine's day yet - but would guess it would still be a tad cheaper).

Of course, due to the cooler climate, the place is popular for cheap vegetables and mushrooms (I bought like so many packets, I still have some left in the fridge after almost one week).

Then there is of course, jagung (or corn) in plentiful, and they taste really sweet and crunchy. Yum! :) Now, I am not a major fan of corn, but sometimes, passing through the pasar malam (night market), and smelling the jagung and various other goodies being cooked is like adding a sweet taste to the senses. My friends bought the steamed corn with melted butter, and tried to tempt me with it. I took a mouthful only, and stayed clear, as I was still too full from the heavy steamboat dinner we had earlier.

Given the cooler climate, what would be better than strawberries? Again, I am not a strawberry fan, but bought some home for the folks at home to enjoy as well. Much cheaper to buy them here in the highlands, as opposed to getting them in the city. Again, there is the iced-strawberry, strawberry jam, and other variations of strawberry stuff to tempt the palate. Strawberry sellers were trying to clear their stock, and undercut one another in terms of promotional price at the day market area around Kea Farm.

Not only are strawberries, vegetables and mushrooms in plentiful, there are of course, the various other fruits. However, these pictures were taken from Bidor on the way back from Cameron Highlands. Can you name all three types of fruits here? I was stumped with one of them. :P

And no, that's not all there is to see in the Highlands. More to come... :)

Cameron Highlands – Part 2

Upon reaching the weekend getaway bungalow which we rented (seriously, it’s a lot cheaper than renting hotel rooms up in Cameron Highlands), especially when we needed like five rooms, and a living room where we could all hang out, it looked a bit run down, but sufficiently comfortable for one night. After all, we didn’t have to fork out an arm and a leg for the place. Some of the pictures shown here are compliments also from my other group members, so I can’t take credit for all. :)

Notice the wine glasses all ready for the evening events! We planned for a horror movie to be aired, but the TV at the premise was of the antiquated kind, without any connection points to the DVD player, which one of the members (a.k.a. cicakwoman) kindly lugged up.

So, we ended up drinking (some of us anyway – nope I didn’t oh!), and getting very red and merry, chit chatting and snacking bits of food which were also brought along. Way past midnight, the second activity came up, again, the game was brought up compliments from cicakwoman who unfortunately ended the night bankrupt! I was losing initially, and final broke even with the last hand (literally double or nothing)!

And no, for those of you wondering, we didn’t encounter any spooks with dangling arms and legs either! (No, No! No floating heads as well!) Incidentally, there was a well behaved guard dog (a dalmatian cross breed) which barked a bit earlier on during the night, but didn’t do the eerie howling thing which would have no doubt freaked us all out if it had happened. Pheeew!!

Cameron Highlands - Part 1

After much planning, and some last minute shifting of dates, 11 of us managed to make it up to Cameron Highlands for a weekend getaway. We had like an itinerary planned up (even a pilate session!), with 3 cars making it to Brinchang and Tanah Rata.

We left Kuala Lumpur around 7:00am on a Saturday morning (I had to wake up at 5:30am!!! [@#$*&^*#] to make it in time for the meetup point at 6:45am)! Felt like a zombie with only about 3.5 hours sleep the night before (last minute packing muh!).

But even before getting there, we detoured to "nearby" Ipoh for Dim Sum at the same outlet some of us came last January for a "foodie" trip (which I didn't manage to blog about). For those who have also been on such a foodie trip to Ipoh, guess where this was!?! As usual, the place was packed, and had to wait abit for a table to sit the 11 of us.

We had over 40 "luhngs" (or baskets/plates) between us (that's equivalent to almost 4+ dishes per person) with copious amount of chinese tea. I especially liked the egg tarts, but didn't manage to snap a picture before the dish disappeared into the hungry mouths. Salivate and enjoy! :P

Onward ho! to the highlands... (to be continued...)