I'm good at this...

I won another contest out of a magazine. Second from Lime magazine. This time it is the Usher/Leona Lewis Contest. I feel its just too easy to win la. Is is because no one even tries to?
The first contest I won from Lime was just a few months back, The Dark Knight contest. This time I won a gift hamper worth RM200 including a Leona Tshirt, an Usher cap and 6 CDs. How cool is that?

Singapore in a Breeze

You would think a holiday trip would be relaxing and exciting. Well, my first visit out of the country was such a rush, hectic and tiring. But hey, to see it all, you have to rush through the city, considering the fact that my trip was only for like 3 days (2 days if you minus the journey).

My first step out of Malaysia! Seriously.

But I have to say,

Singapore was FANTABULOUS

(I just thought the word's kinda catchy).

I'll just run through the places I visited in Singapore, its a good thing we joined the packaged tour or else we wouldn't know where to go and will be wasting time lookig for the places. The latest attraction, The Singapore Flyer. Similar to the Eye on Malaysia and Eye of London, only it is the largest in the world. And God, was it enourmous. Somehow, it didn't seem bigger than the Eye of London as portrayed in the Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Probably, it was movie effects wich made the one in London larger. The gondola was was so big, it could probably fit 25-30 people in it. A half hour seem to fly by as it went round.

The world's tallest and largest Ferris Wheel?

I just love this photo

Now this was the sucky part. Our bus was leaking oil because of a faulty filter and we were stuck at the Flyer for 2 hours as our bus driver and tour guide went round the city to look for a replacement part and repaired it.

My family decided, why waste the time by waiting, why not walk around the area and take a look at the newly built Formula One track and the pit stop building. It was really cool being able to stand on the track where the fastest car race in the world took place just months ago. I could still see the melted rubber on the track left by the tyres of Alonso's, Raikonnen's and Hamilton's awesome machines.

The staring grid of the race track and the pit stop building

The next stop after dinner at a foodcourt called the old airport road foodcourt, was the Night Safari. Oh My Gawd, after visiting here, I couldn't even imagine Zoo Negara in KL be called a zoo. The first thing before the entrance was a performance by fire eaters. And they were really authentic, dressed like Islanders in "natural clothing" they put such a "heated show". I could feel the heat when blew flames like dragons.

The deco and theme was so authentic, they even had lions roaring in the toilet. I mean, guys, you understand how pressured it is when you're standing there easing yourself and a lion creeps up behind you and roar. You will be like, oh shit, should I run with a flowing pipe or should I finish and let the lion eat me up. The place was really done up so well I felt like I was really in the jungle, only with another thousand of people or more. Damn it was packed with visitors. The queue for the safari ride was probably more than half hour long.

The Kancil. What my CLK is named after.

The Safari Ride took us round the largest man made ecosystem, where they brought us so close to animals you could reach out and touch them, even lions and elephants. My mum was like, "Eh, why they can do like that one?? No safety. What if the animals decide to go crazy?"

Can you see the black colored Binturong hanging from the rope?

Besides that, the animal show just showed how smart animals can be. I was so entertained by the ferrets putting recyclables into the right bins. And they did it although they were acting like they had a hard time doing it.
The sad thing was I couldn't get clear photos here, coz it was in the night and flash photography was prohibited.

For the first day, I thought Singapore could not be better than this.

I was wrong.

One thing I noticed was that most of the workers at this tourism spots were youngsters. Probably in their twenties. How I wish to work at one of these places. Five girls ran the animal show flawlessly.

By the time we checked into our hotel that night, it was almost 12 midnight. Imagine after 18 hours out of the house, round Singapore, and all the walking, I just couldn't believe I could wake up at 7 the next morning.

First stop for the day, boat ride down the river and got up close with the famed Merlion of Singapore. Mermaid+Lion= Merlion. Actually I thought the Merlion was kinda ugly. Apologies to my Singaporean friends ya, dun so kiasu ok? The boat ride was a bore for me though. Probably coz I was still sleepy.

The Merlion and sleepy me.

Next stop, Chinatown. Obviously, we had to visit Chinatown somehow. It was not as happening as Petaling Street, but I think was more authentic. I mean, Chinatown in KL is now more like Bangladeshitown. In Singapore, you still could see Chinamen and women selling Chinese stuff and tourist souveniers instead of imitation goods and pirated DVDs. It was here where I understood the phrase "Singapore is a FINE city". Fine not as in perfect, fine as in summonses. FYI, you will get fined for littering, smoking, and chewing gum.

Check out this fridge magnet I got from Chinatown

The Chinese Heritage Center really captured the history of the early Chinese settlers there. They got one of the old houses and converted it into a place where people could go back in time to have a look at how the early sttlers lived. They preserved many of the things in the house and it was as real as can be.

Chinatown, Singapore

After a dissapointing Mongolian BBQ lunch, it was off to Sentosa island where I would consider it a theme park Island. Seriously pack "kao kao" man the island. What I was really excited was, there was like a whole school of Japanese students visiting too. I'm guessing they're from a girls school coz I didn't see ay guys at all. Everywhere I looked, it was Japanese girls in their uniform. *grins*

Must have one poyo shot right? :D

The Merlion on Sentosa Island

First stop, the Images of Singapore. Before going in, I thought, ohh no, another museum. It was a museum alright, but I didn't think it would be so interesting to learn about the history of Singapore and how the people lives then. Although, I wouldn't want to be stuck in there alone in the night. The wax statues were pretty real and scary. How'd I know if "Night at the Museum" wouldn't happen to me.

Next was the Tiger Sky Tower, the one where they bring you real high up in this revolving tower to see Singapore from high up. It's similar to the Solero Shot in Genting, only they don't stop your heart with a down-to-Hell drop, instead with a breath taking view. Nothing special here I thought. Then it was off to a 40 minute queue for the 4D Pirate show experience. The others kept asking what's 4D. Why 4D and not 3D? I had a simple explanation, 4D is 3D with a shaking seat. I was half right though. They also had air blowing at your feet and behind your ears to imitate crabs and bees surrounding you and water splashing at you.

The Vergara boys in 3D.....glasses.

After that was off to the luge and skyride. The luge was like sitting on a skateboard and rolling down the hill...fast. And the skyride was like a skilift to bring you back up only, it offered yet another beautiful aerial view of the island.

My bro pandai posing la...

The last event on Sentosa was after dinner and

for the second day, I thought Singapore could not get better than this.

I was wrong again.

It was the Songs of the Sea show and again MY GOD, it was spectacular! A lights, fountain, laser, fire and fireworks show all combined in the ultimate experience. You would have to see it to believe it. The technology, choreography and engineering put into this show was ...Fantabulous??

Laser lights and water fountains created this face in the sky.

Could feel the heat even though it was far away. There were some flames nearer.

Before heading back to the hotel, the promised open-top bus ride round Singapore, particularly Ochard Road was help up for more than an hour due to the stupid bus company not keeping to schedule. Most of te adults in our tour got so angry, stormed the counter and finally we got all 44 of our butts on a vacant 35 seater bus.

Off with the roof

The famed, and I thought over-rated Orchard Road was nothing special lah. People kept saying the Christmas deco there was the nicest, to me, yea, i was ok. Better than Bukit Bintang though.

Another relieving sight of our hotel rooms an beds after a whole day of touring. The next day was our last place to visit and it was the Jurong Bird Park. And I thought Singapore cound not be better.

My dad helping out with one of the tricks

Two bird shows, the first was the Birds of Prey, with meat eating birds such as eagles, owls, vultures and some other species flying inches above our heads. The second show was the Birds and Buddies show where all kinds of birds took part. I couldn't believe how smart birds, or animals for that matter, could be.

The Tuki bird, just like the one from George of the Jungle

I can't describe the whole show here but what really caught eveyone's attention was the talking bird, Amigo. Oh, you may think, yea, the bird says 'Hello', 'How are you' and 'Bye bye', nothing special. But have you ever seen or heard a bird sing Rasa Sayang? How about a mandarin nursery rhyme? How bout counting 1-10 in English and Mandarin. Check the video out.

It seemed like that every tourist spot there was a shop selling glow-in-the-dark merchandise. The Flyer, Night Safari, Sentosa, and the Bird Park. I saw this Tshirt at the Night Safari, and I was so lovin' it I was about to bring it to the counter when I thought, waitaminute, this shirt is nice, the price shoud be very "nice" too. True enough, it cost S$49. That's about RM115 for a Tshirt. I put it back heavy heartedly.

My bro's shoes

It was time to say goodbye to Singapore. I really had a good time there and the trip wasn't enough for me.

I shall be back Singapore!!!

Finally, I finished typing. Now, to load the photos. LoL.

I'm in Singapore!

Hi to all of you. This will be just a short entry as I'm typing from the Hotel's business room.

Yes, I am in Singapore with my family, and we joined a tour package, so, after walking the whole day round Singapore from the wee hours of the morning till now, I still had the urge of just posting something here. Hey, It's my first time stepping on a foreign land. I even got a picture of me taking my first step out of Malaysia. LoL.

This is quite a budget package, so I'm staying at a 2 star hotel in the Geylang district. If you guys know well enough, Geylang is to Singapore as ChowKit is to KL. It is the "Red Light" district of Singapore. And seriously, no joke, there are 2 backlanes surrounding this hotel and I've never seen a buzier backstreet since the BSBoys. I walked out to look for some hawkers, and my God, it's like a pasar malam. Easily a 100 people in the dark, of which half are whores. Looking down from my room window, the other backlane houses a gambling table (Illegal obviously). Its really anew experience for me. I mean, my parents are like : "Ooh, wanna go walk around the backlanes anot, mebe look for food?". I'm like, "hmm, isn't it just wrong walking among prostitutes with your parents?" It's like taking drugs under the supervision of a police officer.

The room is not all that bad. Yes, it is the smallest bedroom I've ever seen, but after a tiring day, you would just be glad to see a bed, no matter how shabby it may be.

I will continue about my fantabulous visit to Singapore, with a little dissapoitments her and there.
To everyone, I have to say this first, "Singapore is a FINE City".

The Two Fantastic Performances

Two performances within a week, wow. Seriously, too much for me to handle la, considering the fact that I have 2 assignments due, one week after another, a presentation and a mid-term test to sit. God.

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Claris Concert 2008

The Grand Ballroom of Flaming Hotel

Last Sunday was what all the practices were for. Me and my "band" (more of a instrumental rock group) performed Smoke On The Water at the Grand Ballroom of the Flamingo Hotel in Ampang. Gave it our best, felt the music, and whadayakno... we won "Most Outstanding Performance". Simple but great ideas were decided at the last minute, seriously. Like less than an hour before it started, we decided to do something extra, and it payed off.

We won y'all, Rock on!!!

The Coveted Trophy

Guitarists were 'goreng-ing' like there's no other time to do it, me was moving-moving it to the beat, drummer boy was goin crazy with the solo. It was just perfect. We really thought we did well, after our turn was over.

That's me playing the RM 43,000 Yamaha Stagea Custom and Jin, the rhythm guitarist

Oh btw, we called ourselves Shallow Orange. Get the contrast?

This is Shallow Orange...

Well, I took part in another group plaing a different song. But I wasn't playing lead this time, just strings. We played "Something Stupid". And please, it doesn't mean we played something really dumb. The song by Robbie Williams and I'm not sure who...you remember?

P.S. I will upload clearer photos as well as videos once I get them.

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Christmas Carols at Sungei Wang

We, the CSS of TAR College somehow got invited to sing carols at Sungei Wang last night. It was cool cause it was the first time for me performing in public. I felt so excited. In fact, we all did. A half hour of carols yielded applause after every song.

I am the guitarist at the far left.

There were so many people watching us, and to me, it felt awesome. I'm the kind of person who likes to talk or perform in front of a large and unknow audience. It was just fantastic. We practiced hard for this, and it all turned out well. The stage decorations must have gave us more of the Christmassy feel.

Check out the deco and lighting. Really look professional.

Christmas is Coming

It is that time of year again where we gather as family to enjoy Sheperd's Pie and Turkey, a time for exchanging gifts, a time for putting up and decorating the Christmas tree, a time for singing carols and partying with just about anyone who's in the festive mood.

But let's hold back for a moment and reflect: What actually is Christmas? It is the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ. To my non-Christian readers, I am very proud and honoured to tell you that behind the commercialized Christmas we all know, the one with all the glitz and glamour, sights and sounds, there is after all a deeper meaning. Christmas is a time to celebrate, yes, after all it is a very Special Birthday. But it is also a time for reflecting on those not fortunate enough to experience Christmas like we do. It is a time of giving and sharing, not only gifts, but the joy and happiness to those who have none. This is what I understand of Christmas and this is how I like it to be.

Don't get me wrong, I do love all the happening events and enjoyment of the occasion as well. In fact of all metioned above, I think I love caroling the most. Music of the season. Being able to bring the Christmas spirit to people through songs is I think the best way to spread joy and happiness. Oh, you may say, you are bored of the same old songs being played over and over again every year: Jingle Bells, We Wish You A Merry Christmas, Joy To The World and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. *Yawn* I am too. But if you love carols you would find that each time a Christmas song is sung or recorded, there is a slight difference and that makes it special.

Now, there are some of these songs sung by certain people which really stand out. You ay want to try listening to N'Sync's a'capella version of "O Holy Night" which I think is the best version of the song ever. And then if you remember, a few of years back, Music Canteen Malaysia gathered most the English Malaysian Underground Bands and produced a CD :"A musiccanteen christmas" which I think is the best Christmas album ever. At least for me. In the CD you might want to check out God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by Tempered Mental, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Juwita Suwito and 12 Days of Christmas by Lo. The songs are just so different and so much better that the boring old traditional carols.

I don't think they sell the CD off the shelves anymore, so if you would really like to but it, try online shopping.

There you go, a lil' something to put you in the mood for Christmas.

A clearer smoke

Hehe, here's a better practice video. It's still not perfect coz we still had some minor changes since this pratice. Anyway, hope it all goes well on concert day. Awesome.

Oh btw, those who know not much about about organs let alone Yamaha Electones, guess how much the organ I'm playing here cost...

It was supposed to come off!!!

Ooohh these government clinics can really get you boiling. The thought of having a brighter smile(not shinier) has just got me elevated until the phone call came.

See, I was supposed to have my braces 'eliminated' from my teeth last Thursday. And I was really really looking forward to it, since it already got postponed once. I was in my kitchen frying some tempura vege the day before when the phone call came:

Nurse: Hello, ini Eh-mee-loo Jun Ren Vear-ga-ra ke?

Me: Ah yea, siapa ni?

Nurse: Ni tepon dari Klinik Pergigian Bangsar ya. Sepatutnya you ade appointment esok kan?

Me: Ah betul. Kenapa? (Nervousness)

Nurse: Ni nak bagitau, esok doktor takde, pergi meeting. Jadi esok tak jadi bukak braces la.

Me: Hah? Err.. uuhh ok... So esok macamne?

Nurse: S'krang I bagi you pilihan, u esok datang , tak datang pun takpe. Kalau datang, kita tukar getah jelah. Next visit baru bukak la ya?

Me: Ok, I datang la esok, s'bab getah ada ni sudah putus. Nak tanya, bila next visit ni, boleh bukak braces?

Nurse: 10 Februari.

Me: Hah Februari?!?! Lama sangat ni. Tak boleh awal lagi ke? (What I really wanted to say: Babi pukimak!!! Lama giler korang ni. Apa ni, cuti Raya tak cukup ke? nak Krismas,New Year s'kali?)

Nurse: Tak b'leh la, s'bab appointment dah full dah.

Me: Aiyo, okla. Apa pun esok saya datang la.

And by then, my carrots in the kuali got a lil' soggy aedy. Crap.

Smoke On The Water

This is just a very amateur-ish video of one of our practice sessions. Me and some of the other people from Yamaha are gonna perform a Smoke On The Water ensemble for the year end concert at Flamingo Hotel. Well, this video kinda sucks coz, the guy playing the bass part went home already and we were still using the drums from the electone (aka digitized) created by my teacher. I'll load another video soon including the real drummer, who happens to be a pretty young talented kid.




P.S. I'm playing the lead, so you hear the loud sax voice and the synth solo, that would be me.