My Very First Blog

Today is the last day of 2008. It has been a year full of challenges, successes and failures, happiness and sorrow, a year filled with laughters and tears. It is also the year I discovered the exciting world of blogging.

The year that is so full of memories for me, is now coming to an end. So before the curtain closes on 2008, I would like to bid it a good farewell.

I am happy to say that I am leaving this year with no regrets. Whatever decisions I made I know that it was the best decision I made under the circumstances at that time. But I do know that for things to change, I will have to do things differently. Because if I keep doing what I'm doing, I am going to keep getting what I'm getting.

Tomorrow marks a brand new year, with new inspirations and new hopes! I would like to take this opportunity to wish all readers and all fellow bloggers a very happy and smashing 2009!!

With the craze of Mamma Mia The Musical still around, I would like to leave you with this wonderful song sung by ABBA. It's called HAPPY NEW YEAR.



For those who prefer much younger artists, here's the same song sung by A-Teens.



Whichever video you choose, why not sing along with the lyrics below?

No more champagne
And the fireworks are through
Here we are, me and you
Feeling lost and feeling blue
It's the end of the party
And the morning seems so grey
So unlike yesterday
Now's the time for us to say...

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every
neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our
hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as
well lay down and die
You and I

Sometimes I see
How the brave new world arrives
And I see how it thrives
In the ashes of our lives
Oh yes, man is a fool
And he thinks he'll be okay
Dragging on, feet of clay
Never knowing he's astray
Keeps on going anyway...

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every
neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our
hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as
well lay down and die
You and I

Seems to me now
That the dreams we had before
Are all dead, nothing more
Than confetti on the floor
It's the end of a decade
In another ten years time
Who can say what we'll find
What lies waiting down the line
In the end of eighty-nine...(2008)...

Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every
neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our
hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as
well lay down and die
You and I


HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE !!!

During the past few weeks, shopping malls around Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya were adorned with Christmas trees and decorations.

Many bloggers took photos and blog about them.

Starting this week, things will start to change. Shopping malls will be taking down the Christmas decorations and replacing them with Chinese lanterns and Chinese New Year decorations.

Since we are still in the midst of the Yuletide spirit, I thought I would share with you some of the photos taken from blogs I read.

I hope these bloggers will allow me to share their photos : )

Otherwise, I may have to take out these photos later : (




Christmas decorations at 1Utama courtesy of David Chew



Christmas decorations at 1Utama courtesy of Peter Tan



Christmas tree at The Curve courtesy of Ervinter



My photo of The Curve's Christmas decorations using my camera handphone



Christmas decorations at The Curve courtesy of CurryEgg



Christmas tree at Ikano Power Centre courtesy of Ervinter



Christmas decorations at The Gardens courtesy of Xin



My photo of Christmas trees at The Gardens using my camera handphone



Christmas decorations at MidValley Megamall courtesy of Canon 1000d Shot





The giant Christmas tree at KLCC courtesy of David Chew





Christmas decorations at Sunway Pyramid courtesy of Canon 1000d Shot



Christmas decorations at Pavilion courtesy of Angie Tan



Gigantic Christmas tree outside Pavilion courtesy of medie007

Can't resist to post the photo of this red Christmas tree at Orchard Road, Singapore from QuaChee's blog.


And this magnificent beautiful baubles captured by My Bug Life.


Well, which shopping mall, in your opinion, has the best Christmas decoration this year?

I was invited by a friend to her Christmas dinner on Christmas Day. It took me one whole week shopping for a Christmas gift for her. I walked the whole of 1Utama and MidValley Megamall and The Curve, but still could not find a gift for her!

So on Christmas Day, I gave up shopping and decided on the perfect gift - Jusco vouchers. I don't know about you, but when someone give me vouchers, I'm really happy because I can then use the vouchers to buy anything I want! Don't you agree that makes the perfect gift?

Since I subscribe to the News Straits Times, I was given Jusco vouchers worth RM150. Luckily, I haven't used up all the vouchers yet, so I took 2 vouchers worth RM20 each as gift for my friend. Only problem was, how was I going to wrap the vouchers up and present them to my friend without looking as if I was giving her the smallest, slimmest gift ever given to anyone on planet Earth?

After some thinking, I hit onto an idea. Why not put the vouchers into a small box and then fill up the box with chocolates and sweets? Good idea, no?

This was how the gift looked like after I had it wrapped up.



When I reached my friend's house, I was a little embarrassed to see how big the other gifts were compared to mine. Well, I told myself just because those gifts were huge, it did not mean she would like them! I think she would prefer my vouchers as she could buy anything she want with them! Pretty good at comforting myself, yes?

Anyway, the food were delicious! Here are some pictures of the food I ate.


The spread on the table


The mandatory turkey which I had the honour of doing the cutting.


Fresh salad with lots of strawberries


Pasta


Mushroom soup which is not really a soup but to be used as sauce for the pasta


Lasagna on the right side of photo


A Christmas dinner is not complete without a fruit cake!

My friend also prepared some fried chicken wings which were absolutely delicious, although a bit too spicy. Some guests brought along desserts like custard, cheese cake, chocolate cake, and many more. We also had red and white wine. I was too busy talking and eating I forgot to take pictures of them!

It was certainly an enjoyable Christmas dinner. I hope I will get invited again next Christmas!

Today is Christmas eve. As Christmas Day approaches, we are reminded that Christmas is in fact a time for gifts. Giving and receiving gifts.

But do you know what is the best gift of all?

To me, it is the gift of love.

Have you ever thought of giving this gift of love to anyone you meet?

Well, maybe you can start doing that today. You can give love by simply committing a random act of kindness.

Like, paying the toll for the person behind you.

Or let the person lining up in a queue behind you get in front of you.

Offer your hand to carry groceries for someone at the supermarket.

Offer your seat to someone in the bus.

Offer the parking space you just found to the car behind you.

Or, perhaps you have been treated with a random act of kindness by a total stranger. How did you feel then? Were you grateful for his or her kindness? What did you do to repay him or her?

The best thing you could do is not to repay him, but to pay it forward.

If you have seen the movie "Pay It Forward", you will know what I mean. So you have been helped by a stranger. Now what you do is to help another fellow human being and if that person shows his gratitude by asking how he or she can repay you, tell him to pay it forward instead.

Imagine everyone doing this! Love will spread round the globe! It will be totally infectious!

And when enough people spread the message of love on earth, things will change. A new consciousness will arrive and we will have peace on earth.

Isn't that what we want? Heaven on earth?

Well, in the spirit of Christmas, let us all commit a random act of kindness and if we are at the receiving end, help to pay it forward.

Now I thought this is a nice song for this post. It's aptly called "The Gift" composed by Jim Brickman and sung by Susan Ashton and Collin Raye.



Enjoy the song and have a Merry Christmas everyone!!

Do you believe in feng shui?

Or do you think it's all crappy nonsense?

Well, why not put it to the test! I dare you.

How?

By knowing what is good feng shui and intentionally practising the opposite! Yes, practise bad feng shui and experiencing the effects! Do you dare to stand up to this challenge? This is the only way to prove that feng shui works despite your beliefs!

Don't worry. Once you experience the bad effects, you can quickly reverse it by practising good feng shui again.

But first, you need to get your best and worst directions.

Step 1. Go to wofs.com

Step 2. Under FS Assistant, click on the KUA Number Calculation to get your personal KUA number.

Step 3. Enter your date of birth and gender and click Calculate.

Step 4. Note down all your four best directions, and all your four worst directions. Take note that of the four worst directions, the Total Loss direction is absolutely your worst!

Now here's where you start your test. But before you commence, I assume that your life is going on pretty well right now, with no major problems.

If you are feeling down and are experiencing a lot of unfortunate events, DO NOT proceed with this test or your current condition will take a turn for the worse! I'm not joking here. Do not attempt this test!

For those of you who think your lives are generally OK or excellent at this moment, go ahead with the test.

Starting today, do the following:

Sleep with your head pointing to your worst direction (that is, your Total Loss direction). You can align your bed in such a way so that when you sleep, your head is pointing at your worst direction.

When you work, eat, watch TV, or do anything that will have you sitting down for a significant amount of time, have your chair position in such a way that you will be sitting facing your worst direction.

Now to be sure you are getting the correct direction, please don't assume. Use a compass. Buy, if you don't have one!

Do the above everyday for a week or more until you experience bad things or bad events in your life. Once you start to experience the effect of this bad feng shui, quickly reverse it by stopping what you do.

Now instead of your worst direction, sleep with your head pointing to your best direction. (Any of the 4 best directions will do).

Also, work, eat, watch TV and do anything that requires you sitting down for a significant amount of time facing your best direction.

This test is important because it proves to you not once, but two times that feng shui works. First time, when you use it to attract bad things into your life. The second time, when you use it again to reverse the effects.

Perhaps after doing this test, you will not think that feng shui is all crappy nonsense any more. Well, to all the non-believers, do you dare take up this challenge and let me know the results?

Dear Santa,

It’s been some time since I last wrote to you. How are you? And how is your favourite Rudolph? Oh, send my warmest regards to Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen and not forgetting Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen too!

I know now is the busiest time of the year for you, but I hope you will just drop whatever you are doing, get yourself a hot cup of coffee, take a seat and read my letter.

Oh, by the way, I’ve got a gift for you! You know how much I’ve been dreaming of a white Christmas which I can never experience here in Malaysia. I know! I know! It was really silly of me to ask you to make it snow over here last year, but I just wanted it so much! I know that's against the rules now, so well, I’m pretty fine with it.

Anyway, my gift to you is my rendition of White Christmas on my piano. Just click below and listen while you take your time to read the rest of my letter. Hope you like it! : )



As you know, I’ve been a pretty good boy this year. Except for the occasional lies and greed, I think I’m really proud of myself this year. So, if it’s not too much to ask, here’s my Wish List this Christmas…

1. A Steinway or Yamaha six-foot Grand Piano
My current upright piano is more than 15 years old! If you listen properly, you can hear that the tone is no longer as nice as it used to be. And since I love playing the piano for hours on end, a grand piano will suit me really well!

2. A Canon Digital SLR camera
I would love to own this! Presently, I am just using my Sony Ericsson C-902 camera handphone to take pictures. Although it’s not bad, I think I still prefer a real camera! Then I can take really nice pictures and send them over to you, yes?

3. Two front-seat tickets to Mariah Carey concert anywhere in the world except Malaysia!
It will be my dream come true to see my idol, Mariah in the flesh. I know, I’ve attended her concert when she performed in KL a few years back, but at that time, she wore the same T-shirt and jeans for the whole concert as a protest to my country’s ridiculous rule that all foreign acts must be decently dressed. Watching her concert in a foreign country will give me the chance to see her in different costumes, especially now with her newly toned and slim figure! Oh, it would be nice if you include 2 free flight tickets and hotel accomodation as well!

4. A Toyota Vios car
I love this car! Driving it would be cool! I’m not asking for a Merz or BMW, just a humble Toyota Vios to replace my old out-of-date Proton! See? I'm pretty reasonable.

5. An all-expense paid Alaskan cruise
I have never been to this part of the world, so it'll be a dream come true!

6. A 52” Sony Bravia LCD TV
Not that I watch much TV, but it will surely make my home looks much nicer!

7. A year’s supply of Leonidas Belgian chocolates
I promise not to eat all but share with friends who love chocolates like me! And I promise to work out too after eating these chocolates! Which leads me to....

8. Free Fitness First gym membership for the whole of next year
I really don't mind it if you throw in a free personal trainer as well!

9. A 3-day work/4-day rest job with twice the pay I’m getting now
I really don't know where I can find such a job, but I hope you will get me one!

10. An OSIM massage chair
Or even better, a free masseur for every day of the year!

Am I asking too much? OK, OK, if you can just grant me wish no. 1 and 9, I think I’ll be quite happy and satisfied! Thanks so much, Santa!

Lots of Love,
Foong PC

PS: Oh, one more thing, Santa! Please drop a gift to everyone who takes the trouble to comment on this post! Thank you! Merry Christmas!!

NOTE: Dear readers, due to some unexplained Christmas magic at work, you may not be able to read this post. You may only see stars and symbols. If that's what you see, please copy this post and paste it onto Microsoft Word, change the font and you will get to read this post in English. Thanks & Merry Christmas!! : )

Do you like Classical Music?

Yes? No?

When I first learn to play the piano at the age of 8, I was trained in classical music. I learnt about the music of Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Debussy and many more. Since then, I have always loved classical music.

Surprised? Me, a huge fan of Mariah Carey, love classical music? Well, why not? In fact, I love all types of music except heavy metal.

Midway, during my teenage years, I started to become interested in modern music or what you call popular music which include all kinds of music ranging from pop to jazz to hip hop. I got interested in playing the electone. That was the time I learnt about modern pop chords. It was really a good thing because I could then relate what I learnt in classical music and applied it to modern music.

The only problem was I was so fond of the electone I started to neglect my piano practice. That was something I really regret because I found that I could not play the piano as well ever since.

Later, in my late teens, I decided to take up violin. However, I found playing the violin one of the toughest things in the world! Maybe I did not practise enough, or probably I did not have a flair for it, but somehow I just could not play the violin very well. Because of that, I did not enjoy playing it although I love listening to songs performed by good violinists. To me, violin is such a tough instrument to master I really admire anyone who can play it well.

I'm sure you have heard of the name Vanessa-Mae, who became famous playing mostly pop songs on her violin. However, she is not my favourite violinist.


Vanessa-Mae

Instead, I am a fan of a classical violinist by the name of Sarah Chang. Ever heard of her?


Sarah Chang

Last month, I went to Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (Petronas Philharmonic Hall) in KLCC to watch Sarah Chang perform with our Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO). She played Bruch's Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor (Op.26).

For those of you not well versed in classical music, a violin concerto generally means a work or performance by a solo violinist and the orchestra. In this case, the solo violinist is Sarah Chang and the orchestra is our very own MPO.

I was blown away by her performance! She was really good! The concerto by Bruch was no easy feat, yet she played so effortlessly. The audiences loved her so much she was cheered back on stage at least four times to take her bows!

Born to Korean-American parents, Sarah was recognised as a child prodigy early on. She made her first record at the age of nine, possibly the youngest violinist ever to do that!

I searched YouTube for her performances and found this. She may have put on a little weight here (compared to the photo above) but what matters is she did a very good rendition of Jules Massenet's piece called "Meditation" from his opera Thais. Enjoy!!

If you are a classical music fan, chances are you would have visited one of the world's best concert hall right here in Malaysia. Yes, I'm talking about our very own Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) or Petronas Philharmonic Hall in English. Located at KLCC, it was officially opened in 1998 and had since hosted some of the world's leading artists and orchestras.



This magnificent concert hall which links the two 88-storey Petronas Towers, can seat up to 864 people. The acoustic volume of the hall can be changed by a unique reflective ceiling which can be moved to accommodate a varied range of musical activities. Besides that, it also contains state-of-the-art audio-visual and broadcast systems.

However, it was reported in The Star in May 2008 that Petronas actually spent RM3.5 million a month to maintain the DFP and to pay the mostly foreign members of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO), which includes RM130,000 paid to its conductor. Wouldn't it be wiser to spend such huge amounts of money on other more important things?

Well, I don't know but will the RM3.5 million really make such a huge difference? Are people in Malaysia so poor they need that kind of monetary aid? If yes, then forget about the MPO! It all depends on our priorities. It's like if we can't even earn enough to feed ourselves, do we need that Mercedes car?

Furthermore, Kuala Lumpur (KL) is considered a world-class city. And we know every world-class city has its own world-class orchestra. If we only use local musicians, we certainly will not have a world-class orchestra.

Also, don't forget these foreign musicians and conductors are some of the best in the world and they are therefore entitled to these kind of pay. From what I know, the musicians are paid RM16,000 and RM28,000 which is equivalent to about USD4,800 and USD8,500 respectively. That's not even the market rate which our neighbour Singapore pays their Singapore Symphony Orchestra! These world-class musicians playing in the MPO are actually underpaid!

The good thing is, Petronas is also spending on nurturing our local talents as can be seen from efforts to rope in young aspiring Malaysians to be placed under the guidance of the MPO conductor. In time, hopefully, there will be more Malaysians in the MPO unlike now where Malaysians only make up 5% of the musicians in the MPO.

Well, I do hope the Government will be more long sighted and not scrap the MPO. But you just never know, so if you have not been to the DFP before, it's time you visit it! Of course you can't enter the hall unless you've purchased a ticket to attend a concert there. And what better time to go than this coming weekend when you can get to watch The Lord of The Rings Symphony! Details below.

The Lord of the Rings Symphony:
Six Movements for Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and Soloists
Canadian composer Howard Shore has turned his music for the three Lord of the Rings movies into a two-hour symphony which has already taken concert audiences in the USA, Australia, New Zealand and the UK by storm. Hear this dazzling score for the first time in Malaysia and relive the drama of the greatest cinematic epic of the 21st century.

Ticket Prices
Fri 19 & Sat 20 Dec 08, 8.30pm
RM180 | RM150 | RM110 | RM60

Sun 21 Dec 08, 3.00pm
RM140 | RM100 | RM60 | RM40

Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra
Markus Huber conductor
The Young KL Singers
The KL Children's Choir

You can purchase the tickets online here.

For first timers, do take note that DFP has amazingly strict rules you must adhere to. They include the following...

1. Dress Code - Long sleeve batik or lounge suit for evening concerts, smart casual for Sunday matinees. No jeans, shorts, T-shirts, sneakers, and slippers allowed at any time. If inappropriately dressed, ticket holders shall be denied admission and no refunds will be given.

Wow! Do they mean business or what! Personally, I find this ruling rather too strict! From what I know, concert goers in European and Western countries don't even follow this kind of ruling! Wonder why they have such rules here!

2. Late Comers - All concerts will begin promptly at the advertised time. No latecomers will be admitted until the interval or a suitable break in the program. Members of the audience who leave the hall before or during a piece of music will not be re-admitted until the next suitable break.

Talking about Malaysian time, if you have the habit of being late, you must really take note of this rule, because they are dead serious about this. You will not be allowed in even if you are one minute late! Now if only Istana Budaya implement this rule, I will expect their concerts to start on time, which of course they do not - all the time! The last time I went there to watch P.Ramlee The Musical, it started like, half an hour late! Probably waiting for some VIPs who are well known for their lack of punctuality.

3. Mobile Communications - All concert goers are required to switch off their mobile phones, pagers, watch alarms and PDAs before entering the auditorium.

I can tell you they are so ridiculously serious about this ruling I just don't know what to say! There was one time I used my mobile phone to check if anyone sent me an sms during the interval break. Believe it or not, I was told to switch off my phone immediately. I reasoned with them that it was interval time and there was no performance going on, so surely I could use my handphone just to check on my messages. I was not even making any calls or anything. But no, a rule is a rule and it must be followed to a T!

4. Recording Devices - All forms of recording equipment and photography is strictly prohibited in the concert hall.

Well, I can understand this one, but I just wonder if they allow me to bring in my binoculars. I tend to buy the cheapest tickets, which is of course for seats furthest from the stage and then use my binoculars to watch the performers. I did that in Istana Budaya and they allowed it. Well, some binoculars have camera functions, so I guess not!

5. No Smoking allowed in the concert hall.

No complaints on this one!

P.S: Oops! Just found out that the tickets for the Lord Of The Rings Symphony were all sold out! And I thought I could have a great time this weekend!! Too bad I cannot afford the Mamma Mia musical showing this week at Istana Budaya!

Hooray! I have reached a milestone in blogging. As of today, I have reached the 100th post!

Funnily enough, I was at Old Town White Coffee last week and they told me they were celebrating their 100th outlet! Talking about coincidence.

To a new blogger like me, I think that's an achievement of sorts.

Not Old Town White Coffee, but my blog. Yes, I'm talking about My Very First BlogTM.

All right, I'm impressed with Old Town White Coffee reaching their 100th outlet and trying to overtake McDonalds with the most outlets in Malaysia, but let's talk about that another day, shall we?

So yes, to a new blogger like me, reaching my 100th post is certainly an achievement.

But wait a minute, can I still consider myself a newbie in blogging?

I still remember the day I started this blog, and writing my first post back in March 2008. (I actually really started blogging in May 2008 after two months of inactivity). I had absolutely no knowledge of writing blogs. I was so new to this blogging thing I did not even know what the word "ping" means. I only knew it had nothing to do with ping pong.

In fact, I have not heard of words like AdSense, widget, tag, Digg, ATOM, Technorati, Feedburner, RSS, and so on. These words sounded so alien to me at that time.

And I did not know how to put YouTube videos on my blog.

Or make a recording of me playing my piano and post the music on my blog.

So I guess there's always a first time for everything, right?


If only writing a blog is as simple as pressing the "blog" key!

Over the months, I have learnt a lot of things. And I am really grateful. Yes, come to think of it, if I did not try my hands at blogging, I wouldn't have learnt so many new things and gained so many friendships with bloggers all over the world!

Now blogging is part of my life. I just love to blog, and I am loving it more and more everyday.

Some people say I would get bored and give up blogging after some time. But I have proven them wrong. In fact, my love for blogging have grown stronger. You can even say I am addicted to blogging.

But that does not mean it is so important that it takes over my life. No, I have not sign up for Bloggers Anonymous yet. In case you are wondering what that is, it is somewhat similar to alcoholics joining Alcoholics Anonymous.



To some people, blogging is their No. 1 priority. For me, blogging is NOT my No.1 priority in life. It is my No. 2. I would feel restless if I don't blog for more than 3 days. That's why if you notice in my blog, I always come up with a new post every 2-3 days.

If you find I do not have a new post after 3 days, you should be concerned. After 5 days, you should be very concerned. And if there's no update after 1 week, it's time to ring the alarm bells. Yes, I'm serious. Something must be very wrong if I don't update my blog for that long!

Sometimes, I wonder if there's such a thing as Blogging Idol, will I audition for it?


Some bloggers say they don't have anything to blog about. They run out of topics to blog. Writer's block, if you will. So they give up.

I say bullshit! There are a million and one things to blog about. In fact just thinking back on what you did today is enough to fill up a post. Or just watching the news on TV or reading the newspaper will provide you enough materials to write several posts for your blog to last a week. And I notice that some bloggers can even come up with a new post everyday by simply posting a few pictures of what they eat everyday! These are the fanatic foodie bloggers, and I certainly don't recommend that you do that!

Of course for bloggers like me who write about anything under the sun, it is much easier to come out with many different topics. Those who do niche blogs, or specialise in certain subject matter may find it more difficult. However, if you plan to earn money from your blog, it is better to have niche blog.

By the way, have you read the book by Stephen Covey called "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"? He came out with a new book some time back called "The 8th Habit". Sounds to me like a new discovery. I haven't read this latest book yet. I wonder if there's any chance the 8th habit might be blogging? Haha!



Anyway, jokes aside, I want to really thank all those who have made it possible for me to reach my 100th post. This include all you bloggers who regularly visit my blog, taking your effort to read my posts and leaving your opinions and comments. I don't have to name names, I am sure you know who you are! I really, really do appreciate you!! Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!! You are the ones who inspire me to continue blogging.

I also like to thank those who visit my blog but do not leave any comments. You, whom I call the silent readers. Thank you for visiting! Hope you continue to visit my blog and enjoy your stay!

I plan to continue blogging for years and years to come. I don't think I'll ever stop. So one fine day, when I reach my 1,000th post, I might just throw a big party! And all of you will be invited!

I love playing the piano. I can play for hours and hours without feeling bored!

Recently, a friend of mine heard me play this theme song from the ntv7 local Chinese drama series called Age Of Glory or Qíng Qiān Nán Yuàn. He wanted to play it too and asked me to pass him the piano score. Unfortunately, I did not have the score because I played it by ear.

In case you do not know what show this is, and how the theme song sounds like, watch this YouTube video.



I enjoyed watching this show and tried to catch it when it was shown on ntv7 every night from Monday to Thursday a few months back. Basically the story is about the lives of Malaysian Chinese during the post war era of the 60's and especially revolved around three ladies played by Debbie Goh, Danielle Dai and Aenie Wong.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the fine acting skills of these three actresses, particularly Debbie Goh and Danielle Dai, whom I considered to be a very natural actress. I have not heard of them before so I was really blown off by their good looks and superb acting skills. Looks like Malaysia can produce good actors and actresses too and give the Singaporeans and Hongkies a run for their money.


Debbie Goh who is also Miss Malaysia Chinese International 1998 plays showgirl Rose, based loosely on the legendary cabaret dancer Rose Chan.

Danielle Dai who plays Shu Juan is a very natural actress IMHO


Melvin Sia and Aenie Wong in a scene from Age of Glory

The show was so popular among Malaysian TV viewers that it set the record for the highest ratings ever for a local Chinese drama series. Perhaps one of the main attractions of the show is the nostalgic 60's feel. The show creator even went to the extent of painstakingly constructing a full scale replica of BB Park, the famous entertainment centre in olden days KL complete with carnival, cabaret, theatres, games stalls and dance halls. For your information, the old BB Park was located at the site where Sungei Wang Plaza presently sits.

The series also showcased many popular songs from the 60's, with all the songs given new arrangements to suit the show. In fact, I found that I enjoyed listening to all those old songs while watching the show.

However, the song I like best is the opening theme song, specially written for the show. It's called Full Circle or Yuán Què and is sung by newcomer Cheryl Lee, who also happens to be the co-host of 8tv's popular singing competition, Project Superstar.

I liked it so much I started to play it by ear on my piano. Would you like to hear it?

Ok, here it is. Please excuse me if you hear some wrong notes and blunders as I'm not perfect.



Well, how is it? Do let me know!

My friend whom I said earlier wanted to play this song pleaded with me to write out the notes for this song. Oh, so much hard work to write it out! I did not have the time, so I just scribbled some notes out. Look at the mess I wrote!



I did not even bother to put in some of the left hand parts! I hope my friend knows how to improvise the left hand part by himself! But with the way I scribbled, I am not too sure if he can even read what I wrote! LOL!

Even though I could play a song I hear by ear, I am not that talented to get everything correct. Well, if I can hit at least 80% accuracy, I am quite satisfied. I just hope my chords are correct!

Meantime, if anyone reading this have a copy of the original score, please, please pass me a copy, will you?

Thailand is a nice place to go for a holiday. It's just too bad they are experiencing political upheavals now, and this is their loss, as tourism will be badly affected.

I still remember my very first time visiting the Land Of Smiles. At that time, I was still a katak di bawah tempurung.

To my international friends, that literally translates to frog underneath coconut shell. It simply means that a frog that lives underneath a coconut shell will think that the shell is the world, so one who is like that frog will have no knowledge of things, events or places outside his "world". He would be happily ignorant of what is happening in the world, and would not venture outside of his "world".

A friend heard I was going to go Thailand, or more specifically Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. Having been to Thailand many times, he quickly gave me some recommendations of what I must do and where I must visit when I go there.

Now this friend of mine was a Chinese educated man, so his English was not very good. Especially the way he pronounced certain English words.

Here's how the conversation went.

"Going to Bangkok ah? Must go see Thai girls."

This was his first recommendation.

"Tigers? What tigers?" I asked him.

"Oh, you must see them. Everyone go Thailand first time must see those Thai girls in action."

"Oh really?" I was getting curious. "Do they have special skills or something?"

"Wah, many lo. You should see them open the cap bottle with their you-know-what."

"What?"

"You know lah, down there."

"Down where?" I scratched my head, trying to figure out what he was saying.

"Down there lah! You know? You know?"

I suddenly understood what he meant and I was amazed.

"Wow! These tigers are that good?! Can uncap the bottle like that?"

"Yeah! You must see them! And some of them have nice white skin!"

"Oh, so they are white tigers."

"No, not white. They are pure Thai girls." he said, obviously referring the word "white" to Caucasians although I did not know at that time! I think "fair" would be a better word.

"I thought you said they have white skin."

"Yeah, yeah, some of them do. But they are not gwai mui or mixed, they are true Thai girls." Gwai mui by the way, means young female Caucasians in the Cantonese dialect.

I had no idea what young female Caucasians had to do with white tigers, but well...!

Then he bent closer, his eyes wide open and whispered, "You can watch them have sex too."

Now, if I am not mistaken, I think I've watched tigers having sex on National Geographic before. Well, maybe not white tigers, but aren't all tigers the same? Do I really need to go to Thailand to watch them do it?

So I told my friend, "I think I've watched that before."

"You have? I thought you said you never been to Thailand." he frowned.

"No, I have never been. I saw it on TV."

"What?!" He exclaimed. "In which country?"

"Here in Malaysia."

I could see the disbelief look on his face.

"Thai girls on Malaysian TV! You joking, is it?"

I kind of forgotten how the conversation went after that, but the next day, when I related this to another friend of mine, I was stunned to see her laugh hysterically.

"No, you silly!" She said, "He meant Thai girls!" And she proceeded to spell the words out "T-H-A-I-G-I-R-L-S" before bursting into laughter.

"Ohh..." I think my face turned completely red at that moment.

My friend just laughed and laughed and laughed. I recovered quickly to join in her laughter.

Gosh! And to think that I left my Chinese educated friend that day with both of us not knowing what the other was talking about. What a joke!

Do you know what does God want from you?

What if I tell you what you think God wants from you is not what God wants from you?

Will you reject it outright? Will you say I'm blasphemous?

Well, since reading Conversations With God Book 1 by Neale Donald Walsch, I've continued reading many of his subsequent books. One of his many books which stand out is this book published in 2005 called WHAT GOD WANTS.



When was the last time you read a dangerous book?

Well, be careful because this book is dangerous.
It explores with startling freshness the most important question you could ever ask, and offers with breathtaking courage the most extraordinary answer you could ever imagine.

That answer is so theologically revolutionary and so spiritually empowering that it could change the course of human history. If embraced, it most certainly will change your life.

There are people and institutions in the world, long in place and long in power, that want neither of these outcomes to occur. They would rather that you put this book down right now.

It's up to you.

Here are three chapters from the book itself. Just a taste of what is to come in the rest of the book. Don't worry - they are very short chapters. (I've taken out Chapter 3 as it's a bit long)

1.

Very few people will be able to believe what's in this book.

At least, at first.

That may make it one of the most unbelievable books of all time.



2.

This book answers the most important question in human history.

What does God want?

For many people that answer will be startling.

Even for those who aren't completely surprised, the answer will be dramatically different. It will not even come close to the ideas that people usually hear about God.

Humanity's ideas about God produce humanity's ideas about life and about people. Dramatically different ideas about God will produce dramatically different ideas about life and about people. If the world could use anything right now, that's it.

We stand today on the brink of a global cultural war. The opening volleys have already been exchanged. The really major clashes, the unthinkable Future World battles, may be yet to come.

Given the direction in which humanity appears to be moving, it may seem as though this larger conflict is inevitable. It isn't. There's something very powerful that can stop it: dramatically different ideas about God and dramatically different ideas about life and about people.

Such ideas, if accepted and adopted, will produce dramatically different ways of living and being. Values will change. Priorities will change. Power structures and power holders will change.

Some of those power holders do not want any of this to happen.

That may make this not only one of the most unbelievable books of all time, but also one of the most dangerous.


4.

Many people will simply be afraid to believe what's in this book.

A dramatically different idea is going to be presented here just 12,108 words from now. So opposed to this idea is the established order that, in some countries, if you said aloud the things that are in this book, you could be killed.

Not by an angry mob.

By the government.

You could be accused of committing a crime against the laws of the land, and sentenced to death. In other countries, while you might not be killed, you could be criticized, vilified, and ostracized. You could also be removed from any place of influence you might hold, and your views would almost certainly be marginalized.

Yes, that's how dangerous what is written here is.

Clearly, What God Wants is not unimportant information. It's so important, in fact, that the words are presented in initial caps and italic type wherever the term is used throughout this book. I wanted those words to stand out, so that they make a point in and of themselves.

You see, millions of people all over the world have been living their lives based on the information they have been given about What God Wants, and if the world's prior information on this topic is inaccurate, the world could be in big trouble.

And here's 2 reviews I found from the Internet.

REVIEW 1
"Fasten your seat belts... this truly IS a dangerous book!!!!
Or exciting... it all depends on how you look at it. This book really is the BEST book Neale has written. It's short, fast, and clear. It provides stunning answers to the biggest question humanity can formulate. What is it, that God, our maker and creator, wants from us? Do we really know? Does any one of our conflicting religions know? Yes and no. Our knowledge is simply incomplete.

To understand the answer, we must zoom out from a piece of the puzzle (a religion, for example), to the broader picture. Wanna take a ride?!? Detach yourself from your belief systems (however inclusive you think they are), open yourself up, fasten your seat belts, and get your insurance papers out before reading this book... and then read it, listen to what it says.... at the very least CONSIDER the possibility that it is true.

I guarantee you, that no matter who you are, how many similar books you have read, or how much you think you know about the answer, you will be shocked (or enlightened) by the answer. The answer to the title, in Chapter 13, may make you feel empty... or full of new life and understanding and energized to change the world for the better... "

REVIEW 2
"....mind-opening, life-altering insights in a book so vital, so urgent in its timing, and so on the nose with its provocative assertions, that I was blown away by its ferociousness... Here is a message of love not bound by any one religion, but transcendent of them all. A message that will unite us, not divide us. Never have we needed this book more."
- Book of the Month Club

So do you want to know what God wants? If yes, go get this book and read it, then let me know what you think!

On Monday, I celebrated my birthday by going on a shopping spree at MPH bookstore in 1Utama. That's because as a member of the MPH Readers' Circle (MRC), I am entitled to a 15% discount on my birthday.

As I love books, this was a great time to get all my favourite books, although I would reserve the more expensive books for the next MPH Members Sale which members usually get to enjoy discounts of up to 25%.

So here are the books I bought.



As you can see, I love both fiction and non-fiction books, although non-fiction books make up a large part of what I usually read. Oh, I just can't wait to read them! Problem is, I don't know which book to start reading first! Life is tough, isn't it?

While browsing through the books in MPH, I saw this '50+1 Malaysia' book by fellow blogger QuaChee on the shelf among other books promoting Malaysia as a tourist destination. It's a great book so if you do not have a copy, do get one. I've even written a review if you care to read.



Later in the night, I met up with a friend at Old Taste Ipoh White Coffee in SS2 for some chit chat. Old Taste sounds too much like Old Town White Coffee, don't you think? Is that unabashed case of plagiarism or what? Well maybe to Old Town White Coffee, it is a form of flattery.

Anyway, this friend of mine did not know it's my birthday, and so when I told her she said we must get a cake to celebrate. Alas, Old Taste does not sell cakes. Since it's already past 11pm, cake shops nearby like Secret Recipe were already closed. So we decided to stay put at Old Taste and ordered the next best thing - bread with butter and kaya. Haha!



Oops! Totally forgot to make my birthday wish before eating the bread! Well, never mind! It's not a birthday cake anyway.

This must be my very first birthday celebrated with bread, butter and kaya! There were no candles available, otherwise I would have placed them on the bread! Oh, by the way, if you like to make your own kaya, here's the recipe for homemade kaya.

My friend and I talked till past midnight. We chatted on many topics. I really enjoyed talking to her. Then she dropped a bombshell. I was shocked! Utterly shocked! She revealed her past which she had never told anyone before except her own sister.

I wondered why she felt it appropriate to tell me about the skeletons in her closet. Maybe she trusted me? Anyway, she made me promise not to tell anyone about her secret past. Believe it or not, we chit chatted till 3 in the morning! Of course, Old Taste closed at 1 am, so we walked over to the Sri Murni mamak shop nearby to continue our chit chat.

As I learnt about the real person behind my friend, I realised we can never really know a person from the outside. The saying - never judge a book by its cover - had never sounded so true to me at that very moment. There are secrets that we do not want others to know, and some may even guard these secrets with their lives.

How about you? Do you have any skeletons in your closet?

Today is 1st December 2008. It's the first day of the last month of the year.

Today is a very special day. For me specifically.

It's the day when I get to be one year wiser, one year smarter and one year richer (I am not talking about money here, no thanks to the current economic conditions)

Maybe one year bigger (read fatter) but not one year taller.

And definitely not one year younger. How I wish I can turn back time!

Yes, you guessed it! It's my birthday today!!

So wish me Happy Birthday!

And sing the birthday song.....


This picture clearly shows how I feel when I was 10 years old seeing my birthday cake! I hope there will always be only one candle on all my birthday cakes! LOL

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to Foong PC,
Happy birthday to me.

Thanks everyone for singing along. I hope you remember to change the word "me" to "you". Ha ha!

Surprisingly, I don't celebrate my birthday. I've celebrated it once when I was small, and once in my adult life, but never again after that.

Oh, of course there will be friends who drop me birthday cards and sms me birthday greetings, but I don't go out and have a meal or buy a birthday cake to celebrate.

Want to know why? Because I'm sick of celebrating birthdays!

There was one year when I celebrated my friends' and relatives' birthdays every month! Yes there was at least one birthday party or dinner to attend every month of that year. Each month, I had to think of what birthday present to buy for my friends. Frankly, I'm sick of it!

So I told my friends that I no longer celebrate birthdays, and that means I won't celebrate their birthdays too. No more birthday presents, no more birthday parties. If they want to hold parties, please don't bother to invite me. Because I sure as hell won't turn up!

Now you may think I'm being arrogant or unkind, but really, not celebrating birthdays does not mean I don't care. I do. I still send my friends birthday cards, or sms them birthday greetings. Sometimes, if I have the time, I would go out for a drink with the birthday boy or girl. But no presents. None. I don't believe in giving presents and then expecting presents on my own birthday.

What about you? Do you celebrate your birthday? Do you feel compelled to buy birthday presents for your friends? Do you expect birthday presents from your friends?