Make me a better person?

After 2 tiring, exhausting consecutive days, finally I'd the chance to sleep as much as I could. So, I woke up pretty late today - at 11.30a.m. to be precise. And that led to the delay of the initial plan of job-hunting today.

The whole afternoon was rather boring. I did what I had to, under the pressure of the normal routine that's been repeating itself for hundreds or thousands of times already. Anyway, spent some time on my guitar, on the harmonica, on my violin, on the drum sticks, on Mandarin, in front of screens, let it be computer or Tv. Now that 9 hours had passed since I woke up, I wonder what else I could do after this besides watching another movie or chatting with some netfriends about their plans for next year.

Relevant to that, everyone seems to have set their own targets or resolutions for the new year that will hit us in less than a day and a half. Some would say, better results, better love life, more allowance, those kinda shit that don't bring much of a surprise and excitement. Nonetheless, it's still a tradition to me to have a resolution.

Having said that, next year I strive to be a better person. Here's my checklist of what a better person would mean to me:

1) Less mean - This year I've given out really heart-breaking, disrespectful and annoying comments or remarks towards things or individuals. Well, next year I'd betetr watch out since I'm gonna face new people when university starts next year.

2) Braver - And that refers to the times when I have to stand out in front of the crowd. I have this fear inside me whenever I have a performance where all eyes are on me. Guess I'd better change that 'cause it's definitely disadvantageous to be a little chicken. Stage fright- fuck off!

3) Better fashion sense - I've gone through some really terrible, horrendous, terrifying, ugly wardrobe this year and next year I should think twice before presenting myself in different styles and colors. Some of them just doesn't work, I just realised, although a bit too late already.

4) More outgoing - I've been neglecting the crowd lately and I think I should improve myself in public relation. I just don't know why sometimes it's hard for me to approach people, vice versa. Hm...

5) Let me see... nothing else I guess. Can't possibly think of more right now. I'll just wait and see.

Happy Burfday Steph!

Being a consistent blogger these days, I have nothing much left to pen down.

First, woke up early today, but only found out that it was raining heavily outside. Strong winds were penetrating the thin window of my study room, and heavy raindrops were tryign to break the barrier of the ceiling. The weird weather apparently reminds me of the end of the world. A warning sent from God perhaps? According to the Bible Code 2 that I read last year, 2006 was described as the final year for most of us here on Earth.

Anyway, soon, Julia and her mom picked me up and headed to Subang right away because her mom has to finish off her business first before sending us to the Curve which is always rather far from my house. The jam wasn't terrible, but it did prolonged the journey. I've gotta say thanks to Julia's mom for giving me a free ride to the place.

Steph! Happy Birthday! The world just turned bigger, I know. Anyway, I'mg lad that I was invited to the party. It was such a joy to see y'all singing and having fun even though foundation has long finished and we have long went into our different lives. That just proved that friendship doesn't end easily. Oh, by the way, Eric joined in the fun too. He's going to Nilai, and I'm so excited for him to tell me what a gown room is. And heck, there is a pool and a gym in Nilai campus too. Whoa!

Right after our asses have warmed The Curve, we soon escaped to another shopping mall, called 1 Utama. Kelly was there with us, and we shopped around with her... it was a shoppign spree where we're allowed to give constructive comments on the clothes that she was picking. At the same time, we stopped by Juice Works to end our thirst. Here is what we ordered:

1) Zesty Lime - Kelly
2) Spring Clean - Kevin
3) Slimmers Paradise - who else???

Soon, the sun was hiding already and it was time for us to say goodbye to each other. Okay, maybe not between Julia and Kelly as they have something going on tonight. Kelly, still the kind and caring girl that have been with me since Form 2, drove me to the train station. How sweet of her. Thanks a lot again!

Journey home was boring once again. I don't know how many times I've been on the bloody train. I'm startign to get bored with public transport. Infact, I should start driving already. And guess what, I'm supposed to renew my license in 4 months time already even though I've drove less than 10 times after obtaining it.

In conclusion, tiring day! Nevertheless, I still hafta mention this. The necklace that I was wearing today received weird comments! Many people questioned me if it was my house key or something. Moreover, when I was shoppign in Carrefour during the late evenings, the bloody salesperson was kinda throwing his sarcastic critics at me. "Eh, pakai kunci, fashion ke?" - W.t.h!

Wrapping up 2005...

Today, I'm officially 18 years and 10 months old. As a human who's going through his 18th year alive, this year has been ample of joy, surprises, sorrow, etc. Well, 2005 is wrapping up, and 2006 will soon hit me. So, time to look back at a quick recap of this hell of a year.

Joy #1: It was great to meet new friends in college. I truly appreciate each and every one of them, especially those whom I really shared my time with, and that's none other then my Fantastic Four members. Helena remains as the talkative piggy who doesn't really have a stand at things... Caryn is the no-longer-that-innocent donkey that tried to calm us down all the time... Julia is still the king kong (oh a really hairy one) that's been a clown to us everytime. I've shared most of my great moments this year with them. Sunway Lagoon outing, Caryn's small birthday party, red box outing (that was the first time I was in Sunway Redbox with 'em), last minute group study in Hel's crib, crushing the mall (Sunway, Mid Valley, etc.), Julia's birthday party, etc.

Joy #2: Spending a month in Japan is one of my greatest moments this year too. I gotta meet new people, leanr new culture, try out new delicacies, spend all I want (of course there is a limit though), etc. Furthermore, it was my first time travelling alone, so the sensation and the excitement is a tad undescribable. Chu-san was such a good roommate, as he looked after me like his lil' brother. Hana-san was being a really good and friendly person. Not to forget, Muhammed-san and Susan-san and Mondo-san and Claudia-san and Christopher-san and Premika-san. Well, another thing that I should be happy for as how I was mistaken as a hustler in the Kabuki-cho, Shinjuku. I know many might say that its nothing to be proud of, and should be instead treated as an embarrassment, but heck... Anyway, I regretted for not asking for my value haha...

Joy #3: My sister got is carrying a new life that would be brought to the world next year! That means, I'm gonna be an uncle soon. Hell, that proves how old I am! Damn it! But it's the best thing that had ever happened to my family this year and I'm really grateful to God for that has strongly bonded my family together.

Surprises: I've gotta say, the Japan trip. It was really shocking and petrifying as my mother first forbid me to go there alone, then everything happened like a dream. I was there for a month. Before that, obtaining a D for my English for my Semester 2 was a surprise too. As for Sem. 3, another D for that particular subject was predictable though, since HD was already out of reach. Lastly, getting an IELTS score of 8.0 was a huge surprise, as I was expecting a 6 or 6.5 only. Other small surprises would be... my allowance was raised and my friendster profile was viewed a thousand times in October.

Sorrow #1: Well, the biggest disappointment, the breakup of my favorite group of all time Destiny's Child. It's really sad to see them go into their separate ways that quick. They could just declare a hiatus for a year or 2 for each member to pursue their own solo careers, but not an official break-up, which broke hearts of millions of fans worldwide.

Sorrow #2: Unofficial break-up again, but of Fantastic Four. As we're not staying in Taylors anymore, and as I'm certainly not going to Monash, the fellowship would most probably be ended in that way. Helena claims that its really hard to maintain it as the constraints such as distance, time, interest, etc. would be really separate us. Well, hope that she isn't right, cause so far, they are my best mates in college this year.

Overall, 2005, one of the best years that I've ever been through during my entire life so far. Things just get better every year... well since Form 2 I would say.

Anyway, updates on my life... went to Central today with Kelly and Julia, my close friends since secondary school. We had a really long, steamy, hot, interesting, open up, explicit conversation that we have longed for since our last outing in... July? First, we spent our time filling our empty stomaches in a Thai-ed steamboat restaurant. "All-you-can-eat", Julia would probably remember that pretty well. Then, we changed setting to Coffee Bean which was a better, wider place for yum cha session. After 5 hours, we finally headed home.

Films that rocked 2005.

Nothing much have been happening. During Christmas eve, I was lucky to join my netfriends in Bukit Bintang. Being a bad guide, I think the whole outing turned out to be rather boring. However, I'm really grateful because at least I had something to do. After returning home shortly, Phang invited me to go out to Bintang Walk for countdown. it was already about 10 at that time. And obviously, it was a bit too late for me to prepare and to get my transport to go to the heart of the city. So, I turned down the calling. Damn... well, hopefully can meet 'em during New Year Eve instead.

So, I've been watching many movies. This year, I've watched um... 46 movies to date! Wow, a great no. for someone like me who doesn't go to the cinema often. My frequency is somewhere 1-2 times every 3 months. So, what are my top picks this year?

My 10 Favorite Movies This Year

1. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith - A really great sci-fi movie! Although I ain't a die-hard Star Wars fan, I enjoyed this movie a lot. However, the actor who played Anakin needs to attend some intensive acting lessons.

2. Beauty Shop - Queen Latifah pulled it off with an interesting script! I do understand that not many have watched this movie, but the story is just simple and nice. It's something to be watched at home when there's a party going on. A sure shot for the girlfriends.

3. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe(****1/2) - Ok, for a children movie like this, I really enjoyed it actually. The pace at the beginning of the movie was a bit too slow, but it picked up towards the middle, which is great because that's when all the actions started packing in. Susan was such a kelefeh - after practising hardly to master the bow and arrows, she finally shot one arrow at the end of the movie. Wow! Overall, this movie is just entertaining.

4. Chicken Little - Have reviewed enough on this movie a few weeks ago. Oh no, the sky is fallin'. This movie means more to me than anybody else. I'm sure Fantastic Four would be able to get what I'm trying to tell, right? Go Runt! You will survive! Abby... haha...

5. Madagascar(****1/2) - Finally saw that tonight. Was able to catch a glimpse of it during my flight back from Japan, but that was like 15 minutes only. Most animated movies are great, and this one here and a standout in the crowd, and absolutely the best animated movie this year. I like the fact that the movie is just an hour and 30 minutes, just the right portion. And the story keeps going and going, it just attracts me all the time. Time flies, and in no time, one would realize that the movie's already coming to an end!

6. Hitch - Ah, the best romantic flick this year I would say. Great work from Will Smith and Eva Mendez.

7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Seriously, who wouldn't like this... maybe some adults wouldn't, but this movie easily gets the attention of the audiences, regardless of their age and sex. Frankly, I think this is the best HP movie to date.

8. War of the Worlds - Oo, talking about world getting attacked by aliens - a repeated concept that's been used to generate many similar movies to this. Tom Cruise acted well, and Dakota remains as the most annoying girl in movie that I've ever seen. A stellar production.

9. The Exorcism of Emily Rose - Most probably the freakiest movie this year. I downlaoded it, so wasn't exactly getting everything (message) that's been infused into the movie. Wanted to catch it another time in local cinema, but didn't have the time to do so. Besides, some original scenes from the movie might never pass the Malaysia Censorship Board.

10.King Kong(***1/2) - Last but not least, the most anticipated movie this year. Sorry to say, the movie didn't blast me off. It was just ok - aight. The first hour of the movie was almost boring, only a few scenes was able to grab my full attention. The ending was a a bit melancholic, but it was all too short, and it happened too quickly, without much of a suspense. Peter Jackson might have done well with both franshises, King Kong and LOTR, but I still prefer the latter.

Hm... well, all the other movies that I've watched deserve to be mentioned too! Anyway, among the listed movies below, those which are bolded should be a must-watch this year too.

1. 13 Going On 30 (2004)
2. 2046
3. 9 Songs
4. The Amityville Horror
5. House of Wax
6. The Dukes of Hazzard
7. The Pacifier
8. Monster-in-law
9. Just Like Heaven
10. Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
11. Guess Who
12. Sahara
13. Land of the Dead
14. Kung Fu Hustle
15. Elektra
16. Doom
17. The Perfect Man
18. The Ring Two
19. Serenity
20. Be Cool
21. Flightplan
22. Meet the Fockers (2004)
23. Seven Swords
24. Creep (2004)
25. Initial D
26. One Missed Call
27. Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam
28. The Maid
29. Dead And Breakfast
30. The Red Shoes
31. Not Another Teen Movie (2001)
32. Kingdom of Heaven
33. Elizabethtown
34. The Interpreter
35. Hide and Seek
36. Robots

Hair hair hair!

Stayed at home the whole day to watch 2 movies that were downloaded weeks ago. First, spent roughly 2 hours and 30 minutes to watch Kingdom of Heaven (***) which was just a so-so movie although with high budget and great cast. The beginning of the movie was nearly dead and boring, but things heated up towards the end. The storyline which revolves the drama of 2 different religions is rather interesting, but the script written could be improved. Next, saw another long movie by Orlando... wow, back 2 back Bloom movies. Elizabethtown (***) is just another movie that wouldn't catch much of the attention from the public. I personally like Kirsten a lot, but blame it on the poor picture. 2 hours for this type of movie is a bit over the top. I would say it could be trimmed down to an hour and 15 minutes. By doing so, the movie could certainly be more appealing I would say.

2005 is almost over and I've been trying to clean/tidy up my stuff and I came across all the pictures that I've been taking over the year. Out of 1000+ pictures, I do see the changes in me from day to day, month to month. Hm, I wonder which are my best look this year, and worst too of course.

Used to have short hair back in January.
Grew a lil longer ion February, but a bit out of shape in that picture.
Much longer in March compared to the previous month. The backs were uneven as seen in this picture.
Tried a new style called the "Maggi look" in April.
Wanted to look cool with the cap flipped backwards in May.
In June, returned to the clean cut.
Then in July, before my trip to Japan, cut it again... and got that.
Snapped that in Jap during August.
Have been always wondering how do I look in a cap. This pic was taken in September.
Had a haircut again in October, and according to Kelly, it looked as if I had a mane on.
Had lots of time in November to try out new looks and ended up using the hairband that I use to keep my hair organised when I have my mask on.
Last but not least, shaped my hair in December and that's how I look now.

A great meal at RM5.

Today ain't a bad day afterall. After waking up in the morning, spent my time watching Be Cool by John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Christina Milian. It is just a sort of long, satisfactory movie that's been released this year. I would rate it a "stellar" ***. By the way, Uma looked so different in that movie; I didn't know that she is that tall!

Then, it was time for me to head to college to collect my results. I'm quite satisfied with my IELTS test report, as I obtained an 8.0 on average. However, I think I could still improve on my writing which was given a score of 7.0. from my point of view, that's rather low. After that, went to check out my TBS semester 3 result. Phew, bullseye... Overall, I did well, except for my moral, although nothing surprising there. I skipped 3 classes, and flunk my project, and I still got a C for it - how lucky, or maybe unfortunate too. It's always that subject that dirties my cert, just like how it did to my SPM. But it's nothing I could do to mend it. I'm just an immoral person!

For the first time, I tried the food in that restaurant called um... Salmon Steak? The one right next to Melur in SS15. Wow! The set lunches offered were priced at RM5.00!!! Are ya kiddin' me?? That's so so so cheap, compared to other food in that same area. Anyways, I ordered this plate of Italian Fried Chicken With Cheese Fried Rice. The portion of the food was big, perhaps that surprised me because we're only paying RM5 for it. Taste of it - thumbs up. It's fairly delicious!!! Besides, it comes with a choice of herbal tea or lemon tea as the drinks.

Back from college, my house was soon grew as my relatives arrived to join us for the tong yun festival dinner. Sometimes I just hate it when the kids are with me in my room, sharing the same air that I'm breathing to. They are just quite annoying at times. Why do I say that? Simply because they kept on interrupting me when I'm trying to focus on the movies that I was watching. Okay, talking about that, was in time for another 2 movies in the evening.

First up, Hide and Seek by the no-longer-annoying Dakota Fanning. This little petid girl here can really act! The movie was horrific enough, although boring at some parts. I would give it ***1/2. It did scared me during one or 2 scenes. Next, the gorgeous stunning pretty Nicole Kidman failed to entertain me in The Interpreter. It's such a boring movie to me. Maybe because I wasn't able to concentrate, but that shouldn't affect much. In the end, I would just give it **. Pity, isn't it. Nicole's such a great actor, and she could do definitely do better with a more interesting script.

Although I've picked my top 10 albums of 2005, but there are some albums that deserve to be mentioned too. First and foremost, 50 Cent's album that was released earlier this year is one of my favorites too. Then, we have Rihanna's album. Didn't like that much, because only a couple of songs are strong and nice. Then, we also ave Coldplay. Their music is pretty unique, and stands out in the crowd. Hm... what else. There are some albums that were repackaged and rereleased. Yeap, and I'm referring that to Green Day and Kelly Clarkson. Their tunes treuly rocked our radios this year. Not to forget, Bo recently released his debut album called the real Thing if I'm not mistaken. I've heard the album; it's good, but I still prefer Carrie. Then, we have Teairra Mari... just like Rihanna, only a couple of tracks are nice. Oh, then Ricky Martin also dropped his long awaited English album, which is just fairly okay. Oh Missy Elliott's latest album is good, but not great. Lindsay too apparently tried her best to rock up the albums chart, but failed miserably. I think her first song off the cd is actually ear-pleasing. Possibly related to Lohan, Hilary Duff managed to release a greatest hits album although she's still new to the music biz. Hmm... that's all I can think of for now.

Albums for 2005.

Okay, I've been abandoning so many things these few days. Not updating my blog, not replying necessary mails including Hotmail and Friendster, not revising my Espanol and Nihongo, not practising my harmonica, violin and guitar, not learning new Hua Yu, etc.

So, yesterday I went to watch King Kong. Frankly, it wasn't that great as I might have thought, at times boring, it still pulled off as one of the most entertaining movies of 2005. Will talk more of it when I have my whole list of the top 10 movies that I've watched this year.

As promised, I was going to post of which are the 10 albums that i really liked this year. There are a lot of albums that were released this year for goodness sake, but not all of them were great. Some didn't make my list, due to the lack of element of "drugs" in the albums that failed to cause any addictions. Now, with all the crap cut, I'd finally came out with my own list. And here I present it in no particular order:

Oral Fixation Vol. 2

Artist: Shakira

Ratings: A-

Noteworthy tracks:
I liked all the songs, but if I were to choose some to recommend to y’all, they would be:

[How Do You Do], [Don’t Bother], [Animal City], [Your Embrace], [Illegal], [Hey You], [Timor]

Generally, on a whole this album is much better than her first English effort “Laundry Service” which sold 13 million copies back in year 2003. The album opened up with the rather weird “How Do You Do” followed by the current radio hit single “Don’t Bother”. P.S. the video for it is hotter than Red Hot Peri-Peri Flavor! Then, “Illegal” featuring legendary guitarist Santana quickly slowed down the pace. In this album, listeners would be following a journey of different types of music assisted by Shakira’s unique voice. Nobody could ever doubt her talent, as it is clearly shown in this album. However, a warning – this album wouldn’t appeal to everyone out there who is following blindly what’s hot in the music industry. Having said that, let’s just appreciate this finely written, brilliantly produced album by Shakira.

Fijacion Oral Vol. 1

Artist: Shakira

Ratings: A

Noteworthy tracks:

[En Tus Pupilas], [La Pared], [La Tortura], [Escondite Ingles], [No], [Las de la Intuicion]

This is definitely a sizzling hot Latin album of the year. Daddy Yankee’s been given a kick at his ass for that. Anyway, a person that doesn’t know the song “La Tortura” is definitely an idiot of the year. Really, who wouldn’t know that song that spent 25 weeks on top of the Latin Hot 100 and was played regularly on English oriented radio channels? Nevertheless, don’t be trailed away just by that song in the album because other tracks included in the album have their deviated styles and approaches. “No”, already climbing its way up in Latin charts is a “dark” song that’s conveying a deep message to its audience while “Escondite Ingles” and “Las de la Intuicion” will easily keep the dance floor busy. Once again, this is another great contribution from Shakira to the music industry. I wonder what else could be coming from her the next time she’s releasing another record.

Some Hearts

Artist: Carrie Underwood

Ratings: B

Noteworthy tracks:

[Wasted], [Some Hearts], [Jesus Takes the Wheel], [Lessons Learned], [I Ain’t In Checotah Anymore]

The fourth American Idol winner surprised me with this album that offers country-pop songs. The journey of this album is pretty enjoyable, and easy to be kept up with. Although her vocals easily shined in many of the tracks, it also became her weakness that she might sound the same in some of the songs. I would blame it on the selection of the tracks, and the manager, and the producer as well. Nevertheless, Carrie has lots of potential and talent that are yet to be fully shown. At the meantime, quickly get this album that’s a bit of a crossover between Shania Twain and Diana DeGarmo to me. Oh, I think this type of songs would appeal to the elderly too. In my opinion, this album could be the perfect Christmas gift to the parents, grandparents, or those who are so sick of the rap/r&b music that’s in reign of the music industry right now.

#1

Artist: Destiny’s Child

Ratings: A++

Noteworthy tracks:

[Stand Up For Love], [Independent Woman Part.1], [Survivor], [Soldier], [Jumpin’ Jumpin’], [Lose My Breath], [Say My Name], [Emotion], [Bug-a-Boo], [Bootylicious], [Bills, Bills, Bills], [Girl], [No, No, No Part 2], [Cater 2 U]

For goodness sake, this last album offered by the already split up Destiny’s Child is just a must have cd this year. All the hits that brought DC’s to their position today is compiled into this hell of an offer disc that will remind you how have they grown and turned into 3 beautiful ladies today. The classic track, “Stand Up For Love” will send you chill, while all the other songs will keep you either singing or dancing along to the music or the beats. The fascinating part of this album, you wouldn’t possibly get bored with it although it has been repeating in your player for a long, long time. In ten years time, you will still love this album that will appeal to anyone at anytime.

Emancipation of Mimi

Artist: Mariah Carey

Ratings: A

Noteworthy tracks:

[It’s Like That], [We Belong Together], [Shake It Off], [Mine Again], [Get Your Number], [Don’t Forget About Us], [Fly Like A Bird]

Welcome back Mariah. This veteran singer has a powerful, that-glass-is-gonna-break voice that interpenetrated with the songs that were carefully chosen. Although I can sense a difference in her spirit and enthusiasm now compared to 10 years ago, this album is still as entertaining and above my expectation. Don’t be fooled by first single “It’s Like That” because the follow up tracks were total slow moving, a bit of the sensual, sentimental flavored RnB tracks that will keep one grooving to the tracks. Play the cd anywhere; in the room, the car, the hall, the living room, etc. I’m so god damn addicted to Mariah these days – her mighty voice that’s infused within the catchy songs proved to be bets combination we could possibly get. Hm, she could easily break all the glasses with her five octave voice I tell ya.

PCD

Artist: The Pussycat Dolls

Ratings: B

Noteworthy tracks:

[Don’t Cha], [Beep], [Wait a Minute], [Stickwitu], [Buttons], [Hot Stuff]

This is definitely a S.E.X.Y. dance album if you’re looking for one. Well, when I meant dance here, it means fast tunes, groovy ones with pop elements, and definitely not trance. The album opens with the over commercialized “Don’t Cha” and followed up by multiple roughly B-graded dance tracks. Oh, definitely an album to be played during a party where people starts flooding the dance floor. One thing that I have to mention is that the lead singer should let the other members to take some of the vocal parts too. Although dubbed as a group, I think the side members contributed only 10 to 20 percent in this album or less. Maybe the truth is, they can’t sing as well as the lead? Anyway, I think the lead is the hottest of them all. :)

Monkey Business

Ratings: A-

Noteworthy tracks:

[Don’t Phunk with My Heart], [Don’t Lie], [My Humps], [Feel It], [Gone Going], [Bebot]

This has gotta be the ultimate party album of 2005. Just jam it in the jukebox and people will be shaking their booty and sweating all the way throughout the whole album. After all the preview we had last year with Shut Up, Let’s Get Retarded, etc. from the sort of long awaited album Elephunk, Monkey Business has brought the BEPs to a level they have never reached before. I really love this album – full of funky, fast tracks. Fergie is such a hottie, although a bit muscular; her voice is sexy and unique, even thought she ain’t that great as a vocalist in terms of range and octaves – and perhaps unsurprisingly, she dominated a few songs again. As a group, they really shine brightly, but rumors had it that she’s gonna go solo. Even so, I think she will still do great, as long as she is gonna make more lumps from those humps.

Here I Am

Artist: Marion Raven

Ratings: B-

Noteworthy tracks:

[Break You], [Crawl], [Here I Am], [Little by Little], [End of Me], [At the End of the Day], [Surfing the Sun]

Marion and Marit made up M2M, but it was more of a one man show from Marion who wrote or co-wrote most of the pop songs and sang most parts during the M2M era, which is already history. Her maturity is clearly shown in her songs, and her voice as well, which improved significantly. Her types of songs are infectious and influential as well, although love’s the issue most of the time – teens would crave over that.

MTV Unplugged

Artist: Alicia Keys

Ratings: A

Noteworthy tracks:

[Karma], [Heartburn], [Unbreakable], [A Woman’s Worth], [How Come You Don’t Call Me], [If I Ain’t Got You], [Every Little Bit Hurts]

Alicia Key’s is a true diva of all time. However, generally this album brought a mere disappointment but it still is a great R&B album that I will listen to in 5 or 10 years. The new song Unbreakable isn’t great, compared to tracks like How Come You Don’t Call Me and If I Ain’t Got You. Overall, I think this album serves as an appetizer to her next studio effort that she’s gonna offer to all the die-hard fans out there.

From Under the Crock Tree

Artist: Fall Out Boy

Ratings: B+

Noteworthy tracks:

[Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued], [Dance, Dance], [Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down], [7 Minutes In Heaven (Atavan Halen)], [Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends], [A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me"], [XO]

F.O.B. should be spelt F.U.N. Their music genre is somewhat common yet pretty enjoyable. It’s something that I would listen to when I’m down as it will possibly lift up my mood. The way they worked with their instruments – guitar, bass, drums, etc. was nearly perfect. Not to forget, their lyrics too are arguably good. It’s just a great effort from the not so ordinary guys.

Fairly predictable huh. D'oh - I'm a biased person >< !

Randomnessss

It's just so damn dull to be staying at home almost everyday. It will make me a lazier person, as I tend to do things slower than usual. I'm just not sticking up to the initial plan, and I'm far behind the schedule. Everyday, I'm given ample time for me to master a few things up, but I don't have the determination and spirit to finish a single thing off. Anyway, I'm halfway done with my 10 fav. albums of 2005. And the picks are very predictable.

This Friday should be an important day for me. It's either I nail it, or fail miserably. I think the latter result is more likely to happen. I'm never confident at that, and don't really have the talent for it too. I'm just hoping that I would be able to pull off pretty okay and not get blasted off too quickly.

So what have been going on. Just last Thursday, went to Mid Valley with King Kong and Donkey to catch Chronicles of Narnia. My comments will be included in my "10 fav. movies of 2005". Anyway, for the meantime, catch it because it's a godo movie. Then on Friday, went shopping with my sister; she was looking for maternity wear. From KLCC to Sungei Wang, we shopped till we dropped. While walking around Esquire Kitchen, I bumped into Arroon and his girlfriend I guess. Anyway, we were pretty tired by late evening. Oh, my mom joined us an hour or 2 before we went back home too. The rest of the weekend, sort of caged myself at home.

RAN Block!

So, another boring Wednesday in my list. Things had been fine which means that nothing much has been happening and that kinda sucks. So, decided to spend my time writing, wrapping up 2005; it is ending soon anyway. So here are a few articles that I would be working on:

1) 10 Unsurpassed Albums of 2005 (20 percent completed already)
2) 10 Infectious Songs of 2005
3) 10 Finest Movies of 2005
4) 10 Embarrasing Moments of 2005
5) 10 Shocking Gossips/News of 2005
6) 10 Events of the Year

After 4 days of playing RAN Online, I'm considering of quitting it right now since it's very difficult to increase the level of my character after the server has been updated yesterday. Now, I only gain a mere 0.25% for killing the fatty sumo wrestler look-a-like in the school field. That implies I would have to kill 400 of them just to increase my level by 1. Ridiculous. Why hadn't anyone protested against that insane inhumane action that has been taken against us, gamers. In this case, noobs are so discriminated. If they wanted to change the exp gained from killing, they should reset the whole game as well to be fair to everyone. I'm just furious over it!

I've been sitting down for hours strumming my guitar thinking that at least a lousy song would come out from my determination and eagerness. Unfortunately, even until now I haven't found the right approach to song writing. I'm having difficulties with the lyrics, the tune, the melody, the organisation, whatsoever. It's just demoralising, demotivating and certainly disappointing. If that continues, one day I will somewhat lose the inspirations and spirit for it.

Just today I had a little conversation with my mom again. Only today that I've come to know that she hasn't been to a school at all. The way she elaborated things, it was very touching. The gap between generations now could be explained by the child development that we've all been through. I really look up to my mom, as she is a very independent, hardworking and influential person that supports me all the time. Sometimes, she's just my personal teacher, guiding me through problems and the hard roads that I've been on. I just owe to much to her; I wonder how am I gonna pay back all her hardwork. I'm afraid that I might hurt her one day, and I think I will unless... Forget about it anyway.

Oh yea, tomorrow's my day out with King Kong and Donkey to Mid Valley. We're gonna watch Chronicles of Narnia. Hopefully the movie will turn out great since I have high expectations from it.

College Out = Boring In.

Life without college is boring apparently. Seems like I have nothing else to do other than coming online, playing games, listening to music, eating, sleeping, watching tv, etc. Its already my 4th day of holidays, and after a week of not updating my blog, I'm finally back.

Last Thursday, G3.2 and associated individuals went to Chillis, Mid Valley to celebrate the closure of our foundation year. At the same time, it was the final dinner for everyone who has shared joy and sorrow in the name of group 3.2. However, not everyone was there. Rosie, Shal, and Veenas were missing in action. Mr. Wilson was kind enough to spare some time with us later on. Many weird incidents happened before, during and after dinner. I'm not going to spill the beans, as it shall only be remembered by my fellow classmates.

Just had a lil conversation with my mom on why am I changing college. She's encouraging me to remain in Taylors if the problems risen can be solved easily. Well, I'll let the results decide for me. I'm still uncertain of major I should choose... Business stats? Economics? Finance? Marketing? Accounting? Which will suit me.

Okay, so how am I gonna spend my holidays. Started a game called RAN online, and have been spending hours to level up my 2 characters. Then, I was so motivated to write some songs during this break, but have yet to start on anything yet. Ah, mentioning about song composing, I'm in deep trouble as I haven't learn the song which I have to for my music lesson this Wednesday. Hm, what else. Maybe I should get a job. Frankly, I'm not determined to do that at all. Whenever I say that, I'll end up staying at home and not wandering in malls to look for part-time jobs. That thought never comes alive.

I'm so afraid of aging. This year passed really quickly, I couldn't even keep with the pace. Looking at my pc wallpaper, I will always remember the times when I was in Japan, sightseeing in Tokyo wihout any embarrassment. Browsing through my pictures reminds me of the days I spent with my fellow F4s... in Julia's house celebrating her birthday, in Secret Recipe celebrating Caryn's birthday, in Sunway celebrating Hel's birthday, in Hel's house studying for exam, and many other great memories that hum lovely melodies in my head. I always ask what's in store for me next year. Will I ever be the same without 'em?

Vitamin C - Graduation (Friends Forever)

And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives
Where we're gonna be when we turn 25
I keep thinking times will never change
Keep on thinking things will always be the same
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track
And if you got something that you need to say
You better say it right now cause you don't have another day
Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down

These memories are playing like a film without sound
And I keep thinking of the night in June
I didn't know much of love, but it came too soon
And there was me and you, and then it got real blue
Stay at home talkin' on the telephone and
We would get so excited, we'd get so scared
Laughing at our selves thinking life's not fair
And this is how it feels

As we go on, we remember
All the times we had together
And as our lives change,
Come whatever
We will still be, friends forever

So if we get the big jobs and we make the big money
When we look back now, will that joke still be funny?
Will we still remember everything we learned in school?
Still be trying to break every single rule
Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man?
Can Heather find a job that won't interfere with her tan?
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to flyy
And this is how it feels

As we go on, we remember
All the times we had together
And as our lives change,
Come whatever
We will still be, friends forever

La, la, la la; yeah, yeah, yeah
La, la, la, la, we will still be friends forever

Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?
Can we survive it out there? Can we make it somehow?
I guess I thought that this would never end
And suddenly it's like we're women and men
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?
Will these memories fade when I leave this town
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly

As we go on, we remember
All the times we had together
And as our lives change,
Come whatever
We will still be, friends forever