Needle & Blood 
I donated blood today. It is one of the annual stuff that I do like visiting my Soi Kou (my youngest aunt) during CNY and pay for my income tax. Why? Because moble blood bank comes once a year only to my company during our Health & Safety Week. Heheh...I'm too lazy to go over to the blood bank which is located at the other side of the city. If they want my blood, they have to come for me. Heheh!
Me For World Harmony
This Friday, I supposed to watch Kylie gyrating her famous bum in her Showgirl Tour in Singapore. However, now she is stricken with breast cancer and had to cancel. But the trip must go on as I have already bought the train tickets and booked the hotel. Anyway, The Great Singapore Sales is on. So, it will still be a worthy trip.
I get to know about World Harmony Run in Singapore from Lonely Runner’s blog and decided to sign up for it. It is free and for a good cause. World peace is everybody’s dream, right? So, I wrote to the organizer and I am impressed with the speed of their response and willingness to help. I can’t wait for this Saturday’s run.
Dear Organiser,
Could you provide me the more information/ brochure on the run?
1) How do I get to the start point from Orchard road?
2) What is the itinerary/ schedule?
3) Is T- SHirt provided?
Regards,
Dear Mr,
Thank you for taking interests in the coming run.
To answer your questions:
1. From Orchard there are buses that go near to the park but you still need
to change buses at Thomson road. Bus 162 and 132 from Scotts Road.
Alternatively, just hop into a taxi.
2. Meeting / starting point is Car park B of MacRitchie Reservoir
3. Distance is 4.8 km. This is a very popular route and there are marshals
along the way so not to worry.
4.We will give you a WHR sticker to identify you as one of the participants
so the marshals will know.
5. As this is a free event, we will only give out a certificate of appreciation
Only those taking part in the 30km will be wearing a singlet.
For more information pls go to www.worldharmonyrun.org choose the singapore folder and you will see more info there.
see you then,
whr team member
Dear Organiser,
Thank you for your quick response.
I have a few more questions that I hope you don't mind.
1) Will drinking water be provided?
2) What time should the participants be at start point? Is 7:00am fine?
3) Is there a place to deposit bags?
Regards,
Dear Mr,
to your questions:
1. Yes, drinking water is provided for 300 participants.
2. Opening ceremony is 7.20am and the run should begin by 7:45am
3. You can deposit with us at the baggage counter. We will keep your belongings until 9:30am after that we will bring any uncollected belongings to Ang Mo Kio South Police Centre at AMK ave 3(direct bus from MR : Bus 74) 4. Hv you register your name at www.geocities.com/whr_sg?
cheers,
whr organising committee.
Raya mood
Konsert Fenomena bersama Siti Nurhaliza & Dayang Nurfaizah was recorded in front of a live audience at Auditorium Perdana, Angkasapuri on 14 June 2005 as a series of programs lined up for Hari Raya in November.
Christopher Robin who supposed to bring my ticket was late. I waited at the entrance for him while other rushed into the auditorium to fill up the space. The crowd was pushing and shoving at the entrance to the Auditorium. The security was shouting. The crowd was squealing being squashed. Temper was flaring and the patience was evaporating. More push. More shove. Apparently the people in RTM have never learnt after so many shows that never to give more passes than the hall can accommodate and shouting rudely to the people who come to the show is not going to solve any problem. Anyway, I managed to secure a “seat” on the stair. All seats were filled up. Some even had to stand behind the auditorium. This was expected, as Siti is has a huge fan base. I had seen her 3 previous performances in RTM and the hall was filled to the max.
Lord of The Dance? (Not!)
I am too lazy to give a song-to-song rundown of the show. You gotta watch it yourselves during Hari Raya, okay? Basically, the format was the same as Misha & Jac’s show two weeks ago - Raya songs, solo hits performances (with tacky dances thrown in) and big ballads duets. It is worth mentioning that their collaboration in Sudirman’s ballad - Nilai Cinta left fans squealing for more.
Don't Go...
During a promo shoot in between the show, Siti and Dayang were asked to stand in front of the audience. I was close enough to shake Siti’s hand when she walked towards the specific spot for the shoot which turned out to be right in front of me. After announcing the show, Siti and Dayang turned around and do more of handshakes (salam-bersalaman..a tradition for Hari Raya) with the fans. And of course I extend my hand again towards Siti again. She smiled and took my hand. I gently grasped her smooth hand, shake it and smiled back. (Insert warm and fuzzy feeling here!). I totally forgot about Dayang who was busy shaking hands with a bunch of hormonally charged teenage boys. (Sorry Dayang!)
Siti & Dayang were all sweet sugar and nice spice. The show ended about 12:00am, an hour more compared to Misha & Jac show two weeks ago, as there were two takes for each songs due to technical glitches or otherwise. So, we get double doses of each song. More importantly, I get to shake Siti’s hands twice. What a way to end the night.
Chicken Run
Why does the chicken cross the street?
To go for the Roaster Chicken Run. (Insert laughter here!)
Cock-a-doodle-doo...
When? 3 July 2005, Sunday
Where? Bukit Jalil Golf and Country Resort, KL
What time? 5.30am (Wow...pretty early, eh? The early cock gets the chicks...heheh)
How much? RM20. Entry fees collected will be channeled to Tabung Kebajikan Pesakit Hospital, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM). It’s for a good cause. Don’t chicken out!
What is it in for me? Prizes : There will be a 1, 2 and 3rd prize, with 10 consolation prize.
Prize ranges Samsung mobile phones, club membership, holiday packages to Tioman and more. (Insert drools here)
What do I have to do? Participants will be running with a dish containing a boiled egg in a 3km route (why not 2 eggs?). How fast you can run is up to you, but the race must be completed with the egg intact or you'll be disqualified. Easy peasy, right?
Need more info: Click here.
Colours of Melaka
School holiday is here again. My company’s sport club had organized an over night tour to Melaka, our Historical City. Melaka is just two hours drive away from Kuala Lumpur.
I was “volunteered” to lead one of the two buses for a weekend trip to Malacca.
So, no running this weekend, but a lot of walking. We visited the usual tourist attractions like A Famosa, St. Paul Hill, The Stadhuys, The Butterfly Farm, Mahkota Parade Shopping Mall and Jonker Street. We stayed at a very cosy hotel called the Baba House at Jalan Tan Cheng Lock, conveniently located just a stone’s throw away from the tourist’s spots.
Petting Zoo? (NOT!)
Apart from butterflies, there were other animals on display – monkeys, birds, an albino peacock, alligators, tortoise, porpoise and snakes. I was bitten playfully by a baby monkey while trying to hold him for a photograph. He is seen here wearing a diaper (top left picture). Heheh..I was not injured. He only left some teeth mark on my hand, as if I was bitten by a baby.
Dark Waters
The highlight of the tour was Melaka River Cruise. Sadly, I was not impressed by the cruise. The river was smelly, murky and full of rubbish. Nothing much to see. Just other peoples’ filthy backyards. We even saw a man peeing into the river. Shock! He quickly hid behind some zinc wall when he saw us cruising by, if not you would have seen his action featured here. Hahah!
Land of The Biawak
The cruise should be dubbed Biawak (Monitor Lizards) Cruise instead of Old Melaka River Cruise. We had seen a few sunbathing at the bank of the river and one or two having a cool dip in the river. I advise you not to take the river tour unless you are a hardcore fan of those scaly four legged reptiles. (Insert shudders here. Yucks!)
Hari Raya in May and then some
Konsert Fenomena bersama Misha Omar & Jaclyn Victor was recorded in front of a live audience at Auditorium Besar RTM, Angkasapuri. This is one if the many programs lined up for Hari Raya celebration in November. Date: 31 May 2005. Time: 9:00am. Dress code: Smart.
I know, I know. This supposed to be a running blog and you probably wonder why on the timing chip mat are Misha and Jac doing here? Well, with slight modification of Leslie Gore’s ditty, here’s my comeback to you – It’s my blog and I write what I want to, write if I want to…. Anyway, the question is not about what I write in my blog, it is why you read it…hehehe. Just kidding.
As running, live concert is one of my passions, especially free of charge ones. When I heard from my producer friend that Misha & Jac (First Malaysian Idol), I quickly reserved a couple of tickets for the show. The tickets were given free to RTM viewers. I went with my ex-colleague, Tan.
We arrived at the Auditorium Besar at about 8:10pm. The hall was started to swell with people. We managed to get out seats, three row from the stage, with slight blockage from one of the camera. No problem. At least we don’t have to sit on the stair. I was surprised to see the strange decoration on the stage – greetings card, an old bicycle and kerosene lamps (pelita).
The show started about 9:10pm. 10 minutes late due to some “technical glitches”. It was announced that the show was being recorded for Hari Raya in November. That explained the strange set.
Misha and Jac appeared in their traditional garbs with a bunch of kids and a few dancers. Sang a couple of Hari Raya songs. Jac forgot her lyrics in one of the songs and it had to be rerecorded. (Insert Yawn here). I sneaked in my camera even though taking pictures during the show was banned and had secretly taken these pictures. You see it first here. The rest of the world will have to wait for another 4 months.
Misha appeared again, this time, solo to render a few of her hits. She started off with her power ballads – Bunga-bunga Cinta (my absolute favourite). Never tired of listening to this one. The crowd adored her!
She followed suit with another power ballad – Pulangkan. We were given glow sticks by the prop handler of the show and asked to gently wave it left and right during the song. We did it obediently like a bunch of kindergarten kids. If you see a dorky guy waving frantically his glow stick like a mini light saber in the audience, that was me.
Misha ended her solo set with a medley of a Malay song that sounded suspiciously like Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and a cover of Jamelia’s Superstar. She should so loose those horrid dancers.
Jac appeared. While waiting for the prop to be set up, she playfully sang “Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars,” referring to the cardboard cut out star décors that were found hanging above the stage. The prop master was handling out cardboard hearts. We were asked to hold out her posters when she sang. Jac moved to the audience and went on to render a sickly sweet rendition of Nat king Cole’s classic – When I Fall In Love. I hate this version. But I guess the crowd loved it, judging from the thundering applause.
What was Jac’s second song? What else if not Gemilang, her winning song? It came complete with tacky star mobiles above the stage. Was her rendition good? Sad to say, it came pale compared to her lung-bursting vocals in her Malaysian Idol Final last year. To be fair, she still shines as one of Malaysian “super” singers.
What was her medley? Hmm..the show was getting so predictable now, eh? Alicia Key’s If I Ain’t Got You and Di Pohon Cemara (one of the forgettable songs from her album).
Battle of The Lungs on stage
After Jac’s solo performance, we had wait like forever for another set change. The stars were removed and now they were putting dead trees with cotton hanging on the branches. Rolls and rolls of cotton were strewn all over the stage floor. What? Snow during Hari Raya? These people sure got their Raya décor mixed up with Christmas. And during this set change, we get to witness an act of rage that we thought could only be seen on Malaysia road by our road bully. Read about it later.
OK, back to Jac and Misha. A set change and a costume change later, they appeared together again for the final battle of the tonsils. What song? Cinta, originally done by Melly and Kris Dayanti (from the movie – Tentang Dia). Jac blundered again during the introduction of the song. Take two. In middle of the song, Misha forgot her lyric. I guess the noisy snow-foam making machine was a bit of a distraction to her.
Grrrr...This fake snow is really a nuisance to my hair..
Foam was pumped out from a machine above the stage, creating an illusion of snow. The girls got foam all over their hair and costumes. (Don’t insert dirty thoughts here..heheh). Another wait to “de-foam” the girls. Sigh! It was already close to 11pm.
Finally both got the Cinta song right and ended the night with a classic duet, Jentayu. Nice. Overall, both girls did very well. This will be one of the shows that you should not missed when you are munching ketupat and lemang with rendang in front of the telly in November.
Battle of Fists in the Audience. The guy on the right (circled yellow) walloped the guy on the left (circled red) left right and centre during the break between songs.
While the battle of divas happened on stage, there was another battle of "divas" in the audience. I do not know how it started. All I heard was a commotion from behind. When I turned around, I saw a guy was slugging and cussing at another smaller guy who was seen curling into a defense position. Wah... I never see such feisty act of rage in public before. Everybody watched and did nothing to save the poor boy being bashed. (Is this Malaysian’s trait??) Later, security guards were called and the two guys were escorted out from the auditorium. Why do guys fight? To me, guys fight over 2 things only – Power and Woman. (My reference – StarWars – Revenge of the Sith, heheh ). Which was the root cause? Only the two guys knew.
