CNY Tripod Fun.

Started the new year with attending the mass on CNY Eve which lasted till the year transitioned.

Woke up the next day on the 1st day unusually early to start the annual routine of visiting and collecting angpaus.

Put on obligatory new clothes to "usher" in the new world. Just like the rest of the Chinese population.

Started camwhoring as soon as things started getting bored.

Stumbled upon a reflective glass pane and got a shot.

Proceeded to other houses for visiting, or rather "pai nien". Had loads of food and collected a number of angpaus in the process.

The addition of a 2 year old cousin, Amelia, who seems to have a penchant for posing as well, not to mention intruding in most of our photos are evident in the shots. Also seems to have taken a liking to the tripod, constantly working it like a camera and wanting to "snap". Future protege of mine, perhaps?

And of course, camwhored like crazy. Only thing this year was that I decided to bring the tripod along - hence, the full length shots and orchestrated poses.

After a long and tiring day, it still boils down to family unity and I got the entire family shamelessly posing for my camera at the side of the road, regardless.

Happy Chinese New Year.

I guess I'm not too late. =)

Busy, Busy, Busy

The past two weeks have been insane (and the weeks to come even). Never a moment for me to stop and breathe. School hasn't been entirely helpful with the sudden explosion of homework and assignments. As of this moment, going to school is like attending a daily crash course on Economics, General Studies and English Literature. The teachers seem to be trying their utmost best to shove the entire syllabus down our already swollen throats in the time frame of these few weeks. Just take for instance, in previous years, I used to be able to fill my first few months of school with multiple novels and storybooks as there isn't anything much going on in school. Now, the only thing I'm cramming down my brain is Chapter 32 of Jane Eyre. Yes, it's just been two weeks and she's a;ready finishing the book - the book which none of us in class had spent the holiday reading in which we find ourselves struggling now to keep abreast with the teacher's speed.

Coupled with that, I've just started tuition class on my General Studies as well. Above that, I still need to find the time to juggle between my school work, tuition class, house chores and club duties. It's a total whack at the rate I'm going now and I won't be the first to say that a trainwreck is bound to happen. Most of my time are distributed unequally for school work, after school activities, house chores and tuition. If I'm not spending my time, juicing my brain to do a proper analysis for one of Thomas Hardy's poem, I'm probably spending time drawing up organization charts for the club or arranging the details for the next meeting or even worse, compiling pictures for the school administration as I'm one of the many photographers for the school. Did I mention, I'm spending a lot of time on that because my computer's running a tad bit thin on space? It's like a spring cleaning going on in my hard drives.

Speaking of which, Chinese New Year is just slightly more than a week away which means I have myself knee-deep in the new year preparations. This year mom has taken the liberty to recruit me without prior notification to help out in almost all of her baking. Not that I'm complaining or anything. It's just awfully hectic to be coming home from school at 6pm (after a long drive) and still get your hands dirty in flour in making Chinese New Year delicacies. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy these frivolities at this time of the year, since it only comes once in a year. Even tomorrow, a Saturday, mom has told me to accompany her to the market at an ungodly hour in the morning to do some marketing (think spices, poultry, crustaceans and the likes) for the Reunion Dinner. Oddly though, I have been looking forward to this even in the beginning of the week, seeing that the visit to the market is a mandatory yearly practice - you know, to get in with the entire new year mood with the folks in town.

I'm also lacking on sleep. Yes, I used to limit my weeknights bedtime to 12a.m. the most all these years to at least preserve a little sense of awareness in class the following day. But currently, I find it hard to keep to this rule, especially with the amount of work I've been receiving. Right now, my bedtime's usually 1.30a.m. if I get lucky or if my eyelids suffer a spasm from staring too long at the monitor. So much for trying to correct my biological clock with a proper school time. The most sleep I get on normal days are about 5 hours or less before I have to wake up and prepare for school, zombie-like, no doubt. Even with this, I still have a tonne of assignments still waiting to be given attention too. All my work completed are usually sufficient enough to get me by the classes the following day without upsetting the teacher.

Sigh.

Talk about leading a hectic life.

Perfect Distractions.

One would assume, after all these years of going through the same routine, I might just get accustomed to it and most likely feel numb about the whole process and just get on with it. But no, I feel oddly compelled to become my whiny self and complain over tiniest detail as I reluctantly pack my survival kit of books, paper and pen to embrace yet another school term. Then again, I can't help but wonder and be curious as to what this new (and final) year at school might bring to the table. New (and better) teachers, I hope. New school management? New furniture perhaps? I did notice the new paint job the school got as I was passing the school the other day.

Anyway, this year, God must have heard my pleas and for once, after so many years, he has shown mercy on me, for I've found a couple of perfect distractions to ease my emotional distraught and help me settle in school. One of which happens to be a DVD compilation of games which I happen to borrow from somebody from church on New Year's Day itself. Talk about godsend. Thank heavens for the DVD, I'm currently hooked on games like Ancient Quest of Saqarrah, Turbo Pizza, Diner Dash and Chicken Invaders, just to give you a peek. God knows I have a mental capacity of a 10 year old child which explains the childish preference when it comes to games. What with the regular crash and burn of the computer, I hardly keep these games on my computer let alone, get addicted to them. So I take it as some sort of a distraction from going back to impending doom reality.

Upgrading my pizzeria!

Apart from that, I've also recently downloaded a couple of new albums which not only redefines my taste in music and shapes even more of my personality, they are also great tracks to get hooked on before embarking on a new journey - which in my case happens to be school. They're also big on providing relief, relaxation and a singing outlet - songs lyrically rich with good rhythm and beat to go with with an added tinge of pop and also mediocre vocals. Yeah, Mat Kearney and Augustana are definitely my bounce back tunes this season. I just can't put my finger on it but something about their music makes going back to school the very least, bearable. And the reason that I'm surprised is because both their albums weren't easy to find on the internet. So to be able to place my hands on them this time around, it must be God's work.



Also, another distraction which I've just re-discovered is gossip websites. Celebrity gossip websites which were, by no means, influenced by Gossip Girl. Yes, I've stopped following celebrity gossip sites or paparazzi sites about a few years ago, because I realize I'll never be able to catch up with the frequent updates and stuff, which I can still recall. However, about a few days ago, since I found out about the death of John Travolta's son, I've been hooked again on JustJared. I mean, how could I not? I didn't know there were so much things I've been missing. And JustJared isn't any blogger paparazzi wannabe, the site's the real deal with all the hi-res pictures and legitimate info. Step aside Channel E! and magazines, I'm back online. Speak about being shallow, and getting caught up with a fantasy world - I guess I still fit the bill.

At least now I know when I get home from a tiring day at school, I have something mindless to do on the computer to help me unwind and chill - whether it's shooting chicken (and avoiding eggs) or listening to music or reading juicy gossip about the cast of 90210 - I know I've got it.

In the meantime, I guess I'll be spending my free time in school catching up on Jane Eyre and the likes which I've successfully neglected over the holidays.

Little India Visit.

The other day, out of the blue, sam yi, who was out in Penang for the holidays dropped by my place for a brief visit with the entire bunch of young ones, before asking me to bring them around town to do some shopping. One of the places on their list was the Little India in town. So when they were doing their shopping, I used my camera and fooled around with the bunch of hyperactive kids under the hot sun.

The only shot to prove that we were actually in Little India.

The rest of the shots were taken in the walkways of random buildings around the area.

2009 : Change

Happy New Year 2009!

Another year has come and gone again, and look at the state of my blog - a blast it was last year with all the posts (or lack thereof). Never mind that. 2008 was a year with quite a number of significant milestones for me. Yes, there were ups and downs and I did have my fair share of trials and tribulations the past year. Then again, what's there to complain when I'm still here with all my loved ones, still going strong and who else would I thank if not God. I can honestly say 2008 was a good year for me and so I hope it was the same for you.

As today marks of the first day of the year, I'm beginning to wonder what 2009 might bring to the table. Hopefully, an equal share of good and bad. All I can recall is how I kept telling to myself yesterday as I countdown to the new year, was change. Lord knows that I of all people am in dire need of a change - taking risks, trying new things, lifestyle, attitude, behavior, and personality are what I have in mind. Change, a good way to herald in the new year isn't it?

If you're sharp, you might have even noticed by now the change I've done to the blog, all in good faith and hopes of jump-starting my half dead initiative in blogging writing. Unfortunately, yes, this is as far as I can go when it comes to these blog-skin-designing-with-HTML-coding which leaves me looking pretty redundant and foolish - but what the heck, it looks good enough. It's also all in my disguise for an image overhaul with the blog and my physical self.

Also, in the sake of my aforementioned change, I'm keeping this short and simple (hopefully as to all my future posts). I realized how unnecessarily lengthy and boringly draggy I was in my previous style of writing. How far away I drifted from attempting to be a little more descriptive to becoming boring and uninteresting. Oh, this is just one of the many self discoveries I made along the year 2008 as well. I guess all that time spent not blogging didn't go to waste after all.

Which reminds me, I'm desperately in need of some decent sleep to correct my damaged-beyond-repair biological clock.

Food Changes.

I've been experiencing a strange transition phase in my diet ever since a few months back. Don't worry, I haven't evolved into one those food-hating, holier-than-thou, health freaks, counting calories inanely and abiding to the bible of diets (Atkins is it?) religiously while constantly telling on the people around them about health facts and secretly despising the normal human for even eating. Not yet, at least. In fact, I've been oddly craving for things that I used to loathe before and recently developed a strange penchant for my all-time sworn enemy in food, the vegetable (a.ka. the greens) which I used to take pride in in declaring myself a carnivore, as could be seen on the blogger profile.


1. I eat vegetables (and secretly like it!)
One of the many tags that came along with my name when mentioned was that I hate greens and personally, I really hated greens. It has become mutual understanding among family members even, having them already given up on trying to feed me greens. Growing up, I've never much taken greens - except for an amazingly small range of selection which I was usually tricked to consume, cleverly disguised by amah in her dishes and later which I got used to (think long beans). Other than that, I've always had it in mind that vegetables make me hurl and I completely hated the fact that I couldn't discover anything nice in it, despite having everyone telling me to try it often given its "sweetness". Well, I never got the hang of it and I guess, psychologically, my brains did a splendid job in telling my innards to churn or my throat to gag when green approaches. Sorry, I was (and still am!) a very proud self-declared carnivore!

But things changed somewhere along February or March this year. I started taking vegetables out of no substantial reasons that I can't even explain to myself. It's like I woke up one morning and had an odd craving for the crunchy texture and the bitter taste of vegetable - result from accidental consumptions or tricked meals, traumatizing enough for me to remember it - to go along with my meal and voila! it was there, so I picked it up and I've never looked back. I've gotta confess though, I'm relatively new to this experience, therefore, my selection of vegetables are still on the narrow path given that I only recognize them by their physical appearance when I try to relate to mom what kind of veggies I prefer on the table. Mom being mom, already remember those few choices by heart and has been slowly trying to introduce other new types to me.

And yes, I still get a little nauseous from time to time when I have a head-on collision with reality. One of those "omg-what-am-I-doing-eating-veggies" reality check and then I hold back my breath to stop me from puking. Overall, I'm glad to say I can now actually have cravings for veggie, even simply prepared ones like cabbage in soy sauce which is a big change from what I used to be. Oh, I even have lettuce and tomato in my own-made sandwiches now though still richly slapped with mayonnaise and other cholesterol boosting stuff.


2. I like assam laksa (and I don't know why!)
I've never liked assam laksa before in my 18 years of life. Well, I don't really fancy laksa to begin with. My closest encounter with laksa would be when amah used to cook it and that was only on rare occasions when I succumb to her lemak laksa (a vast variant from the above mentioned) and that was even served without the necessary garnish - a selection of mint leaves, ginger buds, pineapples and etc. All I had was noodles and the soup and that was as far as I went with laksa, meaning that I've never had a bowl out of the home-made one.

That was up till about a month or two ago when I just had an inexplicable craving for assam laksa, which was totally weird beyond my wonders. The thing about it was that it came so randomly too. I was at the stall with the rest of the family when I just gave in to my urge while chowing down on something else and practically finished mom's bowl of assam laksa at the name of trying, having my face drenched in sweat by the end of the spicy ordeal (and even craving for more!). That particular bowl of assam laksa even came completely garnished and the surprising thing was that I didn't even seem the least bit bothered about them. Can anybody help explain this sudden phenomena? I remembered that I enjoyed it too, if I'm not mistaken since I haven't had a chance to have another bowl after that fateful day. Still, the craving do come on and off.

I'm just hoping this stays cause if it does I can finally be in the ranks of jie and mom where I can freely accompany them for their occasional laksa indulgence. I still gotta find out.

3. I like my Char Kuey Teow normal (cause I'm bored of mine!)

As I might've mentioned, I don't do spicy and greens and my greens used to include bean sprouts. All these while, I've always ordered my hawkers delicacy with the two elements removed. I've used the line so much that sometimes I think the hawker might already know what I'm going to say, especially the ones I visit often. The result of my bizarreness is to have my order like char kuey teow looking sickly pale in comparison with the normal ones and the greater gravity of this is to have nobody wanting to share it with me. At one point, I even felt childish as most children I saw in hawkers have the same pathetic looking char kuey teow as mine, which I managed to get out of my system since I really couldn't tolerate the spiciness and the raw taste of the chili and bean sprouts.

Again, I had one of my inexplicable random revelations and suddenly craved for a regular char kuey teows. This one has been going on for quite sometime but I only dared took the plunge about 2 weeks ago where I ordered a normal one (oh, the liberty of not needing to say anything extra besides "a plate of char kuey teow"!) and had a kick with it. Minor beads of sweat breaking out at the forehead was all the trouble I faced. Important thing was, I managed to gorge down a complete plate of regular char kuey teow and am looking forward for the next one - until I find one whose chili I can't bear, then I'd probably re-think it again. I always got my line learned, "No chili and bean sprouts!" memorized clearly in Hokkien dialect. Come to think of it now, was all the hissy fit and tantrums I used to throw at my parents when they get my order wrong necessary? The regular one doesn't taste as bad as I thought it would. Oh, and from my observation, some shops do add bean sprouts and reduce the noodles which annoys me totally.

4. I can take spicy food now!
Well, not all that spicy, but from all that assam laksa and regular char kuey teow, I guess its safe to say that my spiciness tolerance has improved. At least I hope so. I'm not sure if it's the beefing up of my senses or that this is part of my unconscious chase for the excitement in life that I've been missing - the adrenaline rush to downing noodles (or whatever) which causes a wildfire in my mouth seems encouraging enough for me to keep on going instead of having to put my tongue out in defeat. A real difference compared to a few months back when I won't even give spicy food a second look but now even McDonald's Double Spicy Chicken McDeluxe or KFC's Zinger Burger suddenly looks inviting enough, though I have yet to muster the courage to take that feat down. Haven't really taken the car out for a real ride, you know. I've even adapted a new found tolerance for the spiciness of nasi kandar dishes and even regular mee goreng at mamak stalls. I still sweat during those meals, but not as much as I used to and my dependency on iced water during those meals has reduced also. I take less sip in between my chewing.

I don't know. Am I suppose to feel proud about this?

Ok, so I realize even with me appallingly accepting vegetables, it still won't counter the amount of unhealthy rubbish ranging from fast food, hawkers and mamak stalls (nasi kandar) that I consume on a daily basis. However, I'm still equally baffled to what might've brought about such drastic changes in my food intake. Is this psychological or is this for real, real? I wonder if its got anything to do with turning 18 this year. I've heard people say in my defense over the years of taunting from others that my herbivorous nature need not be forced but it will eventually come in time. Is this the time? Or am I facing something bigger - a personality change perhaps? I know for one that I'm not succumbing to the pressure of the community who associates spiciness tolerance with the coming of age and maturity or even worse, the parent's training. Correct me if I'm wrong but I've always thought that it's a matter requiring more complex explanations regarding the uniqueness the human body and how it is special and different from everyone.

Well, it should be - so that others in the same boat wouldn't have to go through the belittling and mocking of an ignorant community. What's so wrong with not being able to take spicy food? It's not a crime. And to those who've always linked me being overweight to my habit of not taking greens, time's a changing now.

Wait, doesn't that mean I'm going to have to come up with a new 'About Me'?

Deadly Driving.

I've never been a fan of driving. The thought of having to control the knobs, the pedals and the wheel simultaneously while having to check all the mirrors, the sides of the vehicle, oncoming vehicles and pedestrians just gives me the chills. Despite the fact that I can multi-task, I've always thought that this would be the one multiple task I'll never accomplish. Which is why I've always told people that I prefer being driven than drive. Seriously, why bother about the traffic when I can just sit back and enjoy the view? Though I do admit, I sometimes imagine that I could speed like Paul Walker ala Fast and Furious or drift like Lucas Black ala Tokyo Drift after watching their movies - just for the adrenaline rush of course. Then again, occasionally, I do feel responsible for my own that I shouldn't be relying on mom or dad to chauffeur me around to places I wanna go but the feel of guilt alone isn't enough to drive me to, well, drive. Plus, I wasn't one who's affected by peer pressure.

Nevertheless, dad made me do it given that I'm almost over a year late from the legal age of driving in this country. If what I just mentioned wasn't clear indication, you can bet that I wasn't at all keen about getting my driver's license, knowing the full responsibility lying ahead - for starters, mom and dad are going to expect me run errands or pick/send people/things. Not to mention, the dangers of driving - verging on paranoia here but what other reasons could I give to stall? Anyway, late April, dad signed me up with a driving agent (one which previously got jie her license) given that I'm way past my legal age and the simple fact that I have some free time in my hands to kill since I have no computer to hog on. I wouldn't doubt that it has something to do with growing-up-and-being-a-man thing too. So, in order for the entire process to take place - the numerous listening courses and theory and practical examinations - dad spent approximately RM700 and at the end of the day, I'm still baffled about why people would actually want this.

Right after that, I've been making frequent back and forth trips to the driving agent's for listening courses on road safety, road law and generally, about the mechanism of cars. Naturally after those painstakingly and boring long hours of listening about Malaysian road rules, I had a simple computerised law test to pass to get a learner's license so that I can be behind the wheel for the practical part of the learning. After passing the law test, a driving instructor (mine was a friendly Malay chap whom I address as cikgu) was then appointed for me to have some hands on action. It was early May when I started driving in the training circuit, going up and down a training hill, parking and doing 3-point-turns while the instructor sits beside me and has his foot ready on the trainer's emergency brake. In this country, I'm supposed to have a practical training of an accumulated 8 hours before I could actually take a driving test with a government official. In reality, the process is much more complicated than what I've just placed, plenty of time wasting, unnecessary procedures and waiting involved but it doesn't make much of a difference now.

For my part, I did a 2hours session for 4 times, spread across the month of May before I took the test at the 29th of May, which is considered pretty fast by my standards considering I passed all of it in one attempt. Yeah, I didn't drag on, re-sitting tests. To be honest, I didn't believe I could even do it. Ask mom and dad and they'll tell you how silly and nervous I got prior to each test I had to take. My palms were sweaty, my heartbeat was up a notch and I began to gag while waiting in line for my turn to take the real test. I truly didn't think I could pull through any of it but I did and now, I've already gotten my probationary driver's license (and also a humongous letter 'P' stuck onto the rear window and the windscreen of dad's car) which I have to drive around with for 2years before I could get my permanent one. Still not thrilled. I mean, yeah, it's cool that I can drive and all but I don't feel any different. I honestly think that I shouldn't even be granted my license in the first place seeing how haphazardly I control the wheel. You know what I mean? I don't possess the urge to grab the car keys and speed off to somewhere. I don't feel any older or macho for that matter. I'm pretty much still the same.

OMG.

Failure to launch? I'm beginning to freak out. I know that getting their driver's license seems so ordinary for most people out there (namely, peers) and it appears like I'm making a big fuss out of it here. Well, I'm not, at least not even trying to. It's probably because I still don't believe that I can drive. Not believing in myself is one thing mom could never live with but to not have the skills to drive is another. Yes, I know how to work the clutch and the gear and the wheel but I don't think I could survive in the real road out there, apart from the road route we were taught to drive on during driver's ed. I still find the flashing lights and zooming vehicles a little too much to handle. Sure, I passed driver's test and that's gotta count for something but if you were me, you'd know that the driving test was almost bogus. As long as you get past the hill, park nicely and do a 3-point-turn successfully, you're done and as long as you go the route you've been trained on without crashing into another vehicle, you're done. I mean c'mon, my tester was half asleep when I drove him around the route we were trained on.

Still think that I can drive? Dad for one, could testify that I've got one too many almost-run-over-someone moments during one of the few times he gave me extra lessons on driving. It's like this with dad: I don't care if you've passed your driving test, you're not getting the car unless and until I say you're ready. Of course, dad is an excellent driver and I've always looked up to his driving skills and if he says so, there ain't no arguing. Truly, dad not only has the experience, but the passion to pass them down, seen here with jie. Where'd you think jie got her skills from? With him, he really opens my eyes and shows me my flaws in driving. There's no way I could argue with the things he say with the meagre time I've got at driver's ed. It's been 2days since dad has allowed me behind wheel and for that course of time, I discovered that I have zero estimation, I handle the steering wheel like a prick and that I'm still not used to the pedals. Thank God dad's letting me drive his auto instead of a manual. Tried that with jie's car and oh my, what trouble I got myself into even though the only cars they provide at the driving school are manuals. See, the whole process was barely helpful in real driving.

Well, slightly more than a month has passed since that dreadful day I had to sign myself up for driving and it seems so long ago that I was fretting over the Malaysian way of acquiring a driver's license. Just for the record, I'm still not excited about getting my license even more now with the recent petrol hike in the country. Great timing to start driving isn't it? But now that I can legally drive and I have dad to help me with my confidence in driving, I can only hope that I could get better in time. For the time being, other Penang drivers should watch out for another driver from hell (oh I'm bad!) - ultimately, pedestrians and aunties on bicycles or hot mamas with baby strollers, try your best to stay away from me. Oh, and also, I think other drivers should give drivers with "P" stickers a break and not honk that much. You'll never know how many people who are like me out there and being a little patient once in a while wouldn't kill. In other words, be nice to probationary drivers. After all, we are on probation. Either way, let's just hope I become a law-abiding driver and that no lives will be harmed in the process - cause heaven knows the roads do not need another reckless-driver!

Digital Lockdown.

The unsettling thing about losing my computer for 2 entire months wasn't that it took excruciatingly long for it to be fixed but the pure fact that I could actually still stand to breathe and wait for its return. Yeap, I'm proud I survived it - which isn't an easy task to achieve considering that I'm quite dependent on that electrically-charged machine. Basically, what happened was that, I return from a holiday trip just to discover that the computer has gone mute for no apparent reasons and after numerous and various futile attempts at reviving its volume, I had to go to jiu for help. Well, I wasn't prepared at what was going to happen next. So get this, he came and collected the computer after officially announcing its muteness and I've not seen or heard of it ever since up till about a month ago. I did, however, receive phone calls occasionally informing me about the arising number of problems, therefore prolonging the "hospital stay". It was one thing after another (take a deaf ear, coupled with a few strokes and a kidney failure - figuratively speaking of course - it only took time before it dies) and before I knew it, I was on my knees begging for mom and dad to get me a substitute.

If that wasn't agonizing enough for a modern day teenager who's 80% of his daily activities has to deal with the computer screen, the television set broke down about a week after the demise of the computer. Not to leave you in murky waters, if I'm not hogging the computer, I'd be a couch potato. Apparently, my next source of entertainment and connection to the outside world has also failed me. Astro (satellite TV decoder) came to a screeching halt all of a sudden - and I mean, total blackout. After deciding that the breakdown of 2 electrical appliances at once has got something to do with the bone-chilling storm (think thunder and lightning ripping the skies apart while I was unaffected in KL) dad did send it for a repair. Well, the old man needs his TV too, I suppose. The repair took about 4 days and when it came back, it still wasn't working well. It was just in and out of the hospital (figuratively speaking again) and since we hate the idea of having your show get cut off all of a sudden, we stopped watching TV. Till now, the decoder's a bit off, I have to admit, suffering sudden aneurisms. So what's a poor boy like me gotta do at a time like this?

It's true that I felt lost at a time when my digital world came crashing down. With nothing to click on or type on, I resorted to books that I've successfully neglected all these times with me putting it off thinking I have more important things to do on the computer (like downloading music). Sadly, I am one of the many procrastinators out there. Thankfully though, there were more than a few books for me to devour at a time of loss. Managed to finish about 3 novels at the time without my computer (the TV came back earlier) and that is saying something given that the average Malaysian only read about 2 books a year, so I've heard. Other than that, I got reconnected with outdoor activities like cycling and badminton. Photography was impossible considering I had nowhere to upload the pictures to or edit them. But most of all, I did rekindle my almost forgotten relationship with mother nature and am still trying to keep that fire burning in me. Surprisingly, the sores and the body aches at first (it was natural since I don't play much) didn't stop me from having fun with Edmund with a frisbee. I had to get used to sweating all over again, I tell you.

Although, I must say that I have quite the supportive family. Ah jiu and Adrian was kind enough to allow me to use their computers anytime I needed to. Initially, I had scholarships applications to print and such which I went to jiu's place for and subsequently, jie's assignments to help out with which had me utilizing Adrian's computer instead. I did however check my emails regularly at jiu's which is just a 10minutes walk away from my place, which I think was what triggered the outdoor mojo in me seeing that the park was just the same distance as ah jiu's place. But all in all, I didn't have my inbox flooded with spams over the months and I'm still pretty updated with the latest releases of music artists, even more so compared to Adrian at one point. I also had the time to read blogs which URL I remember and even got t hang around at Flickr. It was more than I could actually ask for for a digitally crippled boy. Though, I think anyone would agree, it's never the same feeling on someone else's computer. Yeah sure, jiu even allowed me to create a folder of my own to keep my junk (which is a very rare thing for him to do) but that couldn't keep me from missing my own computer and long for it to come back.

So, after having it back, I had so many updates to do which pretty much kept me busy for the next 2 weeks - downloading program updates, drivers (some files were messed up during the repair), restoring files, catching up with bookmarked blogs and emails and etc. etc.. Well, I must admit that I was trying to push blogging to the bottom of my list up till one point when I got really convinced I've lost it and was thinking of a new blog and all that nonsense. I mean, there were too many gaps and empty spaces to fill, events and emotions that I've forgotten about along the way, which became frustrating in the end to even try to fill or remember them. I even tried jump-starting my groove with a new template (the old one with a few changes) but to no avail. Somehow, I convinced myself that I owe nobody any explanations and that I'll be able to fill those missing pieces sooner or later and I guess it pretty much explains this particular one I'm writing here. The blog is mine, after all.

Oh, and I have to mention, I had to play host to a string of visiting friends and relatives after the 2 weeks I took returning my computer to the way it previously was. Let's just say I had to stop and breathe a bit. Life was just speeding on and I was just on it, striding along. And after all those crazy stuff, I had to go straight back to my former life with the beginning of a new school term. Now, if that isn't hectic, I don't know what is. Looking back, I can even convince myself that I really didn't have the time to sit down and write on my blog, instead of me putting it off. But what's important now is that I'm back and ready for action. I know, it's been quite a few times I've used the term "I'm back" but never seem to fully return. Well, I honestly hope this would be the last time I might need to use it. Then again, you'll never know when the lightning's gonna strike, right?

Backstreet's Back Alright!

If there's anything a person should do before he/she dies, attending a concert would be one of them. Speaking from a first-timer concert goer's point of view, of course and judging by the Backstreet Boys concert which I attended with jie. At least that was what we came up with while driving home all busted with our voices and adrenaline drained. And we were glad we actually made it for and to the concert despite of everything else. Frankly though, seeing that it was our first time attending a concert, we really didn't know what to expect - from the right shoes to the right time to the right gear to bring to the concert, we really weren't sure so we just followed what our instincts told us. And based on my instincts, we arrived 4 hours earlier before the actual stated time of the concert. Not surprising either, there were already a small crowd building up when we arrived.

My instincts would've been perfect if it actually came with a weather forecast. Only, it didn't and while queuing in line to be the first few to get in, a heavy downpour (lightning, thunder, strong winds, the whole package) came and left me drenched and soaked in both perspiration and rain water. Which was pretty disgusting considering my underwear was soaked as well, leaving me, literally dripping from head to toe. Jie was lucky cause she went to buy some food while I stood in line. So much for instincts. Being me, I pulled out from the crowd in the middle of the downpour, thinking that it would be pointless either ways to stick around with a crowd which wasn't that big yet, and instead, run for shelter. Besides, I had my camera in the bag and I couldn't risk it getting wet any further with the bag already half soaked.

But thanks to the rain, I got to meet VJ Alvey from Channel V at the front of the hotel and even got a picture with him.


Back to the concert, it was just plain amazing. Yes, even though I had to go barefooted because of the rain prior, causing my shoes to be uncomfortable, resulting in me taking them off and go barefooted instead and thank God, all my toes are still intact at the end of the concert! Also, having considered that I pulled out of the growing crowd during the downpour and continued queuing after, jie and I still managed to stand a good distance from the stage where the boys were still visible and not a distance the zoom of my camera couldn't compensate with. At one point though, during entering, the crowd got a little impatient due to the incompetent management of crowd flow and a little riot almost broke out. "Don't push", "We came first", "Let us in" were the only resounding phrases heard amongst other angry shouts and grumble of people cramped and confined in a small area while drenched in rainwater and sweat.



In spite of that, the concert was still sensational. The energy was there, the response were good and the boys were great! There was so much hype even before the boys came out, making the crowd look as if they were just insanely screaming at big black curtains covering the backstage. For that, you could really feel the dedication and love from the fans. A true fan couldn't even contain their joy when the boys finally hit the stage 45 minutes later than the stated time. At least, I couldn't when I was screaming and jumping along with the crowd when the Backstreet Boys made their opening in matching kick-boxing outfits. They connected really well with the crowd and you can definitely feel their love as well. They made it feel personal for everybody out there because you can just tell they handpicked the songs they performed that night. I mean, c'mon, their signature hits like As Long as You Love Me and I Want It That Way? They sure melted a lot of girls' heart that night. Me on the other hand, was just moved to tears by nostalgia.


Backstreet's Back from matrianklw on Vimeo.


Everyone from matrianklw on Vimeo.


Any Other Way from matrianklw on Vimeo.


You Can Let Go from matrianklw on Vimeo.


Unmistakable from matrianklw on Vimeo.


I Want It That Way from matrianklw on Vimeo.



Show Me The Meaning from matrianklw on Vimeo.

Oh, and I shouldn't mention my horrendous singing along to the music as I was partially shouting, straining my voice, while jumping along to the other rhythmic numbers. But then again, who cares? I wasn't the only one singing out of tune and the focus was on the Backstreet Boys whose voices easily drowns mine in the crowd. Though, I did feel a sense of togetherness when BSB sang along to the music. It was just fantastic and beautiful. Besides, I was more careful towards the camera than my singing. Which I should mention that I wasn't focusing on even taking still pictures, instead, I wanted videos and given that mine isn't a video camera, all I got was clips in minutes and seconds which was much to my satisfaction already since those videos don't come in mini size. I did, however, max up two cards that I have and even had to delete a few on the spot to make way for other performances. And do pardon me for the shaky videos as I couldn't really refrain from moving along with the awesome crowd but look on the bright side, my camera zoom did quite a good job. And below is a wallpaper I created from one of th best shots, I got that night!


Oh, and did I mention that I got that pair of tickets for free? Absolutely no charge! Thanks to The Star, we didn't even spend a dime. Not bad for the experience, huh? It was all worth it - the rain, the crowd, the 6 hours on foot and definitely the Backstreet Boys! Which is the first reason I'm still here in KL to begin with.

Life's good!

P/S: I know there's an awful lot of videos posted, but if you're a fan of BSB, you should definitely want to check them out. Just be patient with the loading. Plus, it won't take that long. It's just a few minutes long.