Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Preparing for 2006 (rather I was bored)

Ok....the truth and the absolute truth is, semalam lepas balik dari update blog, tak ngantuk. Try as I did....there was no way in hell i could catch some sleep. Entah kenapa mata terang je. Last-last tenung lampu aku baru beli dari IKEA malam sebelum ...nekad ah konon nak kick off preparation for 2006 by giving my room a little makeover.

Matilah aku sakit belakang....dari 8 pagi all the way to about 4pm, redecorate ler bilik tidur katanya akibat insomnia. By the time I was done, lapan beg plastik itam sampah yang besar da dok ngan muatan. Banyak nya benda I didn't need! All that clutter all the while! Haiyo....betul ler nasihat blogger Cap Ibu dan Anak! Kalau nak beli benda nak feeling decorate...get rid of the clutter...most of which you will find sentimental....

Walaupun abang Bad mintak share pics before and after bilik aku...aku memang berat sangat to do so. I mean, how can I not be reluctant to reveal my most sacred sanctuary to virtually unknown strangers who just wander into my blog?

Tapi kalau da enam tujuh jam non-stop sakitkan badan nak therapy tuk cantikkan bilik...I suppose I should show how some things look at least. note that a disclaimer comes with viewing this pics tau! Bilik aku bukan lawa mana...segan lak...

The real thing I want to share is several possessions of mine yang aku paling sayang dalam bilik aku (selain bantal dan KY *oops*)

Anyway...the first thing is this gorgeous side table from India. Meja ni di jual kepada aku oleh Lea Laurielle yang dulu berkhidmat ngan airline. Kalau kat KLCC ke memana mahal cam sial meja ni, I got it for damn cheap! And this is one of the bigger sizes too. So anyway, lampu aku beli kat IKEA tu (uncreatively) aku sumbat kat celah dalam side table tu je. So malam it provides this lighting which places emphasis on the intricacy of the carvings on the table. Not too bad la kan? It'sa gorgeous table...and definitely one of the things I love the most in my bland room.

Next thing which is quite a recent acquisition is a brass (I think) dragon which was a Christmas present from Ted. Of course ler, common sense aku ni born in the year of the Dragon, hence the significance (1976 if you need to know). By the way...if you liked the table from India, you get to see the patterns of the carvings more clearly in this picture. I don't know too much about feng shui, but I hope the placement, direction and material (or whatever) is coordinated right for the best go at prosperity! being Chinese kan...benda camtu just becomes part of your nature to immedately observe...even if you really have no clue to the significance (or even the actual measures - du-uh)

Benda seterusnya ni korang takkan nampak sangat ler detail dia sebab camera phone aku takde laa high tech canggih sangat sampai leh capture the details. It's a relief (kinda like a sculpture mounted on a frame thing) that I got for Christmas two years ago from my ex in Jakarta. Dia hantar while we were having this on-line relationship, and up to now, it's become a symbol of our friendship. A few months after I got it, I went to Jakarta and saw that even a small one was quite costly, so quite taken aback dia spend that much on a Christmas present.

Next item up for display is a silly little novelty appeal object I picked up in a shop in Portobello Road in London, a few years ago, masa pergi sana tengok launch concert of Kylie's Money Can't Buy show for her Body Language album.

It's a tea candle holder in what's supposed to be a disco ball!!! It's got glass panels, and little panels with mirrors like on an actual disco ball. Bordering on tacky butI think it's an absolutely must have.

Got it for quite a decent price too (tu laa kalao da kaki bargain shopping!) As far as I an remember, I bought two (nyesal lak bagi orang tuk Christmas present - tau aku simpan dedua *busuk hati lak*)

This box was from Ted, and the only thing I was is that it ws the last one from Dodo Art in Central Market. No real story behind it, just think it's nice and plus it has the same gold leaf motif as my side table.

Matching sangat! The funny thing about this 'storage faciility' is that nampak je so classy dari luar....tapi dalamnya aku gunakan tuk simpan all my leather straps, studs, piercings dan lelain benda yang you wouldn't have guessed would have been stored there.

Ok...this next thing is rather grotesque and I wouldn't have kept it myself if it hadn't been for the fact that it was gift from a friend. yes, terima kasih ler Vernon sebab you have such bad taste in gifts. It's soo teeny I have no idea what the space (the 'tong' opens up) is meant for. Samaada ash tray ke....tempat simpan barang tatau lah. but it's realistically too bloody small for anything. in other words it can't do anything but look freaking ugly!

Ada benda yang valuenya bukan pada price tag, or what it's value is in terms of its physical form. One of the many things I collect is the press tags from events I cover. Ni part of the collection. Every few months aku kena spring cleaning buang yang mungkin tak ada real value.

Those from overseas assignment ada yang autographed...cam Westlife. I remember bebudak peminat meka sampai nak nangis mintak aku tuk tag aku kerana ada autograph Shane on it. "But it says to Joe...what use would it be to you," I tried reasoning to a Singaporean schoolgirl who was obviously smitten by the oirish lads. "Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa......I waaaaaaaaannntttt ittt!!!" How can you fight with logic like that? Needless to say, I ran fo my life (and tag)

Ni my pride and joy. My CD collection. it's not as big as it used to be...tapi my mom complains it takes too much space...and I have to agree...I suppose... yerlah...sayang.

Or my collection would have been better now...Zaman student dulu, kan biasa...asik takde duit belanja. You never seem to have enough. Well, I was always self reliant. Never bothered to ask for more...ever. What I would do, would be to pack up all my CDs and bak gi Music Exchange belakang Lot 10 and sell them.

You see Music Exchange buys and sells second hand CDs and that was my usual haunt dulu nak cari duit kalau tengah kering. Sedih lah masa nak keluar dari kedai...siap pernah wave goodbye to my first edition (sent dari US) of Nirvana's Nevermind and Pearl Jam's Ten among others.

Well...apa nak buat...guess I have to look back for the old stuff now.

Apart from CDs and tags, I also collect lighters, Zippos to be more precise. Ni part of my collection. The other two obviously not Zippo punya original la. Tapi sebab pattern dia sama ngan yang one of my collection, so nampak cantik ler for display purposes.

This is something that I haven't used in a long time. Aku beli masa dulu kat college time study for my diploma in sound and audio engineering. Because kami buat banyak recording dalam studio tuk projek kami, memang lebih elok kalao ada microphone sendiri.

Yang ni aku pakai masa final aku, it's a classic Shure SM58. Takde mahal sampai gila babas...tapi kalau time student dulu nak beli sakit gak la! So I still keep it...and it's one of my treasures that you will notice in my room sebab sayang nak jual ke nak bagi orang ke buang.

This is a frivolous piece...takde reason at all for having it. Just like looking at it. Bits of metal twisted into a form of a rather stately lady (tapi cam African lak with big hoop earrings). I bought it last Christmas as a back-up present in case I forgot anyone...but never needed to give it out so kept it. The big secret about this is that it only cost me RM10! Kekadang rasa nak buang sebab makan ruang, but bila tengok lama-lama....entah...cam cantik lak!

Terlupa lak aku nak sebut one more hobby apart from collecting CDs and lighters. Aku suka sangat nak kumpul perfume! Bila da habis...botol kosong ler diperagakan. However my taste is not as adventurous as most people. I have my favourites which I stick to.

The unorthodox fragrances would be female scents like Chanel Allure and such...tapi my all time top three smells would be this three...from left, Cerruti 1881, Paco Rabbane's XS and Hugo Boss's classic Boss.

Let's see...what else can you find of interest in my room?...Mmmm...kalau ko minat Madonna suka lah...kot. I don't really go all out to collect her stuff, but somehow have a decent collection of Madonna stuff in the form of CDs and posters and such.

In fact, above my CD collection, a resplendent black and white poster depicts Madonna in a vogue position which in an indicator of what to expect. The highlight of my collection? the actual (and controversial) aluminium-bound coffee table SEX book that my sister bought for me for Christmas when it came out. Bless her....(my sis...oh and Madonna too lah)


Here's something people wouldn't expect me to treasure. Artist, Yuri Gorbachev (yes, he is the immediate cousin of Mikhail Gorbachev) was in Malaysia years ago, and I interviewed him.

I fell in love with his artwork, even though I know shit about art. He was here doing a charity bid for WWF and selling some specially commissioned pieces of his work.

Anyway, it happened to be my birthday the next day - and jokingly in our conversation after we hit it off, I accidentally let it slip that one day, I'd be able to afford one of his work and not just wish about it on my birthday like today...and the next day when he met me...no he didn't give me a painting (so imaginative laa korang)...he gave me a sketch of one of his paintings. I'm not sure, but with the seal and being one of a kind, I was told that even that would fetch US$2,000!

No chance of selling it though...like every present from anyone, I keep it forever (even ugly ash trays).


Speaking of gifts from Vernon - I have him to thank me for singlularly providing me with my calender needs for 2006. Setakat ni da tiga calendar aku dapat dari dia.

One with a homoerotic Vatican theme (go figure), satu agik focusing on History of Fashion (go figure) and the last on...erm...the penile form in art (have to use bahasa bunga sikit tuk elak bebudak tanya lebih-lebih)

Anyway, Il Pisello will now tell me how my year progresses and basically well...be an ...erm...interesting conversation piece from my room.

Speaking of calendars, this is a 2003 calendar yang aku tak sanggup buang. It's a special Robbie Williams 2003 calendar yang EMI bagi. He takes off his kit all the time so it's no real bloody deal, tapi aku rasa am collector's item je, so simpan terus. By the way...the picture on the right is for the month of June! (never knew the moon came out in the day in June)

Sapa nak beli dari aku calendar dua (make that tiga) tahun lepas, it's still in good condition - just make the best offer you can and see if you can pry it from me.

Ok...ubah angin sikit. One thing you'll surely notice the moment you walk in my room...is that I bloody own too many jeans. I mean I love jeans...I only have three pairs of slacks (one still in the plastic exactly like when I bought it) From Levi's to Guess...it's pretty run of the mill, though the better designs come from an old school Gouche (my friends never returned my Karl Kani and Cross Colors) and your newer names like Akademiks, Makaveli, Von Dutch and so on. So...for your pleasure...here are my three altenative choices to branded jeans....but look hell funky.

Exhibit number one is something I bought along Patpong in Bangkok. There is a huge variety of patch patterns, and this particular gerai, is the best! Yang ni baru dalam RM60. Kalau Uptown mati lah kena cekik. Buka harga RM150 ler ke apa...janji at least a hundred. I haven't worn this yet....and I really have no idea bila aku akan pakai....takut gak nak pakai.Cam tak betui sikit!

This pair I've worn berapa kali dah. Aku suka sebenarnya cause it makes me look like I actually have a butt! (Cina mesti bontot leper). I got this in London for 10 pounds at Oxfam in King's Street (dia charity shop yang jual ala bundle). Kira dekat RM80 ler tu, tapi pattern dia patch work, siap ada metallic stars apart from sand blasted-esque print stars as well. Funky!

Closer to home, I found this pair kat bundle di Chow Kit. it's stretchable jeans material. Yang penting they're hip huggers! Again...more ass! the best however it yet to come...if you notice...dahler jenis seluar berangan J.Lo pattern cam kena potong da rendah.

Pastu, dotted along the edges as well as at the pockets....ada diamonds lak! Amik ko! lama da tak pakai this pair...but I have a feeling I might not be wearing this soon too.

I don't necessarily spend a lot, tapi aku memang gemar to be different ler dari segi dressing atau image. Ni one of my pride and joy. Aku pakai masa the last AIM, ramai lak suka. Very rock-ish. Baju ni sebenarnya baju RELA yang biasa yang da dialter. Maybe aku salah kerjaya...ke ada bakat terpendam lain? Leh? Sapa nak baju Raya tahun depan, tempah ngan aku jadi test case....(tergolek sambil gelak)

Hish tak perasan lak entry kali ni panjang berjela. Ok time to wrap up...back to my CDs...the actual pride of my CD collection is not only the number of CDs (biasa la tu) but the autographed CD collection yang I have. Setakat ni cuma sentap tak ada Pink (dapat...tapi bagi ex sebab ex nak sangat dan aku tak berani mintak dua lak masa jumpa Pink kat Singapore kat MTV - but she is so cool!) dan Avril Lavigne (pen tak ada dakwat...leh? terus malas mintak sebab bukan minat sangat kat dia pun).

Here are my favourite autographed CDs in my collection. yes...my all time favourite is from Christina Milian (yang nyanyi AM to PM tu).

Anyway...the joke behind this was that on the day of the interview..I was wearing a T shirt (biasalah...ada je) that said I'M SHY! - But I have a big dick!

Apa lagi...Chris immediately warmed up to me...and she even introduced me to her mom and we had a chat and hit if off...hence...the CD was signed...To Joe and his big dick!. We were betting what tabloids in the US would make of it if they saw it...hmmm!!!

Kelly Clarkson is my second favourite...she is not only the only Idol to be left standing (dahler she was the first!)...but she is also so down to earth and warm. First time jumpa terus kena peluk ngan dia (I'm sorry...I a huggy kinda person was her excuse)

Wow! Ok! Plus she is so genuine...I've met so many pop stars who are fake...and Kelly is just not one of them.

Jewel was the first international artist aku interview in the history of my whole career! And I was shaking sebab takut...tak pernah interview artis yang luar negara masa tu...again dia tengah top with Hands. S8!t! Panik aku!!!

Tambah agi everyone who came out of the interviews called her a b&$@*h! Turns out she was bored because most of hem didn't do their homework and some didn't even know who she was. Needless to say we were rolling on the sofa laughing away. And the 15 minute interview? Extended to about 40 minutes.

If there was a real biatch, it would have to have been Sophie Ellis Baxter. I never shudder with artists....local or international...but Sophie was the Ice Queen herself! Prim and proper...buat lawak pun dia pandang ko cam takde benda.

Damn! Other people warm up to me within seconds. Into my second question she still couldn't warm up. But thankfully...the challenge has helped me hold it together for interviews nowadays...and plus...Sophie did warm up much later.

If so far I've been dealing with pop acts...this must make one of the highlights of my career! Interviewing Slipknot in Bangkok (ok so Ricky Martin is better than that...but I only have the picture of us and not the autographed CD!) I haven't really been a big fan of Slipknot though I've loosely followed their music. But man...it was great not only to interview them...but also hang out with them backstage for their show!!!!For four hours lagi!

They're relaxed...but man...the moment those masks come on...move out of the way and tell Grandma to lock her doors.

Oklah. Berapa jam sangkut depan PC ni. Member mesej kat YM pun tak layan. Sentap sorang-sorang kang...Anyway...hope you guys had a nice brief (yerlah tu brief) tour of things of good memories in my room...

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