The death of a friend

There's probably nothing more traumatic in life, in my book, than the death of someone I know. Be it in the circle of influence that I have or someone I just happen to know etc. Taking a leaf from Ms.Redd's blog, I will no longer name ANYONE in my blog, unless I am friggin shit pissed with that person. Although ... I would not specify the car la babe ... that one seriously someone who sit fucking pissed me off babe ... I would give house and office addresses and cell phone numbers etc la. Make their life miserable. =) ha ha ...

Anyways, back to the topic. August 11th was someone whom I enjoyed spending time with because of her views on life and also what I could learn from her. Sure August 11th has her moments of being a real bitch, a real cow and what not ... she also had her moments of glory, i.e. stopping a car in the middle of the road to help a disabled man across the street, to hail a cab etc. I wasn't and am not exactly a poster boy for being a good and fantastic human being and I don't claim to be :P. Whatever it is, I confided a lot in August 11th about my frustrations, stresses, family matters whatever. Truly, one of the few friends that I have aside from July 3rd, July 24th and September 9th. Last month, when October 3rd and July 3rd went to Europe, I received a letter from October 3rd detailing some 'life lessons' etc and all the information ... ALL ... and I mean ALL the information that I have ever divulged, discussed etc ... all were revealed. In a way that not only made me realize that there isn't truly anyone that you can trust in this world except yourself and that it had finally happened. A friendship that I treasured ... was finally dead. No longer will I subject myself to this torment. This job. This team. This company. Enough is enough.

David Copperfield ...

... he ain't HALF the magician that the Lord is. He made the Statue of Liberty dissapear behind some mirrors / cloth? God makes the KLCC Twin Towers and the Maxis dissapear with WATER. How cool is that?

My furry friend and me ...

... Patches. I love that name. More than that ... I love that dog. She's a sweetheart. Adorable. Even after you smack her for diving through the rubbish heap and coming out smelling like yesterday's Nasi Lemak. *urgh*

She's my bestest friend. Ain't she something else? :)

Chaik ...

I got tagged by the Redd Airport ... celaka.

AWESOME PEOPLE I WANT TO MEET

1. Oprah Winfrey
2. Steve Jobs
3. Blizzard Art Team

THINGS I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT

1. Music
2. Family & Friends
3. Images / Photos that speak to my soul *ahem*
4. Books
5. Air - Go Figure

I WISH I COULD

1. Cure cancer and AIDS
2. Be more 'leong dou'
3. Write several best sellers
4. Be a better photographer
5. Scuba Dive / Sky Dive / Bungee Jump

I WANT

1. to live in USA / NZ
2. to be a happier person
3. to be more at peace in life
4. to buy my own homes
5. to have a successful Book Cafe

SONGS THAT I THINK ARE AWESOME

1. Peter Pan - Mungkin Nanti
2. God or Julie - Say Your Last Goodbye
3. Snow Patrol - How To Be Dead
4. Il Divo - Mama
5. Tracy Byrd - Keeper Of The Stars

HOW I SEE MYSELF IN 10 YEARS

1. slimmer, fitter, healthier
2. taking care of my kids
3. enjoying my successful book cafe with my family and friends
4. financially independent and successfully living life to my rules
5. renovating my NZ home

RANDOM FACTS

1. I'm a closet WoW fan
2. I used to be terrified of cockroaches (I'd jump on tables :P ... seriously)
3. I'm happy being single
4. I support Piracy first ... LOL ... then if it's good I buy the original unlike Redd Airport
5. On holidays, I tend to stop every five minutes to take a mental picture

MISCONCEPTIONS

1. I am nice to everyone
2. I'm the older brother
3. I'm a very practical person (seriously ... i'm much more a romantic at heart)
4. I will always be sensitive ... (you wouldn't believe the shit i have to put up with)
5. I'm not fit / not healthy (hello ... I climbed Mount Kinabalu in time with everyone else :P )

I AM BERTAGGING :

1. Wabbit
2. Angel Eyes

i don't have many to tag. unless if i could tag the people i want to meet. haha.

Find it ...

... someway ... somehow. That's HOW it's done Ms. Redd.
Life in general is TOUGH. Nothing like the pinky assed shit that our parents had to go through - asides from the communist occupation, world war 2 etc. Actually, don't think ANY of our parents went through WWII except for Ah Mah. But in THEIR eyes, their life WAS tough ... they just ain't seeing things through OUR lenses, not an easy task by any means.

But getting back to your recent emo-filled post, which is totally understandable ... even applaudable seeing as how you had the presence of mind to actually verbalize it. Firstly babe, I AM sorry to hear about Precious ... pets of any kind ... furry, scaly, feathered, all leave a significant footprint in our heart and it's not easy to outlive them. You're kinda like a parent outliving your kid. Sucks. Big time. Remember that I was the one who had to take Champ to the vet to be put down due to old age and I don't think I ever felt so ................................... blergh. And he wasn't even my dog. Not only that ... he was the one who would greet me happily everyday after college when I went home to Ah Mah's home ... and he was the most cheerful little thing on two feet. But I digress.

You WILL find it in you to remember her and keep her in your heart ... just like we all do with Ah Mah. I sure miss her sorely, and all I need TO do is to remember all the things that she stood for, actually everything la. Just last weekend, I drove around Bangsar and Lucky Garden remembering all the things and places we used to go to / visit. Maybe ... what you could do NOW, whilst Precious is still here is to spend as much time as you can with her. Make her feel even more extra special. The memories will be even that more sweet. Redd, the more time you have with her ... the more you WILL cherish that time with her. I know. My mama had cancer too you remember? Nothing beats just spending time with your loved one doing small things ... playing catch, cuddling (with your dog, not my mom :P), anything. Take more pictures. Set up a photo album. Take her for walks in the park - anythings good Redd ... she just wants to be with you. Take this chance. Seize it.

Call me if you need to talk yeah? :)

About your Mom ... I reckon you KNOW how she is ... and because of the stress YOU are under, what she fires out ... is even more ... 'significant'. Do your best to put things in perspective aight? Parents tend to take the mickey outta you ... I think it was YOU who told me that when I was having problems with YOU KNOW WHO. Anyways ... as always ... call me if you need to talk ok? :) Cheer up Redd ... or do your best to lead a resemblence of a normal life.

Woot ...

... plug for Fang ... and for Broken Bridges. Muahaha ... Broken Bridges is awesome. Go see it!

Excerpt from The Star (August 28, 2006 - Star 2 page 13)

" Most of the actors moved easily in their roles. The beggar lady (Fang Chyi) with the incredible voice unfortunately had only a bit role."

Now I don't know what exactly a 'bit' role is ... but if it means SMALL ... it sure WAS for someone who has talent like Fang ... sheesh Joe ... :P hehhe ... Hopefully producers and directors will start taking note more ... and see Rene ... I TOLD you that that was Fang at the start :P

Clipped wings ...

... has begun to affect my cousin and it seems to have taken root quite strongly. Isn't it amazing ... that in the quest for perfection, we end up shattering every possible conceived positive outlook that we ever had about ourself in the first place? Take my cousin Angela for example. She has developed in her mind, this 'persona' of perfection that needs to be fulfilled and she feels absolutely atrocious when it doesn't happen. She spirals deep down into some dark, cold hole that seems almost infathomable for someone to choose to be in. Reading her blog, most of the time, seems like a very ... cold and lonely place to be in. I feel sad that no one has yet been able to reach her ... because she feels like her main points on being DOWN and OUT most of the time is her failure to achieve or to be that 'all-rounder' and high - achiever that she feels she should be. I know where she's coming from ... and I can only hope that one day she can find it in her to look back at not just her failures, which is what is making and has made her such a wonderful and strong person that she is today, but also at her achievement - being a great, not perfect, grand - daughter, daughter, sister, cousin, friend, best friend, girl friend, staff, student, prefect, head - prefect ... human being. No one WANTS a perfect person ... people want the BEST person that you CAN be ... and 99.9% of the time ... you ARE that person Angela ... I just hope that you find that strength in you one day to realize that ... I am beginning to realize that about myself as well dear ... take everything that you come across in your stride ... it'll all work itself out in time. Trust me, ok? Love you always sweetie. :)

Broken bridges ...

... can't never be mended. Or so that saying goes. This dramatic theatre production by two local Ipoh-mali boys is simply astounding. I went for the show yesterday evening. Just getting to KLPac itself was an adventure in the making. Leaving Seremban at 4:30pm, I thought that that would be sufficient time. Something kept bugging me to leave earlier, and I'm happy that I left a whole ... *drum roll* 5 minutes @ 4:25pm. Would you believe it ... the North - South highway was jammed from the Senawang exit till I reached the Seremban exit which took about 1 hour. *sheesh* but at the very least, it was because they were upgrading the roads to 4 lane highways ... which should be a welcome relief for the folks who are travelling to their hometowns every year at major celebrations ... I got stuck once ... at the end of Chinese New Year ... and I swore ... *&(#(*#%^#%@ that would be the last time that that ever, ever happens. Seriously ... I don't know how people who get stuck there everytime can tahan that ... EVER. LOL. Ok anyways ... getting back to my story. Reached KL @ about 5:00pm ... and then to get to The Ascott, shit ... that took another like ... 15 minutes, which wasn't too bad actually ... except for the fact that it was flooding on almost every road in KL City ... Dang Wangi, Munshi Abdullah and Sultan Ismail in front of The Sheraton. More on this later.

Hung out at The Ascott for a while ... still a nice serviced condo thingy ... and then left to pick Serene up at 6:05pm. SHIT ... the JAM started. Would you believe it ... Just to make a circle around the block (acround KLCC la) and to get to Sultan Ismail took us about 1 hour and 45 minutes. So we called KLPac (KL Performing Arts Center) to see if we could get a change of date on the tickets to tomorrow, would you believe it they started going on and on about procedures and lecturing US about being on time for performances etc?! The nerve ... seriously ... and then to top it all off ... this lady named Christina said if you come in late, you could go in with the rest of the audience after Intermission to which Jerry asked if we could get a 50% discount then since we are missing about 1/2 the show ... know what is the best thing NOW ... she said ... "...well the second half is better than the first portion anyway, so you won't be missing much." Hmm ... I wonder if the folks at KLPac know what kind of personnel they have selling tickets. No wonder the Malaysian Theatre is moving so SLOWLY if you have such people giving their opinions on productions to the paying public. *aih*

Now ... about the show itself. The best act for me ... ? Douglas Lim and Fang Chyi and Joanne Kam Poh Poh. Show stealer for me ... ? Joanne Kam Poh Poh and her legion of "ah sou's / tai tai's" describing how a lady should behave and act when on a date with a man. Show stopper for me. Hands down. Muahaha ... most dramatic and gut wrenching ... ? May Ling's 'abortion'. DOn't want to spoil it for you ... but AWESOME show. Also, it was amazing to watch and listen to the whole production especially during the (yes, I learnt something new from Fang last night over Dim Sum) splicing - everyone singing a different chorus in groups at the same time. And the LUNGS on Douglas Lim ... *phWoar* don't play play man. I so couldn't imagine him as Ms. Redd's English professor in High School. Go and SEE and SUPPORT this musical. It's SO worth your RM60.00. Seriously. It's on until September 2rd, 2006. Go on ... you know you want to. Visiting KLPac is in itself a treat at Sentul West because of YTL's projects going on. Amazing. Starlight Cinema was also hosted there. Can you believe that all this was because of Broken Bridges - The Musical? An amazing show ... go watch it ... Broken Bridges - The Musical. Written by Lim Chuang Yik and Teng Ky-Gan.

Family's fun ...

... a lot of times, having a large, extended family is a huge amount of fun. Especially when family's are from different backgrounds / countries / cultures ... take for example Jessica, my lovely cousin, who has two absolutely adorable sons ... Loken and the new Dylan. I've only met her twice, but she's been GREAT those two times and my Mom and Pops have nothing but great glowings of lovely statements for her. Isn't family grand? :) And then of course, there's Aunty Karen, a fun loving spirit who is just hankering to have fun all the time ... at least, whenever I'm with her I have a great time! :) She's also very funny and loving and caring. That's for sure. Seen here with my Grandma McConnell. *sigh* Isn't my mama gorgeous? he he he ... see my previous post on "Cam-whoring" muahaha ... told you I came from a good looking gene pool.