You know, it's December already...

Every December I will go : "Where did the rest of the year went?"
A year has 365 days.
335 days passed by so quickly. Time's a  fleeting. Abd yes, I'm not getting any younger.

The thing that concerns me most is whether I've done something useful with my life? Whether I've created something for myself and other people? Have I been kind and nice to others?

I've set myself some goals at the start of 2011:

1. To live frugally & invest more.
2. To focus more on research.
3. Reduce spending money on gadgets and accessories. Stop!
- Fail. Bought iPad, dslr accessories, iPad accessories, what else is new? However, I sold my dslr. maybe that counters the effect somewhat?
4. To join Toast Masters and pick up where I left off.
- I did not join TM. Quite dissapointed with myself on this one. We'll see next year.   
5. To be able to run 1km or swim 5 laps non-stop.
- can't run. knee is effed up. pity. doing low impact exercises like swimming and cycling.
6. To always be on top of things (avoid missing deadlines) and make timely decisions.
7. Finish reading the Quran before Eid.   
8. Overcome the fear of needles and donate blood.
- Fail. I have a phobia with needles. Just thinking about the sharp cold metal going under my skin is enough to send shivers down my spine and make me feel like hiding under the bed.
9. Be less cynical. 
- I can't. I am cynical. I am sarcastic. Well, I hope I was not too mean to others when I talk.

December reminds me of something that happened, but did not. Whatevs, that's a long time ago and I've moved on. Just a note: People change when they want to. Now I'm pissed.

Kasih (tak) Berubah

I wanted to eat bagels. Made plans with my friend to try this one bagel shop called The Bagel Shop at Plaza Damas (or Sri Hartamas Plaza). The place was not bad. Not too big and not too loud. A little bit obscure from the public eye, but not too hidden. They serve decent bagels and generous with their sour cream.

I strongly recommend that place. The price is reasonable and there's no 6% tax.

After that late lunch, we went window shopping and book browsing.

The things that made my day was the bagel, book browsing and spotting the Tun's daughter. But the one thing that made my day MOST was seeing cinta hatiku, Ferhad....  <3

Oh dear... setelah sekian lama, baru kini dapat ku bersua dengan mu... <3

I think he looked better with dark hair (Ross made this as a joke to me)

I was so starstruck, I couldn't think much except for "ohhh ferhad di depan ku!"... "ohhh minat gilaaa dengan Ferhad..."  and texted my roomate about my new found joy.

Please forgive my for sounding so juvenile. lol. But I honestly felt like I was 18 again when fell head over heels listening to Kasih Berubah over and over (and over) again everyday on my walkman.

This is the song that I will never get tired of listening.

Crossing paths

made a new friend during the long flight... It made the journey more interesting and less lonely. Nice to meet this person, and a really nice person indeed!

15_Your favourite song

Have you heard Queen's Love of My Life? It's the most played song on my music players.


Love of My Life live at Wembley 1986

I have a strong and peculiar penchant for sad, melodious and melancholic love songs. And this particular one awfully good and depressingly beautiful.

There's a sad story behind this song (obviously).
It's about a person who was so broken hearted because was left by his/her lover. But that person still yearns for the lover to return back because he still loves her so much and willing to put everything aside once she comes back (everything's all by the way..) even if it means he has to wait many years (when I'll grow older, I will be there by your side..).

Sometimes I think that this song is written by Freddie from the perspective of his former girlfriend at the time when he, you know, 'came out from the closet'. How hurt she must've been to know about the news (who doesn't, right?), but nevertheless she still loves him and will be there by his side all the time longing for him to 'return' back.
Well, it's just my interpretation anyway.

Freddie sang it very earnestly and you can feel the anguish, despair and the heart hurting in this song.

I sometimes feel it could be a sensitive issue to discuss about Freddie Mercury and his sexuality here. But we are talking about talent and good music that needs to be shared with readers. However, negative behaviours need not be followed and it has nothing to do with talent.
And Brian May's super awesome guitar skills makes the song perfect.
Such talents.

14_Your favorite musician

Banyak sangat penyanyi zaman ni. Tambahan lagi ada banyak 'kilang' membuat penyanyi seperti rancangan2 realiti (AI, AF, XF, etc), saluran internet seperti Youtube dan Myspace (yang tak pandai nyanyi pun boleh ada video klip). Macam2 genre. Macam2 orang. Macam2 ragam.

Berbanding dengan zaman P Ramlee, ahli muzik ketika itu kurang mendapat 'good rep' dikalangan golongan elit (kenyataan hanya berdasarkan cerita Ibu Mertuaku sahaja, ingat tak "Lawyer? Doktor? Apa? Ahli muzik?! Pantang keluarga aku...). Tapi zaman sekarang mungkin 50-50. Layankan je la. Kita sebagai pendengar perlulah bijak memilih yang mana baik dan yang mana buruk.

Satu lagi, saya perasan la artis2 sekarang (terutama sekali wanita) macam perlu pakai seksi-meksi dan buat gaya2 ghairah  untuk jadi artis. Kononnya satu pakej. Baru boleh popular (untuk sekejap saje). Bila saya tengok balik video2 klip yg datang dari tahun 90-an (macam 20 tahun dulu) ini tak selalunya benar. Contohnya Alanis Morrisette. Dia selamba je buat concert pakai baju kemeja. Atau Whitney Houston dengan baju dan rambut yang kembang. Atau Tracy Chapman (T-shirt sempoi). Popular je. Mungkin mereka yang kurang terserlah bakat muzik ni terpaksa menyeksikan untuk "menyerlahkan" diri demi sesuap nasi. Kesian. Kat depa. Kesian kat kita jugak yang terseksa telinga dan mata.

But I digress. Berbalik kepada soalan, ahli muzik yang saya minati?

Banyak sangat. Especially those yang singer/songwriter type. Tapi kalau nak narrow down to a few, mungkin Freddy Mercury, Micheal Jackson, Alanis Morrisette, P Ramlee, Damien Rice, Lata Mageshkar, Pink, Sudirman, Udit Narayan, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, adik beradik Carpenters... kan dah kata banyak.

Pilih satu. Ok, Freddy Mercury.
Apokobondo? Pasai pa?
Pasai dia eccentric (tak caya? cuba tengok video klip Bohemian Rhapsody kat Youtube, Lady Gaga doesn't stand a chance). penuh perasaan bila menyanyi. (I have a thing for theatrics).

Hang tau dak dia 'tut'?
Saya tau. Bahagian ni mungkin anda tak setuju, bagi saya, itu tak penting kerana lagu2 dia (the greatest hits, at least) tak menyuruh orang ber'tut'. Memang dia tak patut jadi 'tut' kalau tak dia takkan mati sebab AIDS at the first place dan kita mesti ada banyak lagi lagu dari Queens. Hanya itu sahaja yang saya kesal.

Anyways, what is your thoughts about this? Who is your favorite musician?

10_Songs I Listen to when I am...

* Happy * Sad * Bored * Hyped * Mad

I can't choose a specific song for these mood swings. My Ipod lists songs that will need 5 days to finish listening to all of it. Tricky one to answer, but I will try to answer based on what I'm currently listening to right now...

• Happy song: Queen's Don't Stop Me Now.
• Sad song: Queen's Love of My Life
• Bored song: Sexaayy Enrique Iglesias' - Heartbeat This usually gets me out of the dumps.
• Hyped song: This is easy-peasy...I'll put on Sophie Ellis Bextor's Murder on the Dancefloor. Or Setevie Wonder's Superstition.
• Mad song: Nothing gets the point across like an Eminem song. - Not Afraid. So much angst in this guy, but I think he's a bit mellowed down now .

Ps: 10 straight days of blogging! An accomplishment by itself.

I'm taking a break for a couple of days. See you on Wednesday?

The Rainbow Connection

Have you ever have those days where you feel like playing a song over and over (and over) again? Yes, this is my one-of-those-days.

Right now I'm playing The Rainbow Connection by The Carpenters. It's a really beautiful song and Karen Carpenter's voice made it more pleasing to hear. This song was originally sang by Kermit the Frog in his Muppets movie and that video was quite cute too.

I don't have any specific music choices, I would say my knowledge and tastes of music only covers the popular singers spanning across the decades, but I do have a penchant for ones that touches the vulnerable heart and dance beat-mix music and rock songs, boy bands... ok la semua.

Last week was a very hectic week for me. Waking up early to beat the traffic and sleeping late at night to finish my work for the presentation. Felt like a zombie for not having enough sleep and does make me a bit cranky. Ni baru seminggu, I can't imagine how new mothers cope with not having enough sleep for many, many months and despite everything still rocking in the office. I Respect all mothers out there.

So this week will still be the same, but with less pressure and more pleasure. I'll be at a tennis match (WTA Championship) to take loads of pictures. Oh yeah, I got a free SEASON ticket from the organiser! Lol, being a tennis fan who is addicted to Facebook finally pays off =D

I haven't picked up my camera for months now, I hope I still remember where the trigger is. I'm hoping to capture some shots just like the ones they show in GrandSlam sites and dozens of brilliant ones. I hope my 200mm lens could help me do that. Care to join me anyone?
Then mid-week I'll be travelling long distance for a wedding and some good food and home comfort.

Life is challenging and exciting. You can complain, but you must take action. Wishing you all readers a good week ahead too :)

Disconnect to Connect

Do you like oxymorons?     I DO!
It's the innuendo of the English language. So cleverly arranged in a sentence that when the first time you hear it, it makes sense and when you think about it, you'll go "Hey, wait a minute!". It never fails to amuse me.

There is a website dedicated to cleverly crafted oxymora (plural of oxymoron; oxymorons is also accepted ~ according to Wikipedia at least) that you just got to go see.. it's terribly good (pun intended).

[image from Gizmodo]

As amusing it could be in literature, having it in real life is called paradox. Have you ever thought about the paradoxial social networking is?To connect, you need to disconnect.

As we thread our days living in the era of social networking, we are slowly detaching ourself from 'actual' socialising activities? We stopped talking to our neighbours who lives just next door, but we chat non-stop with people hundreds of miles away through social network. We kept quiet during meetings, but we criticised incessantly about how dull or indecisive the meeting was on virtual walls. We are sooo much connected that we allow work stuff to creep into our mobile email boxes even after work and during holidays just to be 'on top of the game'.

We wanted to be connected with the other side of the world so much that we've forgotten that there's actually one in front of us. We rather look at back-lighted devices for updates rather than look into the eyes of loved ones and have meaningful conversations. Sadly, this is the irony of 'being connected with the outside world', we have to be disconnected from everything that's happening around us.

Hear this song. It has this kind of continuous looping music that just can't escape from your brain.

Rogue Waves - Eyes

A letter from my 15 year old self

This is a very nice song I found on FB. It's called Tegami (Letter) sang by Angela Aki. She does look a bit like Liz Lemon doesn't she? Tina Fey's dopple ganger perhaps?

 

It's about a woman reading a letter addressed to her, the interesting part is that it was written by her younger self when she was a 15 years old girl. Like serious 'back to the future' kind of stuff. The younger self was worried, insecure and felt so alone, so she wrote a letter to her future self asking "How do I go on and how will I survive?".

Here is the English Translation:

Dear you,
Who's reading this letter
Where are you and what are you doing now?

For me who's 15 years old
There are seeds of worries I can't tell anyone

If it's a letter addressed to my future self,
Surely I can confide truly to myself

Now, it seems that I'm about to be defeated and cry
For someone who's seemingly about to disappear
 
Whose words should I believe in?
This one-and-only heart has been broken so many times
In the midst of this pain, I live the present

Dear you,
Thank you
I have something to tell the 15-year-old you

If you continue asking what and where you should be going
You'll be able to see the answer

The rough seas of youth may be tough
 
But row your boat of dreams on
Towards the shores of tomorrow

Now, please don't be defeated and please don't shed a tear
During these times when you're seemingly about to disappear
Just believe in your own voice
 
For me as an adult, there are sleepless nights when I'm hurt
But I'm living the bittersweet present

There's meaning to everything in life
So build your dreams without fear
Keep on believing

Seems like I'm about to be defeated and cry
For someone who's seemingly about to disappear
Whose words should I believe in?

Please don't be defeated and please don't shed a tear
During these times when you're seemingly about to disappear
Just believe in your own voice

No matter what era we're in
There's no running away from sorrow
So show your smile, and go on living the present
Go on living the present

Dear you,
Who's reading this letter
I wish you happiness

This song is very beautiful and at the same time emotionally touching and sad. I could relate to the characters in the song because somehow it reminded me of my younger self.

I can still read the 'letters' from my younger self telling about all my worries, anger, heart aches, heart breaks and sadness (gosh, I was an 'emo' kid) that I've jotted down in my journals. Back then my worries seemed like they're bigger than the world's problems.

If I was able to talk to my 15 year old self, I would tell her not to worry and continue to do what you do the best you can, because you'll turn out well. Remember that problems may come, but if you persevere, set your mind straight and be strong, you'll be able to overcome all trials and tribulations. You'll be able to figure things out and put your unsettling heart to rest.

• be more confident and believe in yourself.
• don't think and worry too much about what others think about you.
• open your mind and your heart to the world.
• smile more and love more.

Even now, I myself may sometimes falter and become overwhelmed by adversity, but I will always try my best and not to give up. This is part of the growing process and I will never stop learning. I love learning new thing because it is fun and exciting.

Thanks to you, now I am stronger person and able to believe in myself. I wish you happiness to.

Fembots

Fembots (of Austin Powers fame) are making their way into Hollywood and they're lead by the two most bizarrely pop queens - Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. Yes, bizarre is the word. I don't know what else to think of these two women other than their songs are hip, but the video clips are just weird for my palate. (Oh yes, what's up with Astro removing [V] from the channel list?!)

Pop songs, in a way, are just catchy tunes with empty meaningless lyric. But they stick to your brain like Elephant Glue. Sometimes I wonder if the radio DJ is to blame for playing nonsensical pop songs in the radio over and over again?

Sometimes, certain songs reminds you of those days... For instance, I remember Beyonce's Crazy in Love to be my summer song in 2003. It was a crazy year. I stayed for the summer 'nomadically' (it's oxymoronic to have the words 'stay' and 'nomad' in the same sentence is it?), went backpacking to Spain and Belgium. Had some adventures and misadventures. Whenever I hear that song, I will automatically be transported back to 2003 with a smile on my face. Although I can't say I love that song for it's lyric.

What is your momentous song? Care to share?

So how does this post relates to those fembots again?

Claim to Fame

I requested a song for RedFM's 'Lost in the 80's' segment and guess what? I actually got a wake up call this morning from JD and Dilly themselves! Honestly, I didn't think that I would be chosen because I seldom win anything in any competition or lucky draws in my entire life. Maybe 3 times only kot.

Thought to myself, wow, this is cool! And I was really, really excited!!!111!!! and did a little victory dance. Okay, maybe some of you would think this is kinda lame and I'm being a like someone from Ulu Kampung, so what? I won tickets to see magic performance in Genting and you don't. Muahaha! WIN!

I have chosen Queen's "I Want to Break Free", simply because it's a great song and people don't make songs like these anymore. And their video clips are sooo weird and sometimes bizarre! Take a look, but viewer's discretion is advised! It also brought back memories when I was in high school, I had this girl sitting behind me who was a Queen's fan (I first heard of Queen during this time lah) and we would curi-curi listening to the walkman in class. Haha.. I still love Queen till now.

Enjoy the song: (oh and don't forget to play your air guitar during the solo!).


So, did anyone heard me on the radio this morning? I surely did! So that was my 1 minute claim to fame =D

CPL

I told you I'll bump this post again on my own sweet time. So here it is, read along and prepare to be bored. (You're welcome, it's my pleasure :D)

From this old post: 50mm & CPL

A polariser is a nifty little thing to put in front of your lens. It reduce the amount of glare and reflection off objects that goes into the camera lens. SLR nerds calls 'em CPL, short for Circular Polariser Filter (filter? aik.. so 'L' tu apa benda?). Alright, I think that's enough technical mumbo-jumbo for today.

I went to Penaga (nun dekat Kepala Batas nun) to proof this point to my fellow readers (Ready... now YAWN!).

55mm, F/10, 1/80 sec.

Here's a picture of some lovely fishermen's boats tied to poles under the mid-day afternoon sun. See? The bright skies reflection is everywhere and it made the whole picture looks too bright for my taste. If you've noticed, the sky is almost the same colour with my blog's background. Too much light. Photoshop can't help much to save the lost details in over exposed areas.

So I put on the 'sunglasses' (itu CPL-lah) for my lens. There you go.

55mm, F/10, 1/80 sec.

Oh, what's this? Did the clouds came to my aid and covered the sun for me? No, it's just the filter doing what it does best, filtering light rays... duh! Both pictures, first and second, are taken with the same camera settings and the only different thing is that there's a polariser attached when taking the second picture below. See how much difference it made?

Although it's looks a little bit under exposed, but the details are there and can be saved with a little tweaking in photoshop like this one...

CPL edited picture.

Okay guys, don't get over excited about this one... I cheated.. I just pressed the 'Auto Correct' button. Yes, I admit I'm being lazy here. Didn't do much justice to it. But don't you agree that the CPL edited picture looks better than the one below? I did the same thing with the non-CPL version and just pressed 'Auto Correct' again...

Non-CPL edited. Auto correct.

Ouch! Does this one looked like it is being burned alive? Harsh, harsh lights... almost blinding.

By now, you should understand the concept of what a polarising filter does and it's benefit. There's actually some more story that I haven't shared yet. And that is, you could control the amount of reflected light entering your lens using the filter. Wow, isnt's this really exciting??!!!

Wait, this is not the end yet... I felt bad for cheating earlier... here's a proper edited version of CPL picture (the second one, if you've lost track). You might want to beg to differ and disagree by saying 'Where got difference?!". Then, I'd say "Sure got one...! Look closely".

Isn't this better? I hope you agree.

There's a few layers of white shades (white colour have shades?) in the sky, the water looks okay-ish, I guess and the boats are fairly exposed.

So, what's the take away from all this story? Well, by now you should know that it is quite obviou - Never to come again and visit the blog of a amateur photographer and newbie camera enthusiast because they will bore you to death with pointless posts about how great their new gadgets are.

Related links:
1. Wikipedia
2. Camera Filters

"Are we done yet?". No, your torture session is not yet over. After showing you guys pictures of the same boring old boats over and over again for 5 times. And as if that was not enough, I'm asking you now to watch the clip below of people from the 80's where youngsters wear mismatching bright coloured outfits, short shorts, tight tights and big feathery hair-do. Until we have the new up to date version of FAME to come out, this will suffice for now.

And now, we are done.

I'm just trying to find closure, and I hope this is it...

I am still feeling melancholic (I'm always this way whenever someone passes on) whenever I think about MJ. Being an 'avid' telly watcher and internet addict, the media isn't helping much either. They really know how to spin a clip and make it heart wrenching. How ironic, in the recent years, they were they ones calling names humiliating this person.

The first day I heard the news, I felt quite shocked to hear of his passing. Almost all the radio stations I tuned to played his songs after every other songs and I'm glad they did that because it somehow opened back those old keepsakes boxes kept inside at the back of my mind and that part loved his music in the past. So for the most of the time at office, I was doing my work while listening to his songs. During meetings, my feet can't stop tapping to his songs that's stuck in my head. Then after work, I became fixated with Thriller and Billie Jean video clips shown in what seems to be endless repeats on tv. Although a little bit moved, but weirdly there's that good feeling inside because I reconnected with my childhood.

Then last week, they aired his memorial, I went further back in time to The Jacksons 5 days. It is interesting to hear and read how an 11 year old kid became the leading vocalist of a band consisting of his older brothers. He was THAT talented even before reaching adolescent. If you read Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers and agree with what he has written about (I think it does makes sense), you won't be surprised with his stellar musical talent starting in the 80's until the millenium.

That memorial made me realise that:

1. Well, these americans really know how to talk. I thought Obama is a good speaker, but so is everybody else in that country.
2. Love transcends all barriers and ignores all differences that exists in between. You can be white and love Micheal. You can be a malay, a japanese, an indian or an african and love him all the same.
   
3. Strength comes from a tight family bond.
4. Dreams that comes from the heart is the one that must be pursued and to done well, if not excellent.
5. Ignore all those nasty things people say. Listening to it is like a cancer, slowly killing you from inside.
6. Good deeds counts.
7. Thank you for your music and kindness MJ.
   

There's so many good things a person can do, how amazing that one person is able touch and inspire the hearts of many all at the same time and it is almost mind blowing on how just that one person could be so powerful but did not misuse that to feed his own greed, but instead decided to help others. He supported the most charity organizations compared to others. He wrote songs about changing the world and helping the children in poor and war torn countries and those songs transcends physical, political and racial barriers. Quietly, you ask this question back to yourself, "Have I done my part to make the world a better place?". I admit, sometimes or most of the time, I am selfish and not proud of it. Sigh...

It was until yesterday when all the hype has toned down that reality started to sank in...

I love you MJ.

Related entry: You will be missed MJ

You will be missed MJ

So, yes, Micheal Jackson is dead. It's always sad to hear about death. Sometimes, it's unbelievable, until you flicked every news channel on the telly; watch & listen intently and also read the small little moving banner at the bottom of the screen carefully just to convince yourself that it's real.

As an entertainer, he surparsses all the masses with his creative ways of songwriting and singing abilities. King of Pop no doubt. And even in his death, somehow managed to overshadow the sad news of another loss, Farrah Fawcett just 5 hours earlier and most of the media is covering MJ's death. Oh, how fate sometimes play cruel tricks on us.

I'm going to write a bit about MJ here since his presence is felt during my time growing up as a child as compared to Farrah Fawcett, whose high time was before I was born.

Sedikit sebanyak terkesan kepada kehidupan ku. It's hard to imagine anyone who's growing up in the 80's to have not heard or tried to imitate his cool moves right from the Thriller zombie moves, moonwalk, the white sequined glove or that hat sliding on the hand trick and screaming 'Ooww!' at high pitch. (ok, minus those who don't have tv or radio at that time memang tak kenal MJ lah). Memang the Moonwalk was the most crazy iN thing at that time. There were long afternoons after coming back from school of playing his cassettes (Thriller and Bad) on the portable radio over and over again without feeling bored singing and trying to do the cool dance moves until that Japanese drama starts (Oshin ke apa?). I think the cassettes dah hampir haus. Sorry bah.. but those were Good times!

Eventhough they show the famous Thriller video clip on Tv sometimes, I never got through watching the whole clip from start to end (not until recently with the advent of Youtube) because it was too scary at that time. Normal music video clips would show pleasant faces of singers or some disco lights kind of stuff, but his clips have werewolves and zombies dancing on screen. How weird was that?! Talk about the eccentricity of the man himself... when you are a big star for 45 out of 50 years of your life, being under constant popularity pressure and surrounded by screaming fans wherever you go, who could blame you for not being normal?? Betul tak?

Up to this point, I don't know whether he really was a child molester or just a sad lonely guy who is seeking honest and innocent friendship with others, but could only find that in children because they're pure of heart and have no other hidden agendas? And I also don't know whether he died as a Muslim like some media is claiming. But what I know is that only God and MJ knows what's really going on, in his mind and his heart and it doesn't matter if other people make their own judgement on him because really, at the end of the day, it's between him and HIM. and kita ni, kalau silap ckp, jadi benda lain pulak yang tak tertanggung.

Yes, like other great entertainers, he has created his own legend (same like elvis, freddie Mercury, john lennon, sudirman and p ramlee) we do feel that he has left us too soon. but not without good, and to some, even life changing songs. R.I.P. (I hope).

The Rose

I dedicate this song to Fizah and Najib, whose wedding will be held this weekend :) :) :) Semoga bahagia berkekalan sampai bila-bila.

Some say love it is a river
that drowns the tender reed
Some say love it is a razor
that leaves your soul to bleed

Some say love it is a hunger
an endless aching need
I say love it is a flower
and you it's only seed

It's the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance
It's the dream afraid of waking
that never takes the chance
It's the one who won't be taken
who cannot seem to give
and the soul afraid of dying
that never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been too long
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong

Just remember in the winter
far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed
that with the sun's love
in the spring
becomes the rose

This song and video clip just melts your heart away. Don't you think so?

(I stumbled upon this song at Yat's blog and thought of looking at it's lyric and video clip.. and found beautiful Westlife people!)

Selamat Weekend

I am sooooooo out of ideas. Despite many attempts to blog an entry...still kering, kering and kering. Tapi nasiblah kan.. so I'm gonna rant about anything that pass through my mind and everything might not be in (chrono)logical order. Can you bear with me?

I rummaged through My Pictures folder and found two images of the same subject but taken with different cameras in two different season.

[Statue of a lady located between the Hilton Hotel and City Hall, Cardiff in Spring using P&S Camera]

[Statue of a lady located between the Hilton Hotel and City Hall, Cardiff in Winter using a camera phone]

Hmmm... during a conference call yesterday I realised that I've entirely lost my 'kononnya' British accent and now adopted a Msian English accent, which I'm beginning to despise myself. Ok, internal conflict here, tak suka tapi buat jugak. In summary, in order to fit in you have to adapt to your surroundings and drop some of your old 'kebiasaan'.

Fizah brought up the topic about this Indonesian movie entitled Heart. Nope, belum sempat tengok lagi cerita ni. But I kinda know the storyline already. Cinta remaja yang bersegi tiga. Dan semestinya ada satu watak yang akan mengorbankan kasihnya dan sedia mengundurkan diri.

So far, I've only heard 2 soundtracks of this movie played on the local radio. "My Heart" and "Penchenta Wanita". Ko dah dengar ke dua2 lagu ni? Aku rasa lagu ni boleh la layan (dah embedded dah pun)... tapi suara Irw@nsyah tu macam ada sengau2 sket, tapi yang peliknya it suits the songs...

Well, I've included the video clip of the second song for your entertainment.The first thing that came to mind when I watched this clip is -Reflection. M0t0r0la K.R.Z.R (crazer?kayrizer?kerezar? the world is left by itself to guess the right pronounciation).


I've to attend a wedding tomorrow. She's one of my childhood friend. To think about it, it's kinda funny to relate this woman with the memory that I have about her when we were small. Macam tak percaya cam tu. But anyways, what I actually wanted to bring out is that I've found out an alternative to wedding gifts. Bagi duit. Tak payah fikir susah2 nak beli set cawan (which the couple might receive other 3/4 sets), cadar, toaster, etc... what do you think?

End of popcorn

I had a sudden urge to have MekDonals' popcorn (name changed to control on the free promotion of the orginal product name). So went to the nearest MekDi's kiosk to buy one, but apparently that particular kiosk only sells sundaes and ice creams... Then I continued my search to another kiosk at a shopping mall, but to my dismay that kiosk also sold only sundaes and ice creams. When questioned, the kiosk operator said MekDi don't do popcorns anymore... oh, woe!

Huhu, I'll try to supress my desire for MekDi's popcorn at the mean time, until I go to the nearest pasar malam to get one.



Here's Larut - Dewa (19). The vidoe clip shows an interesting black and white theme..This goes out to everyone and Fizah, I know you'll love this song.

-Larut-

Mungkin aku pernah juga..
Merasakan cinta..
Tapi tak pernah..seindah ini..
Mungkin aku juga pernah
Merasakan rindu..
Tapi tak pernah
Sedalam ini

Mungkin kamu takkan pernah..percaya..
Bahwa sesungguhnya..aku telah terjatuh.

Chorus:
Kuakui aku telah larut
Larut ke dalam
Kamu yang kucintai

Crazy Frog (dikir remix)

Ada satu lagu dikir barat about The Crazy Frog (deng dedeng deng...) and it goes like this...

Katok Gilo (Krazee Frog)

Dengar sebetar gak adik kakok

Berbunyi naka tapi sedih jugok

Tubuh bergelap ore panggil katok

Kalu di Amerika it crazy frog

Demo pung tahu tempat asal ambo

Anok berudu dok di dale paya

Ayoh dan ibu dok amik caro

Masa kecik dulu ambo ni ado ekor
(ding, ding..)

Rasa nak tengok rupo ayah ibu

Supo katok ngamok ko mak katok puru

Rasa takdok gamok

Sedih dan pilu

Mari kelik la ma

Ubat hati ku rindu

Sungguh sedih kisah hidup ambo

Ado worih pun tokleh wak apo

Ramai kena tindih kut jale rayo

Air mata menilih

Apo yang nak di kato
(ding, ding..)

Gimana-mana pun dok sedak duduk

Dok dale paya ado ular senduk

Dok atas darat pun berasa takut

Budak mari igap amik wak umpan tauk

Ding-ding berbunyi lagu

Memang begini nasib diriku

Tubuh kurus kering sedih dan pilu

Perut masok angin terik mace buah labu

("Penak weh ambo.." sahut si katok dr background)

Once - Dealova

aku ingin menjadi mimpi indah dalam tidurmu...
aku ingin menjadi sesuatu yang mungkin bisa kau rindu....
karena langkah merapuh tanpa dirimu...
karena hati tlah letih....
aku ingin menjadi sesuatu yang selalu bisa kau sentuh...
aku ingin kau tau bahwaku selalu memujamu....
tanpamu sepinya waktu merantai hati...
oh bayangmu seakan akan....

kau seperti nyanyian dalam hatiku yang memanggil rinduku padamu..
kau seperti udara yang kuhela kau selalu ada....

hanya dirimu yang bisa membuatku tenang...
tanpa dirimu aku merasa hilang...
dan sepi...

Vid clip
Listen

Me like.

Once-Dealova is a song from the OST of a (I think) telenovela in Indonesia. I found out that you can download /watch each of episodes in Youtube. Haven't seen it yet and maybe I wouldn't want to see it anyway. I try my best to avoid following telenovelas, drama series of all sorts because I just can't make the commitment to follow anything that leaves me hanging in the air with just one line of ".. to be continued..." and wait until next week. I'm just don't have the patience. (Or yang sebetulnya, tak jadi kerja lain sebab dok tunggu the next episode..)

Sang by Dewa (so I heard)...