The Melbourne Shuffle

Yeah, I know.
What???

Well, someone I was talking to mentioned a rave party and since I didn't know exactly what people do at raves, I decided to check it out on Wikipedia. The link is here. Just if you want to know also la :)

Then, I noticed that the article mentions the Melbourne Shuffle and though I'd heard of it before and seen shufflers walking in their baggy pants on the Melbourne streets, I didn't know exactly what the shuffle looked like. So I looked for it on YouTube...



That's like a beginner's guide to doing the Melbourne Shuffle... Apparently la. I don't know how correct it is, but judging from the number of views it has, it's probably quite accurate...?

So yeah, for those of you who didn't know, that's the Melbourne Shuffle. Don't expect me to be doing it though!! I'll save my shuffling for the privacy of my bedroom :p

2008: NEARLY Over...

So this year is finally coming to an end. This eye-opening, heart-wrenching, not-so-sugarcoated year; this year when I 'grew up' is FINALLY coming to an end.

As much as I try to reminisce about this past year with 'a song in my heart', I can't. Well, not really.

But for the sake of this post, I'll list out what I really liked about this year (in a vague chronological order... yaa, I know. That sounded very nerdy. Meh.):

1. I KEPT MY BLOG RUNNING FOR A WHOLE YEAR!!! :)
2. My new little cousin being born. Even though he has only ONE expression on his face. Ever. And doesn't like me to to carry him. Maybe I'm too boney still...
   
3. My trip to Perth during the Easter Break (even though it now seems so far away).
4. Starts with an 'A'. What? I'm not allowed to say ;) - those who know will know laa, otherwise too bad!!
5. Watching Maroon5, OneRepublic and Matchbox20 live at Rod Laver!!! :)
   
6. My ski trip in August to Mount Hotham. Actually, I snowboarded :p
   
7. Watching 'Wicked: The Musical' at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne.
8. Learning just how supportive and understanding and helpful, in short - Amazing!, my friends are.

So I guess 8 is a good number to stop at, eh? Because, I don't think I can continue...
Let's just say that right now, I'm just glad that this year's nearly over.
Time for a New Year, a new start and a new attempt at life.

The 'Perfect' Life

I've come to realise that not one person's life is perfect.
No matter how perfect it may seem to others.
It just means that they're good at dealing with their problems quitely.
No airing of dirty laundry in public.

I've realised that just because a person seems happy and bright and you think they've got everything in their life going right doesn't mean they are.
They just don't believe in moaning to other people about everything that's going wrong.
They just don't want to burden other people with their private issues.

So the next time you find yourself envying someone because their life seems so much better than yours, remember this and DON'T envy them or feel jealous of them or anything like that.

The Dashwood Sisters' Secrets of Love

So I just finished reading this book: The Dashwood Sisters' Secrets of Love by Rosie Rushton. Yes I knowww, it's a book that's meant to be read by teens (and we all know that I'm NOT one anymore, boo-hoo). And before you judge me, you should know that it was actually lent to my 16 year old sister by one of her 16 year old friends. But I ended up reading it.

It wasn't very good. Just your average mindless teeny-boppy novel that highlights the love lives of the 3 Dashwood sisters (aged 13, 16 and 17). But it was vaguely entertaining. I'd forgotten what it felt like to be that age! And it wasn't even that long ago! So in a way, this book was kinda cool :)

I really needed a break from all those grown-up novels I was reading anyway :p

Taylor Swift - BLEGH!

So I woke up this morning with the song 'Love Story' by Taylor Swift stuck in my head.
Noooooooo!!! Blegh.

See, I really don't like her. Her voice is weak and uninspired - surely there are more talented and deserving artistes that are more worthy of her song slots? So maybe she's one level above Paris Hilton in terms of her ability as a songwriter. But when it comes to vocal prowess - very ParisHilton-esque!!

Yeah, so now I'm annoyed that I have this stupid song by this poor excuse of a singer stuck in my head!

REALLY don't like her.

Sleigh Bells Ring, Are You Listening...?

Yes!! It's THAT time of the year again. Only 1 week and a few odd days more to Christmas!

I'm not Christian, but my whole extended family likes to celebrate the occasion anyway :) We put up christmas trees, have a dinner either on Christmas eve or on the day itself and exchange presents. We do it for the plain, simple fact that it feels nice. Even as I walk through the various KL shopping malls, I get this warm and fuzzy feeling (that people call happiness :p) - Huge christmas trees with bright and shiny ornaments, giant snowflakes and even bigger candy canes... *sigh* :p

So what inspired this post at such an odd time? (1 week and 1 day till Christmas)
Yeah well, everytime I go to sleep at night or have a nap in the afternoon, I wake up with a christmas song stuck in my head - it's usually either Winter Wonderland or Let It Snow. A few minutes ago, I just woke up after having a nap with Winter Wonderland playing on loop in my head. Lol.

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?
In the rain, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight,
Walking in a winter wonderland!

Yes, I DO get annoyed with my brain for having such a limited song playlist.
BUT
Yes, I do love love love christmas songs!!
Hehe :)

Who I Want

It's funny how you could be in a room full of people and still feel so alone unless that one particular person that you want to be with is there amongst the crowd.

No offense to the other people - Their company is obviously still very much appreciated. But it just isn't the same...

In other words, I wish my mom was here with me :(

My 2 Twos

I'm reading 2 books:
Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer; and
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (Booker Prize winner)

Both books are fun to read though I think I've finally outgrown the childishness of the Artemis Fowl books (there are 6 of them including this latest one). I've only read the first few pages of 'The White Tiger' but it's enough to tell me that it's going to be one good book!! I'm excited at the thought of picking it up again. But right now, I'm just not in the mood to read... Not yet. Maybe later tonight.

And then, I'm learning 2 new piano pieces:
Prelude in C# minor by Rachmaninoff; and
Clair De Lune by Debussy

The Rachmaninoff piece is really loud and... loud... My dad jumps a bit everytime I hit the huge chords as loudly as I can. Hehe :)
And the Debussy piece is nice, calm and dreamy.
A good balance I say - yin to the yang and all? :p

So those are my 2 twos :)
I hope they go well!!

Time For Change?

So today I went for my first Anti-ISA candlelight vigil near the PJ Civic Centre. My initial aim was just to 'check it out' and maybe if I was really, really lucky, I'd get to see Raja Petra himself!!! Maybe he'd come for this vigil thingo since it was started to protest his arrest under the ISA in the first place...

But before I start the story of my eye-opening and uplifting experience, I think I need to explain just a teeny weeny bit about what the ISA is. ISA stands for Internal Security Act and basically, it's a law that allows the government to detain anyone, anywhere in the country, if they are believed to be a threat to the peace and/or security of the country and this can be done WITHOUT a trial. It was put in place after Malaysia gained independence with what I am sure were noble intentions but is now grossly abused.

I have always been a 'fence-sitter' on this issue of whether or not the ISA should be abolished and sometimes, I do believe that it can serve a good cause. But after going to this gathering, my mind has changed somewhat. So maybe there is some good to being able to evoke the ISA (look at what's happening in Thailand with the riots) but the current ruling government has been misusing it on innocent people whose only crime is to have a voice. We know that in Asian countries especially, there isn't really such a thing as 'freedom of speech' because no matter how free the press and people may seem to be to speak their thoughts, there's always a degree of censorship involved. And so if anyone does happen to 'cross the line' in terms of refuting certain government policies or laws even if it is just an innocent citizen speaking his or her mind, there is the chance that they may be arrested under the ISA and detained without a trial.

So now about the candlelight vigil. I had no idea what to expect. I'd been told by my aunt that it was just going to be a crowd of people (holding candles, duh) listening to other people speak. We walked to where the crowd has started gathering and waited. I looked around excitedly because I'd been told that even though these people had obtained a permit from the MPPJ to hold such a meeting, there were still Special Branch policemen working undercover to just monitor the atmosphere. It all seemed so exciting to me!

Slowly, more and more people trickled in. There were parents with their little children, senior citizens, and everyone else in between; there were lawyers, engineers, bloggers; Malays, Chinese and Indians; all gathered in one place and all for one cause - to voice out their opposition to the ISA. And then I was pleasantly surprised to see Raja Petra himself strolling down the road towards us!! What a coincidence that I was hoping to see him in person and that he actually showed up!

Then the speeches started. Every week different people volunteer to speak, though there are a few regulars who have something new to say each time. And anyone at all is allowed to come up to the mic to say a few words (or more!). I must say that compared to all the school events that we used to be forced to attend to 'instill in us a greater pride for our country', this one short gathering did just that and so much more. I really felt the passion and pride that everyone at the vigil shared for OUR country. I felt proud that there were people like this who were strong-willed and brave enough to speak out even when they might be risking their freedom in doing so. We listened to people like Raja Petra talk about his experience in the detention camp and listening to all the other people explain what it is about the ISA that they so strongly oppose and hearing them tell us why we should be resourceful enough to be in the know as far as our country is concerned and be proactive enough to come out and vote during the elections and in doing so make sure that we are making an informed decision to choose which party to vote for.

The people gathered at the candlelight vigil were not anti-government. They were just voicing out their opposition to the ISA and touching on other things that they felt were wrong with the country and asking for something to be done to address them. It was all done in a peaceful and orderly manner with no malice or anger towards the government. And just seeing all those people who had sacrificed so much of their lives to try to make Malaysia a better place made me that much prouder to be Malaysian. I was only there for this one vigil while everyone else had already been for many more before me. And the bloggers who write frequently about these issues on their blogs and who're aware of the possibility of them being arrested under the very law that they oppose - I don't think I'd have the guts to do anything near what all these people do.

So now, I am nearly not a 'fence-sitter' anymore. Nearly. Hehe.

Some pics from the gathering:

From the top: Raja Petra giving his speech; my plastic cup candle lantern thingo; the crowd at the vigil.

My New Fave Song!

My sister told me about this song. And it's soooo nice!! Go download! It's called 'The Show' by Lenka... Weird name. Go figure :p

I dunno why, but they've disabled the youtube embedding thingo so I can't post the music video here directly. But go here to watch it.

Or you could watch the lyrics here. Lol.