“No roadtrip is complete with at least three replays of Micheal Jackson’s Greatest Hits CD.”
This was my mom’s motto….or at least we thought it was. And no one would argue with her. Better MJ then my dad’s Ramlah Ram CD.
Roadtrips were a norm in our family. With my dad’s hometown in Terengganu, and my mom’s in Johor, we spent many hours on the road, especially during the GongXi Raya season.
My mom is a huge fan of Micheal Jackscon, and after many years it rubbed off a little on me. Although there were times when I made fun of my mom for her obsession.
Point is, I was like millions of others across the world. There was this whole generation that was hooked on his music, and grew up with it. MJ was one of the rare ones whose fans cut across not only racial barriers, but age as well. There was Rockin’ Robin and Ben for the pre-schoolers, Smooth Criminal and Beat It for the teenagers, lonely bachelors and bachelorettes listened to You’re Not Alone in the dead of the night, Earth Song and Heal the World for the activists, Thriller for the ones who were into snychronised dancing.
There was a song for everyone.
Despite his eccentricities, fans reveled in his songs, his presence, his dancing. Some were in a state of denial most of the time, “Ala…he just loves children, that’s all” or “He’s not happy with his nose, so what?” or “So he bleached his skin…we buy whitening products too!”
He is the world’s most recognized name and face, and one of the most celebrated singers of all time. And yet, no one really knew him. For most of his life, MJ has been an enigma to us all.
Most cite songs from his Thriller and Bad albums as their favourite MJ song. But mine has always been Childhood. A lesser known song that was part of the Orginal Soundtrack for Free Willy.
In an interview, MJ said that if you really wanted to know him better, one should listen to the song.
Many still criticize him even after his death. But for me, the memory of him will always be preserved as the misunderstood soul that both loved and hated the limelight.
It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged now. Partly because I have been busy with work, partly because my trusty Toshiba laptop have finally called it quits. Laptops never seem to last on me…I wonder why. A new one is out of the question of course, since I have much bigger things to worry about now that it’s almost exactly a year till the big day! (And I’m still chubby!)
There’s alot that I want to write about…but nothing that I dare to put here. I should probably utilise the diary Baby got for me two birthdays ago…but I find myself procrastinating as usual on that front. And so here I am…rambling on about nothing in particular.
I’ve been downloading The Bill Cosby show, partly because my parents wanted it, and also because I was curious. I wanted to know whether I would still find it to be as funny as I thought it was when I was seven. And guess what, it still is! Call me old-fashioned but I find everything in the Bill Cosby show to still be relevant. And something about his comedic timing that never fails to make me laugh. I can never understand how someone can find The Simpsons to be funny. (Unfortunately, Baby is one of them).
My dear friend Kasthuri celebrated her birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday Kas!! In my birthday message, I told her, “Haha, you’re 24!” And all she said was, “Dei, wait till next month, then you know!”. Sigh…she’s right, in a month’s time, I’ll be 24 too.
I really shouldn’t complain about getting older when I am still in my early twenties. It seems almost impertinent, as if ungrateful. In fact, at 23 going on 24, I’ve got a lot going on in my life that most of my peers can only dream about. A steady job, steady relationship, loving family and friends. Sometimes, I feel that I don’t deserve it.
But sometimes, no matter how good one has it, they need to be constantly reminded on just how much they have to be grateful for.
Kak Ni finally published her book! Have yet to see the actual book though. Will try and check it out this weekend. She’s appearing on NTV7 tomorrow morning on the Breakfast Show. Do tune in! Meanwhile, a Google search turned up only one result. You can check out her book details on the Times website here. Hmm…we’ll need to build up your internet presence Kak Ni! Hehe!
A while back we had a barbeque at my house. I think it was for New Year’s Eve. I downloaded the photos to my computer, and totally forgot about it. (Yeah, what else is new eh?) Anyway, we had a blast, and I think the photos pretty much tells that.
Haha…Baby squinting because of the flash. I had no idea how to use the camera in low lights when these pictures were taken. So don’t make fun of him..he was the official cook for the bbq!
It’s been almost a year since I have started working officially. The pay isn’t much, job satisfaction is only so-so.
I hardly see daylight.
I hardly see my friends.
I hardly get to do anything really, except to go to work, and go back from work.
It didn’t take me long to remember all of that nagging I’ve had from teachers and parents about not being in such a hurry to grow up. “You’ll miss your student life, you’ll see!”
I started missing it the day it ended really. But everyday I travel to work, is another sharp reminder that that life is long gone. I realised one day I sat and talked with Kas. It’s been more than 6 years since we graduated from highschool. (!!)
Ever since I’ve started working though, the one thing that I have missed apart from being a student, is to simply write for the sake of writing.
Not because I’m meeting a deadline. Not because someone told me to do so. But to just write because I felt like it.
Blogging was supposed to be that outlet. But really…blogging is very much a different medium compared to the paper and pen medium. Gone were the days when I used to fill my journal. Or when I used scribble a silly line or two to form a rhythmic stanza.
I miss that to the very core.
But everything just saps at my strength these days, and all I could afford to do is to kick back and watch TV. I regret the days when I used to make fun of my parents for being so lifeless. And yet, here I am….doing the exact same thing.
How awesome to be part of something so much bigger than ourselves. How did you spend your Earth Hour? Me hopes everyone realises that Earth Hour isn’t just once a year. But an everyday habit we must all cultivate.
Some of you may have already seen it on Facebook. Most had no idea about it. And all, was a little confused.
You see, earlier this month, I became slightly engaged. No, not engaged just yet, only slightly.
On the 7th of March, me and Baby’s family came together for a “Hantar Tanda” ceremony. Hantar Tanda is not unlike the merisik, but it’s definitely got more of a note of finality to it. After meeting a few weeks before to introduce the immediate family members to each other, we discussed on how we were going to do the Hantar Tanda. We decided to hold it in early March.
Our side of the family was going to be small. Tiny in comparison. My brother wasn’t even coming back from Terengganu because of something or other. And the rest of my Malay cousins in KL got misinformed of the time, so in the end, it was only just the five of us…five including Abang Lan. Kak G was out for the count since she was down with high fever. That’s ok we thought…we didn’t need a whole lot of people. It’s just a simple ceremony.
And then they came…11 cars in all. And according to Baby, that’s like 1% of his family. Hehe…it’s always nice to have big family gatherings.
I wasn’t too sure what happened outside…as I was safely tucked in the bedroom. I whiled away the time by reading Harry Potter…again. It must have been the third page when Kak Hamidah came into the room, and asked me to come out.
Awww shucks..so this is the part where I blush. Kak Hamidah then slips the ring to my finger, and we all embraced.
This was perhaps the most flattering picture of me in the bunch. I look funny in the rest. And we all had a nice lunch afterwards. Everyone had second helpings to lemak cili api ikan masin, sambal udang petai, pucuk paku and ulam. His side of the family was relieved that it was not briyani. Hehe!
You would think there should be at least one picture of me and him together. But alas…I managed to get saddled with the guy who is camera shy. Ah well..he makes it up in other ways
We prepared gifts for each other – the hantaran. Simple ones, since it’s just the Hantar Tanda. We had custom made cupcakes for them. They were so pretty, it was hard to eat them!
Baby and his family had a custom made cake for us.
Carrot walnut cake covered in cream cheese. Needless to say, we finished it within a day. The cake was made by Azreena who also made cupcakes for our last Hari Raya open house.
What about a picture of the ring you say? Ah well…for that privilege, we’d have to meet up.
So, that’s the story of how I got slightly engaged. So I’m sure by now all of you are wondering when the big day is. That’s another year to go. Me needs to save up. And lose weight! Rest assured, when the time comes, you will be in the know about it. I promise (crosses fingers!)
Woman. Daughter. Girlfriend. Student. Feminist. Loud. Writer. Kajang citizen. Half Malay. Half Chinese. All Human. A Romantic. Whimsical. Eclectic. Former Convent girl. Former St. John's member. Loves homework. Weird. Clumsy. Thinker. Passionate. Life's tough. I'm tougher. Loves jeans. Unscripted: like the half-formed words on my lips, and the blurred footsteps behind me
Huz on 
Kamy on 
Cuz Win on