Kat Tagged Me

6 things I'm passionate about

1. Music

As you can tell from the contents of this blog, music is something that I like to talk about. I'm not very good at it, but I know a little here and there and it's a subject that I'm very much passionate about. Everyone's passionate about music. Anyone who isn't should go check for a pulse.

2. Achievement

I'm darn kiasu. If I write, I must win competitions. If I pick a subject or an interest, I better be good at it. I am results orientated, and am very passionate about setting goals and achieving them. I used to do this regardless of peoples' feelings, but now I realize that relationships always come first. Results are always second to that.

3. Bargains

I love bargains. I love rummaging through bargain bins. I love the hunt, the thrill of getting something at a fraction of the usual price. I really, really love bargains.

4. Literature

It's always been something I've been good at. I used to read books for the sake of reading them, just so I can say that I've read something like Catcher In The Rye.. even though I didn't really like the book. But now I enjoy looking for pieces that I actually personally like, instead of just reading books that have been critically acclaimed by intellectual snobs. If we all read what intellectual snobs read, James and The Giant Peach would never have existed. I treat MPH like my library, oh yes I do.

5. Opinions

I absolutely cannot stand apathy and pessimism. But if I had to choose between the two, I'd choose pessimism, because at least the pessimist has a stand about something. There is no excuse for not going out there and being informed about issues and stuff. I'm not saying everyone has to know everything, but one must at least try to form an opinion on something out there in the universe. Because if you don't have an opinion, I can't argue with you. And boy, what would life be without arguments.

6. Gilmore Girls

My sister says that I sound a lot like Lorelai Gilmore. And it's true that I identify a lot with her struggles. (I identify with the struggles of a woman who got knocked up at 16 and got thrown out by her parents?!) Fiction is the great reflector of society. Oh yes it is.


6 books I read recently

1. Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I blogged about this book awhile back, and Hasrin bought it for me for my birthday. It's some depressing African war story that you don't want to know. But to me it was a very satisfying read.

2. Politically Incorrect Jokes Men Love - Allan Pease

My classmate, San San, got this for my birthday in Penang.. I didn't so much read it, as hear the jokes being recited by Chris every night. And we let him read them out loud because it would probably be the only time that a joke he told might possibly be funny.

3. Passion and Purity - Elizabeth Elliot

A book on our favourite topic of all time.

4. Love is Hell - Matt Groening

Recognize the author? I bought this from Chow Rasta, the famous second hand book trader centre in Penang. We didn't have much entertainment there, no TV, no wireless except for office hours.. So I read this sardonic comic while zoning off in the hotel room mostly.

5. All American Girl - Meg Cabot

My sister bought me this book for my sixteenth birthday, I think. And I've read it at least twice a year since. It's the only chick lit that I own and it tells the story of Samantha Madison, who saves the president from an assasin and falls in love with the president's son who is (of course) cute, smart, sensitive and happens to be in the same art class as her. How convenient. It's fluffy and diverting and I never get sick of it.

6. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer

I had to see what the fuss was all about, so I went to MPH and sat in the cards corner and didn't get up till I finished it. By the way, I have a feeling that MPH did away with all the benches in the store to get rid of people like me who just sit and read and never pay. I'll do a review on this another day.


6 songs/albums :P I can listen to over and over again

1. We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things - Jason Mraz

2. Waltz of the Flowers - Tchaikovsky

There's The Trout by Schubert, and the Blue Danube by Strauss, but nothing spells "feel good" more than this little waltzing ditty. In my early secondary years, I'd sneak downstairs when everyone was asleep and pop this in the CD player so that I could dance without anyone catching me. On hindsight, I must've been a pretty creepy kid.

3. Sonata 1 in E minor - Chopin

If you listen to any song by Chopin enough times, you'll fall in love with it. It just so happens that I listened to this a lot after I heard Yundi Li's performance of it live. The songs are called classic for a reason

4. Dancing in The Moonlight - Toploader

It's my alarm tone in the morning, and it makes getting up a lot easier.

5. Put Your Records On - Corrine Bailey Rae

When I first entered college, the world hit me full blast. Assignments flooded, girls backstabbed me.. it was the works. It was highschool, but worse. I played this song in the morning to make myself feel better and I did. It's awesome girl power, bicycle wind breezing pop fuzz at its best. And all her other songs are great too.

6. Jay Chou songs

Some people have a way of snatching melodies from the sky, and Jay Chou has that. Don't mind his experimental crafted techno stuff. I'm talking about his pure, simple, beautiful melodies. First it was Jian Dan Ai, the singalong gush to simple love; then it was Qing Tian; then Ting Ma Ma De Hua, which was so reminiscent of Mozart; then Fa Ru Xue, the historical heartbreaker; then Ju Hua Tai, lush majestic and orchestral. The latest one I've been listening to is Cai Hong, or Rainbow. And it's classic Jay with its unadorned simplicity.

I'm so pro now that I can tell whether it's Vincent Fang or Jay Chou's lyrics just by listening to the song. If I can understand it, it means it's Jay. And if I don't, that means it's Vincent. Okay, I'll stop.. sorry for the jargon.


6 things I learnt this past year:

1. I don't need to prove anything to anyone, except to those who really love me.

2. Your strengths may not be your passions

3. I will die without pen and paper. But I always knew that.

4. Yundi Li will never come to Malaysia and marry me

5. The reason why I walk like a duck is probably because I learnt to walk that way while recovering from sprained ankles.

6. I need to be more assertive with my own life choices. Que sera sera. NOT.


6 valuable things I own:

1. Phone

I feel lost without it. And it's a gift, so must jaga.

2. Drafting table

I love my table. It's a wood and glass affair where I do all my stuff and dump all my stuff. I can see myself using it for a long time to come.

3. Ankle guard

I use it so often that it seems to be becoming a permanent fixture. Along with the Chinese herbal oil that's always by my side.

4. Passport

Every stamp is a mark of liberty. And having one is like a symbolic pass to freedom. Oh, I'm so full of nonsense.

5. Stickers

I bribe my students with them and constantly wish that everyone else was so easy to bribe.

6. Plasters

I love my plasters. Please don't take them away from me. My mom once wanted some for her kindergarten students. My glare said it all. *preciouussss...*

6 bloggers I tag:

1. Loky
2. Mary Ruth
3. Hasrin Edzwan
4. Ching Mei
5. Grace Chew
6. Joon Heng

I once had a life

This post is to remind myself that I once had a life.

Eons and centuries ago, a friend promised me that he'd take me to Groove Junction. The promise never materialized. For the uninitiated, Groove Junction is the birthplace of people like Mia Palencia and uh.. Mia Palencia. Do I really need to drop any more names?


As providence would have it, Gadiy's friend was going to play there, so we went to watch. Friend's name was Rendra Zawawi, who's been playing solo on the circuit for quite a bit now, but recently got a band together. Coincidentally, the show we went to watch was the debut of the band.

Well, the songs weren't too bad. They were simple and catchy, floating around slightly dreamy. It was obvious that the band were from jazz backgrounds; sharp, clear and perfectly sure of what they were doing. The bassist was Alda Tan from the amazingly mindblowing (now defunct) Cosmic Funk Express. And the drummer seemed familiar, as if I'd heard him somewhere before. Maybe it was at the Rainforest. I'm not sure.

But anyway, it seemed to me that the band was trying to confine itself to Rendra's pop vibe of 16 bar choruses and self-learnt chords when it was clear that they could do much more if given a little more space within the songs. Not that I have any problem with 16 bars and self-learnt chords (all hail Jason Mraz! all hail Zack Kim!). It's just that a compromise had yet to be struck between styles. An earlier duet with just a violinist didn't quite jive, also because of different viewpoints. Violinist fills in gaps in the music, guitarist fills in somemore with clashing harmonies.. and basically you get a little messy. Or maybe it was my nerves doing the talking after the hour long wait for the band to arrive.

All in all it wasn't bad, but given some time, the band will come together at some midpoint understanding. And that's when the magic will begin.

Life. Remind me what it's like again?

The Art of Sounding Credible

If all goes well, this should be last Architecture & Culture presentation that I'll ever be doing in my life. Through the years, we've pretty much perfected the art form of taking architectural facts and honing them into storylines. I used to enjoy presentations, the give and take between presenter and audience. But now it's like.. bleuggh. It just became more and more subjective through the years and while I used to be able to silence lecturers, now I know I'm going to get a walloping at the end no matter what I say.

But still, it was the last one.

My sister should be coming home from her first SPM paper soon. I gotta go get her lunch ready. Toodles, people.

Spirit

It's already November, and I'm so absolutely not psyched for Christmas yet. This is atrocious by my standards. I used to go around yelling "Christmas!" by July in previous years. Thus, this is my feeble attempt at getting a little more in the mood.

Dressing up the blog is so much fun. And I get to have (pretend) expensive shiny baubles for nothing.

Bereavement Poem

Do not stand at my grave and weep;

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glint on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush,

I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight;

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

- Mary Elizabeth Frye

Rest in peace, Madelyn Payne Dunham. Grandson's done well for you.

GoMobile GoMobile Go

Admit it. There's a little stigma surrounding the Bond franchise. It's associated with campiness and cheesy lines. It's a like a guilty pleasure, the ice cream tub that no one will admit they emptied out in the night (not like I empty out ice cream tubs at night, hehe. I just do it in daylight).

Everyone's been raving about Daniel Craig and the realism he's brought to the franchise. Some diss him for his man-pout, while some gush about his blonde eyelashes (among other things...). Like him or hate him, you have to admit that the last movie was good. More specifically, the opening sequence of the movie was good. I mean, dude; what other opening sequence of any other movie was as memorable as that one? The rolling casino motifs, Daniel Craig strolling out in black and white and shooting out red hearts, all with Chris Cornell crooning in the background. If you don't call it downright iconic, I don't know what is.

Here, let me jog your memory.

All together now: "Arm yourself cause nobody can saaaaave yoooouuuuu...."

Wah. Chris Cornell ah... Sitting through that opening sequence was so magical that I knew I was in for something special. So, fine; the rest of the movie was a tad predictable. Vesper Lynd was so going to backstab Bond, like duh. Nevertheless, I still got all emotional in the end even though I knew what was going to happen. I suppose that's what good actors do: they suspend disbelief and cynicism for awhile.

Back to my point. Since the previous opening sequence was so awesome, I thought I'd do some stalking to find out what the next song will sound like. The next song is called Another Way to Die, written by Jack White and featuring Alicia Keys. The first thing I thought was "Woah, two such big names, this is bound to be legendary".

The song starts excitingly enough with big horns and strings as is customary for a Bond song. And since it's Jack White, guitars are thrown in for good measure. Then a silence kicks in and Alicia comes in with a delicious melody of octaves. Ooh.. promising.

I'm not sure what you'll make of it. I thought that the song is interesting, but Alicia and Jack don't quite go together, eh? Then again, they've got a lot to live up to. Chris Cornell, oh how he completely captured my imagination with the essence of Bond; the tortured, twisted soul beneath the steely, man-pouting exterior. Also interesting is the way both You Know My Name and Another Way to Die have a distinctly 'Bond' feel to them, and yet inject their own RnB and rock influences in fresh ways.

Anyway, I must admit that since I've joined Nuffnang, I've never had to pay for movie tickets. They've given me tickets to previews for shows like Mamma Mia, X-Files (it was free), Madagascar, and so on and so forth.

GoMobile, The Ultimate Mobile Lifestyle Event of the Year is holding a special screening of Quantum of Solace on the 9th of November at Cathay Cineplex (hehe, imagine I just said it like how Ryan Seacrest mentions sponsors on American Idol). At the screening, they're giving away phones and mp3 players like nobody's business. My goodness, bloggers are really being spoilt these days. Who says that the voice of the youth is being ignored exactly? We are so totally appreciated.

If I get to go for the screening, I hope that this time the most memorable part of it will actually be the movie and the acting, instead of the opening sequence. Most sincerely, I am looking forward to it. All you comic fanboys can gush about Watchmen and the Joker all you want. I'm rooting for Jason Bourne!!!! Oh, whoops. Did I say that out loud? I mean, James Bond!!!!!!!!!

p/s : My sister, Hannah is nominated for prom queen this year. She's been working herself silly for SPM, and she really deserves it, so please vote for her! She's number one on the voting list. Non-bimbo prom queens rock.

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