V For Vagina

Wow... Even i find it so hard to say the V word ( though this is the formal English term for female genitalia). And just imagine having to express the V word or better known as cibai in Hokkien for almost 2 hours .. Telling a story about it or trying to relate to it openly without sounding vulgarish, embarrased or put off by it. I am a mature adult of 21 (hehehe) but still I feel akward being asked to shout Cibai so loud and openly. Virgin gitew auwww...

Ticket with the complimentary pantiliner.

We had that priceless guffaw moment when Vincent came back with the tickets and lots of pantiliners along with it. I am sure he had seen sanitary pads, but pantiliners ... this might be new and ackward for him. I asked him ... "u pakai kah?"

Anyway kudos to the Neighbourhood Performance Group under the direction of Choong Seong Wei for nailing this very difficult topic about Understanding Cibai through their theater play named The Vagina Warriors in Penang Performing Arts Centre (Penangpac). Neighbourhood Performing Group may be the new kids on the block in our local performing arts scene but based on the group profile in the handouts, the group has been around since 30 August 2010, consists of members from various background including journalists, teachers, writers, theater performers, undergraduate students from all over Peninsular Malaysia and even Taiwan.

The Vagina Warriors was inspired by Eve Ensler's (a playwright and performing artist) The Vagina Monologues that deals with women's experience with sex, love, tenderness, embarassment, cruelty, pain and pleasure, also women empowerment, relating it to vagina. Eve Ensler interviewed over 200 women from different age groups and various backgrounds whom bared themselves about vagina to write the first draft of the monologues.

The Vagina Warriors by the Neighbourhood Performing Arts Group were written to explore and address these 9 issues:

(1) The taboo attached to vagina, and why the Hokkien Chinese swear and curse "cibai" so as to degrade or smear their opponent's reputation. The actors did question on why vulgarize the vagina and why vagina was deemed as filthy when it is a life giving organ.

(2) Menstruation - physilogically, superstitious beliefs and taboos attached to it. The actresses brilliantly expressed the dilemma faced by women in conservative society such as menstruating women as bad luck or excuse for the husbands to sleep with other women. The best part would be how they associated menstruation with women supernatural power, they can bleed so much but still not dead. Therefore men, fearing this superpower, banned women from doing religious activities or pantang this and that.

(3) Menstrual cycle - physiological and emotional aspect of it. I love the part when the actresses "talked" or shared their mentsrual experience .. When they first had it, "leakages" experiences, PMS, dilemma in getting MC when experiencing bad period pains, vaginal hygience and ordour problems, followed by development, usage and disposal management of sanitary pads and tampons hehehe. Best part was the roti parody ... The difference between sandwich bread for breakfast (regular pad for regular flow) ... Thin breadstick best with mushroom soup (pantiliner for vaginal discharge) and thick and long French loaf for night snack (long overnight pad for night protection).

(4) Rape - condemning the impact of war, racism and society in controlling, oppressing and forcibly victimising the female body. Tagline from this segment "Rape only needs an erected penis from a male, and he alone decides the move ... not the female for the vagina is not an enclosed organ"

(5) Clitoris - what is it? Why is it a forbidden area? Why was it such a taboo? The actresses also explore orgasm (why many women faking it to please their partner/husband), female masturbation and is a female yearning for a climax considered adulterous? Well to be honest, I was quite uneasy when the actresses were enggaged in "mild" lesbian act, panty pulling and the moaning sound in the background (mastubation). I like the line when "I don't want to turn 70 but still have to cycle" (some females reach orgasm through cycling oppssss).

(6) Female genital mutilation - the so called adulthood ritual cruelly practiced on young girls in Africa. Well, this was also graphic ... though not through their acting but the lines! I cringed on my seat when the actresses describe and relate to the genital mutilation stories.

(7) Virginity - a relook at the misconstrued coitus bleed of a virgin in light of possible physical injury or damage. Yes, this one I have to agree. Women nowadays are very active, many are also involved in physically challenging activities.

(8) "Women" who are born in a male body - exploring the transgenders yearned for womanhood and "what" that truly make them one. Had a great laugh when 2 actors went downstage and seduced some male audiences. Hehehe

(9) Childbirth - vagina as the exit and extension of life. A little contemporary dance movement to display labour pain and childbirth. This part was a bit touching and funny when the "mother" refered to nurses and "misi" and tell the story that she felt her baby want to come out but the doctor asked her to suck it in, her concern that her baby might drowned inside her if she couldn't deliver.

The Vagina Warriors played to a half-filled Stage 1 yesterday. Most were teenagers. Glad to see some blond, brunnettes and grey heads among the crowd hehehe. This is a local production and seeing that quite acceptable numbers of crowd, I couldn't help but feel proud. The younger generation of Penangites are so lucky. My siblings aged 32-24 tak pernah jejak kaki pun ke Istana Budaya.

I enjoyed the play so much, seriously though I have to swallow my embarassment on so many intimate issues that I would definitely won't share it openly with anyone, let alone another woman. However it was easier to understand and relate to compared to Someone Who'll Watch Over Me. They mixed their languages and dialects in this play - some lines were in English, Mandarin, Malay, Hokkien and Manglish. I find that was the strength of this play ... universal issues, the Malaysian way of interpreting it.

Looking forward to more plays from the Neigbourhood Performing Arts Group.

Someone Who'll Watch Over Me

When I was told to lead Ministry of Tourism Malaysia office in Penang, I somehow got mix feelings... excited and nervous. Penang is my dad's birthplace and we often spend the holidays there but somehow I felt like going back to a strange city.

I had 2 main things in my mind then ... repackage the attractions and develop Penang Arts and Cultural Scene. Branding and packaging prove to be a very, very tedious work ... lots of networking, lots of negotiations, lots of patience, lots of rationalising and lots of eating hahaha. With different political parties ruling the State and Federal government certain things didn't progress smoothly.

But I will forever remember this law principle during my Ministry of Housing days that "the contract should be complementing, not contravening to the Act". So I decided that I should not be competing, but complementing my fellow competitors but in doing so, I will do it with style ... just like the Blue Ocean Strategy. With the Penang State Tourism inclining towards cultural, I focus my energy into arts ... any form of arts - especially the modern and contemporary ones. 

Recently the performing arts scene in Penang has become more vibrant with the opening of Penang Performing Arts Centre last year in Straits Quay, Penang. The art centre was built through a partnership between E&O Berhad and The Actors Studio (Malaysia). E&O has contributed a lot to the music and performing arts scenes in Penang. During Penang Tourism Action Council time, they sponsored close to a million for the Penang World Music Festival. 

To "mencemar duli" my first play or show at Penangpac, I decided to watch Someone Who'll Watch Over Me directed by Joe Hafsham yesterday. It was actually restage after a successful run in Kuala Lumpur.

The play deals with three men, an Englishman, an Irishman and an American who are taken hostage and held in a filthy, windowless cell in Beirut.  They are unsure of what the future holds for them. Will they see the light of day again? Will they see their families again? These are questions they do not have the answer for. As they fight to survive and stay sane, they escape into their fantasy worlds by shooting films or reliving Wimbledon, they provoke and taunt each other, they comfort each other and simply hang on…

After watching this play last night ... I asked Vincent, my projectpenang leader and good friend ... "Are you going to blog about the show?" He looked at me bewildered.

"Honestly, I quite blur about the show."

I couldn't blame him as I myself couldn't understand or couldn't get some of the lines, cracking my brain to digest and translate from American to Irish to English. To a certain extend, I suddenly found myself not that "open-minded" on reference made about God, religions, countries or race. Maybe because "lama sangat bekerja dalam suasana yang sikit-sikit isu sensitif". Hahaha... okay I was tempted to watch the play because of the review plus I miss indulging in modern and contemporary performing arts again. Seriously, I miss miss miss to be in the "cultured society" again hahahha

Next week, Vincent, Doris and myself will be challenging ourselves and see how open-minded we are about VAGINA issues. The Vagina Warriors, a drama play inspired by Eve Ensler's feminism master piece "The Vagina Monologue", aimed to knock down stereotypical thoughts about feminine, gender and sexuality, despite the fact that Malaysia is a conservative country where Patriarchal practice is just too strong to abolished. To be performed by the newly formed Neighborhood Performance Group wish to bring up unconventional ideas about VAGINA. 

Hmmmm ... interesting.

Five Element Dance

Pagi yang hening sebenarnya penulis sedang memerah otak mencari ilham untuk satu persembahan yang bakal dinamakan Five Elements Dance. Tarian ni penulis nak buat "first appearance" semasa Rumah Terbuka Tahun Baru Cina Peringkat Negeri Pulau Pinang. Selalu sangat kita dijamu dengan persembahan kebudayaan yang hanya menggabungkan tarian dari 3 rumpun sahaja. Nampak sangat cliche. Walhal, yang membentuk masyarakat Pulau Pinang yang unik adalah pertembungan rumpun-rumpun yang bertemu, berasimilasi dan berinteraksi sama ada dari sudut sosioekonomi, agama dan budaya.

Membangunkan kembali seni dan budaya Pulau Pinang merupakan hala tuju penulis tahun ini. Penulis sedang mengkaji kesenian dan kebudayaan masyarakat yang unik kepada negeri Pulau Pinang sepertinya Boria dan Chingay. Golongan peranakan di Pulau Pinang pun berdasarkan pengetahuan penulis yang masih belum terlalu mendalam kemungkinannya satu asimilasi trend seperti K-pop, Reggae atau punk atau Taiwan Milk Tea ... tidak seperti golongan Peranakan di Melaka yang mana jiwa dan raganya sekali memang beralih "tempatan" (localise). Tapi please don't quote me ... itu hanya pandangan secara umum.

Maaf, penulis tidak berniat untuk melalut ...

"Five Elements" ini diilhamkan daripada prinsip fengshui (Wu Qing) - air, kayu, api, tanah dan logam. Kelima-lima elemen berinteraksi dalam satu kitaran di mana air menyuburkan pokok (kayu) yang menyemarakkan api yang akan terbakar menjadi abu (tanah)  yang mempunyai logam yang melebur dan mengewap menghasilkan air (mineral water lah).

 

Dalam amalan fengshui, elemen-elemen ini saling berinteraksi dan memiliki sifat pemangkin, pemusnah ataupun melemahkan. Setiap satu elemen di atas dipercayai mengawal salah satu daripada aspek kehidupan kita seperti kekayaan, kesihatan, perhubungan, kerjaya dan sebagainya.Umumnya, sekiranya semua elemen ini wujud dalam carta kelahiran seseorang yang dinamakan Paht Chee ... kehidupan seseorang boleh dikatakan akan agak stabil/seimbang. Bagaimanapun, sama ada ia membawa kelebihan atau kekurangan (kaya atau miskin, sakit atau sihat) bergantung kepada perhubungan di antara apa yang dikatakan sebagai the Heavenly Stem or Earthly Branch.

Penulis hendak mentafsirkan hubungan sesama manusia itu ibarat kitaran 5 elemen di atas. Tanpa air pokok tidak boleh hidup. Tanpa api membakar kayu maka tidak wujudnya abu (tanah) ... dan seterusnya. Selain daripada itu, api yang terlampau marak jika tidak dijirus dengan air atau pasir akan mememusnahkan kayu yang jika terus musnah maka tidak wujudlah api nanti ...

Wah ... penulis tertanya bagaimanakah sang pereka tari akan menterjemahkannya ke dalam tarian, mengambil konteks masyarakat Pulau Pinang or Malaysia. Tak sabar rasanya ... sekali lagi ... tujuan penulis hanya mau membuang cliche dalam kesenian di sini.

TimeOut KL

Few of the challenges in writing and maintaining a blog are choosing the right blogging materials, selecting/editing the photos to complement it, experimenting with various writing styles and how to keep it relevant. My blog is categorised as Personal Blog in Sarawak Bloggers as I do not maintain a specific subject as the subject is ALL ABOUT MIE. What I do. What I eat. Where I go ...

Anyway, I do not recommend that if any of you are thinking about writing seriously. Write about yourself only if you are a DIVA! Having said that I AM a Diva on Facebook's Sorority Girls hehehe

The Power of Madonna

Enough talks about works ... so boring and sooooo not MIE. Just when I need the "release", my "favouritest" (hahaha ... among some early English words I invented in Primary 1 other than good, gooder, goodest) TV show of the year, Glee, latest episode which aired in the States on 20th April was all about the Power of Madonna. Oh, I sooo love this episode as I soooo love that "Auntie" ... just like Sue Sylvester's entry line ...

"How I worship her ever since I was a little girl. Madonna is THE most powerful woman to ever walk the face of this earth".

Plus SHE was the woman responsible for my RAMBOMADONNA persona. And for the record Miss Sue Sylvester, I too used to date younger guy(s) just like Madonna. Wooohooo ... Panassss ... Unfortunately now that I join the civil service, hard for me to change and reinvent my image for a new concert. Hahahaha. Jim Hiew ... I hope u read this entry as I miss our mini concerts at YU KIEN's warehouse and Mie's solo to Madonna's Frozen during SKTM nite.

Ok ... the latest episode 15 featured the Glee casts singing to some of Madonna's hits such as Like A Virgin, Like a Prayer, Express Yourself and of course .... two of my personal "favouritests" ... Vogue and 4 Minutes. Though I prefer Madonna performing to Vogue than 4 Minutes with Justin Timberlake .... for GLEE my vote is for Kurt and Mercedes' 4 Minutes ... and sorry Aunt Madge, I think their version is better too. I searched high and low on the Net for the video clip and hope this embedded video works.



To be honest, it was Sue Sylvester singing to Vogue, that made me all restless since Monday to watch this episode. Sue definitely had her Sue Time in this clip, even substituting it with the line "Sue Sylvester dance on air" and "Will Schuester I hate you..." I hope the video works.



Another nice video worth watching is the girl casts of Glee singing to Express Yourself. Hey, I am signing off people ... enjoy!

NOTE: This entry has been updated with better YouTube videos.

Korean Fever In The Prison

It has been quite a while since I last posted some interesting videos on this blog. I am still in my Korean Fever mode and as I was checking on some blogs on SuJu's (Super Junior) concert photos (saja nak compare dengan gambar2 I) I stumbled upon a site that link to these few interesting videos of the Dancing Inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Centre (CPDRC), Philippines.

My cousin and I think that this is a great effort and idea by the Centre, at least once they are release they could be employ as dancers. BTW, the Dancing Inmates perform every month to the public. Personally, we (as in gang MOTOUR ehemm ehemm) should take note ... it would be great if they all could dance to Tarian Cuti-Cuti Malaysia hehehe. My favourite is the Sewang.

NOBODY by Wonder Girls

NOBODY by THe Dancing Inmates




SORRY SORRY by Super Junior




SORRY SORRY by The Dancing Inmates

Super Junior - Super Show 2, Malaysia

I don't know which one excite me more at the moment. Watching the awesome performance or capturing it on my cameras .Oh yea... I brought 3 cameras to the concert! My EOS, my IXUS and of course ... new addition to my gadget family .. Si Beri Hitam. But I have to say here .... SuJu Saranghae....

I know I am a bit "over-age" to go ga-ga over these K-pop Boys but I just couldn't help it. Not only they are good looking, they are also great performers! Even my 4-year old niece Amber got a HUGE crush over them. Last CNY, she told us ... "I also know Korean song .... sorry sorry sorry". Yes, it all started with this song "Sorry Sorry Sorry".

Honestly, I don't know the name of all the 13 members. And I only know 2 of their hit songs .. Sorry Sorry Sorry and Doraego. But when Rachel called me months ago asking if I would like to go to the concert I was like OK. So when I asked how much is the ticket and she said RM 458... I almost fainted! Wow ... I was sooooo reluctant to part with my money that time since I needed to save for my Jakarta trip last January followed soon after by CNY. Plus I never spent more than RM 200 for a concert or performances.

But when she explained that the RM 458 ticket was for the Rock Pitt so that we could see the SuJu members better, my gut feeling told me to go on with it. It reminded me of an incident when I almost didn't join Jett and Emel watching Cuci The Musical just because I was not willing to spent RM 150 for a non-establish performance. After last night ... fuhhhh the experience was PRICELESS.

Akademi Fantasia taught me a thing or 2 about the Dos and Don'ts of LIVE Concert photography. I may not be a PRO yet but at least I know how to handle my "limited" camera lenses better and understand the advantages of my both my compact and DSLR. Paling penting ... to avoid disappointment at the picture quality and ensuring "Capture The Moment" as shown above. BTW, I really have MAJOR crush on the two boys ... Leeteuk (left) and Siwon (right). OMG! Both are 10 years younger than me.

For the ladies ... one important tip if you bought a Rock Pit ticket and you wanted to take photos is make sure you wear a comfortable platform. I should have worn my Crocs platform yesterday ... I seem to forget that Sarawakians do not inherit their cousin Giselle Bunchen height hahaha. Can u see the handphone spoilling this pic? Haiyaa ...

Another great "technological" experience I had in this concert was to be able to capture and upload the concert photos instantly to my Facebook account via my Beri Hitam ... Anyway, I was really surprised to see so many young "schooling" teenagers in the Rock Pitt. Waa ... anak -anak orang kaya ker? Akak dah kerja 10 tahun baru mampu beli tiket SuJu dik oiii .. Even their cellphones were like "of the latest" models. Nasib lah akak baru bertukar ke Beri Hitam so taklah malu nak angkat-angkat tepon amik gambar depan depa!

I have to say ... I was so jealous of the media people. Not only they got the best seat, they got chance to brush shoulder with the boys ... oooo envy envy!

Overall, I really enjoy the concert despite suffering backaches from standing too long. Hehehe ... but I don't care as long as I could capture nice pictures, dance to my heart content and shout in Korean! Hahaha

Unforgettable - Royal Charity Gala Night

Once again, I have to thank SP Setia for the invitation to their Unforgettable-Konsert Amal Diraja (whom they were the main sponsor) at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centere. The concert was to raise funds for the Alzheimers Disease Foundation Malaysia (ADFM), featured 66 world-class musicians from 10 different countries under the lead of New York-based conductor, Eugene Pook. Sesuai sangat dengan akak yang selalu lupa-lupa sejak dua-menjak nie.

Co-incidently, that night was the 64th birthday of His Royal Highness, The Sultan of Selangor, DYMM Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al-Haj. Another royal guests were His Royal Highness Dr. Raja Nazrin Shah and Tuanku Zara (santekkk sekali macam model). Hence, the Royal Charity Gala Night. Nasib lah I tak berhias cantik2 malam tu, kalau tak sure lah jadi birthday present to the most eligible bachelor for the night. Teringat kisah time terima watikah from the Sultan late father. Semua tak berani nak senyum kat the late Royal Highness masa ambik watikah takut - "Beta berkenan".

I have always wanted to watch a concerto or live orchestra playing classical pieces from Bach /Pachebel (my personal fav) or scores from famous movies like Beauty and The Beast, Titanic or Phantom of the Opera. Been planning to watch a few shows by the Malaysia Philhalmonic Orchestra, but haven't met the right companion for that. Anyway as I was savouring the symphonic magic of the night how I wish that my parents could afford to sent me for a musical lesson so at least I could play one musical instrument. So far the only musical instrument that I learned to play formally was the recorder (a type of flute).

Then suddenly I heard a familiar sound that usually add some drama or liven up or act as a climax to a score. "Ting Ting Ting". Laaa ... kerincing. Nampaknya ada jugak musical instrument lain yang I tau main. Kalau main kerincing pun boleh jadi world-class performer so I pun dengan bangga boleh lah anggap diri i world class musician hehehe

The orchestra played to scores from Phantom of the Opera, Star Wars and some pieces that I am not familiar with. There was also a solo performance from award winning violinist Jessica Lee and Estee Pook who sang to New York, New York and a Mandarin song. Anyway, throughout the night I was waiting for Sean Ghazi. And his vocal performance to Bridge Over Troubled Water, Semalam, Hujan Di Tengah Hari, Unforgettable and Sway memang tak mengecewakan. Tapi if I had a say to the selection of vocalists ... I think the organiser in the future should consider Farhan AF4.

When Sean told the audience that "tonight was magical" because for it will be the first time that his own song Semalam be played by 66 world-class musicians assemble ... I could understand his feelings. I think it is every singer or vocallist dream to sing to an orchaestra and LIVE in front of say 3000 audience. I remembered singing "How Do I Live" accompanied by a 3-piece band (piano, bass guitar and lead guitar) to a live audience at Hyatt KK.

My feelings that time? Excerpt from Sean Ghazi's speech ... "barulah terasa Malaysia Bolehness and some Syok Sendiriness"...

However the highlight of the night belongs to Datuk Razman Hashim, Deputy Chairman of Sunway Group. He really wowed the crowd with his down to earth performance and rendition to "Piece of My Heart". Kalah Sean Ghazi (seriously) ... sampai tak sedar I cheered so loud for him. Sorry Sean, kadang2 lelaki lebih tua lebih berpengalaman ... auwww

My Heart Must Go On

This year some people that I truly love and care about had gone to be with The Lord, but none of these passings had such traumatic effects on me like Well's sudden and unexpected demise. As I was in my mourning state, I recalled this words of wisdom on Datin Tiara's blog ... "DANCE as though no one is watching you. LOVE as though you've never been hurt before. SING as though no one can hear you. And LIVE...as though Heaven is on Earth."

Live ... as though Heaven is on Earth ... hmmm ... cantiknya ayat nie. I remember as I was talking to Well's friends and families in the hospital, they all said good things about him. Even my last known living memory of Well I could conclude him as a great man and friend. Hmmm ... as for me ... belum tentu lepas the 7 Deadly Sins (yang first- glutonny pun dah tak lepas). A clear direct access to Hell! OMG.

But if we really think about it... that is if you are not sure that you got yourself a place in Heaven, why not live as though Heaven is on Earth. Start counting our blessings, not our problems, set aside some time to Day Dream and believe that you are born for GREATNESS ... hahaha. Nonetheless I am thankful that I still live to enjoy this life, make it more meaningful or live to tell you my stories.

Trip to KK (23 Oct - 27 Oct 2009)
"Embrace Each Moment With Enthusiasm"

I have always regarded Kota Kinabalu as my fourth home (after Kuching, Penang and Kuala Lumpur). I should be as I spent 5 years exploring and discovering my "womanhood" there huhuhu. There were time, especially when I was so stressed out, that I felt like boarding a flight and go hiking at the foot of Mount Kinabalu or snorkelling at Manukan Island in that "itsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini".

I did that when I was a student in UMS. There was a cheap room and boarding about few kilometres from Kinabalu National Park (RM 10.00 a night for room without heater). I remember going there with Geh Wyn, Kar Yew and Arthur during exam week. That very night Geh Wyn had stomach upset and went to the loo to do his business. By the time he got back, he told us that his rear end was all numb from coldness ... (but that time my mind was wondering on something else that might went numb too). So kesian hooo.. we were too "poor" to get ourselves room with heater.

Oh yea, back on the trip. After the wedding, I extended my stay until the 27th Oct (Tuesday) for photo taking sessions, a makeover (body, mind and soul) and of course, jalan-jalan cari makan (cheap and fresh seafood).

The photographer in action...

The models ... the one on the most right still admiring self taken pictures of her eyes. Sudahlah Suna ... memang ndak nampak bah matamu tu.

Iklan Tahun Melawat Sabah ...

Datanglah ke Sutera Harbour Resort ... anda akan dilayan dengan "baik" oleh life guard ini.

Years ago ... nobody appreciate the view here except for me and Suna over a brunch at Wisma Merdeka. Nah ...now got waterfront somemore.

I still don't get the meaning of the fish statues.

That night we had dinner at Kampung Air ... look at all these fresh seafood!

I tried Mantis Prawn in Penang few months back and was told that it's hard to get the "big" ones in Peninsular Malaysia. So when I saw this in the aquarium ... ooo la laa...

I never miss Oyster Omellete whenever I am in Penang. But nothing can compare with this Kampung Air Oyster Omellette ... heaven!

If I craved for soft shell crabs, I normally go to Japanese restaurant. But here ... the crabs are freshly catch and fried for you!

The flesh of the steam garoupa ... ooo heaven. In KK, jangan lah beli sea bass ... keluarkan lah duit makan garoupa, red snapper or kalau nak lagi kelass... big white promfret!

More stories on my trip to KK I will feature in my next entry ... KK Jalan Terus! Hmm harus cerita pasal Auntie Lisa.

Cuci The Musical@Istana Budaya (31 Oct 2009)
"Appreciate And Support More Art"

At first I was not really enthusiastic about this musical as most of the casts are not penggiat teater. I guess that's what most people think too when Datin Seri Tiara decided to staged Puteri Gunung Ledang the Musical. Unlike Cuci The Musical, at least I had good feelings about Puteri Gunung Ledang the Musical and even sort of like imagining and visualising the score, the plot and the magical moments months before watching it live on stage. Nonetheless, for its maiden debut, Cuci the Musical is entertaining, exceeding my expectation and worth my every Ringgit.

I might be quite "bias" in my judgement by comparing Cuci the Musical with international production like Mamma Mia and the sold-out Puteri Gunung Ledang The Musical. Quite honestly for I had the chance to watch all three musicals ... I think Cuci The Musical can be better than Mamma Mia without that some "dragging" ad libs .. more witty and humorous punch lines like ... "Jojo 1-4-3" , "Pisang Jojo jugak yang sedap" or "it's a joke, it's a joke" and of course ... that fantastic solo performance by Adibah Nor ... (OMG!) ... I so love the chemistry between Awie and Adibah Noor. Seriously, Mamma Mia's props assemble and storyline was not as grand and magical like Puteri Gunung Ledang but sometimes what a good musical needs are creative storyline, witty punchlines, catchy numbers, practical stage props and some DOT DOT DOT lines(geddit?)

Me and Jett had a very "intellectual" conversation that night. With the growing number of good local musical productions plus a good venue to hold it, perhaps big companies should consider sponsoring or investing in our local talents and support our performing arts scenes. If Indonesia can be proud of their local bands, Thailand with their internationally acclaimed movies, and the Philipines with their vocallists ... perhaps Malaysians should rival in the form of performing arts - musicals, theaters, dance performances?

It will not only create hope and opportunities for our local talents but also for future generations. You see, not many people are born with excellent academic ability. Some are visual learners, some are listening learners, some are emotional/touch learner. Unfortunately in Malaysia, most parents see performing arts or any form arts as not a suitable platform or basis for a bright future. So like the HSBC ad, the child had to suffer in silence pleasing their parents who support their education. Oh yes ... there was a point in my life I wanted to be like my idol Sudirman or Anita Sarawak (excuse me, we have the same full lips) ... singing to a LIVE band on "Tragedi Buah Epal". But my mum said,"Mun sik mauk sekolah tinggi jadi doktor, kawin jak kau". Hehehe ... my mum didn't say that. Else lama sudah I elope to Lombok.

Looking at Adibah Nor, perhaps I might have a chance. Boleh jugak berkenalan dengan Hans Issacc hehhe.

Thanks Jett, luckily in the end we all went to see juak that musical. Yalah, never judge a day by its weather right?



Trip To Kuching (6 Nov -8 Nov 2009)
"Make At Least One Person Happy"


I knew I made one person the happiest! Kazen sanggup picked me from the airport in these bare essentials. Just for the Burger King's Mushroom Swiss Burgers.

I Know What I Did Last Raya

Guess what ... I got bitten by the cross stitch bug again! Another very expensive and time consuming hobby. Miskin lah aku lepas nie. But I am not going to complain ... better busy than sorry. Don't know how it started ... perhaps boring of looking at the empty walls of my home. Huhuhuhu ... Anyway, I started this hobby since I was 15 but because I couldn't afford to buy the "benang" with my student budget so my passion for cross stitch often ON OFF.

After moving to KL, I did try to rekindle with this hobby. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the right shop selling the materials and floss. Imagine a city like KL, I couldn't find a decent shop specialising in needleworks. Banyaknya kedai pengantin or home deco. So I decided to forget about it ... yes, I forgot about it for 6 years until last year's August during a work trip to Muar, Johor. I was window shopping at the shops near my hotel and I found a nice shop selling artificial flowers and handicrafts.

I couldn't content my excitement when I saw wonderful cross stitch designs, complete with the materials and DMC floss. I memang fan of DMC products, because it has more range of colours. This one I learned from my cousin Wendy - the person responsible to introduce me to this craft. So akak pun borong lah one complete set, in case I couldn't find shops selling DMC products in KL.

But after that I had to stop stitching for another year coz moving house and couldn't remember packing my cross stitch materials in which box. Huhuhuhu

This was my effort between August - October 2008.

This was my effort during the Raya holidays.

This was as of 7.00pm today.

And this is how it suppose to look like when complete. How very ambitious of me! Bila lah nak siap macam nie hahaha!

The Best Memory of AF7

Nope ... it's not the moment when Hafiz was announced the winner but the time we tried to get our picture taken jumping on the stage, showing our excitement. Everytime I look at the pics I will laugh my heart out!

It has been a while since I was "able" to jump that high, you know with the cellulites, 1 pack ab and stuff. Dunno how many jumps we did tat nite to get that "near perfect" shot as shortlisted here.

Take 1 : Opsss... we were just about to jump when the "amateur" photographer snapped this.

Take 2: Opsss ... Mie and Kazen Davidson jumped with all our might till our "mid section" exposed. Jet and Emel was not ready ...

Take 3: I had to say, Jet has best jumping pose here ... with an exception ... u know wat ... hahaha

Take 4: Hahahahahaha ... this was the best shot we were able to get. Mel, paksa kau megang Jet sak dapat berada satu paras ngan kamek urang ho .. Kazen, bersungguh kau melompat eh...

Note:
Was thinking of kickstarting an active lifestyle yesterday ... too bad it rained (excuses, excuses, excuses)

The Exorcism of Hafizzzzzzzzzzzzzz ... (Final-The Moment of Truth)

DEDICATION

To Hafiz, you know the best place to park your Honda Accord.

To Kazen Davidson and Jet, thanks for inviting me into your Hafizzzzzzzzz world.

To Emel, what's next in the list?

To Suna, I may pay your wage low but with benefits. Wat did our mum teach us about running away with "foreigners"?

To everyone, thanks for supporting this blog. I need a sleep!

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

By 7.00 pm, Stadium Bukit Jalil had turned to a battlefield of the fan clubs. Some came in blue, some in green, some in black and white, some in black and some in red. I began to worry when Kazen Davidson called out to some fellow Hafizians strange names ... like "eh you GI Joe1234 kah? or "you must be Cutegirl1977". Sounded so Illuminati to me. Anyway it marvelled me that ordinary people who were complete strangers as first later became "geng karas" due to an idol.

OK, the carnival didn't live up to my expectation, the ticket sales on the other hand was beyond my expectation. Never expected to see so many AF7 fans or recently converted to fans - most of whom lompat parti or just wanna join the fun. Jet and I saw Tomok on our way to the arena in Isma's FC green T-shirt. We waved our "Hafiz fans" at him and he waved back. I never thought that he is tall and cute in real life. Yummy!

We met more Hafizians in the Arena but from different "doctrines". There are PTPL Hafizians, KLang Valley Hafizians and Kuching Mali Hafizians. Another rare Hafizians is the Afro Hafizians. It tickled my heart when I read Jet's comment on his FB pics that the reason why he wore Hafiz cap that nite was to avoid kutu from the AFros.

The ritual started with the organiser's rep giving instruction on the do's and don't during the live telecast, prohibition on the camera and handphones during concerts and of course voice check ... "sapa peminat Hafizzz kat sini?" Waaa.. responses could be heard from all corners and Kazen Davidson and Jet were shouting, jumping and waving Hafiz banners in excitement.

Hafiz first performance that night was a bit shaky (sorry no pics) and I could understand the pressure of being the first one to perform. He did his best, but Fizzz ... you need certain kind of charisma and groove to sing that song. Your vocal and diction maybe OK for the song, but u need to inject some cheekiness. But come the 2nd song, that song was soooooo youuuu ... everytime you reached the high notes, or the flat notes during the bridge or chorus ... gosh I lost count of how many standing ovations and cheers I did for you. Kazen Davidson was speechless!

Anyway Kazen, I have to be true to myself. Admittedly Hafiz had been consistent in all in perfomances. But the reason why I voted Claudia before and admired Akim performances that nite was I valued good live performances. Anyway, Hafiz wins in his 2nd song for originality and "penghayatan". And Aflin was wrong about Akim's performance was original - Faizal Tahir did that before. Sorry to Akim's fans out there, even if Akim won that nite he will always be compared to Faizal Tahir.

The highlight of the "exorcism" was the seconds before AC Mizal announced the winner of AF7. I shuddered at thought of wat Kazen Davidson will do if Aril was announced the winner. For sure somebody will turned into an Incredible Hulk. Hehehe ... to mine and Jet's amazement, the minute Hafizz was announced the winner, Kazen Davidson was in tears! Goodness Zen...

I was so touched when all Hafizians, regardless whether we know each or not hugged and hi-five each other. The stadium was filled with echoes of Hafizians rejoice.



I quickly made a dash to the stage so that I could get best snapshots with my DSLR ... Then when I saw media people with their high-end SLRs with expensive zoon lenses, I felt sooooo small. Wat the heck, I climbed onto a chair and shouted to Hafiz and Datin Tiara to look at my direction (as usual). Geramnya when some photographers blocked my view and in the end this was my best shot. Sorry Fiz!

Was the exorcism successful? This is an excerpt from Kazen's latest entry ...

"As the MC announce the 3rd to the 5th place, everyone were shouting Hafiz’s name. I was the loudest to shout, I think so lah. Finally when he announced that Hafiz is the champion, people shouted, people screamed, jumped, clapped hands, run here and there while me, I cried at my place. I cried like a baby.. huk huk huk… hehehe.. Well, it was the moment I would never ever forget!!! I was satisfied with the result. No more votes needed. No more AFUNDI.. no more diary after this and no more Saturdays concerts. As what one of Hafiz cousin said No more AF after this. I Agree! I like Hafiz and his attitude." ...

PICTORIALS

Why u don't vote for Hafiz? Don't mess with a Hafizian ...

With Hafiz cute and adorable sisters.

For more pics, check out my FB...