listen to rock pulak?

I started by enjoying Sampai Syurga- until I think I've over played it in my walkman phone. Time to discover the rest of the tracks in the album.

My favourite track would be Aku Punya Kamu. Rarely I enjoy the sound of the electric guitar, and the arrangement in this song is one of them. The arrangement of the strings also created a very different mood. I really salute arrangements that could blend in two extreme type of instruments together. This song really gave me the chills.

The track Cuba is not the typical melancholic song.
The bass and piano is being put creatively in the intro, along with the entrance of the strings.

The song Sempurna is also another song which is nice to listen to.
I like the building up of the mood from the intro towards the chorus.

And there's the track Mungkin Ku Tak Bisa with a bit of Indonesian pop influence in it. A nice song to listen to while on the go.


This album by Faizal Tahir reminds me of the successful albums of L'arc En Ciel and Scorpion. Of course these three are unique in their own way, but they have something in common- they could perfectly combine orchestral strings and rock strings into one album.

It's not a wonder that this album won trophies.

you'll just have to adapt and grow

Lately one of my superiors who controls the network decided to block a lot of sites, including blogspot, and facebook.

Trivial as it is, the blocking of a few internet sites really annoyed all the staff, IT staff included.

To a point when our network boss casually said,
"Do you think we should block Yahoo Groups too?"-
I could feel anger welling up inside.

I went to teach my trumpet student that Friday evening
and his mom said, "You look tired".
I was surprised, because I didn't feel tired at all at work.
It must be the stressful look that's sticking on my face
just because of no internet at the office.

And after teaching her son, I can't stop myself from starting the conversation.



ME::
"Just wondering, do you have internet access at your office?
Do they filter it in any way?"


SHE::
"Yeah, I've got internet but I am sure that they do filter it in some way.
Back in the UK, I remembered that we were warned by the management to not abuse the internet, but after a while they got fed-up and they just took away the internet from the company's network."


ME::
"I know it's trivial, but it's funny that we would still be affected by this."


SHE::
"Yeah, it feels as if your chair was taken away from your desk! Last time in my office, there's a huge coffee maker and everyone's got to have free coffee, and then suddenly the management decided to cut cost and just took it away. People got really upset because of it, they started to have a meeting and they were thinking of ways to get it back."


ME::
"I guess rather than get so upset about it-
We'll just accept it the way it is, after all it's the company's policy. Certainly the management has their own reasons, and it's a small matter anyway. We can still live without it."


SHE::
"Instead of getting so stressed out and let it eat yourself inside and spoil your whole life, we can actually be more creative and see how we can create a happy and fun working environment regardless that some privilege were taken away from us."



We just laughed over the matter.
Glad that I had the conversation.
Now that I don't mind about no internet in the office anymore,
I want to focus on so many exciting things-

New things to learn about handling the network- the coding part and all.
My grade five plan, after banking in money to purchase scores, what's next?
The guitar plan, should I talk to somebody to get my strumming improved?
What's the next residential area should I distribute my flyers to get more students?

The possiblity is endless.

a night of good music

December 20th, 2008.
Sekolah Sri Cempaka hall.
830pm.
PJ Youth Wind Symphony Christmas concert.
(this wind orchestra consists of some of the prominent wind instrumentalists locally)


I was quite envious when they had the slide show of their photos,
years together as a team. Among all the performances that I've got involved in,
I think playing in the wind orchestra is the best.

Not only it's good music, it's also the closeness among the players that made me like the wind orchestra very much. The repertoire is also neither too heavy, nor too pop. And inside playing in a wind orchestra, there are so many possibilities. The song varies in a huger range compared to live band, symphony or pop orchestra.

The concert starts with the PJ Youth, playing one song with a few movements.
Entrance was really loud, dynamics and tone was perfect.
From my interpretation, this piece tells about various types of areas around the globe- the rain forest, the ocean, the rural areal, and the city.

Next was the Old Boys Old Girls Wind Symphony from Singapore, playing one song as a tribute for Leroy Anderson, and one Japanese piece which is super-catchy, super-nice, it's my favourite of the night.

After the interval, both teams combined and played a set of Christmas songs.
The best arrangement was Christmas Song, I would love to listen to it again and again. And there is also the classic Sleigh Ride, it brings back memories, since the boys of my school orchestra have the recording of the exact piece- played by Nakamura Gakuen Girls' High School Wind Orchestra from Japan.

I am not only entertained but I really really enjoyed this concert by PJ Youth.
Besides delivering perfect high quality wind symphony music,
It made me remembered those wind orchestra days in the past.

a change

Here is where I am now.
I could just go on feeling discouraged and do nothing,
or I can just allow this feeling, but still move on.

At least that was what intended by my friends-
To leave me spend my time alone to contemplate, learn, and grow up.

Anyway~~

Last week I've decided to create a change-
to meet those straight old classmates of my batch in a reunion-
after ten years not seeing them.

I am so touched that they all shook hand and hugged me with a smile.
Apparently we've forgiven the fast.

After the dinner, we decided to eat supper at the mamak shop.
And I am surprised that we all do have common things to talk about.
We talk like grown ups- the country's policy, the responsiblity in our jobscopes, Malaysian mentality- it varies inside a context that I rarely talk about lately.

I had a great time!

expanding my music interest

It started when I saw that few of my cousins- boys and girls, showed off their talent during the jam gathering at my aunt’s place.



I was interested, and with the ample time given, I’ve decided to learn a second instrument- the guitar.

So I went to a music shop in Bukit Jalil and they’ve got good deals.
The owner of the shop is such an inspiration- he’s a hardworking lad-
Collected the capital money on his own, started off the music shop, and then a music school, and then he also has a jam studio.

Anyway.
My new baby is a Valencia three quarter sized (just nice for me) classical guitar.





The first day I learned the chords, I was really close to regret- never did I know that pressing the frets on the left finger was that painful, especially for beginners.

Now it gave me a whole new view on all string players- now I know that it’s not easy and needs a lot of discipline and determination, but it also gives satisfaction. Salute to them!

But I was motivated by these words told by a friend-

To learn music is a journey, so enjoy it rather than pushing yourself forward too fast.

First day playing the guitar was me trying to place my fingers awkwardly, and I was happy enough that I could get chord C.

Second day playing was me inside my dad’s car at the back seat, on the way to Perak for Raya Haji. The guitar is a three quarter, so it could be played even in a car! My brother is a bassist, and he taught me how to get used to the basic chords. He also told me all sorts of interesting experience that he had while learning and playing his bass guitar.

And now, the first week, after telling a friend, he was also interested to buy one! He bought a Sukami acoustic, with a very unique color and shape. And I am so happy to see him so happy knowing now that he can also become a musician, with his very first instrument!

So now we are guitar practice buddies, and I’ve already roughly can play:

Kenangan Terindah (Samsons)
Pergilah Sayang (Ella and Korie)
Pejam Matamu (Siti Nurhaliza)
Terlalu Cinta (Rossa)
Ada Apa Denganmu (Peter Pan)

And the list grows..


Fun as it is, yes, to take a second instrument has its own responsibility too.
I will devote my full attention to both instruments, with two different focuses-
As a beginner with the guitar, and as a seasoned player with the trumpet.

a series of incidents after the rain

Landslides are happening everywhere recently,
after all the continuous rain for days.

Some blame the developers, who did not study the structure of the soil to check whether it's safe for construction.

Some blame the authorities, who did not do the correct maintenance and preventative measures.

Some blame the owners, who continue staying there although they could see the obvious tell-tale signs- a few landslides nearby and sinkholes and trees falling down.

But I agree when my friend said that after a life time investment being put for your dream house, you have all hopes to be assured that it's safe to stay in your own house.

I guess only those who experience it first hand will know how it really feels.



Damansara Heights- landslip. I think we can see this from the highway.




Gasing Hill.




And the recent tragedy- a new landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa.

this will take more than a week

Life, sometimes it gives you an unexpected twist.

I thought I’ve made only a few blunders, however, I’ve became a whole new being that caused hidden upsets for the past one year.

I have become an individual who is daring to speak straight from my mind, and do my act in the way that I want.

Through that, although I’ve gained a lot steps ahead in my career and my passion,
However, in that aspect in my life called “friendship” has been gradually tarnished.

Only recently I realized the destruction upon most, if not all, the friendships that I’ve got.

This boldness in me has made me not realized that a lot of times my statements, comments, jokes, had made people feel uncomfortable, offended and hurt, regardless that if it was not my intention.

Now that I see all these, I felt so embarrassed, sad and my emotions went downhill.
I’m lucky that there were a few true close friends who stood next to me, and they let me see clearly on what I have to do now.

I’ve decided to use the coming 2009 to build up my character. If I have shown improvement in a lot of aspects in my life, of course it’s not impossible for me to improve in how I relate myself with individuals dear to me.

I’ve decided to follow these tips given by my friends:



-Take a pause and let anger completely go away.

-Wait three seconds before I speak.

-Stop whatever you’re talking about whenever there’s no reply, no response and silence from the other party. Take action to restore the situation immediately.

-Give advice and comment only when requested.

-Avoid getting even. Instead, aim for a win-win situation for both sides.




By that, I’ll save myself and everyone from unnecessary upsets.

I think that a sufficient period of time-out is essential for me and the people who were currently angry with me.

I’ve decided to excuse myself from the membership of a public online group created for me and my friends, so as to give my friends a space of privacy amongst themselves while I’m not around anymore. I respected their decision of removing this group from the net.

I am sentenced to this punishment from the things that I’ve done.
I have a choice, whether to sit down feeling miserable, or accept it the way it is, and take productive actions.

Not only this is a chance for me to improve myself and reconcile later with the people around me,
This is also a chance for me to focus on the plans that have yet been executed for me to leap forward to an unimaginable level in my possibility as a sought after trumpet player.

to the nice times put into the past

Apapun yang terjadi
Berjalanlah tanpa henti
Air mata tertahan
Waktu untuk dijatuhkan

Nanti kita kan tahu
Betapa bijaknya hidup
Sepahit apapun ini
Pelajaran yang berarti

Semoga kepergianmu
Tak akan merubah apapun
Semoga mampu kulawan
Kesepianku

to dear dear Z

Tapi lihatlah diriku rapuh
Tanpa dirimu tiada ertinya
Hebatnya engkau
Tak sedetikpun
Pernah kau meninggalkan diriku

Ku sedari
Kerana dirimu
Ku mampu berdiri tegar
Walau seberat apapun
Beban di hadapan ku kini

Kerana cintamu
Ku mampu berjalan tenang
Sesulit bagaimanapun jalan
Yang ku lalui nanti

Pasti hanya dirimu
Kaulah segalanya
Ku jaga selalu satu cintamu

time out

To contemplate.
To recuperate.