So, after showering, went to meet her and then we took the usual bus to KTM. It was a smooth train ride to Mid-valley where we get to sit the whole time. Anyways, the public holiday is only for Negeri Sembilan, Kedah and Perlis. So, for the people in Selangor and KL, it's still a working day. Gosh, if Inti were to be located a few more kilometres into the KL border, we wouldn't be having holidays..haha. We reached the cinema area around 1pm or so and wanna take the 2.30 pm show. But it's kinda full so we took the 3.00 pm show. The price of our tickets were RM 7 per person (Mid-valley is in Selangor!!.hahaha. So, it's counted as a normal working day =p) Btw, we watched the Dark Knight (I'll post up a review of it in the next entry) and it's definitely a fantastic epic movie of 2.5 hrs that is deserving of a thunderous applause. Ohh, and we ate lunch at Carl's junior..lol. Everytime go mid-valley sure cannot miss that one. And I'm being some water tank by downing 3 full cups of Carl's junior iced tea..lol. Fortunately my bladder didn't explode as a result of that =p.
After the movie, went to take the KTM back and what a time to take it when everyone's rushing home. It turned out to be worst than yesterday because this time I can't even turn anywhere. The crowd eased out when they unload at Kajang and Serdang (as usual). Sardine time did not end there though. Same thing with the bus because everyone's rushing back to the university campus also. We ate dinner at one of the shops and then headed back to our rooms. Wahaha..I really wished that yesterday's time would come to a standstill and not move. Gonna miss her even more now that she's going back early for the weekend.
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Malaysia vs. Chelsea FC
I've got many stuff to write since there's lots of cool happenings over the past two days. Btw, I just came back from an outing with *someone* today..haha. Lol, I'll type about all the events slowly, starting from yesterday's long anticipated visit of Chelsea to Malaysia where Stan is fortunate enough to get a ticket for the match.
So, after class, Vincent and me went to change and then set off for our venue at 4.30 pm. It was a comfortable train ride from Nilai to KL central station. But from KL central station, it's just total sardines mashing. We gave one train a miss because really too full already. Then, when the second one came, it was so funny. Vincent just walk inside the train slowly and suddenly a massive jolt just threw him instantly deep into the carriage. Ack, I feel the "love" from all the Malaysians that are squeezed together in the KTM train..lol. We reached Shah Alam station at about 7 pm plus and we had NO idea how to go to the stadium because there's like no taxi or buses in sight. Just lots of clueless blue-coloured fans wandering around the area. We just realised then that we should have stopped at Batu Tiga where all the people just walk straight to the stadium. Fortunately, there's two other Indonesian guys looking for a taxi too and in the end, we found one willing to take us there for around RM13 (with each of us paying RM3 each). That funny taxi fellow was unwilling to take us nearer to the stadium because he scared of the traffic jam but we keep telling him that we won't get out of the car until we catch at least a glimpse of the stadium =p. Btw, we passed by Kelab Shah Alam where I used to hang out when I was small coz my mama used to bring me there.
Shah Alam stadium is simply superb! This is like the third time I'm attending a live football match with a massive crowd (30,000 above). But I have to say, the Singapore national stadium in Kallang is pale in comparison to Selangor's stadium. Anyways, Kallang stadium is old and that's why they wanna pull it down and build a new one. There's a replay screen in the scoreboard of Shah Alam stadium. The atmosphere in the stadium is just wonderful. The roar of the crowd is deafening and it just instills some form crazy feeling that you wanna join with the rest of the stadium and scream your lungs out. Btw, another funny thing is that when the big brothers of Chelsea like Terry, Essien and Lampard got their name called, the stadium roars with excitement. But when it comes to other people like Wayne Bridge or Alex (in which they are quite well known to football watchers though), the crowd didn't shout as enthusiastically.
The match started with cheers from the whole stadium and barely two minutes pass, something 'lol' happened and it looked as if it's like a 'Malaysia boleh' moment. *clears throat*..Wayne Bridge MISSED his kick while trying to receive a high ball. (that's why Cashley gets the left back spot, dude) Oh man, the result was that a Malaysian player went on the attack and nearly drilled the ball past Cech who was feeling a bit blur at the start. Later, it was Chelsea with the majority of the chances. Anelka and Shaun Wright Phillips did a couple of nice runs and beating the offside traps. It was Anelka who drew first blood after using his pace to outrun the sole defender man-marking him. Chelsea did tried a couple more times but kudos to the Malaysian goalkeeper for keeping them out and performing a few nice saves on some shots to keep the score at 1-0 during half time. A few players were introduced during half-time and Chelsea managed to get another one up through "Cashley" Cole. It looked like Chelsea is giving chance to Malaysia but seriously, a scoreline of 2-0 only?? I think the stadium crowd anticipated more in that if they wanna win, they should go all out and butcher the poor Malaysian side. A minimum of 4-0 is expected. They wanna see the GOALS. And Shevchenko still can't score......against a Malaysian side..lol. In any case, it's a nice experience watching a bunch guys which you always see playing in the TV and they are playing right in front of your eyes now. For the Malaysian players which played against Chelsea and exchanged jersey's with them, I think they'll be telling the tale to their sons and grandsons for years to come. Who knows, all of them could have went for a mamak session together late at night =p
The match finished at about 10.45 or so but Vincent and me had no idea where to find the KTM station. We definitely cannot catch the last train already but the problem now is that we don't even know how to get out of the stadium area. It's massive traffic jams and we were clueless where we should spend our night at. One scenario is that we take to KTM station and then spend the night sleeping there and taking the first train that comes. Thankfully, we need not take that path because we were fortunate to have one of Vincent's friend staying around Sunway to get a transport to fetch to us to his house where we tumpang for 1 night. So, I kinda feel glad to be able to get some proper sleep at a proper place to get the freshness in preparation for an anticipated outing that I had with *someone* today..lol. So, we took the 8am something train and headed back to Nilai where I'm going to take a shower and have a change of clothings. The next part of the story will be continued in tomorrow's entry :)
So, after class, Vincent and me went to change and then set off for our venue at 4.30 pm. It was a comfortable train ride from Nilai to KL central station. But from KL central station, it's just total sardines mashing. We gave one train a miss because really too full already. Then, when the second one came, it was so funny. Vincent just walk inside the train slowly and suddenly a massive jolt just threw him instantly deep into the carriage. Ack, I feel the "love" from all the Malaysians that are squeezed together in the KTM train..lol. We reached Shah Alam station at about 7 pm plus and we had NO idea how to go to the stadium because there's like no taxi or buses in sight. Just lots of clueless blue-coloured fans wandering around the area. We just realised then that we should have stopped at Batu Tiga where all the people just walk straight to the stadium. Fortunately, there's two other Indonesian guys looking for a taxi too and in the end, we found one willing to take us there for around RM13 (with each of us paying RM3 each). That funny taxi fellow was unwilling to take us nearer to the stadium because he scared of the traffic jam but we keep telling him that we won't get out of the car until we catch at least a glimpse of the stadium =p. Btw, we passed by Kelab Shah Alam where I used to hang out when I was small coz my mama used to bring me there.
Shah Alam stadium is simply superb! This is like the third time I'm attending a live football match with a massive crowd (30,000 above). But I have to say, the Singapore national stadium in Kallang is pale in comparison to Selangor's stadium. Anyways, Kallang stadium is old and that's why they wanna pull it down and build a new one. There's a replay screen in the scoreboard of Shah Alam stadium. The atmosphere in the stadium is just wonderful. The roar of the crowd is deafening and it just instills some form crazy feeling that you wanna join with the rest of the stadium and scream your lungs out. Btw, another funny thing is that when the big brothers of Chelsea like Terry, Essien and Lampard got their name called, the stadium roars with excitement. But when it comes to other people like Wayne Bridge or Alex (in which they are quite well known to football watchers though), the crowd didn't shout as enthusiastically.
The match started with cheers from the whole stadium and barely two minutes pass, something 'lol' happened and it looked as if it's like a 'Malaysia boleh' moment. *clears throat*..Wayne Bridge MISSED his kick while trying to receive a high ball. (that's why Cashley gets the left back spot, dude) Oh man, the result was that a Malaysian player went on the attack and nearly drilled the ball past Cech who was feeling a bit blur at the start. Later, it was Chelsea with the majority of the chances. Anelka and Shaun Wright Phillips did a couple of nice runs and beating the offside traps. It was Anelka who drew first blood after using his pace to outrun the sole defender man-marking him. Chelsea did tried a couple more times but kudos to the Malaysian goalkeeper for keeping them out and performing a few nice saves on some shots to keep the score at 1-0 during half time. A few players were introduced during half-time and Chelsea managed to get another one up through "Cashley" Cole. It looked like Chelsea is giving chance to Malaysia but seriously, a scoreline of 2-0 only?? I think the stadium crowd anticipated more in that if they wanna win, they should go all out and butcher the poor Malaysian side. A minimum of 4-0 is expected. They wanna see the GOALS. And Shevchenko still can't score......against a Malaysian side..lol. In any case, it's a nice experience watching a bunch guys which you always see playing in the TV and they are playing right in front of your eyes now. For the Malaysian players which played against Chelsea and exchanged jersey's with them, I think they'll be telling the tale to their sons and grandsons for years to come. Who knows, all of them could have went for a mamak session together late at night =p
The match finished at about 10.45 or so but Vincent and me had no idea where to find the KTM station. We definitely cannot catch the last train already but the problem now is that we don't even know how to get out of the stadium area. It's massive traffic jams and we were clueless where we should spend our night at. One scenario is that we take to KTM station and then spend the night sleeping there and taking the first train that comes. Thankfully, we need not take that path because we were fortunate to have one of Vincent's friend staying around Sunway to get a transport to fetch to us to his house where we tumpang for 1 night. So, I kinda feel glad to be able to get some proper sleep at a proper place to get the freshness in preparation for an anticipated outing that I had with *someone* today..lol. So, we took the 8am something train and headed back to Nilai where I'm going to take a shower and have a change of clothings. The next part of the story will be continued in tomorrow's entry :)
Sunday, 27 July 2008
Viva la Vida
I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing, Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Since I'm so free now (lol!), I'll write a review on Coldplay's latest album, Viva la Vida which was released in June this year. It can be seen that Coldplay is venturing into a new zone based on the style of the album. There's a general Hispanic feel to the album given the title and also the band's new fashion front. Haha..I like Chris Martin's red and yellow cloth armband. There's politics injected into the album too and perhaps a host of other cultural mixtures. The cover of the album is taken from the French art piece of 'Liberty leading the people' which commemorates the French Revolution. So we have like music videos filmed in Italy, title in Spanish, cover art by a French..lol.
One thing about this album is that it's very unorthodox, in a sense that it uses many techniques which is not common in mainstream music. I dare say that some of the songs are breaking artistic boundaries and even more unorthodox than Muse. As such, it's not easy to accept what you just listened at the first time since it may sound weird. Even Chris Martin said that there was no lyrics in the first song since it's meant to be their safety net.
Anyways, some of the songs that are really good in there are Viva La Vida, Violet Hill, Strawberry Swing and Lovers in Japan. Viva La Vida has an anthem-like feel to it and the iTunes advert using that song is pretty cool =p. Violet Hill is THE political song in the album. I absolutely loved it and the guitar solo in it is just catchy! Violet Hill is also probably one of the rare moments where Coldplay uses heavy distortion for the electric guitar. Strawberry Swing is gentle and psychedelic which gives the listeners a tingling sensation.
If one had difficulty listening to Muse, then he/she would have a hard time listening and grabbing the concept in this album. Personally, it's quite a good album for me since its kinda artistic. Stan loves creative stuff :)
I took my love down to violet hill
There we sat in snow
All that time she was silent still
So if you love me
Won't you let me know?
Since I'm so free now (lol!), I'll write a review on Coldplay's latest album, Viva la Vida which was released in June this year. It can be seen that Coldplay is venturing into a new zone based on the style of the album. There's a general Hispanic feel to the album given the title and also the band's new fashion front. Haha..I like Chris Martin's red and yellow cloth armband. There's politics injected into the album too and perhaps a host of other cultural mixtures. The cover of the album is taken from the French art piece of 'Liberty leading the people' which commemorates the French Revolution. So we have like music videos filmed in Italy, title in Spanish, cover art by a French..lol.
One thing about this album is that it's very unorthodox, in a sense that it uses many techniques which is not common in mainstream music. I dare say that some of the songs are breaking artistic boundaries and even more unorthodox than Muse. As such, it's not easy to accept what you just listened at the first time since it may sound weird. Even Chris Martin said that there was no lyrics in the first song since it's meant to be their safety net.
Anyways, some of the songs that are really good in there are Viva La Vida, Violet Hill, Strawberry Swing and Lovers in Japan. Viva La Vida has an anthem-like feel to it and the iTunes advert using that song is pretty cool =p. Violet Hill is THE political song in the album. I absolutely loved it and the guitar solo in it is just catchy! Violet Hill is also probably one of the rare moments where Coldplay uses heavy distortion for the electric guitar. Strawberry Swing is gentle and psychedelic which gives the listeners a tingling sensation.
If one had difficulty listening to Muse, then he/she would have a hard time listening and grabbing the concept in this album. Personally, it's quite a good album for me since its kinda artistic. Stan loves creative stuff :)
I took my love down to violet hill
There we sat in snow
All that time she was silent still
So if you love me
Won't you let me know?
Friday, 25 July 2008
Relaxing weekend
It's the weekend once again and it's much more relaxing than previous ones in July since all the presentations and the MPW project are done. As usual, I'm miss *someone* during weekends..lol. Anyways, I think I'll try to finish up my Perdana essay and input in some extra stuff from the books I borrowed from the library. Oh yea, this weekend is also the first time I can really play some PC games since all the other weeks were filled up with so many stuff to do..lol.
Hmmm..this was one of the songs that I played during worship session at ICF on Wednesday. It's 'Who Am I' by Casting Crowns. I'm really impacted by the lyrics. For those of us who are feeling down or insignificant, remember that God is always there to watch over us no matter who we are. It was by His grace that we are saved from the wages of sin. Thank you Lord for the cross :)
Who am I - Casting Crowns
Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart
CHORUS
Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours
Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me
[Chorus]
Hmmm..this was one of the songs that I played during worship session at ICF on Wednesday. It's 'Who Am I' by Casting Crowns. I'm really impacted by the lyrics. For those of us who are feeling down or insignificant, remember that God is always there to watch over us no matter who we are. It was by His grace that we are saved from the wages of sin. Thank you Lord for the cross :)
Who am I - Casting Crowns
Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart
CHORUS
Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours
Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me
[Chorus]
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Eventful Wednesday
A senior law lecturer from Sheffield University came to give a talk about criminal law reforms specifically in the area of homicide. Lol..when he speaks, he reminds me of Arctic Monkeys and the rockers also originated from Sheffield.
Today's the last meeting for Inti Christian Fellowship and I was supposed to play the drums for worship session today. Haha..I think I did alright because a couple of people said that they like my style of playing. So, thank you Lord for giving me the guidance and inspiration to play :) We also had a farewell ceremony for a couple of the members who are leaving for abroad to study. There's time set aside for feet washing which is a symbolic action which was done by Christ himself for his disciples. Anyways, it has been a good semester for ICF and although it's my first semester there, I can find myself growing spiritually after a long hiatus of stagnation. I learned a lot during my time there and I'm looking forward to it next semester..haha
Btw, what a way to get myself known on first impression to *somebody*'s mother. Ayyyee, Stan comes with hands clean ok..haha. His feelings are only for one and only one and they don't go everywhere once he found her.
Brrr..it's presentation day tomorrow for Malaysian studies. It's only 3 minutes of speaking but the preparation for it can go for eternity. =p
Today's the last meeting for Inti Christian Fellowship and I was supposed to play the drums for worship session today. Haha..I think I did alright because a couple of people said that they like my style of playing. So, thank you Lord for giving me the guidance and inspiration to play :) We also had a farewell ceremony for a couple of the members who are leaving for abroad to study. There's time set aside for feet washing which is a symbolic action which was done by Christ himself for his disciples. Anyways, it has been a good semester for ICF and although it's my first semester there, I can find myself growing spiritually after a long hiatus of stagnation. I learned a lot during my time there and I'm looking forward to it next semester..haha
Btw, what a way to get myself known on first impression to *somebody*'s mother. Ayyyee, Stan comes with hands clean ok..haha. His feelings are only for one and only one and they don't go everywhere once he found her.
Brrr..it's presentation day tomorrow for Malaysian studies. It's only 3 minutes of speaking but the preparation for it can go for eternity. =p
Monday, 21 July 2008
A-Muse-fied
Gosh, I'm purely hooked on Muse now after freshly inputting more of their songs into my brain. The thing about Muse songs is that you cannot get them into your head or swallow all of them at one shot. Their songs have to be taken in chunks and bits in order to appreciate their creative artistic features. I got to know Muse in early 2007 and like most people, initially thought that they're bunch of weirdos. It didn't help when the first song I heard from them was 'Supermassive Black Hole'. I was like, "Who's this guy using falsetto to sing some really weird tune?"
Then, I decided to check out 'Knights of Cydonia' after hearing from TG about a weird music video with cowboys and laser guns. Another reason why I check out was that Channel 5 at that time was using Muse riffs for the Prison Break advertisements. In any case, I was quite impressed with the tune of 'Knights of Cydonia' and then I started listening to other songs like 'Time is Running Out' and 'Hysteria'. The one that really nailed my liking for Muse was 'Plug in Baby'. Oh man, that starting electric guitar riff is just totally awesome and memorable. I then watch a couple of their live performances in Youtube and once again, I wanna reiterate that they're one funny rock band whose live performances are better than their album versions. They can replicate the album quality of their songs and even do better. Their album versions are really good but they improvised with so much creativity and inject so much of liveliness in their live performances that it's just so amazing to watch them and headbang along with them. In short, they are musical GENIUSES.
So, after listening to H.A.A.R.P, the first batch of new songs inputted into my mind are 'New Born', 'Invincible', 'Blackout' and 'Apocalypse Please'. These songs are not marketed as much as 'Knights of Cydonia' or 'Time is Running Out' and so, not many would know them. Of all of them, I'm most impressed with 'New Born' cos the electric guitar beautifully comes in after the piano melody. Each of these four are have very distinct musical styles. 'Invincible' has an optimist feel to it, 'Blackout' is mild and melancholic and 'Apocalypse Please' is Gothic piano.
Then, still got another next set which I inputted just a couple of days ago - 'Feeling Good', 'Micro Cuts', 'Take a bow' (NOT Rihanna please..haha), and 'Soldier's Poem'. This set just proves that Muse is a total "out of this world" rock band. 'Feeling Good' is a jazz piece, very brilliant cover of the original song. 'Micro Cuts' is some heavy rock falsetto screaming and 'Soldier's Poem' has the Wilfred Owen feel. 'Take a bow' has a fusion of techno and heavy rock - wait, yes..TECHNO, so divergent from the rock branch but they could reconcile both in one song! Oh man, this is unbelievable but Muse can play jazz, rock, indie, electronica, classical piano, gothic - you name it! - and fuse and mix them around to create some musical masterpieces. Seriously, they're very very talented and I don't think many bands can match up to their range of artistic musical capabilities. I'm blown away by these geniuses :)
Then, I decided to check out 'Knights of Cydonia' after hearing from TG about a weird music video with cowboys and laser guns. Another reason why I check out was that Channel 5 at that time was using Muse riffs for the Prison Break advertisements. In any case, I was quite impressed with the tune of 'Knights of Cydonia' and then I started listening to other songs like 'Time is Running Out' and 'Hysteria'. The one that really nailed my liking for Muse was 'Plug in Baby'. Oh man, that starting electric guitar riff is just totally awesome and memorable. I then watch a couple of their live performances in Youtube and once again, I wanna reiterate that they're one funny rock band whose live performances are better than their album versions. They can replicate the album quality of their songs and even do better. Their album versions are really good but they improvised with so much creativity and inject so much of liveliness in their live performances that it's just so amazing to watch them and headbang along with them. In short, they are musical GENIUSES.
So, after listening to H.A.A.R.P, the first batch of new songs inputted into my mind are 'New Born', 'Invincible', 'Blackout' and 'Apocalypse Please'. These songs are not marketed as much as 'Knights of Cydonia' or 'Time is Running Out' and so, not many would know them. Of all of them, I'm most impressed with 'New Born' cos the electric guitar beautifully comes in after the piano melody. Each of these four are have very distinct musical styles. 'Invincible' has an optimist feel to it, 'Blackout' is mild and melancholic and 'Apocalypse Please' is Gothic piano.
Then, still got another next set which I inputted just a couple of days ago - 'Feeling Good', 'Micro Cuts', 'Take a bow' (NOT Rihanna please..haha), and 'Soldier's Poem'. This set just proves that Muse is a total "out of this world" rock band. 'Feeling Good' is a jazz piece, very brilliant cover of the original song. 'Micro Cuts' is some heavy rock falsetto screaming and 'Soldier's Poem' has the Wilfred Owen feel. 'Take a bow' has a fusion of techno and heavy rock - wait, yes..TECHNO, so divergent from the rock branch but they could reconcile both in one song! Oh man, this is unbelievable but Muse can play jazz, rock, indie, electronica, classical piano, gothic - you name it! - and fuse and mix them around to create some musical masterpieces. Seriously, they're very very talented and I don't think many bands can match up to their range of artistic musical capabilities. I'm blown away by these geniuses :)
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Serving through music
Haha..Pastor Chris was literally doing rap during praise and worship! Today's service was really good and everyone was just flowing with the spirit. After service, we had a short worship team workshop which explains about the fundamentals of working in a worship team. Well, for the technicalities of playing in the band, I more or less had an idea bout it since I worked with one during my SJI school days. This include stuff like dynamics and showmanship. However, I learned something new after listening to Justin (he's a pro musician) speak and I think that's really true. There's a difference between an ordinary band and a worship team. Ordinary band play for themselves but a worship team gives glory to God. The thing is that the person may be technically not so good but if he plays with the right heart, it will be amazing to see how God moves and improves him in all aspects of his life, including his music skill.
Anyways, they wanted to do a demonstration but the drummer of the day had went back already. So, everyone immediately looked to me to provide as a backup and fortunately I brought my sticks along :). Hmm..I feel that I would learn lots of stuff and grow spiritually from the GFS worship team. God gave me the talent to play drums and yea, I would go in faith to serve Him :)
Anyways, they wanted to do a demonstration but the drummer of the day had went back already. So, everyone immediately looked to me to provide as a backup and fortunately I brought my sticks along :). Hmm..I feel that I would learn lots of stuff and grow spiritually from the GFS worship team. God gave me the talent to play drums and yea, I would go in faith to serve Him :)
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