Girls just wanna have fun...

In line with my never-before-thought-about-until-now resolution to try out new things and meet more people, I have decided to start going to events that I usually talk myself out of, which is pretty much 90% of the events that happens in KL.

So as a first step I shall join the...

Keretapi Sarong (No Pants Subway) 2013 Kuala Lumpur

Other than everyone wearing a batik sarong when riding the LRT I truly have no idea what to expect. But it'll be a sight indeed with all the sarongs on the LRT.

Secondly, I plan to go to...


Numinous

An event organised several times by my bestie, Sheena. I am ashamed to say that I have yet to attend even one. I shall remedy that this Saturday.

There's a slight overlap of time for both events but I'll make it work.

Peace out!

This poem is dedicated to those who made my life miserable during my boarding school years in Penang. Funny now that you're the one looking me up and trying to "reconnect". Funny how life turn out eh?

A Loser is...

 (James Vera)

A loser is one who throws wrenches in the gears
One who pulls out the nails holding up everything he's known for years
But when he finds something special he holds it dear
And when he loses that everything he's not afraid to show tears

A loser is one who presses on through the dark
One who's life has given him many marks
With fists bleeding but he still swings
Fighting for what he believes means everything

A loser is one who falls and falls again
But at the end stands tall with many friends
The sky brightening with vanishing clouds, the loser wins
Crowds now thankful for everything that he gives.

Peace out!

This Burdened Heart

This burdened heart speaks low but clear
That today destiny’s lanes are not very clear;
That pain, like rain, can mist up the eyes
That clouds, like pain can block out the skies

That somewhere else my heart wants to go
There are dreams and all I had to forego
Burdening my heart: where lies happiness
If my mind lies elsewhere, oscillating and vacillating:
Restrained and constrained, layers within layers
Life is but a stage and we, the players
But also when total liberty beckons, perplexed
My soul is vanquished, there are no walls to demolish
No mountains to climb, no one to care;
Nobody to say, nobody at all
“Not now, not like this, not this time”
That somewhere in this century we are alone, bewildered,
Abandoned, that we are
Parts of burdened hearts, that lie lost, thrown aside
Neglected, dejected, rejected
That there are no signposts on the crumbling way.

This burdened heart stops and starts
Carries on, bump-a-lump; will not give up
Life is but a brimming cup.

~Rani Turton~

MAP Arts Festival.

No plans for the day? Want something to do? Head on down to the MAP Arts Festival.

MAP is opening its doors TODAY, 27th of March 2010 with a 2-day arts festival. Activities include music, art, sculpture, performances, installations, talks, workshops and art markets alongside social and individual empowerment activities. The festival will introduce MAP’s two spaces: a 6,000 sq ft gallery and a 200-seater experimental theatre named the White Box and Black Box respectively.

In the works is an exciting program of community oriented activities that encompasses the widest possible diversity of creative content. MAP will provide opportunities for arts and cultural producers from multidisciplinary backgrounds. As a meeting point between artists, curators, critics and the public, it will serve as a catalyst for the exchange and exploration of contemporary ideas.

MAP is located in Solaris Dutamas. Details can be obtained via their website, www.mapkl.org or call Alex Yong at 019-3222932, Erna Dyanty at 012-2310961 or Sze at 013-3330852.

Free Admission to ALL Events. Check out their schedule on their Facebook page or just refer to the image below for activities that'll interest you.

Hope to see you there :)

Ugly Heart

Words borrowed from the Sunshine Monologue

Bravery

You think bravery is to fight and courage is to die. But the bravest ones stand in front of those who would and say

"We will not fight. Because courage is to live."

Taken from: I Wrote This For You

Music, When Soft Voices Die...

1958 - 2009

1952 - 2009

Music, When Soft Voices Die
by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Music, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory,
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.

Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heaped for the beloved's bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.

1958 - 2009

1969 - 2009

O Allah! Forgive our living and our dead, those who are with us and those who are absent, our young and our old, our men and our women. O Allah! Whomever you keep alive from us keep him alive on Islam, and whomever you take away from us, take him as a believer. O Allah! Do not leave us bereft of his good and do not send us astray after them.
[Ibn Majah 1:480, Ahmad 2:368]

Sheer Poetry

Waiting for Daylight

Ghosts from the past have long visited my dreams,
their rustlings reminiscent of empty winds through empty souls.
Through the years, I have made playmates of them.
Together, we have passed many a long hour,
waiting for daylight.
From the first hint of dusk,
until the darkest moment before dawn,
they are here with me.
Sometimes, I pretend to tell a joke,
they pretend to laugh,
and we all pretend that some false cheer
could somehow stop the darkness from overtaking us.
But as the night cloaks us in her thickest robes,
and the darkness comes alive around us,
our laughter stops.
Once again, my ghosts and I huddle together,
waiting for daylight.

~Leigh Ann Conselyea~

Time to Slam, Y'all!!

Taken from Facebook Events:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=63429671546#/event.php?eid=63429671546

Poetry Slam is back in Malaysia! Hosted by George Wielgus and Elaine Foster (previous Slam champs in Singapore and KL),the fourth installment of the Slam in KL this time takes the theme 'Pantun'. And for any of you who have forgotten their schooldays, I suggest Wiki it. Totally open to your own interpretation, all Slammers must perform an original Pantun in the first round only. Slammers can perform in either BM or English or both.

Anyone interested to Slam on that night should register before 7:00pm on the 25th. Early Birds can register via FaceBook.

The Slam is free to both watch and participate in but a small donation to go back into the prize fund will be much appreciated!

What is Poetry Slam™?

• Poetry Slam™ is the competitive art of performance poetry. It puts a dual emphasis on writing and performance, encouraging poets to focus on what they’re saying and how they’re saying it

• Poetry Slam™ is a three round poetry contest in which poets perform, recite, or read
their works before an audience under a time limit (usually three minutes each)

• The poems are judged immediately afterward by five people picked randomly from the audience who award numerical values (from zero to ten) to each poem. Individual or group that scores the highest points, wins the competition.


What are the rules?

Though rules vary from slam to slam, the basic rules are:

• Each poem must be of the poet’s own construction.

• Each poet gets three minutes (plus a ten second grace period) to read one poem, if the poet goes over, points will be deducted from the total score.

• The poet may or may not use props, costumes, or musical instruments (this depends on the slam master).

• Of the scores the poet received from the five judges, the highest and lowest scores are dropped, and the middle three are added together, giving the poet a total score of 0-30.

• There are many other kinds of specialised slams – following themes e.g. Dead Poet Slams (classic poets, presented by performers); poetical form slams like sonnet, haiku or pantoum slams; or thematic slams e.g. romantic, environmental slams etc.

• Solo or team competition (up to 4 members).

• Group competition has become one of the hallmarks of international slam culture and it helps to develop a sense of community and team spirit, adding a great deal of artistic excitement to any slam event.


How does Poetry Slam™ differ from an open Mike reading?

• Poetry Slam™ is engineered for the audience, whereas a number of open mike readings
are engineered as a support network for poets.

• Poetry Slam™ is designed for the audience to react vocally and openly to all aspects of
the show, including the poet’s performance, the judges’ scores, and the host’s banter


What kind of poetry is read at Poetry Slams™?

• You’ll find a diverse range of work within slam, including heartfelt love poetry, searing social
commentary, uproarious comic routines, and bittersweet personal confessional pieces.

• Poets are free to do work in any style on any subject if it is not a specialised (thematic)
Poetry Slam.


How do I win a Poetry Slam™?

• Winning a poetry slam requires some measure of skill and a huge dose of luck. The judges’ tastes, the audience’s reactions, and the poets’ performances all shape a slam event.

• There’s no formula for winning a slam, although you become a stronger poet and performer the same way you get to Carnegie Hall — practice, practice, practice.


So to sum it all up... You have to check this out. Probably one of the coolest event to ever hit the Malaysia shores.

Date/Day: 25th March 2009 / Saturday
Venue: Lepaq Cafe, Sri Hartamas
Time: 7.00 p.m.

And its free Y'all!!

p.s. I just found out that Fynn Jamal and Hazlan are in the Slam! More reasons to go check out the Poetry Slam eh.

Major Word Vomit ALERT!!

To make up for my being absent from this blog for the last couple of weeks, I shall now indulge myself with a really looooooooooooong post. Told you there was gonna be a word vomit. You were forewarned!!

(o_O)V

However, since I myself am not that much of a typist I shall make things short by putting in pictures. Plus, it 3.59 am. Why am I still awake? I'm blaming the BBQ Curry Twisties.

Yuni & Osaka

About a month back, my dear lil sis flew all the way back from Tokyo just to surprise our dear mum. After weeks and weeks of planning we managed to pull the whole thing off without dear mum ever suspecting. Now although we tried to keep it just between the siblings but a major operation like that required external helping hands like our dear cousin Ika, and of course my Aunty Mama. Oh and I also had to rope in Nurul's help due to the strange fact that even though we're living in the digital age where everything can be bought/ arranged online nowadays, this one particular bus company does not sell their Ipoh-Singapore bus tickets at their HQ in Kuala Lumpur. So zaman batu.

Anyways, Yuni stayed for over 2 weeks and then she had to fly back. The pic above shows us having fun in TGIF, the night before her flight back. Our farewell gift to her was a huge steak meal. I wonder how long she'll go without meat again. Poor little carnivore, forced to go on a fish & vegetable diet. LoL.

Yuni will be moving from Tokyo Uni to Osaka Uni as soon as she gets back but Osaka seems to be extremely keen on having her over and have been bugging her with phone calls throughout the entire 2 weeks. I guess the Japanese Embassy scholarship really pay these unis extremely well.

Now there's a reason why so much planning had to be done when Yuni came back. She wasn't alone. I mean she had STUFF!! Lots of it!! Aah, the perks of having a sibling living abroad. I didn't manage to take pictures of all the stuff she brought back for all of us but suffice to say there were a lot of Green Tea boxes being passed around. I myself got some really cool stuff like Japanese makeup, cups with Japanese kanji, Japanese perfume and little knick knacks. But my favourites are these two. A delicate Japanese fan made 100% from bamboo and A clutch made from Kimono silk with a matching hand emroidered purse. The fan was extremely handy during those fan-less days at my apartment.

So now Yuni is in Osaka. She's already started class and seems to be enjoying herself. We do miss her terribly but its not like we live during zaman batu where there was no internet. I see her online every night and we do chat regularly. So since she made the effort to fly back to Malaysia I guess I have to return the favour. Hmm... I wonder how much it'll set me back to go to Osaka?

24hr Theater Project

One word... FUN!! That's all I need to describe the 24hr theater project. Wait! One more word... TIRING!! But still... it was loads of fun!! I met loads of cool new people and had gained so many new experiences that there's no way I'm missing next year's project. Although maybe next year I'm gonna try out as a writer. Try to tackle script writing for a change. I'll probably suck but what the heck. If I suck bad enough I may even win the group one of those "fun" awards they give out. This year my group went home empty-handed but Sheena's group won the 'Most Pretentious Play' award. LoL. Even Syd's group won something. Was it the 'Worst Play' award? Haha... but it was all in fun. It definitely made the night interesting. For those who wants to try out something new next year then this is something you should definitely try out. Imagine some of the participants actually slept in Istana Budaya. Talk about dedication.

IIUM Poetry Night

I'll probably wear out the word FUN after I'm done with this post. But yeah... Poetry Night was super duper fun!! I must say, after all that trepidation about being a Poetry lecturer at the beginning of the semester seems a little funny (see there's the word 'fun' again) now. And I think the students had a lot of fun as well. Sheena and I organised poetry night as a way for students to realise that poetry is not at all boring and can only be found on a page. Plus, it's also a fun way to evaluate the students without turning it into dull and dreary presentations. Plus, we also did a good deed and raised money for the Gaza Relief Fund. It wasn't much but I'm sure every bit counts.

There was a little scerfuffle at first with some so-called "trademark" on Poetry Slam. What's with the deal of an organisation claiming trademark on a genre? According to the trademark we weren't allowed to have a poetry slam unless we gained permission from the organisation first. Whaat?? Total bull if you ask me. Thank goodness Sheena and I were not the only ones who feel that way. So after discussing it with Hazlan, who is totally our hero by the way, we decided to go ahead with the poetry slam. And thank goodness we did because some of the slammers chosen to slam were actually pretty good. We may have found some slammers to actually start competing in actual poetry Slams.

So can you spot the lecturer among the students? Coz I cant.

One of the more creative submissions for visual poetry from my class. There were more but because I'm a poor, poor part-time lecturer who can't afford a camera just yet so I really had to rely on other people's pics. But trust me the other submissions were just as good and just as creative. I'm reall proud of those kids.

Responses to the Poetry Night was extremely positive so here's to hoping that Poetry Night will be a semesterly-thing. Or at least... an annual thing. *fingers crossed*

BENL Reunion Charity Dinner

BENL Alumni organised its second reunion dinner in conjunction with the charity drive to raise funds for the Gaza Relief Fund. It was mostly an effort made by the seniors from Pyan's batch but I ended up helping them out since I know that it'll be fun (hmm, I wonder how many times I've actually used this word in this post) to actually get dressed up and catch up with old friends. Unfortunately the first part of the night was not that fun for me as I was the MC. Being MC is okay but damn these people and their demands and last-minute changes. Don't you get it that MCs also get nervous. Gawd... I was so friggin nervous that I totally flubbed Prof. Q's name during the introduction. My own supervisor's name!! Sheesh! Buat malu mak bapak je.

But as the evening progresses I relaxed and so there were less mistakes. Whew! Surprisingly the turnout this year was better. Last reunion about a quarter of the hall was empty but this time it was definitely a full house. To top it off we managed to raise about RM2000 in donations. So Abang Husni and Pyan definitely deserve a pat on the back for a job well done.

They even brought in some great entertainment that night like the traditional Malay percussion group, Dewangga Sakti and the Al-Aqsa Dabka Dancers. One of the Palestinians was particularly good-looking although you can't see him in the pic. Such a shame that he's so young :P.

This is the group photo of most of the alumnus that came. Don't you feel that somehow this doesn't show BENL folks in their true spirit?

Now that's more like it!!

Again, here's to hoping that there'll be more of this kind of reunion dinner thingies in the future.

I've gone Grey

No... I haven't grown old. Yes I'm in denial about that. Yes I got myself grey contacts. I used to wear the same colour years ago and I kinda missed having them so since they're cheap, what the heck. I got them online for only RM38. And they're wearable up to 6 months to a year at a time. Deal or what?! I've already made my second order. Brown this time. Check out the blog:

Geolens2U

But on another note, I seriously need to do something about my online shopping addiction.

I'm err... more Mature.

Coincidentally my birthday this year fell on class day so I decided what the heck, I'll celebrate it with my class. Plus it'll be a way for me to commemorate my first ever teaching job in IIUM. So I threw a small party. Again... it was FUN. I'm simply amazed at how a certain amount of food could disappear in just a matter of minutes and at how fond I can be towards a bunch of youngsters whom I've known for only a few months. But hey, if they say you'll always remember your first love I guess a teacher of any kind will always remember the first class that they've ever tought.

The gals of ENGL 1515:Section 4. Cute aren't they?

My class. I shall miss teaching these kids.


I'm err... more Mature (part II)

The very next day, IIMU threw a birthday soiree for me as well. Shucks!! I really love those folks. I couldn't manage to get a picture of the cake from the previous party (since it was kinda smushed due to a minor mishap plus the fact that it was gone within 10 minutes) so this time I snapped a picture before anything happened. That my dear readers is a picture of a blueberry chocolate sponge cake bought from a small but very good bakery in Sri Gombak, called Hidayah Bakery. Sangat sedap!! Next time you can just forget about Secret Recipe and hunt down that bakery. A 1kg cake will only cost you RM25 at the most.

The picture below pretty much summarises what I ate at my two birthday parties. The only diference was that the food at IIMU disappeared at a much slower rate. I actually got to taste all of the food before it was gone. But still... both party was fun in their own unique way.

Thanks a mundo to Kak Aini for organising the whole shebang. It's people like her that makes me stay at a job that pays me a measly RM15 an hour.

I'm err... more Mature (part III)

I know the pic is blurry but I just love this pic.

The third installment for my birthday took me way out of IIUM and all the way to Look Out Point in Ampang. It was a really sweet gesture made by Nurul, J- her BF, and Shazna (Nurul's sis) but unfortunately I was not told that we were headed to Look Out Point so there I was that night, wearing 2 1/2 inch heels trudging all the way up to the peak. Definitely a workout I tell you. But still... it was fun (^^).

I'm thanking god everyday for giving me great friends and I must say that there's not that many friends of mine who is greater than Nurul. That night was totally a night that I'll cherish. Good company, free food and more cake. LoL. Plus it was a bonus as well that she chose a gorgeous location that I have never been to before. So being there for the first time ever with great friends was the cherry on top of perfectly great night.

I'm not sure where Nurul got this cake from but it was totally amazing. Again, you can never go wrong with chocolate cakes. But I'm guessing that the cake was the cause of all the blurry pictures taken that night. All of us were probably sugar high. Who wouldn't be, we scoffed down half the cake. But here's to Nurul, J and Shazna. Thanka for making that night perfect.

ENGL 1515 Finals

As all good things must come to an end, the ENGL 1515final exams marks the ending of my teaching the section 4 kids. It was both exciting and sad for me since it was my first time ever being the invigilator for an exam rather than siting for one but I'm kinda sad because its the last time I'll see them as my students. Unless! Unless... I ace the interview this 23rd and get the permanent lecturer status!! Woohoo!! Then I'll probably be teaching more subjects!! But I don't want to get my hopes up so I'll leave that story for another day *sigh*.

But the invigilating experince was loads of fun. I'm sure it'll wear off by the time I invigilate more and more exams but I'm just gonna cherish it for now. As for marking the papers... well, I'm having fun procrastinating on that as well. But I'll get to it soon. I will. I will. Maybe tomorrow :D

So this marks the end of my word vomit. For now. I'll probably continue tomorrow. Somehow the word vomit doesn't seem to want to stop but my body is failing my brain. Need to catch some Zzz. A sign of maturity? Hmm... nah!! In denial? Yes, I am.

Poetry Night: Poetry Out Loud!!

Hear ye! Hear ye! Exciting night coming your way!!

If by chance you're bored, have nothing to do on Thursday Night then do come and check out IIUM's Poetry Night. It's a night when poetry comes alive and off the pages. Check out students performing self-written original poems as well as their renditions of poetry through the visual arts. Best of all, come check out IIUM's first ever POETRY SLAM! It's poetry slam as it should be. A battle of the poets and their words.

Date/Day: 19th March 2009 / Thursday

Venue: Main Auditorium, IIUM Gombak

Time: 8.30 p.m.

Admission is RM 1 and all proceeds shall be donated to the Gaza Relief Fund.

Hazlan Da' Slammer feat. Fynn Da' Performer

Saturday, 7th March 2009
Spoken Word Workshop
HS Square

As humble as the event was, it was probably one of the most fulfilling moments that I've had as a newbie lecturer in the department. Looking at how much fun the students were having during the session, and at how loud I laughed throughout the entire workshop I must say that I did good. Oh-kay... Sheena helped too. So WE did good. Poetry in IIUM will never be the same again after this.

Hazlan started out the session with a brief intro on poetry slam. It was 10am so due to the lack of nutrients in my tummy when the session started, my brain refused to compute the fact that I should've snapped a few pics of Hazlan as he was giving his lecture. So thanks to Google, this pic would have to suffice for now. Whoever out there that has a pic of Hazlan on that particular day itself do buzz me. I'd truly appreciate it. Plus Hazlan too would like to have some pics as mementos of that great day.

pic courtesy of thebookaholic.blogspot.com

Then it was Fynn's time. To describe Fynn, I must simply quote from one of the comeback queens of our time, Britney Spears. No other quote could ever describe her best. Spears sang:

There's only two types of people in the world
The ones that entertain, and the ones that observe

I guess I can say that I somehow belong in the second category. Although I don't feel like I belong there 100% but more often than not I find myself nudging the line of this circle rather than the other. But heck, in certain aspects I'm happy being there.

*forgive me for the poor pic quality. I just had my battered old handphone on me then. Am working on an upgrade soon. Wish me luck. Better yet, give me money.

Now Fynn on the other hand, un-doubt-ed-ly, belongs to the type of people who entertain. It's in her blood. And her personality shines brightest when she is in front of her audience doing what she loves most: Performing.

She definitely captured the attention of my students that night. As you can see from this pic, the students were hanging on to her EVERY word. And if they're not doing that, they were either laughing along to her jokes and her antics or simply immersing themselves in the happy spirit that was Fynn. What amazes me the most is the fact that she managed to convinced even the most shy and the most nervous of my students to turn into a full-blown performer of poetry with just an hour of lecture. You gotta give this gal credit, she was definitely born to teach the performing arts.

And I have to seriously figure out what this girl eats to get so much energy! Not only she was talking 100 words/ minute, she was all over the stage; tapping, clapping, jumping, falling (yes, she literally fell to her knees) just to explain the technicalities of performance. Most people would be out of breath by the time she's done with the lecture but noo, she picked up the guitar and started singing. Either this gal is in secret the bionic women or her family OD-ed her with multivitamins and chicken essence when she was growing up or something.

Here Fynn managed to drag Sheena and a student to join her for her freestyle poetry recitation. Sheena instantaneously became the 'cool' lecturer when she showcased her skills on the guitar whereas for that guy, well... he probably gained himself a couple of new fans after that impromptu show. Guys with guitars somehow always get the girls. As for me, well... I was happily nudging the 'observer' line. Poetry is SO not my scene. In my students' eyes I'm probably the 'boring' lecturer.

I wish I could show the going-ons of the first ever mini poetry slam that Hazlan held afterwards but I was too busy enjoying myself that I totally forgot to take pics. But no major loss. Thanks to Hazlan and Fynn, Poetry Night is going to be a bomb!! And with that anticipation in mind I've already acquired the services of a (free!) photographer. Poetry Night will showcase a proper Poetry Slam, and students performing poetry and if nerves don't get the best of me, I may perform too. Sheena talked me into it. She said something about poetry lecturer needing to set an example to their students. Plehh... I hate it when she's right.

But don't let my lack of talent stop you from showing up. It's for a good cause as we're collecting donations for the Gaza cause.

So here are the details:

IIUM Poetry Night
Thursday, 19th March 2009
Main Auditorium, IIUM Gombak
8.30 pm
Fee: RM1

Yeah, there's an entrance fee but it's only RM1 maaa. Takkan tak mampu kot? So come on folks, be there... or be square!!

Wayangkata VII

WAYANG KATA VII

An Evening Of Spoken Word featuring Polarbear

Wed 14 Jan, 8.30pm start

Presented by British Council and Troubaganger

Admission RM10

British Council and Troubaganger returns with Wayang Kata VII, this time featuring one of Britain's foremost spoken word artists Steven Camden aka Polarbear. Joining Polarbear are Rafique Rashid, Priya K, Sheena Baharuddin and Nell Omar. It's the seventh installation of Wayang Kata and the series will go on hiatus after this so make sure you don't miss it!

Based in Birmingham, Polarbear has performed spoken word/poetry at numerous festivals and venues including Glastonbury Festival, Lyric Theatre, Edinburgh Festival, and Ledbury Poetry Festival to name a few. He performed his first theatrical performance piece "If I cover my nose you can't see me" at the London Literature Festival last July and is working on his next piece (working title "Return"), commissioned by the Battersea Arts Centre as part of BURST festival in May 2009.

*Do come and support the local art scene. I'll be there as part of Sheena's groupie :P If you're there and by chance stumble into me don't forget to say hi! Check out Polarbear's performance in the video