RANDOM.....the same passion, the same contribution

Now…
Out of sheer randomness, Antu would like to talk about

Unsung Heroes - Contributors & Supporters


There was a family who stood there watching. And their son caught my eye.
No, he wasnt good looking.
And no, i wasnt eyeing nor glaring at him.

He just stood there, watching the group.

As Kirby, Kevin, Richard and his wife were trooping, he stared at the group. With no expression on his face.

Nor scare, nor happy.

Just stood there, watching.

The father tried so many time, pushing him to go to the troopers to take a photo, but the son indicates that he didnt want to.
The family stood there, watching the son, watching us.
Then the father noticed that i was staring at them. I quickly looked away.
He reached into his pocket, gave it to his son, and pointed towards me.

As he came, walking, i knelled down, for him to gave his family's charity contribution.

And as he was putting it inside the box, i kept looking at him.
He looked at me, and i smiled.

"Thank you.....thank you very much...."

The kid with no expression, I'd tell you, when he was putting the charity inside that box, his face just lids up. When I thank him, he smiled.
Yes, he smiled.
And as he was walking back towards his family, the father, mother and his brother, cheered and clapped for him.

I bow down, indicating thank you, to the family.

As they turned and walkaway, i saw the family patted the son's back, stating well done, and the son just smiled and was very proud of himself.
He had the most beautiful smile i've ever seen.

I hold the box in front of my face, and yes, i started to shed some tears.

I looked towards the group, and i saw Kirby as the stormtrooper posing with visitors, never a dull moment that he wouldnt pose for the camera and shaking hands with the kids. Kevin, the imperial officer, whom always there trooping and being a sport, posing for pictures. Richard and his wife, Biker scout and Jawa, side by side, creating a power house. And there was Dave, whom always carried the banner all day, assisting and up-to-toe for each picture taken. Ivan and Azizul, both camera men, capturing each moment and also making sure everybody's ok. And there was also Tara and Deneb, Richard's children. They were always there, assisting the posters, taking pictures and videos together.


And then i remember the last week event. Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon festival. Where the 501st family gathered and show their support for charity. That moment was beautiful. Almost amazing. Helping,side by side, to raise fund for the Japanese Tsunami Relief. All came to support the event. Even the ones who cant make it, their support shines by comments, texting and wishes.


At that moment, what i encounter, what i saw, and what i remembered in my mind, made me suck up my tears, and kept going. It was a new found strength, that inspire me to push just a bit longer and make the best out of everything.

And boy, was it worth it.

Yes, we were proud of it.

I am proud of them.

I am honoured to be with them.

In the name of charity, and sharing the same passion, we raise fund.


The 501st family, helped to raise fund. Supporting each other.
=)




I stood there watching. At a family. The son caught my eye.
No, he wasnt good looking.
And no, i wasnt eyeing nor glaring at him.


He was a down-syndrome kid.
and he had the most beautiful smile of all
=)

Lady: "where're hans solo....?"
501st: "we dont have him..."
Lady: "why?....you should, you know..."
501st: "we're the bad guys...."
Lady: "the bad guys....?"
501st: "yup, the bad guys...."

and bad guys it is,
not bad
not bad at all...

What do you think? Write your views and comments about the column. I would like to hear your opinions. Anything & everyone is welcome

RANDOM.....following the footsteps of our older generations

Now…
Out of sheer randomness, Antu would like to talk about

Nenek (the mother of my mother)


This is my Nenek (grandmother). She is the last of her generation. By ID, she’s 81 this year. But by reality, she’s supposed to be 83.

Why?

When she was born, her dad, my great grandfather, had difficulty going to the town and registering her. Hence, after 2 years, then only he was able to make her birth cert.

I believe that without my nenek, I wouldn’t be who/what I am today. She contributes certain part of my personality. Following her footsteps, I learn patients, endurance, being grounded, following my roots, and many more.

Nenek was born in Malacca; her early childhood years were spend there. Later, the whole family moved to Klang. When she was 16, she was force to marry a Syed from the east. The best part, she was still playing in the dirt and still have a running nose. In other words, she was still a kid.

The Syed had another wife, the first one. When his wife got to know about the marriage, with the thought of ‘how dare you take my husband away’; she came with a parang to my great grandmother’s house; wishing to seek and slay Nenek.

But when she arrived and asked for Nenek, what she saw was just a little kid, playing around with flowers in front of the house.
Nenek told the story where she remembered the 1st wife asking my great grandmother:

“Ini orangnya?” (is this the person?)
My great grandmother nodded
The 1st wife burst into laughter “budak hingusan ini? madu aku?…ahahahah….” (this little kid?...hahaha…)

Nenek just stood there puzzled and didn’t know what was happening. The 1st wife went back, and a week later a divorce letter were sent to the house.

“Dengan ini, saya ceraikan Khadijah…” (with this, I divorce Khadijah) that’s what the letter wrote.

So after that, she stayed with her mom and her sister. She went through a lot of hardship especially during the Japanese occupancy.

She told me the stories of what the Japanese done; how some of the villagers were tortured and how hard to get food, plus many more.
They survive it all, fortunately.

And only at the age of 31, my grandfather came and asked her hand in marriage, and she replied yes. How did they end up in Banting? Well, Tok Babah (my grandfather) got a job offer by the government, to be one of the manager at the tea plantation there.

I wish I’ve known Tok Babah. I didn’t get the chance to meet him. Tok Babah passed away when my mom was only 8 years old. I’m sure he was a great person. And note to all, he’s a Chinese from China, who came to Malaysia with my ancestors to seek wealth here. He got married to a Malay woman and had 8 kids. She passed away, and later on, married my grandmother.

Nenek had many stories in her life. And she would tell the stories to whoever wants to listen to them.

If you asked her about Merdeka, she will tell the story on how she was very grateful of the day Malaysia claim independence. And how she was happy carrying her one-year-old daughter (my mom) around during that day.

“Syukur la jugak bila kita dah merdeka….dulu memang susah, susah sangat…” (Thank God for the day of Independence…it was hard during those days, very hard)

You can see tears in her eyes, and you know how that reflects the destitution during those time.

Nenek is the last person in her generation, and still, going strong. I’m very proud of her.

I love her very much and hope my children will get the chance to meet her, Insyallah. So they can hear the stories and know how great and strong my nenek was, and be proud to know our ancestors and our roots.
Through her stories, Nenek taught me to be grateful with what we have. And with that, I have learned the skills to be grateful very well. Very very well, I must say.

I have learn that by being grateful, I can appreciate what’s in front of me, and try to make better improvement if needed so.

By being grateful, we tend to minimize complains.

By being grateful, we will appreciate more.

And by being grateful, we will automatically try to improve our self for the better future.

But the sad part is that 90% of learning to be grateful is by losing certain things in the 1st place.

“manusia akan menghargai selepas kehilangannya…” (Humans will only be grateful after losing it)-Wise words from Nenek, and this, I must agree.

My wishes on this 31st of August 2010:

1.For those who complains about Merdeka: to stop and think carefully the main reason you are complaining. And before you start presenting your files of complaint, please study thoroughly about Merdeka, the process and the intentions in the 1st place. You’ll understand once you go deeper.

2.For those who complains about Malaysia: Sadly, 80% who complains are somewhere outside the country. They complain about transportation, wi-fi, technologies and even movies etc. Please bear in mind, for a country that is developing, I repeat, developing, we are pretty good on track. You are currently living in a developed country, now, that’s different. It doesn’t take a genius to different shed the word ‘developing’ and ‘developed’. So please, stop complaining about your own birth place. Malaysia is beautiful country, with many potential and opportunities to grow, and only an ungrateful citizen like you doesn’t realize that.

Just be grateful with what we have. And strive to be better in the future.

I hope you learn it NOW, then learning it after you lose it. Be grateful, aight?

Happy Merdeka all!

What do you think? Write your views and comments about the column. I would like to hear your opinions. Anything & everyone is welcome.

RANDOM.....fashion gone wrong

Now…
Out of sheer randomness, Antu would like to talk about

Fashion

Fashion is a general term for the style and custom prevalent at a given time, in its most common usage refers to costume or clothing style - wikipedia.com

Like many other fashionistas out there, Antu likes to dress up and look pretty. But in Antu's opinion, when it comes to dressing up, or even buying clothes, comfort comes 1st. Antu wouldnt want to be walking keng-kang in heels after walking 10 steps up the stairs -_-"



Nowadays, people tend to dress up and being fashionable in every occasion. Looking good does have its price. Yes, in terms of financial; and also in health. You don’t have to be a fashion forgo, but educate yourself. It might help you to be a bit fashion wiser then you think.


Skinny Jeans a.k.a Meralgia Parethetica



Going to the gym, getting the buttocks trim-up, and finally looking good in them skinny jeans, you finally can get the dream date with Meralgia Parethetica; a luscious blonde Bulgarian skinny jean model.

Yeah right, dream again. Meralgia Parethetica in fact is a health condition that you’ll get while trying to look good in your favorite rock stars wannabe skinnies. It’s a condition where you will feel tingling sensation on your upper thigh, resulting numbness. Wearing it more will increase fertility problems, yeast infection and dermatitis of the skin. So, to all skinnies lovers out there; no-no wearing skinny jeans too much, or you’ll end up walking like a pregnant wannabe instead.

Stilettos a.k.a Osteoarthritis



When you are happy walking, looking diva’ish with your stilettos, a Greek God named Osteoarthritis will come and share some love with you.

Well maybe in your dreams; because in reality, your ankle joints are worning out. The result will be that you will lose some love on your ankle; this is called Osteoarthritis. Those beautiful stilettos will maybe make you have a torn cartilage if you wear them too much. Plus walking a lot in them is a disaster for your knees. In consequence, before you reach 40, you can end up fashionably on crutches instead.

Thongs a.k.a Candidiasis



When going to a candy shop, the men will ask for a Candidiasis chocolate.And so the cute, thong-wearing sales girl will get them for him. Oh yes, she will.

Because that thong will deliver him one; for sure. Wearing a thong is sexy but if you don’t keep it clean enough, an effected down-under is what you get. Candidiasis is a virginal affection, bacterial growth at a woman’s private area. Thus, my advice to men out there; women sweating in thongs aren’t exactly fantasies for you guys. Thongs have songs for them, but the aftermath of it, doesn’t.



Hmmm.....ouch....

Thus, think twice about having something fashoinable to wear....because it can really save you from a lot of damages, money and also health wise.

You can be a fashion victim,

But you dont want to be a fashion patient =)

“Think again before you want to look good,
Cause if you don’t,
In future, you’ll be thinking you should.”

What do you think? Write your views and comments about the column. I would like to hear your opinions. Anything & everyone is welcome.

RANDOM.....kaki conteng

Now…
Out of sheer randomness, Antu would like to talk about

Graffiti

"Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property" --wikipedia.com

"Graffiti is any type of public markings that may appear in the forms of simple written words to elaborate wall paintings"

and mostly people, when mention the word graffiti, will vision writings/letters of graffiti-like

and in antu's case...she liky simple 'conteng' markers and spray cans *love*

and so today, antu's boss is out
in conclusion of refusing to do work, antu decided to do something that she havent done for a very,very,very
longggggggggggggggg (finger on 'g' 3 seconds) time

Before......

After.......

HOHOHOHOHO <--cute sinister laugh followed by national anthem played at the back

-_-"

What do you think? Write your views and comments about the column. I would like to hear your opinions. Anything & everyone is welcome.

RANDOM.....when fire becomes an ocean

Now…
Out of sheer randomness, Antu would like to talk about

Oceans Of Fire

“We butchered ‘chan-mali-chan’, and it becomes belacan”
– Kelvyn Yeang, on the in-take of a Malay traditional song.

Oceans of Fire are a quartet set to put music on fire, from the tempo of Jazz, to the beat of metal music. Their creativity in songs seems limitless. Having fun and putting all tunes mash-up together. This rising band hopes to ascend and put new colors in our air waves.

The band member consist of Kelvyn Yeang, band leader and lead guitar

Chiat on rhythm guitar

Jonathan Chen on bass

and their drummer, Jonathan Scully

They are no stranger to Penang music scene, as they have been actively participating in Penang Jazz Festival and the winner Malaysia Northern Region Yamaha Asian Beat Finals in 2006.

“We cannot sing, so we play instruments. We are an instrumental band.”

When ask to describe about their music, the word ‘eclectic’ would come to mind. No denying it, as each one of them comes from different music locale. Kelvyn is from a rock background, working professionally in projects and teaching guitars. His good friend, Chiat, is also the co-founder of Ocean of Fire (OoF), jamming together since their high school years. Scully, their drummer, is also teaching drum professionally, loving jazz and rock, and anything in between. The bassist Chen is classically trained. He plays the violin, piano and drums.

“We are not trying to compete, we are just offering a different sound of music”--answered Kelvyn when asked on what OoF focused on.

I couldn't agree more. For the plain passion of music, this band had been performing endlessly, sharing their views and offering new types of music each time. Recently, the band had just release their album called ‘Destination’. During their recent performance, Kelvyn gave an in-take of every song and its history. Example the song ‘Run Run Run’ was created after hearing their friend had been chased by a man-eating goose, ‘Papadam from China’ was created when they eat papadams sold RM1 at a mamak stall and the song ‘I Found You’ was produced by Kelvyn, for his wedding proposal on the day of the band’s album launch.

I got to catch them perform live at NBT and asked a few questions:

Describe the music of Ocean of Fire and what does OoF have to offer to music lovers.
We are a little bit of everything. Our music is different as we are experimenting and exploring different tunes every time. Its vast music: OoF is offering listeners and music lovers an alternative music to listen to. As music is an expression of emotions and feelings for us, we deliver it by playing it.

OoF is Penang-based band. In your opinion, what’s the difference in Penang’s music scene and KLs?
Penang Island is small. The music scene there is ‘warm’, as in, people know each other. It’s cozy as everybody would acknowledge and know who’s who and what’s what. Here in KL, as we know, it’s a big city, with lots of talents, variety, and countless of musicians; thus knowing contacts and fellow music friends is quite a challenge.

If OoF can change one thing in our music local scene, what would it be?
Actually, there are many things that we would love to change, but if it’s to choose only one, it would be, as we all know, for the media to play more of our local music scene. It would be great to hear our song to be played in the air waves and to be seen in the media. There are many talents out there, and media should take an extra bit of effort to showcase them. It’s a good platform for bands like us to deliver what we have to offer.

What is Oof in-take and opinions on music itself?
Music is an expression of a person’s view. Either if it’s on life, love or anything. Thus, I believe that Music cannot be a culture by itself. A little bit too much of one kind of music, in our opinion, will effect a lot in one’s life. We believe that variety in music is good and the explorations of sound are limitless, it creates new waves each time.

Where do you see OoF in 5 years to come?
Reaching out to more and more music listeners; having variety of music listeners who listens to our songs. That would be great as we want to reach every corner of the earth, bringing music to their ears and passion in doing so.

Any quotation that OoF would like to point out?
“Music is a powerful tool”, it delivers one’s mind, opinions and views. Abusing it would be a shame, thus, a musician must know their responsibility in delivering positive message across to their listeners. As we said, music can affects one’s life, so delivering a ‘healthy’ music is a musician’s responsibility.

And that night, was a awesome night indeed










From the pictures, need I to say more?

For more details on their music and album, go to
http://www.myspace.com/oceanoffire1
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ocean-of-Fire

Hhmmm...

Fruit for thought:
1-we have many talented local acts
2-we have internet
3-we have our ear

Then whats stopping you (yes you) from exploring and supporting our local music scene?


If its not you, who else?

What do you think? Write your views and comments about the column. I would like to hear your opinions. Anything & everyone is welcome.

RANDOM....root to all problems

antu aint sayin she's no woman, but she can cause problems though

-_-"


HAHAHAHA....

What do you think? Write your views and comments about the column. I would like to hear your opinions. Anything & everyone is welcome.

RANDOM....pure legal drugs

Now…
Out of sheer randomness, Antu would like to talk about

CAFFEINE

When the word caffeine is mention, 90% of us will think about coffee

Yes, I must admit. I am a coffee addict. But then again, it wasn’t the coffee, but I think, it’s the caffeine. As I can live without my coffee for a few days, only to be replace by my tea.

Growing up in my family, my parents never failed to have coffee for breakfast, after lunch and dinner. Every night, my granma would drink her coffee and watch the tele until late nite, without fail. It becomes a custom in my family, that we have teatime after Asar, drinking black tea together with goreng pisang or some other kuih-muih. Yes, I grew up in a family of caffeine’ness; either its coffee, or tea.

“Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid”

Caffeine can also be found in certain fruits, soft drinks, energy drinks and in a small amount in chocolate.


A fact that you might not know:

‘Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance, but, unlike many other psychoactive substances, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions’- Wikipedia.com

In antu’s mind “yeaahhhhhh….legal drugggssss babbeyyyyyy…..”

-_-"

Thus, antu would like to share the pros and cons of caffeine; as it’s good to know these facts that might help you, and also effects you.

*bare in mind that these effects might be differs to you, as each of us has individual body effects on caffeine*

The key is quantity and quality

So, below are some random effects of what caffeine can do to you:

1.Caffeine can elevate heart rate, increase blood flow, and raise body temperature. (I like to drink my coffee during cold times…in my case, when it’s raining and if I’m under Malaysian air-cond)

2.It increases blood sugar levels and acts as a diuretic, meaning you urinate more frequently and reduce water intake. (going to the toilet to wee-wee more eh?)

3.Small amounts of caffeine taken daily, for example a cup of coffee a day; can create physical dependence on caffeine. If you fail to drink your daily dose of caffeine, you can end up with headaches, excessive sleepiness, a feeling like you can’t function or flu like symptoms. (hmmm…very familiar symptoms in my case)

4.Caffeine has its ability to disrupt sleep cycles, causing less deep sleep (freddy wouldn’t like this, for sure)

5.Caffeine increases intellectual activity when fatigued or bored. (I wish I can have it during my classes in high school)

6.Caffeine interferes with adenosine, a brain chemical that normally has a calming effect. (drink one before you meditate in yoga class….i’m sure you’ll be the least student that the yoga instructor prefers)

7.Caffeine may reduce the incidence of kidney stones by increasing the flow of urine and decreasing its concentration (like I said, wee-wee more maaahhh)

8.Caffeine may aggravate osteoporosis by leaching calcium from the bones. (I wonder what will happen if I drink my coffee together with anlene…hhmmm…)

9.Caffeine aggravates stress in people who drink it every day. (to my kids/partners:all my years in starbucks as an sm, I blame the caffine…wink-wink)

10.Caffeine dilates the arteries of the brain and may counter migraines. Caffeine is also a cause of migraines. (so I dunno which one is which in my case -_-“)

Now….over dosage of caffeine may cause you:

•Visual: seeing flashes
•Heart: rapid and irregular heartbeat.
•Ears: ringing
•Skin: more sensitive to touch or pain
•Muscle: twitching and trembling
•Brain (central): confusion, headache, delirium and anxiety

In other words…when over dosage of caffeine, you may look like this:



The thing that inspired me to write this post about caffeine is because of today’s incident. Whereby I wasted 20mins of my life stuck inside the toilet.

It was cold in my office (as usual) – I was sleepy - had my coffee – sipping it slowly – felt energize a bit – few mins later – wanted to wee-wee so badly – rush to the toilet – lock the door – broke the lock – stuck inside.

One: I waited for someone to at least come to the rescue (but nooo...miracles didn’t happen for me)
Two: I felt that the reason I was ‘kuat’ enough to accidently broke it was because I need to wee-wee so badly, and I have the ‘strength’ out of my coffee.
Three: I got out MacGyver style, by using my belt and some toilet tissue (wow….)

-_-"

hmmmm...not bad for being a caffeine junkie eh?

Coffee anybody?

What do you think? Write your views and comments about the column. I would like to hear your opinions. Anything & everyone is welcome.