The Five Series.

I have been toying with this idea for a bit. I thought, since I love songs, why don’t I share my current favourite (or, if you’re that girl I eavesdrop at the Pasar Ramadhan Putrajaya er 3-4 years back, “faayff-verit”) songs. Or top 5. Because my faf-verits changes according to various criteria like emotional turmoil Index, Stage of Funds for the Month and Attention Sought and Received Index. Hehe.

On a separate note, I wish the spam I receive in my email everyday (not of the porky kind, but you smart people know that of course. I’m just saying you know?) bring me good tidings. Today alone, I’m supposed to win 750,000 British Sterling. Instant millionaire, yo! I can finally put *one* of my mom’s worries to rest (that I am to die decrepit and alone, without nary a husband and/or a house to call my own).

So, coming back to the matters at hand, my top five for this week will be based on songs by Michael Jackson. Bukan maikel ya. Maikel itu adalah seekor monyet kartun kat Ujang dulu. Hahaha siapa ingat? Why Michal Jackson? Because I am suddenly reminded of my own mortality upon hearing the news of his (and Farah Fawcett’s) passing. I mean, these two were my childhood icons. While I never aspired to have swishy golden locks like Farah, nor did I desired the talent of moonwalking and/or crotch grabbing in public (while wearing seluar senteng); they were one of many iconic personalities during my childhood. Others would include Chips, misai Tom Selleck dalam Magnum PI, Facts of Life...hang on, that could be another 5-list kan?

So without further ado, ecewah, il presente, my top five Michael Jackson (bukan maikel hiks)...for now (knowing me I probably change it in 2 minutes):

Nombor 5: One Day in Your Life

I have no other reason except that I really like the song. It transport me to the days long gone where I would be snoozing on the sofa with my er, botol susu (ya saya masih minum susu masa saya sekolah rendah so there). My Tok Bak would be taking his afternoon nap (hence the snooze because I was not allowed to make any noise. At All. Or Else.) and I would happily gulp (suck? Teehee) away my Sustagen cokelat whilst listening to the radio. This song just reminds me of those days. I still miss my Tok Bak *sniff*.

Nombor 4: Heal the World

Oh no, I didn’t like this song because I wanted to save the world ke apa (that would be another song for another blog entry teehee) but this song reminds me so much of A Levels. We were all taking our mandatory English classes and upon graduation we were broken up into groups. Each group were asked to perform – I was already a Mak Kembang (how apt, eh? Hiks) in the Lela Mayang play, but for some reason we decided we also wanted to have a choir. I can’t remember if it’s us who chose these girls or the lecturers but P was asked to be conductor – because she’s already playing Grade 8 piano by then and Y who volunteered to be our er voice coach.

And we sucked spectacularly. We somehow did not jive, some of us bellowed, some shrieked, some shrilled; we were all singing from different notes; I do believe we all sounded as if we were trying to kill small animals with our voices. Which is weird because we do have some good singers in our group. We had Amy who could out-sung Whitney at any time and Maria; who always gets bullied by me (by locking her in our room; then we’d force her to sing Mariah Carey songs hehe).

So was I surprised that we did not get to perform on our graduation day? No I wasn’t. Besides, I was already performing as Mak Kembang so macam tak kisah sangat hiks, selfish gila aku ini.

Nombor 3: Smooth Criminal

Sadya, whom I had the pleasure to get reacquainted back, thanks to FB, was a HUGE Michael Jackson fan. She could do the moon-walk, the jengket kaki bit, everything. She could even rap yo! So talented. So it was Teachers’ Day and naturally we all had to put up a performance. So we did a skit that involved me playing a Chinaman (which actions and speech I copied from my Cikgu Perdagangan – who wasn’t too pleased of my talent to mimic him teehee) who owned a coffeeshop whose waiter/waitress decided to party and dance to...you got it, Smooth Criminal while I was away.) Cue: Me shouting something about leaving in a hurry and the waiter/waitresses tukar baju ala Michael Jackson (jeans/shirt I suppose – we weren’t flashy enough to afford those curls then heh heh). I do believe it went rather well.

Except that bit when the Cikgu Perdagangan walked, no stomped over to me and told me loudly that “LU AH ADZLEEN, SANGAT JIAHAT HATI!”

Hehe.

Eh chop, is it Man in the Mirror ek? Dammit LUPAAAA. Ham quite sure it’s Smooth Criminal sebab Man in the Mirror is not so danceable kan? I mean not kedai-kopi-after-hours-jadi-bar-and-dance-floor danceable.

Nombor 2: I’ll be There.

OK granted. This is not a Michael Jackson song per se, but rather Jackson 5. But what’s this song without Michael’s distinctive voice kan? Also, granted, I first heard the Mariah Carey’s version first but quickly fell in love with the original version, I mean who wouldn’t? I liked this song because we played this song to death some years back, the band members and I. By then, the once 9-members strong dwindled to maybe few of ours, Aidy on lead, Ian on drums, whoever was available for rhythm or bass and us girls for vocals; I think it was only just Nyz and I by then. We were mucking about in the studio and decided that we should do a er light acoustic version of this song (on account that we didn’t have enough band members available hehe). Aidy strummed and we attempted (rather, OK-ish too! We don’t get to do this OK often teehee) to harmonise. It worked. I was real chuffed. I miss jamming lah.

Nombor 1: We are the World/Beat It

It was a toss between these two. No other reason other than the fact that the songs are never lapuk, one can just click/play/choose the song and it’ll still feel and sound contemporary to me. OK maybe I’m not the best person to talk about music; I mean what do I know? Belajar theory pun up to Grade 3 only hehe. I suppose it would be presumptuous of me to say what I said. But it’s like this lah, I’ll never get bored of those songs – I can listen to them whenever, and I’d still like it, just like when I first heard it many, many moons ago.

Also, I like the ad-libs. The whoops, the shrills, the shrieks. So best.

Other who didn’t make the list but should: Man in the mirror, Thriller, Bad, ABC (Jackson 5), The Way you Make me Feel; Black or White, You Are Not Alone, Say, Say, Say. RIP Michael, you’re missed.

Delayed Transmission, Selective Memory.

This blog entry comes in three parts that are of no consequence to each other.

Pertamanya, I am, at this moment of time, pissing in my pants. Not literally lah, of course. This unnecessary duress is brought by the fact that my last class for vocals is this Thursday. We were all requested to perform one song for showcase. By showcase, I mean, sing in front of the lovely cikgu and the students; possibly even in front of Faridah M *gasp* and the lovely cikgu’s husband who also sometimes teaches and OMG he is very, very strict. *Hyperventilates*

Way back at our first class (has it been only few months?), we were also asked to sing; I suppose to gauge where we are and all that. I sang Over the Rainbow. During the “test” round few weeks back, for lack of ideas, I re-sang that song again. Two days before the FINAL class, I got hit by a brainwave (doesn’t come very often, this) and thought maybe Over the Rainbow is getting wee bit boring to sing (and for others to hear). I don’t know why is it that my brains thinks about all other unimportant and semi-important things like, uh, how Azrina used to lick Puspa’s glasses for fun (and for that gross factor); why are the highways still congested despite its 4-5 lanes; why are men such assholes sometimes and how come some of the dodgier girls get the best ones??; and how is it some people can eat and eat and only gain weight in their hair? So yeah, it took AGES for this puny brain of mine to come around and panic about this Thursday. Sigh.

So I agonised over it, panicked, agonised about it some more and made the mistake of discussing it with The Flack. I mean, she was just trying to help of course, but she suggested almost a million songs that I get more confused by the minute. I initially thought of doing Don’t Cry for Me Argentina (the Madonna’s version of course, I don’t think I can carry Elaine Paige’s version, mati gue). My reservations for that song is that...it is a long song and with reference to my puny brain above...I might forget the lyrics; which is wont to happen. So we discussed and contemplated various other songs: Home Sweet Home (Motley Crew – but Carrie Underwood version), Bengawan Solo (Tak cukup nafas), Boeroeng Kaka (Did we discuss this? Lupa lak), A Shoulder to Cry On (HAHAHAHAH, er no), Widuri (Lagu abang-abang genduts kat karaoke), Sweet Chile of Mine (Takde muzik tak best), Zombie (Ibid, also dah bosan), That Evanescence song (ibid). She even suggested Britney Spears, tapi...NO. On my own, I had contemplated Gemilang (Jac Victor) and Animal Instinct (Cranberries). Gemilang is er a karaoke song and don’t think I can carry it without any accompanying muzak and Animal Instinct macam no challenge, kan?

So after getting fantastically confused, I decided to choose...Asmara. It’s short-ish (2 minutes aje), the range is also very the OK, ie. I do not have to grow gonads besides my ears to sing it (re: Elaine’s Don’t Cry etc etc or the end bit for Sweet Child of Mine - even if the latter is more enjoyable to sing hehe) and most importantly, I think I am able to memorise the lyrics within these two days. I THINK LAH.

Wish me luck. *sweats* *blows into paper bag*

Keduanya.

Oh shit I can’t remember what was it I wanted to talk about. Argh.

APA DIA??? ARGH.

Ketiganya and the most important one (well now that there's only two things, so it's the more important one, rather than most kan?):

This is long overdue, but an elephant never forgets (does this means I’m losing weight? Cause I seem to be able to remember a lot of things! Hiks). Anyway, I would like to thank those people who had responded to my text messages some months back. The stories was, BB – the producer for Hikayat Merong wrote us an email to say that an En. Nordin from Gombak wrote to them to ask if he could bring 30 kids to watch rehearsals for the show because they can’t afford the tickets to the actual show. Sedih tak dengar?

At that point of time, BB was looking for corporate sponsors. I was thinking that corporate sponsors will take some time to deliberate and the show was only few days away. I told BB that I’ll see what I can do and to leave it to me. I sent a text message to all my friends and to my delight, within minutes, I was able to get sponsors for 30 kids. In the end, I managed to pool in a shade below RM2,000. Fantastic no? Just among us, we managed to send 76 kids, 6 teachers and 2 parents to watch Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa. Who knows? Their interest for English theatre might just be ignited with that show. From the email we received, I’m glad to read that they pretty much enjoyed the show. Thank you so much from the bottom of my blubber; I’d list to list their names, but I had been told by some of them that they rather not be known. Here’s the email received by En. Nordin. I’m well chuffed, yo. To my friends, jasamu dikenang.

I think you can click to view the bigger photo. I think lah.

Pisang emas dibawa belayar,
Masak sebijik, di atas peti,
Hutang emas boleh ku bayar, (boleh kah? Hehe)
Budi yang baik di sanjung jua.

I still cannot remember what was it I wanted to tell before this. Argh. Tidak mengapa lah. Wish me luck for Thursday y’all!

Will this Stupidity Never End?

Remember this time? OK if you are lazy (like me) to click on the link, it’s that time during my first week here in the office where I went home, quite forgetting my wallet in the drawer. I had to beg and plead the toll girl (I didn’t have Touch N Go then) to let me off gently.

Remember? Yeah well, it has happened again (cue: all around groans and feverish whispers of “mangkuknyeeee kau ini.”).

This time, it was not the toll girl I had to plead with but *amek napas* none other than the glorious Faridah Merican. This happened last two weeks but I am still very much embarrassed by the whole incident. And you know? That was not the first time I showed her tremendous Duh-ability on a Hari Bodoh either.

The first time tu was during the vocal classes where I stood next her, thinking, hmm...I know this person, it’s like I’ve seen her before (!!!!) tapi di mana ya?

And she shook my hands and introduced herself: Hi, I’m Faridah.

NNnnnghhhhhhh. Rasa bodoh OK.

The second time was after the vocal class (another time, not the same day, thankfully) when it was raining cats and dogs and pigs and flying saucers. There it was, this huge ass car, parked at a corner, at the angle which would allow me to get out from my carking space. I was waiting and honking gently at first then wait some more and honked louder when I realised that there are actually almost a million cars lined up behind me, waiting for my car to get out. This doesn’t happen very often, but I suddenly had a light bulb moment and thought, “Hey, maybe *I* can’t get out but other cars can; so perhaps I should just back out and re-park my car and wait for the (stupid) owner to eventually come and remove his car. So at least I wouldn’t be holding up the rest of the car kan?

And who’s the car right behind me? Faridah and her husband, Joe. And you know? She was so nice that she asked me how long did I have to wait for the driver of the blasted car to eventually moved his car. Baik kan? I mean, she could’ve just told me off for holding up the traffic.

The ultimate was last week where I rushed to KLPAC to watch Titis Sakti*with Henny and Nyz. I was right chuffed when I managed to arrive with few minutes to share. I was even more chuffed that I managed to secure the tickets quite sometime back instead of the usual flurry last minute panic to purchase tickets. I went up to Henny to hand over her ticket to her...AND THENNNNNNN.

I realised that I left my wallet (and tickets) at the office! I ran to the tickets counter and asked if they have any more tickets for sale left which they replied in negative. I wouldn’t have minded forgoing this time and watch the show the next day or something but Henny and Nyz drove so far and so fast to get to KLPAC on time.

How lah how lah?

Henny, being ever optimistic, said it’s OK maybe we can tell them we already bought the tickets and they’ll let them in anyways. Yeh, right. We went again to the tickets counter. I saw my vocal teacher and Faridah and went up to say hi to them (sempat lagi kan?) Henny, for some reason went to them and told them of our predicament (I think Henny thought they were the ones manning the admission). Faridah looked at my panic-stricken face and went to the counter, wrote on a piece of paper and told the girl at the counter that I would be handing over the tickets to her personally the next day.

You know how relieved I felt? I was so relieved I wanted to just slide to the floor and hug her legs or something. Except I didn’t. Because I girl mahhh, I shy. I did remember to thank her profusely though.

*Titis Sakti is loosely based on Midsummer Night’s Dream but played on makyong platform. It was superbly excellent and I’ve never laughed so loud and so hard in a theatre performance before. Sikit lagi kena halau keluar.

Tagged.

I was tagged by the smoky, sultry, sexy not-so Bedah T about the six things that makes me happy. Which is a right conundrum because 6 only? I have so many things that make me happy - don't you all? Eh hang on. It's Six UNimportant things that makes me happy. But I feel that if they make me happy then they're all somewhat important. Not as important as say, being able to breathe and have enough money to pay bills but you know.

SO OK. Six Unimportant things that makes me go wheeee, in no particular order.

1. Good food. At this point, as in now, today, it's a toss between my mom's nasi biryani and that really super-sedap nasi campur at this waroeng in Ubud. It's situated (no, not under a tree heh heh, sorry, old joke) not in the central of the touristy places but erm, towards going out of Ubud? It's mostly frequented by the locals. It's damn cheap too - we had their usual staple lah, rice, vege, tempe (oh loveeee), ayam penyet goreng garing, some sambal. And es jeruk. Ya Allah, so sedap nak mampus.

But Mama, bila nak masak nasi biryani lagi ni?

2. Air-conditioned car - Actually, this should be an important thing kan? Especially during this scaldingly hot season sekarang, if you do not have air-conditioning in your car, you not only be unhappy but also, very, very psychotic. And pissed. And terribly mad at the world, especially at the Kancil driver with the tempat sidai jeans in front of you who drives at 50km/h tapi drive kat fast lane. Hangin satu badan, yo.

3. A very good joke - any funnies, really. A line I read, a joke told by the DJ, some lawak bangang retold by a pakcik at a kedai kopi, some blogs, a cartoon strip, my mother...A recent one I heard was during the Meet the Fans sesh with Robbie Fowler (oh how I casually mention his name teehee) where a fan asked how he felt about Man Utd loss to Barca during the recent match. His response was: "Devastated." hehe.

4. A very good song. Especially one that can take me back in time where things were much simpler and the waist were much smaller (albeit, this is subjective, since I was never really small). Like how Sweet Child O Mine always perks me up, especially sung live.

5. An unexpected news - like someone telling you (me) that you're (I) am good looking *ahem* - even if you know they're taking a piss at cha. Or, that this Friday is a public holiday and so it'll be a long weekend. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy.

You guys take care too OK. I'm off to nurse my jetlag from the Singapore trip teehee.

*Pulls hair*

So I thought that I should really do something about my life. Earlier this year, call it a resolution if you want, I am just calling it a "thought"; so I thought that I wanted to continue last year's "thought" that is to learn a new skill this year. (I am thinking now, one of the "new" skill I should learn is spelling and grammar because dammit, it's going to the dumps.) I didn't manage to learn anything new last year - save for perhaps I now knew how to be angry at so many people, it's so not kelakar anymore. And I wonder why people stopped asking me to lepak with them anymore heh heh.

Anyway, after listening to various people on how much they suffered while doing their MBAs because it's a bitch to juggle between long hours at work, school assignments and social life (non-existent), I thought heyyy, just what I need. So I thought, what a lark, let's try this out and so I decided to register for this coming June semester.

Now, please realise that I have actually wanted to do this since last year. Once I put my mind to it, I'm quite kian-cheong in a sense that I tak sabar-sabar want to start on it. So I pestered Snots by sending her the MBA forms (she had initially wanted to do it together with me) and I pestered Toots and tried to convince her that MBA is just what she needs in 2009 and I did my forms and checked their website almost all the time to check on their schedule to submit my application.

Except that I didnt earlier this year because I was feeling all bleh about things and that I was also getting wee bit busy with this and that. And then I got into hospital for the blasted infected ear pus thing and having nothing much to do at the hospital, I checked their website.

THE DATE TO SUBMIT THEIR e-MBA FORM FOR JUNE INTAKE WAS IN FEBRUARY!!!!

Or was it March? Camtu lah kiranya I missed the date.

NNnnnnnnnghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Pundek sangat tau. Bila aku dah tengok hari2 takde lah dia tulis the date, bila dah tak tengok tiba-tiba dah terlepas.

*Hits head on the wall*

Then I saw a small note to say that they've decided to extend the deadline to 30 April. I was absolutely delirious with happiness yo. It didn't matter that (1) I am still hospitalised with a big gauze permanently lodged at the side of my face which made me look like Princess Leia gone mad (or just plain mad person). (2) All my forms (the one I had lovingly completed) are at the office and no one would know where I've placed them.

Sigh.

Luckily, they had an online application which I did. Luckily luckily also, I was discharged on 30th April itself. I was still on MC so I need not be at the office. I went anyway because I needed to get referee report from my employers. I then rushed to Shah Alam where I got a referee report from the great Feebs and got my other forms CTC.

I managed to submit my forms on deadline day almostttt (but not quite) to the deadline time.

Phew.

So I religiously checked the website for any updates. Few weeks ago, my heart broke into a gajillion pieces when I was told that my application was unsuccessfull (sic) and that I should contact a certain Ms. F for Local intakes.

Which I attempted to. Except that she either takes very long toilet breaks or was engaged. Haiyoh. When I finally got through, she informed me that they were still evaluation the 2nd batch's applications (the ones submitted during the 2nd extension) and they would let us know accordingly. Unfortunately, their online application do not have a "Your application is being evaluated" script hence the "unsucessfull" bit. This is of course, after telling me that it is likely that my application was rejected because I did not submit the forms (I did) or that I did not submit the forms correctly (I did - the clerk at the Graduate School checked for me) or that I did not have enough work experience (I do - more than 10 years is more than sufficient, no?) or that my degree result was below their requirements (it's not. It was within their requirements). Nnnnngh.

Nevertheless I thanked her and decided to call later-later.

So just now I called again, seeing that it's already going to June and I still receive that "your application was unsuccessfull (sic) bit. Ms. F answered and she told me this time that my application *WAS*unsuccessfull (teehee).

But whyyyyyyyyyyy???

Oh, because sebenarnya memang dah penuh dah application untuk eMBA di Shah Alam even at the first batch of applications.

So there's really no need for them give that second deadline pun.

THEN WHY DID YEW DO ITTTTTTTT??

She then pacified me and told me that the applications received during the second batch will be considered for their November intake. Which is alright no? Except that she also said, within the same breathe, that should I be interested to go for the November intake, I have to re-apply again.

I thought I heard wrong because of you know, my pekak-ness.

She said, that's right, I have to reapply again for November intake.

I mean, SERIOUSLY. (can you see I'm getting more and more upset by the minute by my liberal use of capitals? hehe).

WHY THE HELL DID YOU BOTHER HAVING A EFFING EXTENDED DEADLINE WHEN THE COURSE HAS ALREADY ENOUGH QUOTA FOR STUDENTS AND YOU'D NEED TO RE-APPLY FOR THE NEXT INTAKE ANYWAY? WHAT KIND OF MADNESS IS THIS? WHYYYYY DO WE HAVE PEOPLE LIKE THIS WORKING FOR AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION????

Yep, I'm pissed alright. Bukan selalu tau, aku rasa nak belajar. My mom has tried that for many years and failed taw; it's still a mystery (to my friends, family and even me) how I managed to glide through school/college/uni years.

Dia nak aku apply balik? Pergi mampus.

Kedai Kerinting Rambut Bobo*.

I made up that one of those Do you fink you know Leen Ashburn quizzes up on FB and I must say, the results have been rather disappointing. It’s almost as bad as my results on a lot of my friends’ similar quizzes lah hehe.

Only Jeeks scored 75% - average scores are 37%, which is 3 out of 8 questions correct.

Were my questions so hard that no one could angsa it?

For lack of any ideas to blog (doncha just love cop-out entries like these? Teehee), here are the questions:

1) Leen has studied at these places EXCEPT

a) Cheras

b) Kluang

c) Hull

d) Kuantan

e) Johor Bahru

I think almost everyone who knows me personally would have gotten this one right so no surprises lah.

2) Kids can be so cruel at times. My nicknames were all these EXCEPT

a) Tok Gajah

b) Mok-moks

c) Ashburn

d) Hippies

e) Queenie

Hehe. I have never been called Mok-moks. Not too my face anyway. Takut I sit on them kot? I most hated Queenie because it's short for Queenie Kadzly, which Fraggles thought it was very funny. Fraggles (and I believe Han also, kan?) has this warped sense of reasoning where I can't remember how or what but Queenie Kadzly is somehow linked to this guy in Sekolah Agama whom we all didn't like because he was poyo. Fraggles spread this rumour that I had a crush on him. Sheesh. For the record, I had a crush on a Chris Finch lookalike, thankyewberrymudge. OMG I just googled Chris Finch and he's still alive!! Chris used to dance for Madonna in some video clips - Who's that Girl. Sigh. He's sooo cute *fwaw*. He's still cute circa 1999. So was that guy I had a crush on, I mean, when he was 14 he was cute lah, I have no idea what happened to him.

Chris Finch single cover. Wah I didn't know he released a single in 1989!

Tapi by then I had moved on to bigger and better things...like Donnie Wahlberg teehee.

3) What did I want to be when I was little?

a) Zookeeper

b) Lecturer

c) Singer

d) Marine Biologist

e) Housewife

I don’t even remember why I did. I think I didn’t have a reason pun. Remember those forms that you had to complete when you were in school? For some reason I've put in "marine biologist" for many years for no absolute reason at all.

4) What is my favorite type of music?

a) House

b) R&B

c) Rock

d) Jazz

e) She only listens to Britney Spears

*tangkap kelawar and eats them alive* ROAAARRRRR. I fink I can headbang rather well too. WHAT DO YOU MEAN HEADBANGING IS SO 1980s??

5) What song would I choose to sing at a karaoke bar?

a) Zombie

b) Cindai

c) My Immortal

d) Bootylicious

e) Kau Mawarku

HAHA trick kreshen. I think only 1 or two managed to get it correct. Zombie is like soooo 2005 man. I got bored of singing Zombie because that is what I seem to be singing all the time. Sadly, it is the ONLY song that I can remember the lyrics too which makes it quite boring if I have to do impromptu singing. Which happened a coupla times when surrounded by drunk friends :-P.

6) My favourite story books when I was a kid.

a) Peter & Jane series

b) Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel and the like.

c) Nancy Drew series

d) Amelia Jane series

e) St. Clares

I LOVED Nancy Drew, I even fretted that I did not have strawberry blonde hair like hers. I think I have read all her books bar a few lah. Amelia Jane comes a close third. Second is Mallory Towers series. Oh oh, actually one of my other favourite right up there with Nancy Drew would be the Enchanted Wood series. I LOVEEE that one.

This is not Ujang. Just a random beruk playing with himself in Monkey Forest, Ubud. Typical.

7) She had these for pets before EXCEPT

a) Hamster

b) Fish

c) Ducks

d) Cats

e) Beruk

I’ve babysat a friend’s hamster and they only lasted a night. They’re noisy as fucks at nighttime, how to sleep? Now Karma is biting my ass – that psychotic cat that is Jose meows ever so LOUD outside my door at 3am without fail. Actually our ducks lasted all of few months also. One day, they decided to waddle out of our front gates and never came back. Sniff. They were a cute pair too.

And Ujang. I thought I’ve blogged about him before? Ujang is the name of my beruk. My dad got him for me when I was 10 I think and since our house was not conducive for a beruk (i.e. no coconut trees), we placed him at my Tok Mak’s house. Initially he was tied to a long pole like thing. Later, my dad then built a cage big and comfortable enough for him to romp about inside.

Ujang only loved/responded to my Tok Mak and myself. Whenever one of us called out to him “Ujaaaaaaaaaanng” he would respond back “Ooooooooh” or just pouted his lips if he’s feeling lazy. He loves to play with our hair, pretending to pick our imaginary ticks of our scalps. He loved bananas. Ujang would go berserk when he saw us bringing food to him. He would leap from one end of the cage to another (Toldja the cage is huge) and shriek so LOUD.

Anyway, one day, he somehow managed to escape the cage and ran off. We were told that he went into the nearby surau to filch some ‘nanas heh. My dad later told me that they managed to capture him and he brought him to the zoo as my Tok Mak was ailing and couldn’t look after Ujang anymore . :-(

I can still remember his “Ooooooohh”. :-(

8) Her favourite past times are all these EXCEPT

a) Reading

b) Trekking

c) Travel

d) TV

e) Singing

Siapa tatau ni memang sahih lah bukan kawan aku.

* Kedai Kerinting Rambut Bobo terletak di Subang Parade.

Marilah Menonton Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa!

I am running out of ideas to talk about the roundabout. But I am back at work. Dad pulak now in hospy for pneumonia. Kasihan my amma sebab having to rush to hospital still. Took public transportation to go to work for the first time evah just now. The last time I took public transportation, I had fever and flu for weeks.

But seriously, I am running out of ideas. I thought I had a smidgen of an idea, felt that it could be something brill (at least, to me hehe), tapi bila dah type, rasa cam bosan and I'll lose stim kodok after a paragraph.

Oh oh oh oh. I do have this to plug though.

Some friends of mine will be staging Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, 14-17th May 2009 at the Lambang Sari in Istana Budaya. What can you expect?

If you liked Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, then “Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa – It’s Your Life. Don’t be Afraid to Live” – is for you. You can’t miss this 100% adventure epic. This is the perfect weekend answer for you, your friends and your family.

Why watch this play?

Because it’s super good (you can catch snippets of the sword fights and other scenes on the event page).

And because this play will relate to you.

At certain crucial times in your life, you probably felt (maybe at this moment) like you’re:

• Forced or compelled to do something against your own principles for others?
• Torn between your own desires and loyalty to friends and family?
• Making sacrifices for a greater good?
• Caught between self happiness and your responsibility for others?
• Ever felt like you were betraying your friends when sticking to your principles?

Watching Merong could help you decide. Trust me, you’ll relate to this gripping tale and how it plays out in the end.

Wow…so what happens in the end?

In the end…go watch it! I ain’t giving no spoilers except that you’ll come away knowing that life’s greatest challenges lie in the choices we make for ourselves.

So this is a serious drama?
No way. Expect plenty of humour, action and excitement throughout. It’s a great script (written by our very own Marina Tan).

Got action also?
Got! Martial art choreographers were brought in for the sword play and other fight scenes. Plenty of adrenaline-pumping moments to keep you at the edge of your seats. Wolverine, take note, please!

Check out the cool, colourful costumes too, designed by multiple Boh Cameronian Arts Award winner Dominique Devorsine; one of Malaysia’s leading theatre costume and wardrobe visualisers.

Kids can watch ah?
Can! When they see the period costumes and the fight scenes, they’ll be watching big-eyed and with awed smiles on their faces. And aren’t we adults kids at heart?

Anybody Famous? Can act or not?
So many…and boy are they good:

• Megat Sharizal of Puteri Gunung Ledang fame. You may recognize him also from Shuhaimi Baba’s 1957 Hati Malaya.

• The famous and irrepressible Sham Sunder Binwani – a household name and face, not forgetting award-winning actor. Easily recognisable for his many appearances in plays.

• Tony Leo Selvaraj – the multi-talented musician, singer and actor who shone in his multi-character turn in the Christmas Carol.

• Tuan Faisal Azmy – versatile producer and actor, seen in Menipulate: The Movie, Kisah Gadis, Oh My God! and other leading and ensemble stage/screen roles.

• Siti Farrah Abdullah – active nonstop from hosting Santai Bersama in 2004 to last year’s A Christmas Carol.

Other spirited cast members of this fun production are Shafiqah Shafie, Sani Zainal Abidin, Nick Dorian, Vicky Balasundran, Nyza Zaini and Acat Aziz. More about them here.

A big thank you to our sponsors:

• Technopreneurs Association of Malaysia (TeAM) and MyGo Solutions (collaborating on the interactive game Langkasuka, inspired by the classical myth Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa)
• Words Wizards Creative Communications
• BluBricks Learning Studio

Where to buy ticket? Got family / group discount?
Logon to http://ticket2u.biz/. Yes, there are discounts:
• Family discounts - Buy 2 adult + 1 child’s ticket, get 1 more child ticket free!
• Group discounts for schools and centres (10 students or more) - email us for more information!

Book your tickets now! Quick before they’re sold out! They’re fast moving!
Show dates:
Date May 14 May 15 May 16 May 17
Day Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Time 10.00AM 10.00AM 3.00PM 3.00PM
8.30PM 8.30PM 8.30PM

Lucky Draw!
Each night and matinee show – 3D/2N vouchers at Rumbia Resort Villa, Paka, Terengganu

Contact Us
• Web: http://merongepic.com
• Email: enquiry@merongepic.com
• Telephone number and contact person regarding the show:
o Marina Tan – 012-902 5087
o Grace Quah – 012-205 1545

Come watch Merong! Bring your friends and family.
Support this one-of-a-kind production.


OK I copy pasted that from the email blitz we've been getting. But yeah hey, contact me if you guys are interested to watch it, I can get the tickets for you. Mari lah support kawan-kawan, let's d'jom!