Help! I'm going deaf!

Sebenarnya, ni tengah pening-pening sikit...tapi still gigih nak wat posting. Kenapa pening? I'll get to that part soon.

The weekend has been quite productive for me, banyak aktiviti ler nak keep me occupied...sampai tak cukup rehat.

Tapi dalam kesibukan tu, I still have time and space to feel bored...don't ask me why.
Friday kelam kabut sikit even though it's usually a relaxed day for me. Started off with a little work, and then malam, kuar ngan the entrepreneur tuk gi Hits 1 kat RTM. Dia kali pertama jejak Angkasapuri katanya! So terkejut sikit ler ngan the rundown state of the place. Dari kertu-kertu (don't ask) yang keja kat sana, sampai the rundown state of the backstage to the horrible sets, it was nice to see Muzaffar shocked. Aku lak dah lali ngan the state of RTM...or Angkasapuri to be more accurate that I've lost all hope da.

Mana taknya...budget entah kemana. Dari bina pintu gerbang besar gedabak yang burok tu, baik spend some money on their studios. After all, a TV station is not judged by the archway into their place but by the production content. And sadly...no one told those old folks at RTM that.

Hits 1 takder ler menarik sangat sebab aku da pun tengok full dress rehearsal malam sebelum. The whole night sakit hati sebab terpaksa dok lantai kerana bangang punya production crew leh bagi orang lain dok tempat reserved. PR sana sibuk jadi GRO dok melayan yang tak mengena that they didn't notice how uncomfortable we were. Lum agi staff selangkah masuk kubor yang berangan nak jeling-jeling kita. No wonder ler I (along with sane individuals) prefer Astro anyday.

The show was ok...and the results tak mengejutkan langsung. Proud of Jac...about time she won something.

Takyah laa kan aku nak review panjang-panjang. Takkan nak post sini kan. Tunggu je review aku dalam paper (yang tu berbayar ma...ni personal)

After finished lepak dressing room sat. Masa kat sana bump into Sharifah Zarina kesian lak tengok dia. Anugerah Juara Lagu dia tak make it...Hits 1 pun tak menang...padahal untuk aku, she is extremely talented and aku rasa Langit Ke-7 tu is such a strong song.

Well...what to do...it was against another strong song...and in another case, fans who don't know better. And also blame RTM sebab backing dancers meka menyemak je. Dahler baju burok...choreography pun burok....execution burok...memburokkan segalanya je.

Also too bad was for Adam yang aku rasa show dia entertaining, apart from V.E. and Jac...nice moves though I think dia punya dance break a little contrived.

Balik anto warga emas (lepas kul 10 malam kira lewat ler tuk dia) selepas jamuan yang di join sekali ngan pusat kebajikan bergerak yang sampai ala diva grand entrance seperti biasa. Hung out with some friends and went home to sleep it off.

Tengahari tu sepatutnya start 12pm nak gi AF & Catering, restoran baru dibuka milik Bob, Sahri dan Zarina. Very enterprising kids. Bangga aku! Anyway...aku malas nak gi awal-awal so sampai pun just as ended at 3pm. Masa gerak, call Nana, dia bagitau that she had just left with Reza and tak silap Fitri sekali.

Tawaf 50 kali last-last jumpa ler parking. Tu pun parking haram yang nasib baik keta tak kena saman atau tarik.

Masuk tengok Iqram ada...and then famili Akademi Fantasia yang masih lum balik masa tu Yazer, Ekin dan Elliza (selain tokei tiga orang tu.
Sempat ler merasa makanan...not bad! You guys should try ler kedai meka ni. Kalau nak cari senang je. Kalau tau studio Linda Jasmine, ngam ngam kat belakang je. If you're not familiar with it, use Ampang Point sebagai landmark je. Dia kira tepi Ampang Point je. Kalau tau drive sana, parking dekat-delat Ampang Point dah very the walking distance. If you take a cab, dari KL menghala Ampang, stop just upon reaching Ampang Point, masuk slip road tepi tu da sampai. The restaurant's orange in colour. You can't miss it. Kalau alamat, yang aku ingat the road is Jalan Mamanda 5.

Lepas melantak, lepak ler with Yazer (merembes ler si Fiebie) sat sebab tak jumpa dia dan member serumah Felix da lama da dengan semua sibuk with urusan sendiri.Rupanya banyak perubahan dan update that I missed! Haiyo! Baru sebulan lebih je tak meet da left back in news.

Apa cita? Takleh ler bagitau...tanya Yazer sendiri. Si Yazer mai tu ngan Ekin and her sister, so lepas habis celoteh with him, joined Ekin lak. Gelak cam orang gila je wat lawak tak henti-henti ngan Ekin. Haiyo! Pecah perut gelak tak henti-henti.

Sempat ler celah-celah tu amik pic meka tengah gayut...tapi takde ler with each other...but with their friends, tapi lain je kalau tengok pic meka gayut!Sempat ler usik seribu lagi aku...biasalah kalao ada bahan nak kenakan! Terus memulakan projek menyelamatkan my phone book ngan mengumpul kembali nombor sorang-sorang yang aku hilang masa mobile phone aku kena virus.

Sampai time, si Yazer nak balik, si Ekin tengah melayan sembang....si Ekin ngan sister dia nak gerak si Yazer lak dok sok sek ngan orang. Pening aku jadi tukang panggil sorang tu...pastu tukau lak panggil sorang lagi.

Dari start nak gerak...ada ler setengah jam sebelum any movement.
Time meka nak beredar lak...si Zarina pun decide nak leave...eh sat...Zarina...siapa yang jemput tu...

Oops!!!

Mereka gerak je...si Adi Fashla pun sampai. Lambat sikit ler...selepas tu, Farah sampai ngan sister and ayah dia. Abang Askrul pun mai ngan orang rumah dia. Lama gak ler juga semua dok sembang. Sekali-sekala jumpa Farah, so bak sembang gak with her awhile...sempat ler nostalfgia pasal AF II (Sori Adi...AF II tetap the best! AF I ok ok je...AF III...erm...no komen) Aku gerak pun da lewat petang da...about 5pm ke 6pm gitu. Alang-alang da ada kat KL, decide to just hang out sebab kalao balik mesti KO awal-awal.

So hung out in Cheras with some friends sembang and lepak until about 11pm. Singgah makan dan sesi bak mulot sampai dekat 2 pagi baru headed home.
Hah...ni balik pada permulaan posting...yang aku kata pening tu. Nak tau pening apa? Patut 8.30am I should have been in KL da...tapi jaga pun da time tu, so kelam kabut ler bersiap and then rush to Concorde Hotel untuk final judging Anugerah Industri Muzik 2006.
Inilah peringkat di mana top 5 akan dipilih (and of course, subsequently the winner is determined ler)

So kami awal-awal dah ada idea siapa akan menang walaupun tidak tahu pemarkahan orang lain. Agak-agak jer ler ikut sentimen...sebab final result hasil audit firma dilantik. Usually the top five is very obvious, and occasionally the winner too...disebabkan competition kurang dari segi kualiti produk.

This time around, I think there has been another slump in terms of overall quality even though there were quite a couple of interesting albums of the many trashy items that had to be listened to, inflicting much pain!

Erm...sambung story sat...eh sat..ada one story yang takde kena mengena about the whole thing tapi aku rasa nak kongsi anyway (not like you have a choice in deciding that - you can only stop reading the most...or choose to skip this part). Masa aku sampai rupanya ada lagi yang lum tiba. It is Sunday morning after all.

Decided against having breakfast, so just setakat alas perut je sebelum briefing bermula. Time briefing lak...(hah ni nak ala poetic sikit) tengok lak ada lalat besau - (cam lalat buah lak) da fall into orange juice. Sebab da biasa ngan briefing, cam lebih interested lak pay attention to the fly. Dia dok dalam orange juice tu struggling berapa lama nak keluar.

Interesting! Cam tengok Animal Planet lak. Camna la tengah-tengah function room Concorde Hotel ni ada lalat sebesau ni...ni issue cleanliness ni! Sib baik ler no one mistakenly dranf the orange juice which I cordoned off with silverware (tatau ler lepas aku tinggalkan meja) Mana tau ler ada yang minum ingat orange juice Peel Fresh ler katakan....ngan sirat-sirat tambahan (yak!)

Ok now...back to the event. The judging rooms were divided into a lot of rooms with some six judges in a group, judging either one, or two categories. Semua yang selected di masukkan dalam category where they were ascertained to have no personal interest to ensure a fair judging.

As usual, aku kena dua kategori, tapi takleh cita lah here which category I was part of judging...sebab rahsia!!!

Yang pentingnya...balik beginning of my posting yang aku pening tu...di sebabkan jumlah entry kita terpaksa layan. Berpuluh ok!!!

Seperti biasa...ada yang draw a "WOW!" reaction...manakala ada yang leh naik pekak dan buta melayan! No komen artis mana atau album mana yang very the penyebab kepeningan tambahan.

My head was throbbing by the time we were done more than three hours later. Masa lunch tu, sempat ler sembang ngan orang industri lain pasal the overall kualiti.

Ternyata AIM 2006 ni, will belong to newcomers dan orang yang tak pernah diiktiraf kerana ramai orang lama atau artiste yang established takde rakaman terbaru yang layak dalam tempoh, ataupun they were just too far in terms of standard by comparison with a lot of new artistes.

All in all...still...it was worth getting up early for as we got the full representation over what the last calendar year for the local music industry has been like. After all...there are a lot of locally released albums that don't get enough publicity yang bagus-bagus.

These underrated albums, will get due recognition not for the popularity factor but for its sheer approach to quality. Kan orang kita suka kelirukan keduanya...popular doesn't mean quality, and vice versa.

Ok ler...nak offline...esok ada program launching Akademi Fantasia EVO album dan tour. Pastu ada event ngan ERA...tu aku try blog by tomorrow night sebab banyak cita menarik...dan juga sebab nak clear stok blogging awal sebelum gi Sabah dan kesibukan Raya Cina akan datang ni.

Ciao...

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Echo still rules!

I've been so busy that nak update blog memang kira luxury la sekarang. Still...I promise myself kena at least three updates a week, so I'm keeping to that by trying my best to not be too backdated la in my postings. Lagipun...lama-lama sangat...pening korang nak baca panjang-panjang. Aku pun tak larat baca kang.

Today was weird rush day for me (not going into yesterday cause it started bad...and ended up just ok).

Pening migraine...tapi got to Planet Hollywood on time for my assignment...until I bumped into my friend Sharina yang keja sana and found out that I was actually early! ONE BLOODY WEEK EARLY TO BE EXACT!

Apparently I had made the stupid mistake of thinking it was this Thursday when it was actually minggu depannya. Cam sial! Habis clash dengan aku nak ke Sabah.

Malas nak pikir how I'm going to attend that AND catch my flight to Kota Kinabalu.
So anyway...jumpa peminat telenovela and ajak skali gi just across the road to JW Marriot where they were having PC tuk pelancaran Bcuz Of You (kalau dengar ERA tau ler movie tu kan). Alang-alang da in the area kan...

Masa sampai kat function room (silap sebab ada lak dua tempat yang dibooking walaupun the first place kita pegi tu tak pakai langsung), terkejut sebab nampak Kristine Hermosa dan Diether Ocampos just duduk berpegang tangan kat couch luar bilik function. Rupanya meka dok luar tunggu nak diannounce tuk masuk.

So apa agi? Da meka tegur, so aku pun layan la sok sek.

Diether said Kristine kena flu, so dia cam lemau semacam. Poor thing. Still...she was friendly and really warm.

Later had a nice chat with them again bila masuk interview sekali ngan kawan, Michelle dari Melodi TV3. Pic bawah belah kiri tu Michelle yang dok interview meka tu. Last pic tu amik ler kesempatan aku nak abadikan kenangan...tapi tak berani dekat sebab didn't want to catch any germs from Kristine (matilah aku kena carut ngan Kristine bila aku cakap camtuh - gelak sat). Aduh...kena diet lagi! Nampak debab abih pic...ni kes salah angle ni....kes naya! Siot je....

Finish je rush balik office, habiskan column aku. Tengah jalan, kena rush ke Hits 1 lak nak follow up gossip issue (baca paper Jumaat ni tau ler pasai apa). Lepak sampai habis full dress rehearsal. Mula-mula bosan sikit walaupun ramai artis yang hadir.

Sharifah Zarina dan Azharina cam biskut Chipsmore...kejap ada kejap takde. Mawi cam blur terpikirkan entah apa, Misha lak dok tepi ngan kengkawan dan desara mara. Jac focus habis...so last-last aku lepak ngan bebudak V.E. je (Cham ler) as well as Dayang dan best sekali yang bagi kami gelak cam orang gila yang terlampau gila....Amy Mastura.

Seriously she is just so fun to be with. Aku da lama tak lepak apa-apa event ngan Amy and I forgot what a barrel of laughs she can be. Dahler aku dan Dayang asik gelak dia melatah....bila tak melatah pun sama!

Cita sampingan...dalam nak kejutkan kak Amy melatah, si Cham mintak aku torture...sebab dia tak berani cucuk Amy. So aku pun lepaskan ler bunyi "POW!!!" sekuat alam...rupanya bukan je si Amy melatah habis...si Cham leh join in duet lak. Aduh! Pecah lobang! Melatah jugak rupanya mamat ni!

Selama ni kenal dia tatau lak....

Ok...best moment of the night must be bila joget ala gadis kabaret masa Pop Ye Ye. Si Dayang pun layan!!!

Amy start je dengan character dia...Dayang pun goyang sekali...last last wat tarian entah apa...wat pose pose je...ala vogue tak jadi. Kelakar habis...sempat ler berhibur...nak harapkan lawak kat pentas...erm...tak selawak yang diharapkan...

Aku amik gambar tarian meka ni...walaupun tangan berat nak amik pics sebab malas campur letih campur ngantuk...tapi sorry ler guys cause tak clear sangat. Backstage gelak cam @#$%^. Entah ler kenapa meka kemut sangat proper funding tuk perbaiki Auditorium Perdana ni. Harapkan dari luar saja cantik....tengok backstage cam khemah pelarian!

Anyway...balik topik si Amy ni...tagline dia kalau kena usik...dia hanya jawab, "Jangan...nanti emosi aku terganggu...doktor marah!" (I suppose that makes sense...in a nonsensical fashion!) Anyway, time flew past with her...and headed back to the office about midnight.

Ni baru habis kerja nak ada masa nak update blog sikit. Esok 11 pagi da ada appointment lauching album lak. Event EMI dan Maestro with Mawi lak. Then malam nak gi layan Hits 1 live kat Angkasapuri lak (nak gelak tengok kak Amy wat tarian Pop Ye Ye dia lagi).

Guys...jangan lupa the special preview for Netizens ye untuk Buli Balik. Tengok my last posting for info ek and book your seats fast. Like I said...kalau kerja ke...ada kelas ke apa ke...PONTENG!!!! Sehari je! And it'll be fun! At least warga-warga online semua ada alasan nak berkumpul...mesti meriah!

Wokei laa...dah lewat ni....esok update blog je la lagi ek......

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Take me now!!!

There goes one of my new year resolutions...no thanks to the incompetence of Maybank. Bayangkan kul 11 pagi kelmarin...awal-awal da melantak McDonald's (McChicken LARGE value meal - tension mah!)

I decided to be be all nice and sweet and keep to my resolutions to get lots of things sorted out.

One was to get my credit cards replaced (if you've been reading my blog musti ingat cita hantu aku kat Hotel Royal Adelphi where I lost my wallet).

So by freaking 10am I'm at Dataran Maybank in Bangsar...and what do I find out? Of my Visa and Mastercard, the bloody Mastercard still has a debt of about RM600 that's been overdue for more than three months.

As it is, aku tak dapat apa apa reminders by mail. Credit collection hasn't called up and threatened to break my leg off and beat me to death with it if I don't settle it. Nothing! Kalau dulu setakat sebulan lebih default je sampai freeze my bank account (very sial...).

Lucky ler staff kat Dataran ni memang friendly. Akak yang attend kat aku relax je. Aku lak kesian dia bila call credit centre nak enquire pasai kad aku. As usual...their bloody lines are all engaged, or no one bothers to pick up (aku penah try call them myself so I know from experience).

Finally settle semua, aku fork over RM600 and that was it.

Freakin' hell...there goes my budget. Cuma nasib baik I've been controlling my spending (and shopping urges) this past week or so, so ada ler duit lebih sikit can spare. Had to dig into my meagre savings, but ok lor...janji kalao aku expire ari ni, aku tak mati dalam utang.

So anyway the night before last...ada ler mini gathering. Actually it started out with just a few people. Laurielle (not to be mistaken for Laurier tuala wanita tu) stop over kat KL I think dua tiga ari, and sempat nak jumpa sebelom berambos mengkayakan ekonomi tempatan Bali. So janji ngan dia nak jumpa...along with Fiebie. Aku jumpa warga emas tuk an event earlier in town, dia kata tanak ikut, but later changed his mind...sekali confirm with peminat nombor satu Ramlah Ram.

Seperti biasa aku sampai awal sikit (harus kena carut sebab statement ni)...but Marshmallow Man dan beberapa kengkawan da sampai. Later everyone showed up and it was right circus!

Tapi best gak...Poster girl/boy for Weight Gain nampaknya makin sihat (ehem...terbatuk lak) after not meeting him..er...her for over a year plus.

It's nice to know sometimes....friendship exists even though you think it couldn't last all the shit we face in our lives.Apapun...aku nak amik pic, harus ler Toccara (America's Next Top Plus Sized Model) tanak pose...tambah agi malam tu masa gath dia tak alami 'transformasi'. Apa lagi tengah mekar hijau bumi Tuhan (nampak ler Laurielle ni leh sedara ngan Ginger Jingga) So ni je hasil fotografi yang berjaya. Actually kalau korang tengok pic tu...bukan aku dekat sangat ngan model aku ni...tapi pertambahan berat bada dia punya pasal...viewfinder tak muat (mati aku kena hempuk ngan lemak extra dia kang!)

Balik letih gila babas....especially after tengok aksi Fiebie pose mengasyikkan control ayu (nampak sangat remote rosak) bila berdepan ngan si Ameer ngan godaan seribu...very tiring to watch (mampos aku kena steamroll ngan Fiebie yang teramat slim).

Was tired out as hell...but still made it into office awal the next morning (keletihan banget sih) for an important meeting (malas cita details but those yang tau isu terkini tempat kerja aku paham ler apa - baca The Star ari ni).

Supposed to go KLCC for a luncheon ngan bebudak Akademi Fantasia tuk PC nak announce konsert haper ntah. Tapi tak sempat...so lepak office je.

By 2pm, sped to 1 Utama nak gi GSC sana nak tengok media preview Buli Balik. Tujuan sebenar nak interview Afdlin but one shot redah ler kan. I didn't have high expectations for the sequel sebab personally aku a little let down by Baik Punya Cilok. Secondly because...how good can a sequel get...right? No matter how interesting the predecessor...

Wrong...cause it did rock. I mean I still thought editing was a little wonky...and there was a little over emphasis on a character or two...and too little development on others...but overall...it was pretty good.

I think since Sepet...this is the only local movie I would really fork out money to watch. In fact...bila pikir balik...aku memang akan gi tengok kat panggung bila bukak kang! After all...this is a movie that deserves support! Apapun - if Baik Punya Cilok can shoot past RM2.3 million (or something like that...Buli Balik should hit the roof.

Should la being the operative word...because Malaysian moviegoers tend to be a bunch of wankers at times sanggup tengok wayang yang *bleurrghhhh* (muntah sat) when there is good stuff that should be paid attention to.

I won't bore you with details of Buli Balik...despite some really cheesy and cliche scenes, it is a good piece of work that features a blend of romance, comedy and also a touch of drama. That enough should be reason to watch it.

If that's not enough...Adibah Noor is one good reason..she positively prime evil in her role sebagai quiz master (mistress?) of a programme. Tak cukup? Ada cameo Ramlah Ram siot! Kelakar nak mampos!!! Won't say to much...but guarantee gelak sampai orang depan basah kuyup ngan air liur tersembur ko.

Tak cukup? Nasha Aziz ada ma! She is such a great actress I really think she should be one of the most sought after names when it comes to Malaysian leading ladies. She takes on her roles so naturally...takde laa cam the so called leading lady of Malay film yang *ehem* nyanyi live sumbang...nari pun cam senamrobik...oops! But seriously...I think Nasha exudes this classiness that most actresses don't have.

After all...ramai pelakon wanita yang leading ni (yang harapkan cantik je) style...gaya lakonan meka very the ciplak dari Drama Minggu Ini gitu.

Overdramatic...and not even theatre like in that sense...just...plain...over! Nasha however breathes in her role...and I really salute her.

And this is a must watch...because Hans Isaac actually acts in it! I've never been a fan of his...tapi aku terkejut cause Buli Balik, he shows a side to him that I've never seen.

He is pretty impressive...and if he manages to hold on to the promise shown in Buli Balik...then tak mustahil ler Hans akan naik as one of the best male leads in time....deservedly!And if that's not enough...kan ada Afdlin Shauki...need we say more. That alone is worth the price of the ticket da! (Chief Kodok...mana aku nya under table money) A lot of factors to fork out the meagre price of the ticket...so jangan lupa bila bukak kat panggung...tengok Buli Balik tau. It opens in cinemas beginning 26 January!

For more informtion...usha review power atau words straight from the kodok's mouth! It was a fun evening...and one well spent...not just over a good movie but with also kengkawan yang ada cam Juan yang lama ala cookie Chipsmore menghilang.

Nasha ajak minum with her friends...tapi cam kureng comfortable sikit with the people we were with cause tak kenal sangat, so gi ngan senior citizen dan Mak Limah for a drink kat Secret Recipe je sambil ngumpat pelbagai and discussed the pros and cons, the good and bad of the movie. Tengah sok sek...we made a horrific discovery!

Yerlah...biasalah kalau da mid life crisis...gi beli VCD DVD...beli Ringgit Kasorrga....Titanic...haiyo!!! Kenapa la Muzaffar ni??!!! Well kids...if there's one thing I learned...it's never judge your friends...no matter how senile they're becoming! (mati lah aku kena review hentam kang) Tapi yang penting siap bangga tu posing ngan those titles (yuck!..I'm flying....I'm flying....bleurghh!!!)

Apapun...lepak lama gak...tak perasan how time flies! Abih rokok...

By the way...suka tak lighter holder aku tu yang dalam pic? It was a Christmas present from Rudy! Anjing katanya...well, at least I'll have something to remember him by (not very flattering huh when you put it that way). Apapun...flip the 'doggie' over...and you'll see it's 'anatomically correct'.

Aduh...nampaknya ni another long entry ni. Ok ler time to end it. Sebelum aku abihkan posting kali ni...aku nak share satu pic yang aku rasa memang cam sial jek. Ni aku amik dekat ngan Secret Recipe masa kitorang nak berambus. Ada beberapa kerusi and all there lah...so yang aku sakit ati...aku satu couple ni...dah ler dedua nya muka karat (ugly people should not be showing affection in public, ok!) minah tu pakai tudung, gedik nak mampus peluk cium pelbagai. Mak bapak ajar ke ni? Hah...lain kali nak wat benda-benda camni...tanggalkan tudung dulu! Wat malu je kes camni!

Patut ler time camni ler ada pegawai jabatan agama...huh! Ari ni kena kamera Nokia aku je...esok lusa? Sedo ler...get a hotel room ke apa ke ko punya pasal le...lobang kubor ko sendiri. Tapi nak wat depan orang...(kalau muka elok sangat takper leh feeling free show gitu...live again kan....ni cam stok Reject Shop punya muka) hmph...aduh...renung-renungkan lah.... By the way...be safe tonight....it's...

FRIDAY THE 13TH!

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Things are seriously...

I seriously have this fixation to update my blog more frequently. I know I updated twice yesterday, but I thought it be nice if I did a posting early in the morning like this since it's a public holiday.

Besides...something's been on my mind. Yesterday, when I was having lunch with some friends,

I bumped into an old pal. I've known him since the days when I did volunteer work for Pink Triangle in the mid Nineties, time baru habis sekolah.

Well, anyway...one thing led to another, cita la pasal Marina Mahathir tak head the Malaysian AIDS Council and all, I was rather disturbed to hear that for this year, Pink Triangle will not be receiving funding this year.

Pada mereka yang tak tahu, Pink Triangle is a non-governmental organisation yang dedicate themselves to raising HIV/AIDS awareness with various community based programmes. It functions (or used to) with financial aid from the public as well as allocation from the government and the Malaysian AIDS Council.

I don't really know how the mechanics work. Tapi all I know is, now only Ikhlas, their community project for the Positive community is receiving funding now...abih camna la Pink Triangle nak stay afloat.

I would have thought HIV/AIDS awareness was a cause that was well supported financially. Sadly enough...apparently, HIV/AIDS causes are not the IN thing for the moment. Cancer is.

Well...doesn't that just bugger you! What the ... freak!!!

I sure as hell tatau ler how Pink Triangle is going to survive, but I wish them all the best.

Statistics are shooting through the roof in neioghbouring nations, tapi no proper studies have been done among our youths. What are the true figures of those who are in the high risk groups is a guessing game, which may be answered only way too late.

A few months ago, an acquaintance, who was a familiar face, passed on suddenly. All I heard was dia meninggal sebab of something HIV related. That person was only in his early twenties.

Entahlah...kadang-kadang, orang kita ni tak pentingkan sesuatu until it strikes this massive blow on them. Look at how cancer awareness has suddenly shot up. Give it a year or two...another disease will take over lah as the fashionable plague to be associated with. We never learn...

Moving on, semalam abih keja...lepak office je. Malas nak balik, so lepak. Sempat tidur...rehatkan diri. Sedar-sedar da very late at night dah. So terus gerak gi Zouk jumpa abang Bad and Co. yang ada event kat sana. Kami semua tak larat nak masuk so dok luar cuci mata (actually criticise what the wannabes were wearing ler).

Then gerak gi Lotus kat area Nikko Hotel Jalan Ampang gi melantak. Sempat borak-borak for only about 20 minutes or so when Bad pointed out si Hazami, Rem and Anuar Zain dok tengah supper sana gak.

Dok ngan meka sat chew the cud bersembang sampai tak perasan lama sangat Bad, Jolene and Shawn (did I spell his name right?) decided da nak balik. Aiyo...so sorry ler. Kena laser ngan Papa Smurf...yelah...dok ngan selebriti je...

Pedas! Soriii!!! Tu lah akibatnya kalao lelama tak jumpa nak tukar story more that ever to catch up. After that, spent another 45 minutes or so sok sek.

Tengah sembang tu Anuar pointed out something even I rasa irritating gila. Ada satu meja...about a few metres away. Mamat muka pecah rumah rupa tong minyak sorang ni pegang camera, ada zoom aku rasa. Curi-curi target camera tu and while pretending nak sembang, amik snapshot meka meja kami. Huh! Nama peminat, tegur je lah amik pic. Apa salahnya sopan sikit bukak mulut!

Ni wat muka sombong, kerek nak mampos jeling-jeling, tapi tetap nak amik pic. Tak paham aku....Bukan orang nak nyombong. Ni nak feeling paparazzi lak!

I think a lot of people forget...artis ni...celebriti ke personaliti camna pun, they are first and foremost HUMAN! And they do deserve respect like all of us. Ni muka mamat amik pic tu bengis cam @#$& pastu curi-curi amik pic. Apa barang??? Sheesh...ni peminat ke stalker? Lain kali bang oi...kalau minat tegur!!! Jangan da ko wat muka bengis tak tegur nak mintak amik pic kang wat cita lak kata artis tak layan peminat kang...hah!

Argh!!! Letih ngantuk lak pagi-pagi sejuk ni. I don't really know what plans I'll be up to today...tapi have a feeling nak tengok wayang ler. Anyone wanna join? Mai Klang (gelak besar cam Papa Smurf)

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I made it!

Yes...I have made it through the day...my first official working day since I was on leave from Dec 6. What did I do today? Let's see. I checked my column...finished a story (almost...erm...) went out for lunch with Muzaffar, and met up with some Astro and AMP contacts (yes...abang Bad being one of them-that's one of the advantages of being pals with people you work with).

Yes it may have seem all fun and games...but I WAS really working. Cungkil ler sedikit gosip tuk next week punya column dari kengkawan time sok sek.

Sempat check ERA's website and saw Nikki da naik lagi Carta Era. Cuma keliru...the week before, minggu pertama dia masuk, nampak carta tulis nombor 18, ni tengok second week tulis dia last week nombor 19. Pelik tul....tak kisah. Janji da naik...and mintak ler naik dan naik lagi. Biar slow and steady...janji naik!

Ok...just a reminder guys...keep voting for single pertama Nikki bertajuk Pinta kat ERA.
To vote ada beberapa cara.

Melalui panggilan ke penyampai-penyampai bertugas dari 6pm to 12am kepada talian 03 - 9543 3355 dan request untuk lagu Pinta.

You can also fax permintaan anda dengan menggunakan borang disediakan ke 03-95435676. To get the form, surf over to website ERA where you can also vote online. Ingat bahagian ni penting...anda perlu mempunyai epass atau pilihanmu tidak akan sah!

The last, and easiest way you can use anywhere is to SMS. Hantar pilihan anda dengan menaip ERAPDE Pinta, (tajuk satu lagi lagu pilihan) dan hantarkan ke 32555.

A slight reminder. Di mana ada ruang permintaan lagu lain, pastikan Pinta is pilihan pertama anda, so that it gets priority!

Keep voting, guys and let's see Pinta make it!!!

Pada those yang celebrate Hari Raya Haji esok...selamat merayakan ek...aku esok tidur seharian jer ler...apapun...malam ni nak gi enjoy!!! Yuhuu!!! Down it!!! Nak balik dulu and change out of these work clothes and get into party gear! Yeah!

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When I start thinking

Pertama sekali, I really have to share this. Ni kira posting luahan perasaan. My first for 2006 as I deal with the onset of my impending mid life crisis of turning 30!

I know a lot of people tell me (and I also tell folks, though I'm hardly honest about it most of the time), that age is nothing but a number....that you are as young as you feel...that we get better as we age....blah blah blah.

Realitinya, dalam beberapa hari ni saja into the New Year, aku horror at the prospect of turning 30. And it's horrifying sebab I feel not a day over 21 (except for the back pain, the occasional migraine, my bad knee etc)!

I mean, looking back, I don't really have regrets as I think I have done my best. Sadly though, I cannot claim to having achieved even half of my goals I promised myself I would.

I am not going to wallow in depression as I think I haven't done too bad, tapi cam terduduk diam sat to contemplate what went wrong. Is it my fate that I will always be Joe Average, that no matter what I do, my life standards are doomed to be strictly mediocre.

I won't reveal all my goals, sebab kang ada yang kata over ambitious, but I think most of them are like that of other people.

But I am going to work extra hard this year (especially in the next six months before I turn 30, to achieve most of them.

One of my dreams is to diversify myself, and aku rasa one of the things I've been putting off for some time now, finally aku akan buat. Walaupun aku gementar sikit, but I have agreed to an offer nak participate in the staging of this experimental theatre production which was written by a friend, inspired by some of the drama in my life. I don't know whether I can act, but I sure as hell am going to finally do my best. Being onstage is one of the purest artforms to me, and I envy those yang mampu nak be anyone they want to be when the limelight's on them, and I hope to learn the craft, not for fame and fortune, but tuk capai what I've always wanted...to push myself another level further and challenge myself to my fears.

You see...I used to have stage fright, and I did much to conquer that fear. Ada beberapa member tanya, ko leh lakon ke? Jawapan aku, I'm going to try, so I never have any regrets about not giving it a go. After all, courage is not about doing something you're good at, but rather something that challenges you, an endeavour that inspires fear in you.

One more thing I'm going to do this year, is bloody make more money. Bukan tuk diri aku...bukan tuk kemewahan atau kesenangan or anything like that. Tapi tuk pamper my parents with the luxury they deserve. I am not the best son, but I want to give my parents what they've always given to me...the best! And walaupun aku da cuba sedaya upaya setakat ni tuk memberikan apa aku mampu, I think it's just not enough...

Everywhere I look, people are raking it in. Credit where credit is due, a lot of my friends who make way more money than me EARN it by working their ass off. Tapi...entahlah. Like I said, maybe I have a curse of mediocrity that hangs over me and dooms me never to excel more than the average person.

Anyway, that's not going to be an excuse this year, and these past couple of days, aku da pikir masak-masak. There may be a change of career this year...nothing too drastic as I think it will still involve the field of entertainment, sebab industri ni merupakan the soul of my life...but maybe not full time journalism like now. Who knows kan? Kita hanya mampu merancang....Tuhan yang menentukan segala. But I sure as hell am going to make that extra effort, rather than just get down on my news and leave it to divine intervention.

One real resolution I have promised myself this year...is NOT to fall in love. I have wasted too much time, getting to know someone, and to let them to get to know me...sampai it ends up being wasted hours. I mean, don't get me wrong...banyak kenangan manis aku selain yang pahit dari cerita cinta yang pernah mewarnai hidup aku...but I think that I have resigned myself to the fact (several years ago in fact, I realised this...just didn't want to admit it) that I am doomed to spend my life alone. So tahun ni...I doubt ada lah stories for me to share with you about a someone in my life...who knows.Again...kita hanya mampu merancang....

If I sound depressed, maybe to an extent...I have hit an emotional low. Over the past month or so...banyak benda main kat kepala aku pasal several personal problems, but being who I am...I don't dwell on it too much in front of people. I mean, luahkan tu ada pada some of my closest friends...but I suppose in all my simplicity...I am pretty hard to understand too. But if anything...times when tears seem easy...I won't forget to thank God for the little blessings in my life despite my trials...

One of the many things I have to thank for is definitely the few friends I have left after the 'stock clearance' of 2005, mana aku had to reevaluate certain friendships and decided to put them behind me to not be loaded down by what has become liabilities.

By the way...walaupun aku da lama stop drinking (skang social drinker je...tu pun very the jarang), I used to be able to pride myself on holding my liquor. Aritu masa keluar with a few friends, I had one margarita and I actually felt some effects!

Haiyo! Now I KNOW age is definitely doing me in!!! That's one of the few skill I picked up from college gone to waste due to lack of practise. Kalao tak, masa dulu cuti kat Langkawi ke apa...I could polish off a whole bottle of Smirnoff and still be standing and in control!

Harumphh!!! Ok...now lepas that unexplained nature of my rantings about the fragility of my current state of emotional nature...let's move on to what I've been up to this past few days.

Before that, in case anyone was wondering (pada kawan-kawan yang keep in touch by checking on my blog...if you're guessing what the look of the moment is, here's the latest pic of me, masa gi lawat Rudy kat hospital ngan Bad, Muzaffar dan Vernon. Due to my depression, the current look is short, black hair...or otherwise...simply normal (which is not so normal for me). I promised a lot of people when I turn 30, aku takkan colour rambut aku agik...or go for weird hairstyles...and remove all my piercings.

Now? Not sure lah jadi ke tak...Apapun...this look will remain, at least for a while. Kalao nak ubah pun...mungkin bila dekat ngan anugerah apa-apa nanti. Sempat kot tukar imej a few times more (Anugerah Juara Lagu, Anugerah Bintang Popular, Anugerah Industri Muzik) sebelum my 30th birthday...so we'll see whether I stick by that rule I made up for myself.

Let's see, moving on...I told you guys about Anugerah Juara Lagu kan punya PC? Nothing much...cuma cabutan angka giliran persembahan, pengumuman tema malam tu dan sebagainya. Which you will be able to read in the papers lah.

Tapi, the info I think most of you will want is tarikh AJL and venue mana it will be held, so here it is. It will be on February 5th and it will be at the Putra World Trade Centre (seb baik bukan pesta joget lambak kat Stadium Putra agik!!!)

Nothing much happened at that PC, lepas habis, lepak ngan Ning & Co. sat...layan Nikki dan juga Yanie (protege Ning dari Mentor) sat. Kalau nak tahu, Yanie pun nak keluar album soon....Anyway, for those yang minat Nikki dan Yanie, the two 'sisters' are now staying together in KL dan dibawah guidance Ning, serta pengurus Ning, Vernon. Comel tak meka berdua (Nikki dan Yanie ek...bukan Ning dan Vernon...gelak sat!)

Malam tu, keluar jumpa ngan Muzaffar. Dia wanted to go for a charity screening of Sepet, so kali ni, aku lak menyemak tak dijemput.

Reason I wanted to go was to meet Yasmin Ahmad, I mean I've interviewed her a couple of times, and had fun talking to her, tapi tak pernah jumpa dia face to face.

Anyway, it was a fun do (sorry pada yang kenal aku melalui blog tapi aku lak tak cam ek-aku selalu blur kalau keadaan camtu sebab ye lah...aku bukan superstar yang biasa jumpa orang yang kenal kita yang kita lak tak cam). Anyway...I was so tired from running around sebab banyak appointment sampai ngadu ngantuk. Still it was fun because Nani @ Orked was there along with si Ng Choo Seong @ Jason...nice to see they took time off to spend time ngan semua orang.

But I think kudos to Yasmin ler sebab wat charity screening kat GSC MidValley secara diam-diam tanpa kecoh. Tujuan nak raise funds...not a fuss, and she achieved that! Biasalah kalau orang wat charity screening...kalao tak invite satu battalian media...mustahil! You rock Yasmin! And all the best for Gubra!

The embarassing part of the evening, aku mengharapkan ler...versi Sepet yang ditayangkan ni, unedited ke...director's cut. Nyata aku kecewa sebab dia versi VCD release yang kena potong by the old men at the Censorship Board yang takde lives apart from making everyone's miserable by snipping away everything they deemed immoral. Couple that with my fatigue...I would like to officially apologise to every yang dok keliling aku sebab TERTIDUR dan BERDENGKUR dengan teramat kuat!

Malu siot...tapi da takleh control diri. Bak kata Garfield...NAP ATTACK! Muzaffar tension gila babiks ngan aku asik elbow aku je...dengan statement ulangan dia, "Wei...bangun la! Tak kuasa...dengkur punyalah kuat!" Huh! Tunggu...your day will come! Siot je...

On friends, it's time to congratulate Bad yang akhirnya dapat letter of appointment dia for his new post! Hah tengok je pics ni...tunjuk envelope ngan letter tu, and siap opening of the letter masa siang tadi jenguk Astro sat wat keja...time tu serempak ngan Juan yang da lama wat aksi cookies Chipsmore menghilangkan diri sebab kesibukan overdose! Juan ngan aku tunggu ko belanja tau, bang Bad kuar je first gaji. In fact...kira Bloggers United leh ada makan besar la! Tapi member yang jiwang tu, takyah ajak girlpren nak makan skali! Dahlah dia pun lama tak jumpa sebab dok sibuk ngan awek je...(gelak gelak dan gelak lagi!!!)

Anyway masa kat Astro, lalu konti ERA, si Nana tengah tugas. By the way pada meka yang tatau, si Nana ni rajin chat ngan peminat tau masa dia.

Kalau dia on-air tu korang rasa nak sok sek ngan dia, lawat, register dan sertai nana-ke.com! Bukan orang lain ek yang chat on her behalf...dia sendiri gak! Rajin Nana! Seronok layan tengok Nana on-air. Masa tu member Press, si Farihad (congratulations tuko keja mai join the family) dan Zul (peminat Halim Othman - matilah aku kena maki pasni!) pun dok jenguk.

Tengok cam zoo lak...cuma cam wondered which side of the glass yang exhibit dan which side yang visitors (mati lah aku kali kedua kena belasah meka berdua - jadi gelak besar lagi)
Aduh!!! Saliha...panjangnya posting aku ni...ok lah...time to call it quits. Esok ada dua appointment lagi. Ni da lebih 5.30am da...confirm bangun pun da tengahari (tapi kalau jadi...mesti bangun by 10am sebab dua ari da maintain nak wake up awal and earlier slowly...)

Will blog tomorrow (arini) pasal PC Anugerah Bintang Popular yang akan diadakan later this evening. Tapi jangan ler korang mintak aku report event tu. Keja tu...keja bergaji beb! Semua letak blog...abih keja cari makan aku kat paper. (Muahahahaha!!! Lawak bodoh!) Take care guys...I'm off!

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What's so new?

2006 has not been all it's cracked up...

For me...the whole thing provided me for New Year celebrations yang paling teruk I've had since whenever.

It all started from the eve....memacam problem timbul. Tension je. Apapun, aku dok rumah sampai habis countdown akibat malas nak keluar since everyone had their own New Year plans, ada yang sibuk toasting the New Year (non alcoholic fruity cocktail concoctions), while ada yang dok rumah je, while there were those yang God knows what they were up to.

It was ok everyone were busy...I know friends are not there for you ALL the time...it's just WHEN they're there that's so important.

I took this picture masa aku gi lawat Rudy with Vernon together ngan abang Badand Muzaffar. It's so touching...and here hoping that I'll have friends if I ever end up in a moment of need too (discarded friends who didn't serve a purpose in 2005-no regrets...just some anger).

By the way - that pink bear, hadiah get well from Vernon tu di position kan sebegitu oleh aku time nak amik pic sebab tanak abang Bad kecoh pasai aku amik pic tak lawa yang konon nak sabo di sebab perut dia yang montel tu terkuar selambak (amik ko!)

Me? I simply felt it was going to be a damn bore to wrestle with KL traffic.

Lepas 1am, pikir nak kuar meronda with some friends so met them in Cheras and took a spin around town. Thought gi lepak mamak kat belakang Istana hotel so we caught the crowd there hanging out, mostly made up of mamat mamat poser skin dan punk yang tak jadi.

As expected, tengah celebrate, a fight broke out at a nearby club. Mamat bouncer semua yang predominantly one race, gaduh lak ngan customer-customer yang mabuk !@#$%.

Da bebudak yang takde rumah, mak bapak atau otak ni semua dok dekat-dekat, apa lagi, meka pun jadi lah 'firestone' egging on the fight. Nothing serious despite the intimidating numbers there.

Aku sakit hati tul celah-celah anak-anak @#$%^ ni yang kecoh, ramai lak nak sibuk join (sokong molot je) dan maki hamun several statements that were just bloody racial. I mean...a fight is a fight. No need to get racial about it.

Aku da malas geng posers cam bebudak no job, no life and simply no brains yang berangan punk dan skin ni. You don't know anything about the music, you wanna make it fashionable but you *&$! it up big time.

Mana taknya orang yang kolot dan sempit pemikiran ingat muzik ni merosakkan anak muda! Posers camni dress and try and look and sound like the authentic thing, and to the untrained eye, the represent...which is bull!

It's amazing to think that while we're celebrating 2006, racial tension can still strike a chord of fear (trust me, yang makan-makan kat area tu semua tak pasal bersedia je nak cabut takut kena belasah tak pasal-pasal)

Kalau keadaan cam malam tu masa aku melantak kat SS15 di Subang Jaya bersama Fiebie lain la! Two separate tables of guys were cussing each other nak gaduh bila Fiebie bisik kat aku,

"Mintak-mintak gaduh leh cabut kita nak selamatkan diri and makan free!". Tulah ko...sapa mintak makan bebanyak! (azam nak diet kan tahun ni?)

Anyway - after all that hoo-ha...kereta peronda lalu about three times or so, tapi cam takde effect. Small fights kept breaking out, and I seriously doubt the police were even bothered to do their work....now seriously! Sheesh!

Apapun, gaduh SMS ngan a so-called best friend and then awal pagi sampai je kat Klang, rush balik Bangsar kerana masaalah anak buah and some other personal problems of friends (arghh! wasn't it my resolution not to give a flying %^& about other people's problems?!).

Tertidur kat apartment dia sat tengahari and then later went out again. Bumped into some friends and lepak sampai malam sebelum balik rumah tidur the whole day. Not a very great New Year for me...definitely. At least I got to spend time with my parents.

Still...if these past few days were anything to measure the year by, then I really have a bumpy year ahead. So here's crossing my fingers (and legs and eyes) hoping that eveything will be be peachy keen for what 2006 holds for me.

On the plus side, masa keluar with some friends tu...bumped into an old acquaintence yang aku kenal dari online chat sometime in 2001. Aku memang minat dia and I think there was some chemistry, tapi we knew it wouldn't come up to something serious and we chose never to meet.

Apapun...that night...sempat ler erm...get the first whoopie for 2006 (some consolation huh for not having someone to kiss at the mark of New Year).

Monday was similarly boring, tidur the whole day and then later int he night beli a bucket of KFC and pigi rumah anak buah lepak tengok VCD (The Princess Diaries 2...not my choice...zzzzz) before mai Internet cafe to just update my blog. Tomorrow will be fun though.

Walaupun aku cuti sampai Isnin depan, esok isi masa lapang nak ke sidang media Anugerah Juara Lagu tergempar kat Berjaya Times Square. At least I'll have some fun tomorrow. Maybe I'm just bored because I miss work. What a concept!!! (gelak sat)

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2006!!!

At the end of one year and the start of another, many of us will renew our commitment to daily affirmations to improve ourselves. I know there's much room for improvement in my life...and 2005 has taught me much on what to buck up for in 2006.

2005 has seen much take place...I've made some great friends, lost a few of those too...and rediscovered some whom I've lost. Death came and claimed some nearest and dearest to me...I started believing again that I could love...then that idiot proved to me to be just that. I realise loved needn't be sought, as in approval for my life...and that I need to have faith in whatever the future holds for me.

Anyway, these are my resolutions...and while these may not suit everyone's taste, here are some "possible" affirmations to consider!

These are my resolutions which I vow to keep for 2006! To everyone...have a great year ahead!!!

1. I will not include any postings on New Year resolutions just nak cukup syarat tuk have a posting for the onset of the New Year.
2. Two minutes into the New Year will not constitute a mammoth achievement to keep my resolutions.
3. I promise myself not to give into the pressure of relinquishing smoking even though I am now in a minority group!
4. The words MUST BUY does not mean literally that - but looking is no harm.
5. I vow never to feel guilt, be in touch with my inner sociopath and swear like a hog for the rest of the year healthily to avoid anger building up inside me. Vent! It's healthy!
6. I will not honk or carut at old ladies or pregnant woman while on the road, but everyone else is fair game! Patience is a much wasted virtue on Malaysian drivers! Survival of the fittest baby!
7. I promise myself to continue to let my imagination soar beyond the existing levels of suspicion and paranoia - especially when I turn 30 in July!
8. I will assume full responsibility for my actions, except the ones that are someone else's fault.
9. I will for 2006 focus on looking for solutions to my problems, or at least a scapegoat to blame on! Boleh?
10. I will no longer waste my time reliving the past and spend my time just worrying about the future.
11. I have to keep my resolutions short and sweet, cause chances are I will just be wasting the fifteen minutes thinking them up anyway as I'll probably forget them before the New Year.
12. I won't procastinate! Or maybe should I keep that for later....
13, I promise to love myself more despite my weaknesses, and never put love for anyone (apart for God, my parents and my career) before myself! - You have to love yourself first before anyone loves you right? So I will accept that I will always be overweight, be bitchy, sarcastic and self righteous no matter what!
14. I will always give thanks for my good skin and lack of wrinkles (especially since I'm turning 30 in 2006! - actually I'll give thanks if I live to be 30 even...)
15. I will have more sex and less relationships (or was that less sex and more relationships? - I get confused)
16. I will not intefere in my friends' lives...even it means they screw it up (they have to learn on their own instead of me mollycoddling them!)
17. I will continue to add or DISCARD friends if they no longer prove to be so without fear or regret.
18. I will appreciate those who appreciate me.
19. I will be less obsessed with the need to fall in love.
20. My next year's resolutions will be more accurate and realistic and less lengthy (hey...I gotta make more mistakes or I won't have anything to resolve for 2007, right?)

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