Who knew?* - Pink

Heya,

Yup, it was exactly one year ago today that i first saw you. You were late!!! You knew how to make an entrance, din you? ;-)

Funny how for 9 months, we lived and studied on the same grounds, used the same library and laundry room, and shopped for groceries at the same place but never met each other - until today, last year. Or we prolly walked passed each other countless of times.

Today last year was also the same day that i first saw Praful and Kevin.

Who knew at that point of time that it was to be the start of a wonderful summer together for the 4 of us - and the others there too, and a wonderful frenship!

The time of our lives!

Miss you guys so much!!!

Take care.

*One of the many songs which kept us company throughout the summer! It was her longest running single in the UK Singles Chart - 26 weeks!!!! - and played to death by SGR Colchester!!!

How am I supposed to live without you?* - Michael Bolton

I suddenly thought of you today. Has it been only less than 2 years since i saw you go off wif some other guy?

I miss you.

Sure, i've got a "replacement" - but it's not the same. How can it ever be the same?

We used to go everywhere together - you'd bring me to places that i wouldn't go on me own. I especially love the long journeys we'd take, just you and me, and the scenery around us.

You enabled me to do so many things - and you helped me helped so many other people. I trusted you wif my life - i always feel so safe with you.

It was hard letting you go - but i knew that there was no other way. Please, please understand that it had to be done, and that if i could, i wouldn't have allowed it to happen.

I hope he is treating you well - and i hope that you are doing alrite. I still haven't seen you since i got back - and i guess in a way, tt's good. I dun know how i'll feel if i see you with him...

I used to to wonder how was i supposed to live without you. Now i know - i take RapidKL buses to work, i use me dad's car during the weekends and i have mates who go out of the way to pick me up and send me back. Sure it's not the same but life goes on.

And at least i have your photos to remind me of you.

For more pics, see here, here and here.

*He originally co-wrote this song for Laura Branigan before recording it himself in 1990. It hit #1 for both Laura and Michael.

Stand your ground* - Debbie Gibson

As young, idealistic English Law students in the early 90s, we were naturally drawn the Labour Party. Maybe it's because of the unreasonable rebellious streak one has when they are young - question the present authority. Maybe we were all tired of John Major. Maybe it was our upbringing as children of the working class people. But some of us were so sure that John Smith was gonna be the next PM of the UK. In 1994, he proved us wrong by dying unexpectedly.

Then came this young grinning Labour MP from Sedgefield who took over the reigns of the Labour Party, winning us all with his youthful enthusiasm and unmistakable charm. The rest, as they say, is history.

Yesterday, Anthony Charles Lynton Blair appeared before the Queen and tendered his resignation as the PM of the United Kingdom, slightly more than 10 years after sweeping into power with a landslide victory.

The changing face of Blair - from 1997 to 2007 (Pic obatined from BBC News Online)

I've never hid the fact that i'm a great admirer of Blair. Seeing him in action every Wednesday during Question Time in Parliament was fascinating and a real joy. I do not agree with all of his decisions and i have come to respect him for those that i dun agree with.

Unfortunately, most people will remember him as the PM who took UK into war in Iraq. Everyone is entitled to their own views on this matter - i just wanna say that such views should not be motivated by what is "in" and acceptable, and what is popular. Being a leader in a smal tiny way meself, i understand how hard it is to make decisions that will please everyone, decisions which are unpopular but yet, you feel is the right thing to do.

He best summed it up in his farewell speech to his constituency recently:-

And, in time, you realise putting the country first doesn't mean doing the right thing according to conventional wisdom or the prevailing consensus or the latest snapshot of opinion.

It means doing what you genuinely believe to be right.

Your duty is to act according to your conviction.

...

But I ask you to accept one thing. Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right.

I may have been wrong. That is your call. But believe one thing if nothing else. I did what I thought was right for our country.

(you can read his entire speech here)

So whatever your views are on his decisions, respect the man for doing what he thought was the right thing to do for the people he was serving, not doing something which might make him popular or win votes. He made his stand, and - many felt - he delivered.

p/s - check out "Ten Things about Tony" here.

*The 5th song from her 3rd album, Anything is Possible, and one of her many songs which she wrote herself.

At seventeen* - Janis Ian

Conversation wif self late last nite:-

Shall i blog or shall i watch tennis?
Well, it has been a while since i blogged...
BUT it's Wimbledon!!!!!
There's so much i wanna blog about...
BUT it's Wimbledon!!!!!
I have to say something about the worst day of me working life here...
BUT it's Wimbledon!!!!!

That went on for a while, wif both the TV downstairs switched on and me laptop upstairs opened at me blog page. In the end, tennis won. After all, it's Wimbledon!!!!!

There's something special about Wimbledon that just canot be put into words - the speed of the game on grass, the traditions behind the championship, the green all around, the memories, London - enuf said!

It's always a thrill to watch the early round matches too - where these young unseeded players with nothing to lose spring a surprise or two. Hingis got a taste of that on day #1. Last nite, it was Sharapova.

Imagine - you are 17, you are playing your first game at Wimbledon against the 2nd seed former Wimbledon Champion at Court 1. That's what Yung-Jan (pic left, obtained from Sony Ericsson WTA Tour site) had to go through yesterday.

After falling quickly to a 0-4 scoreline, everyone thought that it was gonna be a white-wash of this young Asian player. So much so that there was a sense of happiness around Court 1 when Yung-Jan finally got on the score board - a sense which arose out of pity and relief that this poor teenager will be given 2 bagels.

But winning the game gave her a renewed sense of confidence. She proceded to lose the first set 6-1 but ended strongly. Soon, she was actually matching the 2nd seed and when her serve was broken in the 6th game, she came back to win a break of serve herself in the next game, despite being down 6-1, 4-2 with the score at 40-15!!!!

The crowd loved it - we have a game here. Yung-Jan was not gonna fade away quietly. She started to get the hang of Sharapova's power shots, enjoying the game and even began varying her game a little. The commentators were pleasantly surprised and showered the young girl wif praise. When Yung-Jan made the first challenge using the Hawkeye, the crowd gave her a rapturous applause when her challenge was vindicated - that prompted what the commentator said was the best shot of the entire match from Yung-Jan who could not suppress a smile when that happenned.

In the end, Sharapova's experience counted most and Yung-Jan went down 7-5 in the 2nd set.

i had no regrets not blogging as i, just like the crowd at Court 1, was really involved in the game - which was really fun!

Good show, Yung-Jan. At 17, you can only get better!!!

*Her biggest hit, "a bittersweet commentary on adolescent cruelty and teenage angst, as reflected upon from the maturity of adulthood" (as desrcribed in Wiki). It won a Grammy in 1975 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Water runs dry* - Boyz II Men

Spent the weekend visiting some old frens in some village deep in the jungles of Pahang. Was looking forward to it - it has been around 2 years since i went there. And i was going there wif some of me close mates too!

In some ways, it was a disappointment. Things have changed so much!!!! Modernisation!!!!! We stayed in a brick house wif tiled floors - and electricity was available from 7 pm til 7 am!!!! There was running water! The land next to the house was cleared and even at nite, we could hear the sound of motorcycles sooming pass. As one of me mates said, it has lost the "jungle experience feel" - where we used to stay in a wooden house on stilts, bath with the water from the river, made do wif limited electricity - and depended a lot on me maglite, enjoyed the jungle noises at nite and have grenery all around us.

But as if just to remind us we were in the jungle, the water supply was cut off - and the nicely tiled floor was covered wif bugs of all kinds all nite long!!!!

Still, the place only played a small part - it was the people. And we had a good time wif them. We also had a good time among ourselves, as we sat up late, drinking tea, tried to kill the flying insects using Yujin's "electric racquet", and chatted til the wee hours of the morning.

Sure, we felt uncomfortable not being able to bathe in such humid conditions, and our hair itched (the humidity was so bad that i felt i was like Monica in Barbados), but while the waters run dry, the conversation didn't.

Oh, we had fun we my new toy too! :-)

*Written and produced by Babyface, this song reached #2 in the US in 1995

Start of something new* - Zac Efron, Andrew Seeley, and Vanessa Anne Hudgens

Will be away during the weekend - wif me new toy!!! :-)

*The first song from High School Musical! and yes, there are 3 singers credited with it - Zac couldn't do the high parts!!!!

Over and over* - Wilson Phillips

Been pretty hessitant to post anything up lately. No, it's not for lack of anything to say (how can i not have anything to say about anything???). No, it's not because i'm super busy at work (like i was end of last month - i actually get home early enuf to jog, and then eat dinner wif me family).

I've got a feeling that it's cuz of something i read on someone's blog recently. She observed that "after a while, every blog just circulates the same issues. ... (T)he heartfelt, thoughtful posts tend to go round and round the same point...".

I read me mates' blog and see how true that statement is - whether be it about what car to buy, why are there no good men - single - around, their insecurities about their looks, how meaningless life is, etc.

I see me own blog and i see that i'm the worst culprit!!! I wonder how many of you are sick of me talking about how i miss me mates in the UK, how life then was brilliant, bla, bla, bla...

In fact, i have been feeling pretty emotinal lately - over this matter. Summer is starting - summer ball took place 2 weekends ago - and last summer was just the best time....

I'm doing it again, aren't i? But a lot of things which took place in recent times just made me miss me mates - and all i wanna blog about is just that. In the end, i just end up looking at the photos of the times we shared back then.

Yes, this post is another one of those post that i keep on rambling about in this blog over and over and over again - and you can sure, it wont be the last!

*The 6th track from their debut self-titled album. Drafting this post made me look for thier album and i've been listening to them again - brilliant stuffs!

Let's run away* - Debbie Gibson

Immediately after the camp at Fraser's drew to a close, i travelled down south to join me family for a second holiday. We'd always joke that after a tiring camp, we would need another holiday to recover from it. Well, this year, i actually did that.

After the madness of work (see here), the busyness of the camp (see here) and my 12 hour journey from Fraser's Hill to Tampin**, i just needed to recharge, to recuperate, to get away from it all. It was simply great!!!! We stayed at a rented bungalow in the A'Famosa Resort.

We had loads of fun at the Animal World wif some pretty entertaining animal shows. The highlight for me was when an eagle soared just above me head - we were told to duck and i did, or else i'd have a scar on me head courtesy of the eagle's sharp talons!!!

I had loads of fun taking pics of the animals...

And of me nephew and neice...

When we got back, we just lazed the time away. We swam in our own private pool...

Played badminton on the driveway of our bungalow...

And slept. At least, tt's what i did - a lot!!!! Me family had a good time at the Cowboy Town, enjoyed a fireworks display each nite, watched DVDs in the the confort of our fuly air-conditioned bungalow, ate etc.

So good to get away from it all!!!! I must say that A Famosa Resort is not too bad. A great place to bring yr kids. The only catch was that they make you pay for almost everything!

**i wanted to blog about it but am too exhausted just thinking about it - suffice to say, dun travel by public transportation on a Sunday evening which was the end of a long weekend and which fell during school holidays!!!! The last time i felt so claustrophobic was during the Boxing Day sale in London last year (see here).

*The last song from her Think with your heart album, one of the many songs which had an orchestral backing.

Signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours* - Blue (feat. Stevie Wonder and Angie Stone)

As usual, at this point of time of the year when we have nothing to satisfy our deep longings for some EPL footie, all attention is on the summer signings and the rumours surrounding them. Who is buying who and who is going where? When is so and so gonna put pen to paper?

Having said that, the most important signing for me this summer took place this morning. No TV cameras were present and no reporters knew about it. There was no press conference wif the new signing parading in his new jersey.

Just the routine medical check-up followed by the affixing of my signature on the contract.

I'm so tempted to plagiarise Carina's post - it perfectly captures how i feel now.

Thank you, Lord.

*The remake of one of Stevie Wonder's hits in the early 70s. Incidentally, this was also the song Sanjaya performed for his audition which got him into American Idol 6

We could be together* - Debbie Gibson

"So when did you last meet up with Augustine?", i asked Chris when Stephan and i met up wif her last Sunday. Chris and Augustine are the only lawyers from our batch to be based at Kota Kinabalu.

Chris gave us an embarrassed grin and gestured towards Stephan saying "When you came over to KK"!!!

We all laughed - but we're all guilty of the same. While most of us are based in the Klang Valley, the last time we all met up was when Chris came over. In fact, the only time we all ever meet up together is when either Chris or Augustine flies across the South China Sea and touch down on our shores!!! We'd all have a good laugh because the last time Augustine or Chris saw any of us was prolly the last time we saw of each other too! And it's the same the other way round - Chris will only meet up wif Augustine at KK only when one of us go over there!

It's kinda sad in some ways. Here we are, living so close to each other, but never being able to make the time to meet up - unless someone from out of town visits. Sometimes, tt's how it is. Everyone just seem to be so busy and caught up wif their own lives. Having each other so close just makes us take each other for granted. "We can meet up any time", we'd think - but we never do!

So it is really good if someone from out of town visits - that way, we all seem to make the extra effort to be together again.

Just like yesterday, we met up to have a game of tennis - because JT will be leaving to go back to the States. KC was back from Ipoh for Father's Day weekend, KP just got back from Taiwan while JM will be leaving to the States for work. So we took time from our busy schedule and dragged ourselves out of bed at an ungodly hour (for a Saturday morning) and baked under the hot blazing sun for hours playing tennis together - cuz it'll prolly be the last time the 5 of us could ever do that together again.

JT only was back for a couple of weeks but thanks to him, we all not only managed to spend time wif him but for a lot of us here, we all also got the chance to catch up wif each other.

Nice having you back, mate. It'll prolly be another 2 years or so before we'll see ya again - hopefully sooner, rather than later, because when you do come back, we all here could be together again.

*Her 4th single from her 2nd album, Electric Youth, it din do well in the charts but it was one of our favourites back then!

Candle in the wind* - Elton John

Heard about this today:-

Candlelight Vigil

In Support of Revathi's Freedom of Faith

Please attend the following peaceful candlelight vigil in support of Revathi, and many others like her, who are unable to fully exercise their Constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of faith. The vigil is an initiative of civil society organisations including MCCBCHST (the Malaysian Consultative Council on Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism) and various women's rights groups (All Women's Action Society (AWAM), Sisters in Islam (SIS), Women's Aid Organisation (WAO), Women's Centre for Change, Penang (WCC) and Women's Development Collective (WDC)).

Date: Tuesday, 19 June 2007

Time: 8 p.m.

Venue: Dataran Merdeka (at the flagpole)

Please come to show your support in affirming the supremacy of the Federal Constitution and its protection of our fundamental liberties, including the freedom of belief.

Please bring candles, candle-holders and banners.

Summary of Revathi's case:

Revathi, an ethnic Indian woman, has been held in a rehabilitation center run by Islamic authorities since January 2007 because she wants the State to acknowledge she is a Hindu and not a Muslim.

Revathi was born to Indian parents who had converted to Islam before her birth. She claims she was raised by her grandmother as a Hindu. She and Suresh were married according to Hindu rites in March 2004. Revathi was advised by the Malacca Islamic Religious Department to make an application at the Malacca Syariah High Court to confirm her status as a Hindu. She did as she was told.

However, the Syariah Court ordered her detained in a rehabilitation centre in Ulu Yam, Selangor under Melaka's Syariah criminal laws for 100 days. This detention was extended in Revathi's absence for a further 80 days supposedly because she had not "repented". In the meanwhile, Revathi's Muslim mother obtained a Syariah Court order granting her custody of Revathi and Suresh's 15 month old baby. That order was enforced on Suresh's Hindu family with the assistance of the police.

The family is now torn apart - with the mother in detention, the child with the grandparents and the father in limbo without his family.

I'll be there. Will you?

ADDENDUM: Unfortunately, due to family commitments, i won't be able to make it. Hope you guys who can, do.

*His tribute to Marilyn Monroe, this is ranked at #347 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Laughter in the rain* - Neil Sedaka

I was so looking forward to the camp at Fraser's earlier this month. First, the last camp i went to - way back in 2005 - was simply brilliant (see here)! Secondly, the weather in May, especially the tail end - was so unbearably hot and i was just longing for the cool air in the hills. On top of that, it was total madness at work - everyone wanted everything done by end of May (which explains why i spent most of the day today surfing and i checked out at 2 pm) - much so that i fell sick and really needed the break.

So came the 1st of June - the beginning of the camp! And also the beginning of the wettest weekend for a long long time!!!!

Yup it rained. Every single day that we were up there - on the way up, while we there and on the way down.

But wait - some of you who know me might be saying "But you love the rain"!!!

And yes, i do (see here)!!! It was brilliant weekend!!! :-)

OK - it wasn't the perfect camp. For one, it was way way too short!!! And another, wif the responsibilities, i had to forgo some fun stuffs. Missed the reunion card session. (Guys, we simply must have one game b4 JT leaves us again). Oh well... atleast they did use my UoE playing cards!!!!

And the speaker...

Sori - but this is my own view. I know many people think highly of him. I dun. For a variety of reasons. There were so little spiritual content - in fact, most of the spiritual content was used as an illustration for his points - kinda lost the plot, dun u think? And he kept on talking about himself and how he brilliantly outwitted people wif his clever answers.

Then there was the time when he actually criticised one of the best hymns that i know - he said it was incomplete and he proceded to add 2 or 3 stanzas to it. As he did that, i was cringing and thankful he was not a hymn-writer. Oh - he complained that a lot of the "modern" worship songs are written in the first person when it shud be in the 3rd person ("We worship you..." instead of "I worship you..."). But wait a minute - the additional stanzas he added to the alllegedly incomplete hymn was composed by him in the first person too!!!!

No doubt he's a wonderful person and very knowledgeable. But my main complaint was that his sharing was so unsuitable for the crowd - maybe for a seminar on apologetics but not a a church camp.

Oh well...

But i had so much fun in the rain - altho it nearly spoilt it all!!! We were on a jungle trek - i was so looking forward to being back in a Malaysian jungle again - when the rain started and we had to cut the trek short. We turned back reluctantly and headed to the cars. Being so unsatisfied, some of us decided to walk all the way back to the camp site! It was crazy - especially when i was still recovering from me flu - but it was great!!!! And cold too! ;-) We turned down the many offers to give us a lift or lend us an umbrella.

It really poured - but it was brilliant!!!! And so fun.

It stopped when we reached back to campsite - and i went out immediately wif some other mates to play tennis. No surprise that the rain came back when we arrived at the courts, it started to pour again. And we played in the rain for hours!!!! Mistakes abounded and it was so difficult to judge the bounce of a totally soaked ball which lands on a water puddle!!! But laughter filled the air.

Members of the playing-in-the-rain-tennis club! All dried up.

Yes, it rained in Frasers - and we had so much fun in it! :-)

*Never heard of this song nor of the singer? Ask yer parents!!! It hit #1 in the Billboard Hot 100 chart way back in 1975!!!

Sometimes it be that way* - Jewel

Norrington to Elizabeth in POTC3:-

Our fates were always intertwined, but never joined.

Sunset over Subang Park

*Bonus track on her This Way, recorded live and dedicated to Nancy Porter (the lady who owned the InnerChange Cafe, the coffee house where she started singing at).

Up where we belong* - Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes

While walking back from me jog yesterday, i was pleasantly surprised to catch a wonderful sight in the sky - red clouds. It was lovely. And just as always, it stayed wif me all the way - long enuf to keep me company along the way but left before i could get in and get me camera out.

I love clouds!!! They always fascinate me - and make beautiful sunsets and sunrises!!!! Here are a couple of early morning pics i took in Fraser's earlier this month:-

Still, i really missed the clouds back in Essex. Living on the 11th floor, it felt like i was up there wif them, not like back here when the clouds are so high up above. I spent so many hours just sitting by the window and hanging out wif the clouds. Here's my tribute to the Colchester Clouds from the 11th flor of Rayleigh Tower:-

*The song featured on the movie, An Officer and A Gentleman, it was #1 on Billboard Hot 100 for 3 weeks in a row way way back in 1982. It also a mutiple awards winner - Golden Globe, Academy, Grammy and BAFTA!!!

Oops! I did it again* - Britney Spears

In the middle of the talk given by a Church elder yesterday...

Me: I dun think I wanna eat lunch later. I'll just watch you guys.

JT: Why? Are you on a diet???

Me: No! Just dun feel like eating...

JT gives me an incredulous look...

Me: OK, OK. I'm going thru my second puberty and i'm self-conscious about my looks! LOL!!!

JT: (in a lowered voice) She (referring to the sweet girl sitting on me right) just glanced at you and gave you a dirty look.

Makes mental note to meself - Speak quietly when talking crap!

*Her first single from her album of the same name, regarded as one of her signature songs! I mean, who doesn't know it's her song???

Sometimes love just ain't enough* - Patty Smyth & Don Henley

Ever had the feeling that you were meant for each other? The perfect match? None can ever be so compatible?

It was love at first sight for me!

But yet, yet... the time is just not right. If we had not met so soon, if things were different, if i was more financially sound, if...

I always believe that it's all in the timing - and right now, we aren't prepared. I'm not.

On top of that, she's pretty high maintainance!!!!!

So, i've finally come to the conclusion and made me decision. I will NOT be investing in a Nikon D80 - altho it's exactly wat i want now.

Pic taken from Digital Camera Tracker website

We can't always get wat we want, can we? Especially when she's over 700 quid!!!!

*Peaked at no. 2 in the BillBoard Hot 100 Chart and reached #1 in the Adult Contemporary Chart in 1992. Used to disagree with the lyrics. Used to.

All that jazz* - Breathe

I was pretty determine to go. I've been starved of live concerts for so long. The last time was during summer last year when i had to stand outside Tower Hill to watch Jamie Cullum (see here). I missed Olivia Newton John recently due to family commitments. So altho the line-up was virtually unknown to me, i had to go watch the Genting International Jazz Festival.

I've had some great concert memories. No surprise to many that the best concert i've attended was Jewel's. That was so so so so good! :-) She's just so talented and so cool and was such a joy to watch. She communicated so well wif us audience and got us all really partying along.

Other memorable concerts were Debbie Gibson's (my very first ever concert - we stood near the speakers and had this ringing in our ears for the next 2 days!!!!), Sting's (me mate who was suppose to go wif me met wif an accident on the way there and i ended up watching the concert alone), Bon Jovi's (we were miles away from the stage but we still had fun), Sam Hui's (altho the anticipation was better - and i almost died in the stiffling heat) and Syro Gyra (their live performance is so much better than their recording).

Unfortunately, the Genting Jazz Fest was not to be one of the memorable ones - not for the good reasons anyways!!!!

The first act was a Malaysian group - i've nothing against the locals, generally. We do have some really good and talented fellas. But unfortunately, none of them showed up!!!! I guess these home grown fellas were technically competent but their music was boring and uninspiring. To me and me mates, anyways. The only highlight was when their bassist - who is a Japanese - did his bass bass solo. He put his bass over and behind his head and slapped!!!! That's so pointless but nonetheless entertaining to watch!!!!

But the next group which came up was IMHO truly brilliant. I enjoyed their music tremendously!!!! Maybe it's because the first group sounded so bad that made these fellas sound so good. They were the Cape Jazz All Stars. I loved their horn section (trumpet and alto sax). Their pianist was brilliant (see above right) and their bassist was lovely (his playing, i mean!). The other musicians were competent. Not only were they technically sound and obviously very experienced, they had "heart"! Just watching them for me was enough to justify the ticket price.

The Cape Jazz All Stars

Unfortunately, they proved to be a false dawn as the subsequent acts just din live up to their standards. They were clearly the best of the nite - and to think that they were originally not scheduled to play (they were to play the next nite but some last minute changes brought them forward - thankfully!).

The next group was a group from China - the Shanghai Jazz Ensemble. They were competent and i loved the old Chinese tunes they jazzed up. Their lead singer - his name is Coco - stole the show, tho. His effeminate manners coupled wif a strange looking blouse and MC Hammer pants made us all take notice of him - and he's a real show-man... erm, woman... err... person!!!!

The Shanghai Jazz Ensemble

The 4th act was this 3 piece band which tried to fuse tango with jazz and some classical elements. The result - some really dry and trying pieces!!! The final act was a brass band from Benin, Africa. It was a breath of fresh air for me after the previous act. Their vocals were good and the tuba was cool as was this blue wooden box thingy which they used instead of a drum. But it was too much for me mates and we called it a nite.

Me behind the mixers

It really din help when we had this MC who was pretty lame and kept on making jokes wif sexual connotations. The audience also din make it any easier. There were basically 3 groups of people. The first are those like me who were there to listen to the music.The next group were those who were there just to have a good time - they were cheering at every single little thing. I was telling me mate that if we went on stage and played, they'd be cheering us too!!!! Ah well... i've nothing against those who just wanna have a good time! It's the 3rd group of people that really got to me - those whom i wonder why there were there for!!!! They spent most of the time chatting, smoking, drinking - like they were in a bar and the performers are some pub-gig. It din help that most of them had the reserved places at the front so they were blocking me.

Anyways, no regrets. 2 good acts plus a good time spent wif 2 of me mates, getting to enjoy the cool air up at Genting and eat the crispy pork at Gohtong Jaya, and ending the nite wif a late nite supper of fried hokkien mee at a deserted Petaling Street!

*The title song of their debut album, they were more known for their ballads like Hands to heaven and How can i fall?

So long, farewell* - The children from The Sound of Music

So if all else were equal, which of these 2 gentlemen would you offer a job to (try to imagine the bloke on the left to be clean shaven too)?

Well, apparently, to most of me mates, it'd be the fella on the left!!!!

I've been getting some pressure in the past couple of weeks to chop off all me lovely locks before going for any further job interviews :-P. Well, first impressions count for a lot and it seems that long hair doesn't count very much!!!! Most of these pressure come from well meaning frens and concerned church leaders. Their argument is that i have to project a good positive image and after i've secured the job, i can grow my hair as long as i like.

Well, that's the reason why i din want to - why cut it off when my intention is to grow it back anyways? That feels so hypocritical. Further, me stubbornness had to do wif this thing about me of wanting to make a silent protest against people who discriminate others based purely on external reasons. If i have the qualifications and i possess the skills, then what does me having long hair have anything to do with me getting the job?

I'm always reminded that God does not choose based on external looks. In 1 Samuel 16 v 7, he reminds his prophet Samuel that "...(t)he Lord does not look at the things man look at. Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart" (NIV).

But then again, i am going for job interviews before man and not before God.

Yup, so i finally decided to take the advice of me more older and perhaps wiser mates. If me hair is so long, then it's farewell to it! For now.

Of course, the advocates of the haircut are now claiming victory as i have had a job offer since! And it was the one that i was really hoping to get. Thank you, Lord.

So, it's short hair for now - altho it is kinda alrite seeing that the weather leading up to last weekend had been unbearably humid and hot.

It's me 2nd real haircut since September 2005 (the one in February doesn't count as it was more of a trim). Here's a tribute to me hair for the past 20 months (hey, i only cut me hair like once a year so i can afford to be narcissistic on an annual basis, can't i?):-

Month by month view of me hair for the past 20 months beginning from Oct '05 til May '07

*Come on, we all know and love this cute number from the musical everyone loves! It used to be the ring tone on me Nokia before i changed to a polyphonic ringing Sony Ericsson

Down so long* - Jewel

It has been pretty erratic, me blogging. There was actually a break of 5 days between 2 posts!!! Now, that's a new record for me!

Been really busy at work - u'd know i'm busy when i dun have time to post anything on me blog (either that or i'm dead). I actually din go on MSN for more than a week oredi - for fear of people who dun understand what "Busy" means (i usually go on MSN when busy just in case someone has anything really urgent to tell me - not those who go "Yo - jus wanna say hi"!!! Yes, WS, i'm talking about YOU!).

Everyone wanted everything done by the end of last month - so i was overwhelmed wif work. It din help when i fell sick early last week - plus i had an important job interview last Monday too.

Anyways, the end of the month came and went, and i had a much needed holiday. Recharged and ready to resume blogging again - as you can tell from the 2 posts yesterday!!!!

Anyways, here are some stuffs which happenned in the past couple of weeks which i normally would have blogged about but will prolly won't:-

1. Star Wars celebrated it's 30th anniversary on the 25th May 2007

Special stamps to commemorate the event (pic taken from BBC News Online)

2. Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest was extended for another year on 26th May 2007

Protestors at Myanmar (pic taken from BBC News Online)

3. Hung out at Kevin and Yvonne's last Sat nite and took a look at their gadgets - including Yvonne's new D200!!!

Drools~ (pic taken from Nikon Malaysia's site)

4. It was to no one's surprise (but many's dismay) that the 2 Muslim Judges in the Federal Court could not make a decision of a pretty straightforward civil liberties case free from their religious upbringing and bias-ness when they delivered their judgment in Lina Joy's case on 30th May 2007. (A note to those who are considering converting to become a Muslim in Malaysia, do think twice!!!!!).

5. Liverpool FC revealed their new away strip for next season on the 31st May 2007. It looks really good!!!!! :-)

Pic taken from Liverpoolfctv website

6. England took a step backwards and recalled Beckham back to the team on the 1st of June.

Pic taken BBC News Online

But there will be things that i'll blog about - like me church retreat to Fraser's Hil, me family holiday at Malacca and me harrowing 12 hour journey from Fraser's to M'cca!!!!

*Her 2nd single from her brilliant 2nd album which is my favourite!

Never forget* - Take That

18 years has passed, and tho my views are not as strong as it used to be (that itself warrants another post), i will still remember.

Candlelight vigil held at Hong Kong attended by tens of thousands to remember those who perished at Tien An Men Square in 1989 (pic obtained from BBC News Online)

*Their 7th #1 single, released shortly after Robbie Williams left the group, it was voted #4 in New Music Express' "Top 50 Boyband Records" chart in September 2005.

Are you alright?* - Lucinda Williams

Are you alright?
All of a sudden you went away
Are you alright?
I hope you come back around someday
Are you alright?
I haven't seen you in a real long time
Are you alright?
Could you give me some kind of sign?
Are you alright?
I looked around me and you were gone
Are you alright?
I feel like there must be something wrong
Are you alright?
Cause it seems like you disappeared
Are you alright?
Cause I've been feeling a little scared
Are you alright?

Are you sleeping through the night?
Do you have someone to hold you tight?
Do you have someone to hang out with?
Do you have someone to hug & kiss you?
Hug & kiss you
Hug & kiss you
Are you alright?

Are you alright?
Is there something been bothering you?
Are you alright?
I wish you'd give me a little clue
Are you alright?
Is there something you wanna say?
Are you alright?
Just tell me that you're ok
Are you alright?
Cause you took off without a word
Are you alright?
You flew away like a little bird
Are you alright?
Is there anything I can do?
Are you alright?
Cause I need to hear from you
Are you alright?

Are you sleeping through the night
Do you have someone to hold you tight?
Do you have someone to hang out with?
Do you have someone to hug & kiss you?
Hug & kiss you
Hug & kiss you
Are you alright?
Are you alright?
Are you alright?

*Like so many others, i only came across this song because of House MD - it was played during the closing credits in one of my favourite episodes, Season 3 Episode 17. Brilliant stuffs, both the song and that episode!