Do you remember* - Phil Collins

Today is the 9th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York which claimed the lives of almost 3,000 people.

Flowers being placed in a reflecting pool at Ground Zero
(Pic taken from BBC News Online)

Do you remember where were you 9 years ago? I remember that nite very clearly - i just got home from an RBS committee meeting and everyone was in bed. I turned on the news and was totally shocked at wat i saw on CNN - so shocked that i could not take it on my own and went to wake my father up.

Still, the shock surely cannot compare to what was felt by the almost 3,000 victims and their family members that day way back in 2001.

Till today, many cannot comprehend why such acts were done, why so many innocent lives were ended so needlessly. How much hatred and anger there must have been for those people responsible to carry out their horrible acts. Acts done in the name of religion?

And yet today, are we any better than before? An alleged Christian (i seriously doubt his belief) pastor has threatened to burn the Koran, alleging that Islam is of the devil. Muslims in return have protested, shouting "Death to America". A lot of people have called the pastor not to carry our his threat. But i think the reason is not so much out of respect for the Muslims but fear - fear of what the Muslims might do in retaliation, fear that many more innocent lives will be taken away again in anger.

History is one of the best teachers for life - and i believe that is the main reason why we have to study it. We hope that history will not repeat itself - the bad ones, at least.

So do you remember? And if you do, will you do something about it? Shall we exhibit more love instead of hatred? As it is written in the Bible, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21).

*One of the many brilliant songs from his album ...But Seriously.

Higher* - Creed

I haven't really been following the US Open this year. The main reason is cuz i'm actually following a normal sleeping and waking hours these days!

*Gasp*

Yes, i actually wake up early in the morning now - well, not that early but early enuf to go for a quick jog and then to work. So this means no more staying up til the wee hours of the morning.

But the other day, i managed to catch my first match - and it was the quarter-finals between Clijsters and Stosur. I must say it was no classic!!! Still, being a fan of Clijsters (more by default as no other woman player is interesting to watch these days), i watched the entire game, rooting for her.

The game went into the deciding 3rd match - and it was almost farcical! They were breaking each other's serve!!! yes, in the end, Clijsters managed to hold her serve and won it at the end. But for a long time, it did not look like it was gonna happen. But then again Stosur wasn't giving much of a fight either!!!

Looking at the stats, Clijsters made a total of 43 unforced errors!!!! Yet she still won. But i must say, she ended strongly and won convincingly.

Now this is the sign of a true champion - no matter how bad they are playing, they still somehow manage to dig deep and produce the shots to get the results. I remember how a fren was complaining about the M'sian shuttlers, specifically, the doubles team who lost recently. He said that once they lose a set, they never seem to be able to recover from that. They can never pull themselves up and win the next set - they have not done so yet.

Perhaps that's why we never produce any champions.

But Clijsters is one - but if she plays like that again against Venus in the semis (later), she's not gonna have much of a chance for a finals appearance this year. But who knows? She could and she can dig deep again and lift her game onto a higher plain.

ADDENDUM: Clijsters beat Venus and is in the finals! Woohoo!

*Their breakthrough hit! Still sounds good.

Celebration* - Kool and the Gang

Selamat Hari Raya! Literally translated, safe day of celebration. of course it means wishing you a happy Eid Mubarak celebration. And so i wish Selamat Hari Raya to all me mates who are celebrating it. And also i pray that your celebration is a safe one too!

Here's a song which is currently my fav song!!!! Brings me back to the days when i loved rock music! Enjoy!

*From their album, Celebrate, it hit no. 1 way back in 1981!!!

Nicest kids in town* - James Marsden

It was our (tGiF and i) 17th "monthsary" (using this word that my filipina fren uses) and we were supposed to go for Thai at a nice pricey restaurant near where i stay.

But a few hours before the dinner, i received a call from one of my students - they were asking me to join them for a triple birthday celebration at Lala Chong.

To be honest, i really wasn't that keen initially. It was supposed to be nite for me and tGiF. And furthermore, tGiF dun really know them very well. But after checking wif her, she said she din mind. So we canceled our plans.

After all, how many more opportunities would i hv to eat with my students (oh yes, i must add that these students are gonna fly off to the UK in a few weeks time)? Furthermore, tGiF and i can have our monthsary meal the next day. No biggie.

So off we went. There were 2 tables that we took up - and they asked me to order for them. No too difficult since i'm familiar with the food there. Thank goodness, the food was up to standard and all enjoyed it.

But the food wasn't the main thing - it was them students. tGiF and i really had a great time with them. It was good for me to catch up with so many of them - and they were all very nice and frenly towards tGiF too. So much so if i was busy talking to one particular student, someone else would notice tGiF left alone and go up to chat with her. As the night went on, tGiF could just go and talk to them on her own.

We had some crazy moments too!!! We had a typical chinese "yum seng" session too. We toasted the birthday people. And then they had a toast to tGiF and me. And finally, i gave a toast to them. We had a crazy "yum seng" time - here is one of it caught on video:-

If you listen carefully at the end of the clip above, u'll hear the group of older 'uncles' singing "happy birthday to you...". They were almost as crazy as we were - and they were surely at best tipsy. They were singing - and at one time, after a 'solo', we cheered them and they reciprocated!

We were really glad we went - after all all, what more do we need? Good food, great company! They truly are the nicest kids in town!

*Taken from the soundtrack of the movie version of the musical, Hairspray.

This time next year* - Cast of Sunset Boulevard

This time next year, God willing, my relationship status will change forever!

*The last (proper) song of Act 1, the cast is celebrating the end of the year and looking forward to the new year ahead.

For the first time* - Kenny Loggins

James Cameron was quoted saying that one of the reasons why Avatar is being re-released again is because when it was first released, many did not have the opportunity to catch it in 3D. That is true. tGiF and i are good examples. We really wanted to but could not get the chance.

We did catch it in 2D, tho. Now here is the strange thing - i watched it in December last year before my surgery, i enjoyed it and loved it. Why was this strange? When i watched it again over last weekend, it was like watching it for the first time!!!!!!

It was pretty scary - i remembered watching it, and yes, i do remember a couple of scenes but only fleetingly. But for most part of the movie - over 90% - i cannot remember it!!!! So there i was, enjoying it afresh, not knowing what is going to happen next. Heck, i din even know certain main characters actually died!!!!

People say that when u start to lose yr memory, it would be the most recent ones that go first - last in first out. So it is no wonder that i cannot remember most of it since it took place so near my surgery. Makes me more thankful and makes me realise again how serious my condition was.

Anyways, if you did not manage to watch it in 3D back then, seize this opportunity! On top of that, i've read that there are many new added scenes which are really good! To me, i could not tell which scenes were the new ones!!!! But here are a couple of pics i found online:-

And if that is not enough to whet yr appetite, here is the trailer:-

How this movie did not win the Oscar for best picture still mystifies me! Sure, it's not the best movie of all time but i feel it was the best movie in 2009.

*Featured on the soundtrack of the movie One Fine Day, it was Kenny's one and only no. 1 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Puppy love* - Donny Osmond

If you missed it like we did when it was released in the cinemas earlier this year, this is your chance to catch it, albeit on a small screen.

Ice Kacang Puppy Love has been released on dvd - and trust me, it is worth the buy!

We finally watched it last nite and we loved it. It was just as good as people say it is. I think this is the only locally made movie that i am proud of!

It has a simple storyline - but one that most if not all of us can easily identify with. Yes, it is about puppy love. First love. It will transport us back to when we were kids and life was simple. We would hang out with our mates, fight with them one day and be the best of frens the next. It will transport us back to when we had our first crush - how we would be so confused and scared, wondering what to do, worrying about how (s)he will respond.

This movie deals with it - and even more. There were sub-plots of relationships with parents which while not dealt with deeply complemented the storyline really well.

The movie captures the age of innocence really well. The actors all did their roles really well - including the supporting cast (the skinny and fat guys will surely make u laugh out loud). Lee Sinje was good as expected. The rest gave credible performances.

Furthermore, the music was pretty good - acoustic music. Very well written and thought of, fits the scenes like a glove.

And i loved the camera angles and the background for a lot of the scenes. the colours were so beautiful - even if it was the colour of a dirty old mossy wall.

I liked how it ended too - i won't spoil it here. Watch it!

And one more thing - you wanna know why it's called Ice Kacang Puppy Love? It's not some random title - and i found it to be quite meaningful.

Pics obtained from various sites online

*I remember listening to this song when i was really really young - but i din know it was actually a remake of Paul Anka's song.

Holiday* - Madonna

5 bridal shops, 4 movies, 3 day leaders' retreat, 2 hours drive away, 1 well deserved holiday!

And not to mention lots and lots and lots of fun, laughter and food! =D~

*Taken from her debut album, i still remember her performing this during the Live Aid concert in 1985

Wind beneath my wings* - Bette Midler

This verse on the t-shirt is one of my all time favourite bible verses.

If you wanna read the English version, go here

Recently, one of the deaconess was sharing about this verse for devotion before our meeting. She asked an interesting question - why is it that God use the illustration of an eagle? Why not some other bird?

She did some research - and she found out a very basic truth - eagles very seldom flap their wings and fly, very unlike other birds. Instead, it would just spread out its long wings and just glide. Hardly any energy is used to flap its wings.

So what keeps it up in the air? It is the wind beneath its wings that lifts it up - very much like how a plane flies.

So when we wait upon the Lord and put our trust in him, we will soar like an eagle - but not by our own effort and strength - but by his power. He is the wind beneath our wings.

*This was the first version i've heard of this song. It was featured in the movie soundtrack of the movie Beaches and won the Grammy for the Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 1990.

Shattered glass* - Britney Spears

It promised to be a good nite. I was hungry - only had a RM1.69 burger from Carrefour for brunch - and i was going to meet up with tGiF. We were also gonna check out wedding bands.

It din start off good, tho. I could hear the sounds of car honking even as i got into my car. As i drove out of the underground carpark, i was greeted with a super long standstill jam. Inside the campus. =(

It took me around 45 minutes just to get out of the campus. Even then, the road to the LDP was jammed-up too.

I kept meself entertained by listening to the radio, reading and taking pics using me mobile. Here are a couple which turned out not too bad.

Finally, i got onto the Damansara-Puchong Highway. As i drove past an electronic signboard, i was greeted with the announcement that the time to break fast is 7.24 pm. I glanced at my car clock and it was indeed 7.24, exact!!!!

It was good news cuz that meant the highway would be clear - and it was! So i drove happily down the highway, thinking of wat to eat for dinner with tGiF. Then suddenly, it happened. Out of the blue - there was a loud 'crack', i shouted out in surprise and my vision went blurred completely!!!!

In a split-second, i realised what had happened - my windshield cracked up. There were tiny pieces of glass on the dashboard but the windshield did not break into pieces. You can see it in the pics below:-

Still, it was very scary. I hit the hazard lights, made my way onto the slow lane and tried to ease out of the highway. The windshield made crackling sounds all the time and i was afraid it would just break into a millions pieces anytime and i would be covered with shattered glass all over me.

As it was dusk, visibility was low - and the cracked up windshield made it all the more hard to see the road. I called up my mechanic who instructed me to drive over to his workshop, assuring me the windshield would not break up.

It was quite an effort to drive to the workshop - altho thank God, it was just down the highway not too far away. The place where i stopped was near St Ignatius church and the workshop was near Atria Shopping Complex. Interestingly, the last time my car broke down, it was also near St Ignatius church!!!!

But thank God the traffic was light and i made it safely - altho i almost ran into a bike which was going on the wrong direction and was completely not visible to me until the last moment.

It was a scary incident - it could have been worse. I could have ended up with more than just a new windshield bill. I still dun know wat happened, whether it was a stone or did the windshield just spontaneously cracked-up. Some even suggest perhaps it was due to spirits?

What ever it was, i thank God for protecting me. Perhaps it was good that i was stuck in the jam initially for so long - this was because when i finally got onto the highway, the traffic was quite light.

I thank God oso that he kept me in high spirits and good mood. The incident may have spoilt our plans for the night but tGiF and i still had a great time over dinner - and i managed to buy some good stuffs at Atria after dropping my car there! =)

*Track no. 5 from her 6th studio album, Circus.