Festival of Incidents

What a trip!

It was a truly unforgettable first `Rainforest World Music Festival' for me - well, not for all the right reasons unfortunately. And some of the incidents would probably be stuck in my mind..

Maybe because I've heard such raves about it and had conjured some kind of expectation.. Or maybe I'm not a true lover of world/ethnic music after all.. But what really put a damper on it was our choice of accommodation..

Living in the long house was a terrible experience for me. So I ended up forgoing the second and third night stay (which was paid) and checked into Tune Hotel in Kuching instead.

To post the whole account of the three days would probably end up like a loooong article that no one will read.. So I shall just share some highlights here:

The Dampers:

• The shuttle from Kuching to Sarawak Cultural Village (where the RWMF was held) was pretty badly organised - the staff could not speak English and worse, gave different instructions everyday making things so complicated and frustrating! Sometimes we were told to book beforehand while other time just buy tickets at the bus.
  

• Since my friend and I are virgins at Kuching, we did a boo-boo ended up taking a cab from a hotel to another that is just opposite side of the road!! And the sly cab driver charged us RM8 for that ride!

• It started pouring just before the shows began on the first night - we ended up watching more than half of it on the screen at a sheltered place. The ground in front of the stage was so muddy and hadn't dried up by the 3rd day!
  

• This would take the icing of the cake - the deplorable condition of the Iban longhouse! - we're charged RM120 a night for a double room - and what we got were

1. really basic (read: primitive) room with just two beds - a hard pillow and thin dirty-looking blanket, a cupboard and a wall fan that could not even rotate..
   
2. a wet, dirty-looking toilet downstairs to be shared by four rooms. Cold-water shower, tiny basin and a WC. what's worse was there was NO water during `peak periods'! The first night, most of us bathed by scooping water from a a big pail - while the second night there was no water from 9pm to 3am - but by then I was gone.

• There was an opening that overlooked the common area and a large group of people were chatting and laughing away till about 4am! Sleepless first night for me..

• Staying in three different rooms for the three nights! Well, at least the second and third nights were in the same hotel though different rooms.

• Not used to oily food, I suffered stomach ache on the first night - causing me to miss the finale which is one of the best bands!

• My friends' room next door was `broken into'. Thankfully they didn't lose anything - we still unsure if it was a drunkard guest from outside or the longhouse who claimed to see that who was the culprit. They lodged a report and since I was the witness - who saw the worker coming out of their room - I went with them and also missed a good band playing.

• There were more incidents but better not rant on...
  

The Delights

• The Cultural Village was pretty - with a lake, mountain and forest, and the two concert stages had tall trees of rainforest as back drops. In the night with lighting, it looked romantic and surreal in a way.

• The atmosphere was quite vibrant - it had a multi-national, multi-racial crowd, there were craft bazaars and various activities and festivities going on. Managed to buy something for mom and my nephews and niece, and even had henna done too!

• Got some time to explore Kuching but just around the Waterfront touristy area and ate some local food (but suffered stomach problem :(

The photos by themselves are pretty interesting and `exotic' though..

Two other longhouses up for visits

Outside our Iban longhouse

the activities that go on in our longhouse

Our very basic room

The pathetic toiletMy room for the 2nd and 3rd night at Tune Hotel

Finally, if the music had been awesome, I think that would have cheered us up a bit.

Unfortunately most of the music, especially by Malaysian and Asian bands, were so monotonous - perhaps something you see in a cultural show! But there were some pretty good ones too - like the French, the NewZealand and Hungary were some of my favourites. The Tanzania group's bongo dance was a riot though music there was hardly any.

Overall I think I only enjoyed less than 30 per cent of all performances.. the final night was the best of all and our Malaysian band from KL - Akasha - was great and most enjoyable! :)

The finale show

nb. wanted to upload more concert pix but Blogger fails me!! maybe later..

Longhouse, rainforest and world music

I'll be in the Sarawak Rainforest for the next three days!! :)

After hearing so much about the annual Rainforest World Music Festival, finally I'll be experiencing it first-hand! Being the kiasu Malaysians we're , we planned this almost a year ago and I secured the air-tickets, accommodation and tickets all well in advance.. So, I'll be flying off tomorrow morning and four of us will be staying in a long house! It's part of the Theme Stay in Sarawak Cultural Village - right in amidst the forest.

So it'll be my first time staying in a long house, in the rainforest, and attending an world music festival! Cool music with great atmoshere.. but to be honest, I don't really know what to expect but I know it would be fun, and an experience of a life time!!

Got to go and pack now.. oh yes, i will remember the insect repellent :p

Michael Joseph Jackson: August 29, 1958 - June 24, 2009


I know this post comes a few days late.. but the news frenzy is still going on following the death of The King of Pop, a phenomenon in the entertainment world and arguably the most recognised man in the world.

I must admit I'm not really a fan, though I'm pretty familiar with his music especially from his 80s album. I mean, being a teenager, Michael Jackson's songs were some of the biggest hits ever.. and yes, I grew up dancing to his music! And some of his MVs still stuck in my head.

And his death is probably the biggest news this year that everyone talks about. So I thot I should `document' it in my blog..


Yes, he's a genius - brilliant in his music and dance move..and his explosive performances on stage just leave you breathless. I just re-watched the MV of Smooth Criminal on TV and was totally amazed at what he could do!! Till date, I can't think of artistes who could match him.. MJ is irreplaceable.

I had the opportunity to witness him live in concert when he came to KL for his concert tour in 1996. But because of the huge huge crowd, I was also quite away and by now could not recall most of it.. Nevertheless, at least I could say I was there..



Despite all this unprecedented success and achievement in the entertainment world, sadly MJ was a tormented soul inside. His personal life was so controversial and `colourful' - in the wrong way. From his repeated plastic surgery that had practically disfigured his face to his uncommon relationship with young boys and his many weird and perculiar affinity.. there were much flaks and negative reports on this great entertainer.. he even earned the non-flattering moniker `Wacko Jacko'.

Already for more than a decade, his career has not really revive. And although his death is untimely - he's scheduled to hold 50 concerts in London next month! - I somehow feel the sudden departure may have saved him from more disgrace.. afterall, his health has been detiorating..

But now in his death, as said in so many reports, MJ shall be remembered for his iconic status in the entertainment world and the legacy of some of the most popular and well loved music of all time.

To be honest I am still a bit baffled at the non-stop coverage of all media following his death, and the out pour of his fans grief was also quite incredible. MJ is probably the only artiste who has legions of fans in every country and continent.

So it just point to the fact that Michael Jackson is truly THE King of pop, and the biggest superstar of our generation, and ever-living legend.

RIP, MJ.

My two Js' birthdays again..!!

I'm a bad mommy! I almost forgot to blog about the two Js' birthday this month!!

Well, Jelly's 5th birthday was on June 7th and at that time my PC downstairs (where the photos are) had no Internet access.. so it's a good excuse for the delay :p

For the first time, Jelly had the honour of having a cake - or rather sharing half a cake - as my maid Wati's birthday was just a day earlier than hers!

So we had a joint celebration of sort.. :)

The two birthday girls! Wati adores the two Js - she's really good with them, which is a relief for me also..

Dad takes this photo of us with the two Js but just realise that Jojo was too low down.... so, another shot as follow!
Yup, not easy to get the two Js to pose for photos together!!

Oh, tomorrow Jojo is turning 6! Yes, he's well into his middle age now.. and sometimes i really wish he would not grow old so fast! Since i've been kinda bogged down with work, I didn't go out and get anything for Jojo.. but I saved some very nice pork ribs in the soup for him to eat tomorrow..

Sigh, tomorrow is another busy day so i don't really get to spend time with Jojo on his birthday..
but it's a relief that he doesn't know is his birthday.. hehe.. :p

SO HERE'S TO MY DARLINGS...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOJO, AND HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY JELLY

FINALLY!!! We've got a wire-less home!

Life has been pretty boring and mundane in the last fortnight.. thus a little excitement is welcome.

Today, this `excitement' arrived in the form of... *drum roll*.. the successful set up of our WiFi connected house!!!

Yes, FINALLY!!! Seriously I never imagined it would have taken that long and that much problem.. ONE whole month and SIX visits by the computer technician, and all the sufferings of getting limited Internet connections... if FINALLY works.. YEESSS!!!

After the fifth attempt at setting up the system, I was almost giving up already and actually told him to forget about the (ever problematic) new system, I want a refund and just do it the ancient manual way - get a cable to run from the modem upstairs to my pc downstairs..

But today, I got some good news.. he had managed to find out the solution from the proper channel for sure.. and even had tested the system up. So ya, after some time of configuration, it WORKED for my home too!

To think of it, I'm glad Patrick has far more patience and perseverance than me.. I mean I feel quite bad of the amount of time and effort, not mentioning the petrol and tolls cost with all these visits.. But he's so optimistic that even after all that he had to go through, he said he learned something new - cos it's a new generation of the system.

So now I can finally settle into my new SoHo.. and do things on the Net from my PC that's full of photos and stuff.. but more importantly, I hope working here can be more productive..

But on the other hand, now that I can access Internet at every corner of my house.. would it mean this will feed onto my already bad Internet addiction!??? :S

p.s. I will take some photos of my SoHo and update my blog soon again..

P.E.T.

That stands for `pre-exam tension'.

I can't remember when was the last time I sat for an exam.. could it be my uni final exam almost two decades back?! (oops, there gives away my age again.. :p) Anyway, I'm kinda feeling it now.. because, tomorrow afternoon I will be sitting for my first vocal examination!

I'm taking the London Trinity Guildhall's First Concert Certificate which is considered the basic for vocalist (with some music background). Although the decision to sit for the exam was made less than a year back, my teacher had already been `preparing' me for it by letting me sing some of the exam pieces.

And finally, the four chosen ones are:

1. Se tu M'ami, Se Sospiri by Giovanna Battista Pergolessi
2. Have You Seen But the Whyte Lillie Grow by Anon (17th century)
3. Angels Ever Bright and Fair by Handel
4. I Could Have Danced All Night by Frederick Loewe
   

I've been pracitisign quite exclusively these four pieces in the last few months and also got an accompanist to play for me. My teacher on the other hand, gave some underlying pressure for he has conditioned me to aim high - in fact, he kept mentioning I should aim for a distinction!

Musicality aside, which needed lots of polishing and practising, I remembered having to learned the words by heart was quite a challenge but I finally did it. My teacher, who normally is not very strict, pushed me harder when the time got nearer. I remember just a month or so back after my holiday in China -with lack of practice - he became quite harsh with me and because of that, I vowed to work harder and finally in that few weeks, I made quite a bit of improvement.

I guess I did quite ok for the recital - he said most of the pieces except one was quite good. And then just two days ago, he actually praised me for two pieces..and said overall I am ready..

So i had my final lesson before exam this afternoon. My teacher advised me not to sing anymore but I still did a little just now, especially trying to make sure I'm 110 per cent sure of the words!

My exam is scheduled at 3:40pm tomorrow in a First World Hotel in PJ. The last time I ever went for an exam in a hotel was for my piano exam more than two decades ago..


To think of it, I know I'm quite well prepared by now but still cannot help but feeling some anxiety/tension. I guess it's normal.. Jitters.. ? oh, that's why i need to write this post!

Lord, I just pray and hope I would get a nice and linient examiner (at least not too strict!) On top of that, I must just tell myself to be composed and relax, and just sing it out the best that I could..

Lalalalalala.....