suckingwhitestars 2.0

So? How's the new layout guys?

Thank her for everything. Dope.

Sierra

We're all a bunch of sadists. Really.

Not that I've only realized it recently, but I wasn't convinced about it at first. But a few weeks back on a late, breezy Friday afternoon thought me that it was after all; a fluke of reality.

I was in Uptown with Didi and Meg when suddenly I felt something 'rubbing' against my back. It was Nad. She and Lindot can't bare missing the finale of your-typical-daily-fix-of-Filipino-soap-operas, Sana'y Wala Nang Wakas since one of the cafe is Astro-equipped. Hey, I've nothing against the show for I am -admittedly- a fan of soap operas too. Within minutes, the whole area was (almost) packed with fresh-after-class chicks just so they could see who would Ara/Gracie choose as her groom. Is it the hunk Leo? Or the baby-like innocent Christian? Oh! Ah! The drama!

But what I found out on that fated afternoon was no drama of any sort.

See, we're all fully aware of the sudden craze of SMS-based talent/reality show hitting our shores and the shores of others too. That system racks up monstrous amounts of profit overnight. Whoever came up with it is without doubt a shrewd business strategist. That's exactly what happened to Sana'y Wala Nang Wakas. The show's producers applied the system so the finale is pre-determined by the audience. They're letting the audience choose who's to be Ara's/Gracie's husband. It's almost the same concept that lead to the final conclusion of the Ponds ad we had not to long ago. Eventhough there's no handphones involved, ardent fans and future-scriptwriter hopefuls wrote their piece of mind and what was supposed to be a clever advertising scheme turned out to be a trendy, hip, 12-weeks mini-series christened as Table For Two.

Though the aforementioned system is ultra-profitable, it has a great potential of resulting in 'socially unethical' side-effects.

Since she's sooo into the show that it almost became a second religion, I asked Nad if she did participate in the whole SMS thingamajigg. Her reply said it all.

"Takde lah. I'm not that stupid"

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Yeah, right.

Didi once told me that, What's worse than being talked about is not being talked about at all. I don't know how it is relevant but the way I see it in Nad's case, it's almost similar. In simple terms, she's relying on the stupidity of the SMS-voters purely for her own enjoyment. That alone, proved that she's far more foolish than the SMS-voters. At least they're getting their enjoyment on their own. Post-modern oppression? Highly likely.

Wait.

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Me too.

I'm no better than anyone.

I am quite a (big) fan of the nation's #1 talent show, Akademi Fantasia. I've never voted. Never.

Need I say more?




We're all a bunch of sadists. Really. We are, really.

Doo doo

So the nerve-wrecking dinner came to an end. A relieving end to the very least.

Moments after the UBS test, we drove to the Banquet Hall for the final soundcheck and rehearsal. It was crappy but was corrected in due time. Just as we were told that the other students have arrived, the band (minus Ikmal) took a quick pit stop somewhere in the 'remote' part of Ipoh at Meg's aunt's place for a wardrobe change. Then, it's show time.

We came back to the hall just in time for the Campus Director's speech which according to many; was very unpleasant. Fuck that. He may be the big (bald) man on campus. But who is he to be on a tak puas hati-muka cam kera sumbang mode throughout the whole night? You're not the only one with a temper, mister. Go and settle down, make babies and change diapers for a change.

Call that 'treason' if you may. For once, I'll agree with the rest of the world.

The melodrama/monologue opening act was a groundbreaking event. It showcased that despite being surrounded by ledgers, calculators and endless renumeration possibilities, accountancy students (especially us Part 4s) can appreciate and embrace art in its purest form. Abstract. (Two) Thumbs up to Syahir for his undying devotion in making it phenomenal. Kudos to the Batiks and Anti-Batiks as well. Fun factor: Didi participated as well. She's one of the evil Anti-Batiks. Scawwy.

I couldn't recall everything that happened after the opening act up 'till the band's "much-anticipated" performance. It happened so fast that the moment I opened my eyes, I was already on stage waiting for my cue to shred in the opening ringing lashings of Flop Poppy's Rest Of My Life.

I screwed up.

It was a simple out-of-focus error. But since only a tiny lot of people knew the song from note to note (disguise in blessing?), they kept cheering on. The second Adam gush out the words to The Muffins' Mimpi Lagi, he was already glittered in camera flashes and sonically distracted by the feewits from the crowd. If he wasn't strumming along, I'll bet a million bucks that he'll get dozens and dozens of roses from the ladies. And then...

(Again) I screwed up.

Sweaty hands and palms never went along with rock kapak-influenced solo. It was an obvious slip up. Then again, no one cared. I had to make fun out of myself during the set for while I was in 'octavious trance', my spectacles fell to the floor. I was fortunate that it happened just in time for Adam's one-man, pre-verse part. I'll be in deep doo doo if it was otherwise. When you are 'visually impaired' and you know zilch about your scaling, being showered in spotlights is a major no-no. The only thinkable way to cover-up that 'accident' was to get along with the flow and blend in with the blender. Thinking back, it didn't make sense at all.

We received 'positive' feedbacks from those who gave them but deep down and far out, I knew it was total crappy-ness. It's done. Move on.

After shoving my Jag in the dressing room, a gulp or two of bottled water later I threw my bum on the floor for Part 5's sketch. It was already whimsical when it was previewed during the rehearsal. I was surprised by the 11th hour changes they made. It made everyone held on to their lives for fear of losing it in oblivious hysterical-ness. They should've bagged the "Best Performance Award" instead of the startlingly lame final instalment of Cha'oi's Charlie's Angels series.

Hung out with Didi afterwards for a while and we took a (photo)bucket full of pictures with each other and others. Knowing Shaq's in town, it was expected of her to drop by. I'm beginning to think that the white tee and jeans she donned is her 'uniform'. Plain, simple, spunk-ish and cool. It was quite amusing when the fact that both Didi and her are sisters caused amazement to others. Namely Am. Heh.

The night ended with Adly, Faiz, Syuk, Yus and Arip Panjang's rendition of Ruffedge brand-new hit, Bila Rindu. I was (almost) begged to play the song on acoustic with Adam and Meg. Hell no. I'm no six-string extraodinaire. But I managed to 'belt my heart out' when all the Part4s went on stage to sing-along to the tune. Me and Fai were potentially a 'smashing' duo. The next Art & Garfunkle? Dream on.

Ikmal, me, Didi, Mun, Syafa, Syara, Jan, and others took the last bus back to campus. Indeed, it was tiresome. i have all Sunday to doze behind closed doors.

It was mentioned that we have a remaining budget of RM1000++ and 'leftover' lucky draw hampers around 9-10 or so. Iqbal said it'll be channeled to the next best thing. A (possible) shindig at Teluk Batik. Whoppee.

I hate pointing out the obvious

Tuesday night was never so enjoyable. Zhaf rounded the whole class for the gift wrapping session. It was the last batch consisting of 900++ plush Poohs and kipas tangan. Me and Am tag teamed the whole night and we became the most productive duo in the cut-and-cut-some-more department. Tikah was assisting me with the pasting and whatnot. I enjoyed working with her. She's very complimenting.

With acute timing and a no-fuss work ethic, we claimed the session a success just before the curfew hour kicked in. Zhaf was very thoughtful by providing us with packet drinks. Sweet.

Since Wednesday classes ends at 12, the boys thought of spending the day away with a good round of bowling or two. It was The Perakians against The KL-ites. The Perakians gave us a hard time on the first game but thanks to strikes from Adam and Zhaf, we triumphed. The second game saw The Perakians survival spirits' whisked away as they were literally; thrashed. Yours truly played a big role by banging strikes for two consecutive frames. Overall, Adam was the champ of the day and I came in third trailing behind Zhaf by a few measely pins. Heh.

Adam and me rushed to Bodysurf since we have practice. Ductoi was manning the Bodysurf deck. I brought along my Jagmaster and he seemed impress with what I did to it and what was churned out of it. That sorta put a weary smile on my already-weary face. About practice -again- sleazyness ruled. Playing Rest Of My Life for the first time was ok lah kot. I hate to point out the obvious but my premonition about Ikmal is (almost) right after all. He reminds me a lot about Izzat. I don't think I need to elaborate more on that. Ikmal needs to think openly. With him not realizing that, it's a major problem. That fact alone literally turned everyone off. Even Mimpi Lagi unexpectedly turned out sloppy. Meg and Adam bitched about us sounding too 'raw' and that we're somehow lacking in dynamics. I personally don't see any problem with sounding suspiciously 'too raw'. Looks like my emphasis on arrangements was 'undeservingly' overlooked.

I hate pointing out the obvious!

We then blitzed back to campus since a pre-full dress rehearsal was scheduled at 9. Adam and I were the only two to represent the band. Ikmal's busy with his monologue thingamajigg. We came, we played and -according to the 'spectators'- we rocked. Bah. There was nothing surprising about the accolades Adam received. He deserved every piece of it. What bugs me the most is that the acknowledgement. How it was perceived. It sickens me so much that I can't bear writing it. Back in the block we discussed about finalising the details for rental of equipments. It went haywire.

Adam, Meg and me went to god knows how many rooms just to get the same story being passed around and being devillishly twisted at the same time. Those bastards are all NATO devoters. There. I've said it. Am I content? Hell no. I'm kinda on a 'trust-no-one' mode as of now. It is a horrid thing for me to do so. In short, if everything else's fails, we're going acoustic. Period.

Can't wait. Looking soooo forward for the dinner (to be over).

For once, I felt in control

I just realized after all these years that the Chinese New Year holiday sucks big time. Why? Here's my points:

1. Trade businesses in Malaysia is handled by Chinese in majority.
2. Come CNY, shops will be closed for the holidays. 5 days at the most.
3. Malls (almost) never sleep, but when most shop lots seemed nothing like cubicles with metal braces, it's downright drop dead boring.

Hence: Shopping and CNY is a big no-no.

Thank God for excellent timing, I got myself busy with downloading mp3s. 150++ in two days. Whooppee.

Friday in USJ was as idle as always. The day was as hot as burning coals on your dried palms. Friday prayer provided a lil' bit spiritual relief from all the hecticness I've encountered for the past weeks. Since I've nothing else better to do for the rest of the afternoon, hanging out at Khairul's with Adam and Amirul looked promising.

Fortunately it turned out as expected. His Technics keyboard is brilliant. Played my one and only piano riff accompanied by that kick-ass drum beat drenched me in waves of extraterrestrial gusto for a good ten minutes or so. That riff must be morphed to a proper song soon. Must. Soon. Help anyone?

Later in the night chow time was on with the fAdE boys minus Danial; the Corporate Slut, at Rasa. Catching up was fun, food was great but the vibe was very strange-ish though. It's like all of us were on different terms with each other. It never happened before.

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Before heading home, we took a quick stop at Ehsan for a brief re-cap with the rest of the fAdE 'clan'. Unexpectedly bumped into Izzat and Din in the process. Hmm. Friday wasn't that idle after all.




The last meeting with Alia and Li was months ago. Before the season of kuih raya and ketupat rendang came about. So a meet up was arranged. It was my first trip to Hartamas with Faiz and I've already fall in love with the neighborhood. Li's place is my ultimate dream of a bachelor pad. In short, splendid. I instantly felt at home. Everything from the doormat to the fridge *muahahahaha* exudes unbridled homely warmth. What with the chocolate-milo-cereal-honey-colored rice cakes-'happiness in a cup' kuih, the thought of leaving her house was dreadful.

Speaking about the chocolate-milo-cereal-honey-colored rice cakes-'happiness in a cup' kuih, it's highly recommended. One of its kind! Having it one after another was like riding a roller coaster over and over again where the speed increases each round. You know where to scream, but the rush keeps on getting better and better each ride. As in the expression of our faces; (-_-). Cosmic.

Finally shook hands with the D. Yeah, we will hang out 'properly' next time. Alia just got back from Jakarta and she bought me this neat. stick man look-alike percussion thingie. With Li's sis' guitar in tow, we jammed to a whole lot of 'touching' tunes. Mainly Death Cab staples courtesy of Faiz.


Hmm. Every single thing is so in order. I've never had this much of a control of my life before. Allahuakbar.

Brackish

Hmm.

Life has been quite on a smooth sail for me lately. It's being too 'kind'.

So this is my debut entry posting from the brand new PC we got at home. It's quite a workout. 60GB hard drive, 512MB DDR RAM, DVD+CD-RW combo, 6 2.o USb ports, etc.etc.

And we've finally installed the much-touted Streamyx.

And I bought myself an MSI MP3 player.

The sail is 'too' smooth.

Anyways, I haven't been posting for a while. Am getting sleazy these days. My arms are still aching from the tug-of-war after effect. What? When?

Last Saturday was the Accountancy Family Day. As usual, the turnout was embarrassing. We deliberately abstained ourselves from attending for the most part. Our goal was only one: Beat the Part 5's.

It was by far, the most gruelling engagement ever witnessed in the history of UiTM Perak's D.I.A students. But guess what? We won. For the first time ever, the batch of Nov '03 emerged as tug-of-war champions.

The beauty of it all is that, everything will be forgotten in a week. Two tops. All the glory, the sweat, the sore throat and the almost-limping muscles is nothing but instant memories. Polaroid moments in a New York minute.


Al-Fatihah

The very next day, news came in that Adreen's bro passed away. Cause of death is still undisclosed.

Moving on, I was removed from the MC slot for the dinner. Felt like a huge boulder was smashed. Full on concentration on the performance, of which, will be going under some changes.
We agreed to scrape off Teratai for (possibly) Flop Poppy's Rest Of My Life due to its 'dredgy-ness'. Time is running out.

I guess I'll stop here. Sitting down on the floor having to look up to the monitor while typing causes serious back strains. Serious. Will (hopefully) resume writing 'proper' entries real soon.

Laters.

Cocky

Back in USJ for the holidays yo. Entries will resume soon.

Gong Xi Fa Chai