Sax Man* - The Lonely Island feat Jack Black

Last Tuesday, some mates and i went to catch David Sanborn here in KL.

It was pretty sad - the response to it. We're talking about a great sax man here, one of the big names when it comes to jazz saxaphone. But there were so few people who came - so bad that they closed up more than half the hall!!!!!

It turned out good for us tho. Look at the diagram below:-

We bought the RM158 tickets - and when we were there, they moves us up to the RM458 seats!!!!!

The problem was the lack of publicity - if i wasn't just hanging out at Amcorp Mall waiting to go for my Bible Study, i wouldn't have known about it. Really, really bad publicity. A shame, really.

The concert was pretty good. It helped also that theopening act was pretty bad in our opinion!!! Lol!

I enjoyed it! Even tho i thought that David did not really "show-off" much. He left it mainly to his back-up musicians, his keyboardists and for a couple of songs, the lead guitarist. The best song was the one which included a really long and brilliant drum solo (no surprises here!)! Partly also cuz it was the only song i was really framiliar with too!

It really brought me back to those good ol' days around 20 years ago, when we were so into jazz. I still remember those days when we were young and loved hanging out at nites at mamaks and other places for supper. When travelling there, we would be listening to jazz - Mezzo Forte, David Benoit, Spyro Gyra, Lee Ritenour and many others. And of course, David Sanborn!

We tried to relive those days after the concert by going to a Wanton Mee stall along the Sungai Besi road!!!! But the food there was really bad! Kinda a good way to remind us that the past should just remain in our memeories - in it's wonderful way!!!

Anyways, i foudn this really old clip of one of my fav David Sanborn's track - which he did not perform that nite:-

*Taken from their dubut studio album, Incredibad.

So excited - Janet Jackson

The other day, we went for a movie - and i enjoyed watching the trailers as much as the movie itself!!!! Eventho it wasn't the first time i've seen those trailers, it was the first time i was watching it on the big screen!

I'm so excited about the movies - and i'm really hoping that they won't let me down.

If you want to know some of the movies i'm looking forward to this year, you can watch the trailers here. Here is an idea of what the movies are:-

*Her 17th no. 1 dance hit!!! Featuring Khia.

Thing of the past* - Tim Barry

Saw this on FB just now:-

It took me so much effort not to comment on it!!! =P

Mind you, the person who posted this obtained a doctorate from a prestigious London University!!!!

*Found on the split 7" EP which consist of this song and another by Frank Turner.

It's a long road* - Dan Hill

"We arrive only when we leave"

The speaker told us yesterday during our Law Speaker Series. I loved how true it is and how simple it is said.

We can never really say we have arrived. Not when we are still on this terrestrial ball. And as long as we are still here, God is still working in us. When we are ready to go home, we will then leave.

Until then, the road can be long. The comfort is that it will end eventually.

*The theme song of the movie, Rambo: First Blood.

Let's dance* - David Bowie

"Work like you don’t need the money, love like you’ve never been hurt, dance like nobody’s watching".

Liz Lemon (Tina Fey's character in 30 Rock, reading from a tampon box!!!)

"Sadness is easier because its surrender. I say make time to dance alone with one hand waving free".

Claire Colburn (Kirsten Dunst's character in Elizabethtown)

If you have not tried it before, i strongly recommend it! =)

*One of his biggest singles - brings back memories of the 80s!

If you're gone* - Matchbox 20

Saw this earlier (see the part circled in red):-

For a moment, my heart leap! They sold Carroll!!!! Yes! Some team actually paid money for him - and hopefully, it was good money.

If he's gone, we can start to look for a new striker. KD can stop putting him in hoping that he'll deliver. Things can only get better, right???

I clicked on the link - and to my dismay, it was referring to ROY Carroll and not Andy Carroll (see here).

Sigh...

*Their second single from their Mad Season album, one of my fav song of theirs.

Just the two of us* - Will Smith

The Wife said that she was glad that I could look at the matter differently from the rest and decided to do it. Truth be told, I dun think I saw it any differently. In fact, tt’s wat I told me mom – that it would be extremely jammed up at that time – both going there and coming back. The area is pretty bad and to go there after office hours at the peak time will only mean being stuck there and frustrated.

Furthermore, it was merely RM100!!! Yes, Hannah Yeoh had arranged for senior citizens like me mom to be able to shop for free up to RM100 – but only at that particular place, only between 6 – 8 pm!!! I actually told me mom that I can very well give her the RM100. In fact, I would rather give her the RM100 than to brave thru the traffic at peak hour.

Somehow – and I dun know what happened – I just relented. I agreed to do so.

So on the day in question, I got back home and did not get to rest much before embarking on our journey into “Jam-ville”.

But to our pleasant surprise, it was not very badly jammed up. Not at all! =)

I spent the next hour or so shopping for groceries with me mom. Thereafter, we went out for dinner with the Wife who joined us after she finished work. By the time dinner was over, the traffic had cleared up significantly and we got home quite stress-free. And me mom got the back seat filled with groceries!

I was really glad that something moved me to agree to take me mom there. I know for certain now it was God’s prompting. Looking back, it is clear now that it meant a lot for me mom. She is not rich – and neither are her children. Getting this RM100 is not something one gets all the time. Compared with the kind of money I get these days, it may not seem to be a lot – but it is to her. She is always so thrifty, never wasteful.

I was also thinking of how she would have felt if we all just refused to take her – which we could have very well done so. When we were young and small, she would carry us to where we want to go. When we got bigger, sure she could not afford a car but she would take us by public transport to buy our stuffs. Now that we are all grown up and have our own cars, how would she feel if we simply refuse to do so cuz it is inconvenient for us? She never complained about it being inconvenient for her.

Perhaps the best thing that came out of this was that I managed to spend some quality time with me mom! =)

It has been a long time since we have spent time together, just the two of us. Especially now that I’m married and have moved out. So while navigating the traffic and taking me mom on the short-cuts around PJ, we chatted. And I enjoyed it so much.

It was also then she told me how much she appreciated the gift that the Wife and I gave her for Christmas. It was a DVD of a popular and funny pastor in Hong Kong. She even told me the things that the pastor shared. She truly was blessed by the DVD and we praise God for that.

On top of that, she is now using the DVD to bless others too – offering to lend it to her frens and letting my niece watch it when she gets home from school. =)

I would have missed out on so much blessings if I simply refused to take me mom out in the first place. Moments like these are few and far between – and will definitely be cherished for a long long time!

*His version of this brilliant song dedicated to his son.

For the first time* - The Script

After the pathetic attempt of being more consistent in my running last year, i decided that i will make it a point to sign up for as many runs as possible this year - in a way, it's to prepare me for the major half-marathon run at the end of the year - the Penang Bridge run and perhaps the Stand Chart S'pore run!

The fact that the last run last year was pretty excouraging (see 2 posts below) also made me start to look for runs to participate in. The first run for the year was the Mizuno Wave Run.

I took part in it a few years ago - pretty challenging as the route covered many hills and slopes. Someone even said that's why they called it the "wave" run!!!

But since then, it has moved to UPM. I've never been there before but me running mate (the last one standing), Mah Pung ran that last year. I managed to get him to sign up with me and we went for it last Sunday.

The sea of red runners gathering at the starting line just as dawn was breaking

It was pretty good! In the first place, the route was wonderful - we ran around the campus and i must say it was pleasing to the eyes. I enjoyed looking at the lecture theatres, the halls of residence, the many lakes and ponds, the greenery, the fields etc.

It was much more challenging than my last run which was around the very flatland of USJ!!! Still, it was not as bad as the last Wave run i went for! The weather was pretty cooling - due to the plants around - but i found it to be pretty humid. My running vest was totally soaked at the end of the race!

The goodie bag was nothing to shout about - but they did have lots of food at the end of the race!!! And i like the red running vest (red cuz of CNY???)

Oh, this was my first race in the veteran category!!!! The junior veteran category! It felt good running past all those men from the "A" category who looked so much fitter and are obviously younger than i am. And altho the ladies started 15 minutes before the men, i passed quite a big number of them!

But the best thing of all was that i bettered my time which i set for the Subang Jaya run just slightly more than a month ago. Now being more challenging, the fact that i completed it faster bodes well for me! I *am* improving!!!

So here's to more runs this year - and last nite itself, we have signed up for a the Brookes run in March! Mah Pung will be going for the half marathon but i'll still stick to the 10 km run. The ankles are still hurting a little today and both legs were cramping up yesterday as i tried to push myself to cross the finishing line.

I've oredi ear-marked a run in S'pore in April. Thereafter, it'll be the KL Marathon in June!

*The aptly titled song which was their first ever no. 1 hit.

Stay the same* - Joey McIntyre

I know that my "Highlights of 2011" post is really overdue. But this post here is referring to one of the many highlights - and it is important to warrant a post on it's own.

Last December, an old fren of mine came back from overseas for a visit. To my surprise - a pleasant one - he wanted to meet up with me, among others.

Still, it has been a really long time and to be honest, i wondered if things would be awkward.

Thankfully - and obviously, since this was one of the highlights of the year - it wasn't. There were four of us who used to hang out a lot together - and we all met up again and had a wonderful time - we reminisce about the past and caught up with what was happening in our lives.

Just like really good old frens, it was like the time between our last meeting and now just melted away. Of course some things have changed - like we're all married now! But the most important things stay the same - our sense of humour, our tastes and interest, our frenship. And i'm so glad that it is that way. On top of all this, the four of us now have partners - and this makes a nice addition to the whole frenship.

Jit Tat and me at Pulau Tioman - yup we talked a little about this trip long ago


Our last group photo until last month


Our latest group photo - with some additions =)

*His first and most successful single.

One more time* - Daft Punk

This unfinished post has been sitting in my drafts folder for a while. Time to complete it!!!

I went for the last run of the year in early December - it was a race which i originally wanted to go for but failed to sign up on time (yeah, the perils of procrastination) but in the end, it was postponed as it was scheduled originally to take place on the 9th of July!!!

It's the Subang Jaya 10 km run! So when it was rescheduled to be in December, i signed up for it. When i went sigining up, i realised what my bib number was going to be:-

I jokingly told the guy that Chinese ppl would think that the number is bad!!!! It's basically "die, die, die"!!!!!

Thank God it went well. I enjoyed the run. The crowd was actually very small - i guess the *real* runners were down in S'pore running the Stan Chart marathon there!

Most importantly, it was the best 10km timing that i got in my post-operation days!!!! Not that i have ran many races after my op!!!

I was pretty glad of the timing. Furthermore, it seemed to have sparked off my interest and enjoyment of running again! I've been running more regularly since - and i actually look forward to it, not taking it like a chore i have to do.

My first race for 2012 will be this Sunday! =)

*This is their biggest commercial hit - and it is number 307 on Rolling Stone's amended "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list in May 2010.