Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Warning from Taylors!

A rather hectic schedule that I have for my holidays kept me away a while from blogging. As a result, a clear lack of updates for days.

Holidays. Something is wrong with it this time. I'm supposed to be free for 9 days, where I could spend my time on my playstation, guitar, violin, reading, etc. But heck, piles of assignments are lined up closely, waiting to be finished as soon as possible. 9 days are't enough. I need more than that so that I have enough rest for everything else.

There isn't many plans for this holidays. I've spent the weekend with Julia and Kelly. Although the outing wasn't flattering enough, I still enjoyed myself... On Sunday, going jungle trekking witt my family almost drained all the energy in me. Moving on to the weekdays, staying at home is what I desire. Was able to finish some of the work on Monday, and today, fooled around since my younger cousins came over to my house. Tuesday is officially declared as an off day for now. Maybe I will resume with my moral assignment later, which I have to write a paragraph or 2. Tomorrow, I would be staying at home as usual... And on Thursday, would be going out to meet some friends. They know who they are. I'm very much looking forward to that outing. It will definitely turn out great, unless the weather plays a fool with us. On Friday, I would be busy preparing for my Japanese exam in the afternoon before setlling down at a dinner with my old skool friends. Then, for the rest of the holidays, resting at home would be the perfect plan.

For the first time in my life, I received a warning letter. It was issued by Taylors Business School, in relation to the absences I've made when I was gone for Japan. Nothing much that I can do about it, all I have to do is to explain to Ms. Carol, which I've already did even before I went to Japan. But then again, it was stated in the letter itself that I would have to provide another letter of explanation. That's so troublesome. I wished that the college could have approved my application for leave...

Been watching a few movies lately. Here are the list of movies with my own ratings:
1) 13 Going On 30 (***)
2) Beauty Shop (***1/2)
3) Seven Swords (***)
4) 2046 (****)

That's all I have to say. Will be back when I have the time for coffee...

Friday, September 23, 2005

Amber, Happy Birthday!

Today was one of the most enjoyable days I had in college. Lots of things had been happening, leading one after another.

First, mutual friendship between the 4 of us just got stronger, well that's what I feel. There isn't much anger against each other although sensitive issues are touched. Just to name a few, being dead, jj, etc. We just can't stop poking fun at each other all the time. It's a daily routine for us to criticise and insult others without hurting much of their feelings.

Julia got punk'd. During our Economics lecture, we lied to her that we were going to play truant. She completely believed in us, or just me, because I was the one speaking on the phone. Before that, she already wanted to skip the lecture, but her action was thoroughly blocked by 3 hard, strong walls. So, I said that Caryn and I were drinking in Red Cafe, while Helena was busy with her manicure in a random shop in Subang Parade. As the consequence, she left the lecture hall just to look for us. We thought that we would meet her halfway when we were heading to the hall, but unfortunately, it was either that she was fast or we were slow. So, missed about 5 minutes of lecture, but Julia came in after 15 minutes, and was greeted by Mr. Wilson in an insulting way. Sorry Julia! It wasn't my fault!

"Caryn, you're blocking my view". That quotation is related to our frequently talked topic, which I don't really want to mention. The victim again, Julia. We just pick on her a lot. Poor girl (but too bad). Helena and Caryn should feel guilty for putting you up. However, I was partly to be blamed too since at times I made situations worse for Julia. Can't really speak more about this hot topic, cause most people can't handle it. Even Julia herself went berserk sometimes...

More quotations. "I don't want to see", "Out of my face"... These days, I realize that criticising other people is what we're good at. We here refers to Julia and I, and Helena too, since Caryn keeps quiet most of the time. From a positive view, we're just expressing our own opinions and ideas about a particular thing. On the other hand, critics might be hurtful, and not everyone likes it. What goes around comes around. We give critics, and we must be ready to accept them back. Sadly, not everyone is able to do that. To make things worse, every conflict resulted from mutual bashing through sharp words has the potential to grow to something more serious.

There is an event called TBS New Voice Finals tomorrow in Lecture Theatre 1, TCSJ from 4.00p.m. onwards. Late congratulations to Lin Pheng for making to the finals as one of the top ten finalists. Here, i just want to wish her all the best. I would be going there to support her, and to watch how good the other contestants are. I could hardly hold my breath to witness a prestigious and deadly battle for the crown as TBS Idol tomorrow amongst the ten people. Should the competition be tough, I'll get to see more dramas tomorrow. That would be awesome.

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To: Amber

Happy Birthday to You...
Happy Birthday to You...
Happy Birthday to Amber!
Happy Birthday to You!

A very Happy 18th Birthday to you. Sorry for not being able to celebrate this huge day with you. Good luck for everything! Need anything, I'm always there for you. I'll help if I can. Just ask.
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Sunday, September 18, 2005

I love Tendon!

Picture of the day

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

That's a bowl of natsu (summer) tendon that I had in a tendon specialised restaurant back in Japan. Usually, I had the normal tendon that I didn't take a picture of. Anyway, the tendon there is 100% better than the tendon here in Malaysia. Maybe it's because of the sauce. It could also be the quality/ freshness of the ingredients. Overall, tendon remains as my favorite Japanese food since I'm very much into fried food. Gyudon comes next on the list. Back to the tendon story... this company has many chain stores all around in Tokyo. In Kokubunji, Koenji, Shinjuku, etc. Approximately, the average price of the food is rm20 which is less costly compared to other restaurants.
Food: 5/5
Service: 4.5/5
Premises design: 4/5

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First half of my Semester 3 is coming to an end. Currently suffering from exam pressure and having the urge to revise, I'm having a lot of unnecessary thoughts. once again, I have to bring this up... where should I head to after my foundation. At this very moment, nowhere is the illusion, blurred by thousands layers of nearly transparent walls.

My friends are at more conscious than me of they want to head to after this year. Helena, Caryn and Julia are already planning their future properly. Just the other day, five of us, including Steph went to INTI Subang to obtain some information about the packages or programs offered by their college. Through clear explanation by this guy, I realised that going overseas to complete a business course is rather cash-wasting. It might be worth it for other majors, but not business, he specified. Okay, now I'm considering of taking a 3+0 program, but it wouldn't be fun to stay in Malaysia for that bloody long. I need a new environment; I want something different. Let it be in Australia, China, UK or Japan, I want to try living on my own for a long period. Yes, I might have lived all by myself in Japan, but 1 month wasn't enough. The freedom I had was priceless.

So, after foundation, people should at least have an idea of what majors they want to choose next year although there is still time for us to think after the foundation ends. Last year, I was very sure that I want to take Accountings and Finance. Despite my passion for numbers, supply chain and logical management stole my attention now. Though I have no idea of what those are about, it just sounds cool. Besides, according to Caryn, it's something new that is only offered recently. Hm, maybe I should start searching information on it so that I could finalise my decision sooner. Okay, end of story on this.

How you dress is what you are. Clothes was what I wrote on for my SPM English Exam. One's sense of dressing tells it all, whether you're a sophisticated, cool, nerdy, bitchy, slutty, kampung, smart, etc. person. In Malaysia, we have a good range of different people in various styles. Spaghetti straps, jeans in all types of cuts, tube tops, tank tops, t-shirts, lala-clothes, collared-shirts, sleeveless shirts, vests, slacks, and list goes on and on. But can we wear all fo them, without others feeling disgusted by our style? NO. The mentality of our people has actually limited our range of clothes that is suitable to be worn in Malaysia. Well, the outcome isn't exactly healthy nor negative. We lose and gain at the same time, just like the message yin and yang concept has been trying to deliver to all it's believers.

As we go on, let's explore the different types of clothing together and some comments from me myself.

To be continued...

Thursday, September 15, 2005

A road of Destiny...

"Destiny Fulfilled".The break up is inevitable. I could have guessed it since they made a comeback after a 3 years hiatus.

Looking back, I consider myself a 5 years old fan of the turning legendary best selling girl group of all time, Destiny's Child. Back in year 2000, it was their single called the "Independent Woman Part 1"(featured in the film Charlie's Angels) that grabbed my attention to the 3 beauties. But, that wasn't my first exposure to DC...

A few years before that, while the infamous Spice Girls were a hit, I wasn't into any other girl groups at all. Not even the TLC. One day, while hanging out at my friend's house, we spent a little time together watching the TV. At that time, ASTRO was new to me, not to mention MTV as well. Various videos were played... I don't remember any of them, except for the video where 4 female singers were singing by the street. Made up of Beyonce, Kelly and 2 other members whose names are unimportant to me, Destiny's Child's "Bug-A-Boo" was on MTV. Guess what, the dope me actually criticised their video for being messy, amateur and boring. I just have to admit that I was way too wrong.

Okay, now let's fly to year 2000 again. "Independent Woman Part 1" was a hit globally. It did hit #1 in many charts as far as I could remember. The single was so popular that I sang it every now and then back in class 1G. That nostalgia was shared with Amanda and Jia Yi, although I personally think that they are not fanatic over DC. Oh yea, in 2000, Michelle already joined DC, replacing former members who left the group and sued Beyonce and her father, who is the manager for the group for some shitty business. Luckily, the lawsuit had settled and everything's fine now. Cruel catfights have ended.

2001 was the year when I turned into a big fan of DC. The release of their 3th album called "Survivor" debuted in the billboard at no.1. The album spawned a string of hits including the already well known "Independent Woman Part 1", "Survivor", "Bootylicious" and "Emotions". I think Rachel would remember the times when I was crazy over them. Among all the tracks, "Survivor" is a very meaningful, inspiring song. I listen to it whenever problems rain on me. I would certainly say that "Survivor" is a classic hit from the DC. Moving on to "Bootylicious", the word itself earned Beyonce a glory of a lifetime. the word was included in the Wesbter Dictionary, alongside with words like bioweapons, etc. "Bootylicious" is one cheeky track to me, but a classy one at the same time. It's sort of a blend of sounds from the Jacksons.

Since I was officially a fan of DC, it was compulsory for me to get their previous album called The Writings on The Wall. Noteworthy tracks were "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Bug-A-Boo", "Jumpin, Jumpin" and "Say My Name". "Say My Name" was one of the biggest hit singles from the DC. You should be embarrassed if you don't know that song that was played in almost every radio station at one point. "Say my name, say my name, if noone is around you..." It was almost unbelievable that that single itself earned the girls a couple of Grammys in the coming year. Their performance during the award show was spectacular, eye-catching and nearly perfect, or flawless.

Then, hiatus started. During this period, Beyonce, Kelly and Michelle launched their solo careers in the music and movie industries separately. Michelle ventured into the genre of gospel, with her debut album hitting #1 in the Billboard Gospel Album chart. Kelly had a successful single with Nelly on "Dilemma", which reached the peak position of the singles chart back in... 2002? whilst appearing as guest stars in a few movies. Their success was incomparable to their unofficial group leader, Beyonce Knowles. Before releasing her highly anticipated album, "Dangerously in Love", she appeared in Austin Powers, and was featured in Jay Z's hot single, "Bonnie & Clyde 03".

Following the rising of her popularity, the release of her first single "Crazy In Love" rapidly became a major hit in the States. I fell in love in that song right away after I downloaded it from the resourceful internet. Anyway, that song was so hot, that it reached no.1 in the Billboard in a short time and stayed at the summit for a few remarkable weeks. Her debut album, featuring hits such as "Crazy in Love", "Baby Boy", "Me, Myself and I" and "Naughty Girl" sold over 9 million copies internationally to date, in which I bought 3 copies of it. Two of them I gave to my friends... they know who they are. I promised Kelly to pass one to her, but I failed. 2003 was definitely the year of Beyonce. She added dozens of awards from numerous music awards. For instance, Best New Artist from the Billboard Awards and Best Female from the MTV VMA Awards 2003. She was also honoured as the Entertainer of the Year by the NAACP.

in 2004, the 3 beautiful ladies returned to the studio to put their hands together to produce a new album as a group. I was so excited over that. Patience was what I needed when I kept on checking on the release date for their album and first single over the net. And everything came quite fast, with their first ever performance of "Lose My Breath" during a sports event. I downloaded that video as fast as I could, and their consistency in their performances carried out the song very well. Not long after, their 4th album, called "Destiny Fulfilled" hit the stores in 4th quarter of the year. Due to street date violations, the album wasn't able to debut at #1. It was forced to settle down at #2 at its highest point. :(. Some said that the album was a disappointment, but I have to disagree with that. I think the album is good, though not excellent.

With "Soldiers", "Cater 2 U", and "Girls" as their popular singles from this particular album, DC announced their break-up that will happen this year, breaking million of hearts, sending tremors to devoted fans over the world. I was stunned when I received the news. This couldn't be happening, I tried to convince myself that it was a mere joke from the girls. It wasn't a dream it was reality. Damn. For now, their "Destiny Fulfilled and Lovin' It" World tour has officially ended; their last show was on the 10th of September in Vancouver, leading to an end to the journey of these 3 multi-talented girls. If I ever have the money, I will definitely get air ticket and fly to the States just to watch them. I bet it's worth all the money.

Apparently, DC plans to release a greatest hits album, followed up by a DVD by the end of the year. Their latest single, and also the final single to be released by the girls at the moment is called "Stand Up For Love". The song will be included as a new song in the greatest hits album. I've downloaded the song... my comments? A classic DC song that I will never get bored with.

All these years, I've been through a lot listening and watching them together as a group. They are very caring, supportive and tolerant to each other. That is what I like about them. Having said that, DC will forever exist in my life, and while all of them pursue their solo careers when DC breaks up, I will still support them, although most of my attention will definitely shift to Beyonce. As people might say, the best is yet to come... so I guess loss is unavoidable in the exploration for something better.