The Results

Okay, so the results of the competition.

Before I get into that, let me just say; remember in my previous post (not sure who reads my blog but..) I was saying how winning doesn't really matter and all that matters was the entire experience of taking part? Well... that was true, until I woke up that morning of the competition! Lol! All I wanted at that time, was to be able to blow the judges away and WIN yo!!! Well, at least top 3 lah. :)

I guess we can't really help feeling that way, we did after all worked hard and gave up a lot of time for this. So it's just, nice to know that all your hardwork wasn't in vain you know?

As I've said before, this was our first time entering a competition. We really didn't know what to expect; Will it be cacat? Will we be awesome? We have absolutely no idea. And so, we all stepped into the hall that Saturday morning looking all confident but inside, each hiding the butterflies that had already begun to flutter in our guts.

It was almost exactly like the scene from Glee during Sectionals; We entered the hall, walked passed other groups of choirs that was already there, all in different costumes and all busy exercising their vocals and practising their numbers. I had very mixed emotions at this time, I was both excited and, intimated.

Before this, I thought the competition was just amongst other choirs around Klang as there are many good ones here too, but to my surprise, even choirs from Johor and Kelantan came down just for this. And to my bigger surprise, one of the judges is an Acapella expert who flew all the way down from Sri Lanka! And with people coming from south and east and even overseas, so much for starting in a kecik-kecik Klang-y competition dulu hey?

We get to watch other choirs perform while we wait for our turn. And it was pretty nerve-wrecking because you get to see how good the other choirs were. And some of them really were great! I have to give props to especially the choir from Johor, called the Johor Bahru Chamber Choir as I thought they did a fantastic job with their Acapella numbers.

When it was time for our turn to perform, I can't even begin to explain how the butterflies in my stomach was having such a ball of time and how cold my hands had turned. My cousin who accidentally knocked my hand even mentioned that my hand was literally as cold as ice!

While we did try our best with what we have, I knew at some level, we wouldn't win after our performance. There were other choirs that indeed were just better than us in terms of skill, control and dynamics judging from the performances that day. That was okay really, but I really really hoped to get at least top 3. I was worried because I knew there was a huge chance of us getting 4th place.

Then it was time for the results.

And guess what?

We got 3rd place!!! :D WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!


We may not have won, but I'm so glad nonetheless to have gotten 3rd place! It's definitely not only such a fantastic feeling to hold the trophy but so encouraging for us first timers.

hehe :P

We have so much more to learn, but I'm so excited to grow with my choir mates together all the way! Go Renaissance Choir Selangor! To many more to come! :D

xoxo

Competing First Timer

As you know I'm part of choir.

After being a part of my beloved choir for 6 years, we are finally taking part in a competition for the first time.

Well, it isn't a huge competition, it's just one in Klang. (Start kecik kecik dulu laaaar... ). But it is a competition nonetheless.

I could still remember so clearly the day we discussed on whether we should take part in this, and all of a sudden, tomorrow's already the day of competition!

I'm surprisingly not nervous (maybe not yet), but I am very excited about it. I really am excited to see where do we stand exactly out there in the world. Or at least in Klang. HAHAHA! Well, it is one of the main reasons why we joined in the first place. I really want to find out if we are surprisingly really good or do we really suck compared to others! Haha!

That's why if you ask me, I really don't even know what the prize is exactly. Because it doesn't really matter actually. All that matters really, is the experience for all of us to go through the highs, the lows, the hard work, the chemistry, the exposure, the nerve wrecking feeling before stepping into the stage, and hopefully the feeling of accomplishment after the performance.

If you guys are curious, we are gonna be singing 3 songs namely:

1) Love is the Answer (Nice, meaningful song)
2) Oh Brelidy! (Quirky but sometimes can be annoying Chinese song)

3) Dahil Sayo (Philipino Love song, but really difficult!)

I love Dahil Sayo! It's such a beautiful song and knowing the meaning just makes it even more heartbreakingly beautiful, I just have to share it! Hehe.

Sa buhay ko'y labis
Ang hirap at pasakit, ng pusong umiibig
Mandin wala ng langit
At ng lumigaya, hinango mo sa dusa
Tanging ikaw sinta, ang aking pag-asa.

Long have I endured in my life
The pain and sorrows from Love arise
Then you came and redeemed me, my dear,
My only hope in my darkest fears

Dahil sa iyo, nais kong mabuhay
Dahil sa iyo, hanggang mamatay
Dapat mong tantuin, wala ng ibang giliw
Puso ko'y tanungin, ikaw at ikaw rin

Because of you, I yearn to be alive
Because of you, ‘till death (you) must realize
In my heart I know there is only you
And ask my heart, you’ll know that this is true

Dahil sa iyo, ako'y lumigaya
Pagmamahal, ay alayan ka
Kung tunay man ako, ay alipinin mo
Ang lahat ng ito, dahil sa iyo

Because of you, I found happiness
That to you I offer this love that is so blessed
Though indeed I may be a slave for loving you so true
It matters not to me, ‘cause everything’s because of you

Well, will be posting the results of this competition next!

Cheers everyone! Have a awesome weekend!

A GLEEful Workshop

Yeap, you saw it right. I've just attended a GLEE workshop. :) It's actually one of our latest addition of experiences in the RedRibbon Days family and I had the chance to go try it out. So I'm now officially a Gleek!

What really drew me to contact this performing arts school in the first place was not only the fact that it's a GLEE themed musical workshop, but also the fact that they get facilitators from the West End to run it! Isn't that awesome?! It's freakin West End! :D

When you were much younger, do you remember the things you aspire to do?

When we were kids, we will always say, "I wanna be a doctor! I wanna be a lawyer! I even had a silly cousin who said "I wanna be a garbage collector!" And he seemed pretty serious about it mind you. Hahaha. Well, I've always had many ambitions, and one of it was definitely to be a Broadway/West End star. Don't laugh laaah. :/

Although that ambition has changed now, I can't deny the fact that I still love the theatre, singing, music and well, the arts. Hence the reason why I am usually one of the few amongst friends who are willing to spend that extra cash on watching musicals, orchestras and even just being a part of a choir (yes, I am in a choir), for 6 years now.

I have to admit, I was feeling a bit iffy about attending this 6-days-workshop at first because it is mainly targeted for kids below 18. My worried mind had me picturing myself standing tallest and looking so sesat amongst little girls and boys. Or worse, the only one with a fully grown body and boobs! Oklah, boobs not that big but that's not the point! Anyways, but I thought, oh well, what the heck, life's too short, and just like the saying goes on my RRD T-shirt, "Life is a sum of experiences", and keeping that in mind, I decided to just go for it.

On the first day, I don't really know why but I had butterflies when I first entered the school. Maybe because I guess I didn't know what to really expect. As I walked to the entrance, all sorts of paranoid questions flooded my brain , "Will I enjoy it? Will this be a waste of my entire week? It's 6 days you know? Will I be the only 23 year old schmuck there amongst 8 years olds?". Will I, schmill I.

After being very warmly welcomed at the registration counter and meeting lovely Shanthini for the first time (the PIC whom I've been dealing with prior to this), I went straight up to the dance room where the workshop begins!

Before anything else lemme just explain a little bit on how the workshop works. All students will be divided into 3 groups - Juniors, Seniors A and Seniors B. This is basically divided by age, so I was in Seniors B.The facilitators for the Senior groups were Grace who will be handling dancing and Nish for singing.

Grace, Sue, me and Nish

Grace is the one from West End. And I was really so excited to meet her because she has been involved in one of the biggest musicals of all times, Cats and many others too like Oliver and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! I have to say, I really salute them, for their patience and their passion, because handling a bunch of children and making them learn and remember steps and lyrics to 4 performances really. isn't. easy. at. all! 4 performances in 3 days! That's insane! And you know how kids are, they're always either are just too playful, plain blur, hard to control or just have a very short attention span! But that's what makes them so cute! Lol.

Lil Kash whom I like to call bookworm. He's always so blur but he is definitely one of the cutest lil boys I've seen! I'm gonna miss this cutie pie!

Grace working her magic on the kids

You must be thinking, "Why only 3 days? Isn't this a 6 days workshop?" Well let me break it down for you.

Monday - Wednesday: Learn all the steps and songs

Thursday (Clean Up Day): Just to 'clean up' whatever parts of the performances that are still unsure or not very good. Sound check & 1st run

through on the stage.
Friday: Full Dress Rehearsals!

Saturday: PERFORMANCE

And you would think, that a workshop for kids will be easy for us adults. Here I thought, "Aiyaaahh... dance steps for kids, kacaang puteh laaaah...". Hehehe. Boy, was I wrong! Half the time through steps I'm be squeezing my brain juice dry on what step is next. In fact, some of the younger ones seem to remember the steps much faster than me! Malu sial~

And speaking of younger ones, you must be wondering whether my worst fear came true? Well, the answer is yes and no. Yes, I was the oldest there and no, because it was alright. :) There were 2 others who were 20 and the rest in their teens and tweens. And they are all lovely girls.

See? I kinda blended in pretty well right? Hehe.

Oh and I haven't told you what were the Glee numbers that we did, did I? Ok here goes, we did:
1) Lean On Me (singing number)

2) Vogue (dance number)

3) Bad Romance (singing & dance number): No pic yet sorry!

4) Jump (finale: singing & dance number)

All of us in pyjamas! This was fun! :)

I was glad that they had Lean On Me and Jump, because they were one of my favourites from Glee. When I heard that we were doing Bad Romance, immediately I thought, "Oh no... Gaga!" And immediately, my worried mind came up with another picture. A picture of my bosses and colleagues giggling non stop when they see me attempting to do Gaga! And you know how Gaga is, she is all pyscho, deranged and saucy at the same time. And that's so not Theing! Nooooooooooooo!

Haih, I guess situations like this had to come one way or another don't it? Being in theatre is precisely not about being you, it's about getting into a character! Every single tiny detail, from how you hold the fan or how you walk, it all matters. This definitely wasn't easy, so Grace really drilled us a lot on this aspect.

Although the entire workshop did not really focus much on technics as I had hope, but nonetheless, they focused on another very important value not only in theatre but everywhere else,- confidence. Being in a group with self-conscious girls all in their teens, you have to agree that confidence and self-esteem does play a huge role. Being a leader in a choir, and also a person who deals with confidence issues myself, I totally understand how it feels like for both sides of the party. I understand how frustrating it is sometimes to be the 'facilitator' that tries to bring people out of that shell. And on the other hand, I understand how it is actually so difficult to break out of that shell and not worry about what other people might think of you too. It is definitely not something that happens overnight, but it is certainly so important to instill this at a young age.

I can't say how glad I am to also see how much my Seniors B group have grown just in a span of a few days! From girls who just wouldn't even stand and hold a mic properly in singing, to women who 'gleeked out' like fashionistas in Vogue. Remembering the steps was also always one of the biggest problems, but on that day, everyone of us just gave our best and didn't have a problem in remembering the steps at all! :)

I'm so glad that I decided to go for this experience and in fact, didn't have an ounce of regret at all. I'm glad of not only of the things I've learnt and observe throughout this experience but also of the new friendships I've formed as well.

After experiencing this myself, I can confidently say that if I have kids, I will surely take them for summer workshops such as these because I can't describe how much more priceless things they will gain from this rather than just bumming and playing video games at home.

So I really would like to take the opportunity to thank Kim, Shanthini and RedRibbon Days for this wonderful experience! I will never forget this. :)

In my next post, I'm gonna post more pictures and yes, videos too of the performance. So please be kind and not laugh pretty please?

Well, till my next post then! Cheers Gleeks! :)

It's July

Already?

I can't believe half an entire year has gone! Kapooosh! And oh boy I can't believe my last post was more than 2 months ago! Felt like only yesterday I last wrote a post. Sorry guys! :(

I hate it when time flies so fast. Don't you? It's always stuff like this that always make me just pause and rethink my life a lil. And somehow whenever I do, I never get very satisfied, it's like whatever I've done or accomplished is never enough.

Speaking about accomplishment, I remember at the beginning of this year, I've set myself a number of new year's resolution and I remember very clearly telling myself that twenty ten will be THE YEAR that I will accomplish all of them! Dengan penuh semangat some more!

I'm not gonna reveal all my resolutions here (hehe, malu lah!), but I can say that, I've steered myself in the right direction but unfortunately, still miles and miles away from achieving them. :(

What have you been doing Theing? It's not like the resolutions I've set are super impossible to achieve, it all just takes discipline and more dedication. And 'having a too busy schedule' just isn't enough of a reason anymore. (will be posting about what I've been so busy about, soon)

Well, thankfully, it's not end of the year yet, though I'm sure it will be very soon. So it's time to come face to face with the rest of 2010 and just chargeeee! CHARGEEE I TELL YAH! No hesitations, no doubts, no procrastinations and most of all, not a present moment to lose!

Before I leave, here's a few words of encouragement written by Daisaku Ikeda, which never fails to inspire and help me at all times. Thought I'd just share it. :)

"It's not important how you compare to others, but how you compare to who you were yesterday. If you see that you've advanced even one step, then you've achieved a victory."

Have an awesome weekend everyone!

Not Just Another Day

12th of April could have been just another day. But, it wasn't to me, to us RedRibboners, and certainly wasn't just any other day to our client.

Many companies in various kinds of field usually deal with people on projects or events that matter to them, professionally, but in our line of work, we always deal with our clients on things that matter to them, personally. Apart from gifts, we organize anything from birthdays, naughty hen nights to special surprises and even wedding proposals. So instead of big corporate events, we deal with events of the heart.

So on April 12, we had to do a specially customized gift delivery. Our client, Ben (not his real name), wanted us to deliver our gift box to his special someone along with 24 helium balloons and a card. You see, Ben is overseas, but he really wanted to surprise that special someone of his and give her a birthday gift she will never forget, even with him miles away. And this sweet guy had already been planning this since (if I'm not mistaken) early January this year.

The plan was to call her up and tell her we were Ben's friend who wanted to pass something to her from Ben at her office. Then when she comes down, she will be surprised by 2 ladies in red (Nik & I) carrying 24 red helium balloons, a card and gift for her.

24 balloons were meant to represent each year of her life, and he wanted her to make a wish and then, release the balloons in the air. As if each balloon were to carry her wish and message to the heavens. I know, I know, some of you maybe rolling your eyes, thinking it may sound kinda corny or cheesy, but hey, if you were in her shoes, and you just received a special gift from someone you care and love who is miles away and can't be there to celebrate this special day with you, I'm sure "corny" or "cheesy-ness" will be the last thing you would be thinking about at that moment.

The recipient, Janice (not her real name), was also just the sweetest thing. She really didn't suspect or expect anything at all and really thought she was just receiving a little something from the supposed "Ben's friend". Hehe. Good one Nik! She was the supposed "Ben's friend" by the way. :)

I wish I can show you Janice's expressions because it was just such a delight to see. Her look of surprise and shy-ness when she was reading through Ben's message in the card. And how she was also pleasantly surprised at the Pilot of a Day gift which was inside the gift box. And how she was just staring blissfully at the balloons flying up and disappearing in the skies, which I managed to take a video of. Hehe. It really was a beautiful thing releasing those balloons, despite the super strong wind at that time. Haha.

After months of tedious planning, jumping from idea to idea of presenting the delivery in a special way, testing out the initial ideas (remember Nik, Shiva? :P), countless email communication between Ben and RRD, pumping up 24 fat helium balloons and stuffing them in 2 cars; I believe all the effort was finally paid off because what really matters in the end, was them. And I could tell Janice was really so happy that evening till she even wanted a group hug and take pictures with us! :D And we are so glad that Ben was satisfied with our service too! You can read about his heartfelt story and feedback to us below.

Dear Nik,

I've received a call from Janice herself. Thank you and the RR crew for making this come true.
Well... After so much you guys have done, I couldn't say "No" to at least share the moment of joy that you've brought for the both of us.

The truth is...

Being 3000km away from home, it is not the easiest of task to keep in touch.
The distance was restricting me from expressing my feelings, limiting one's way of love ...
The distance, the career path I've chosen, the separate responsibility we each burden ourselves with, and the separation...makes life this moment... really heavy.

12th of April, the official birthday of the story of my life. It was this memorable day that
the complication begin, where happy memories sprouts...
I wouldn't miss it for the world. But career dictates that I were to remain put in a land very distant from hers.

This is not an advertisement... but words of the heart... that I am truly grateful for RedRibbon Days. I'm simply grateful because they were there. Weeks of correspondence, planning and brainstorming, made her felt my very presence and a birthday that would go into her story-to-tell-my-kids in the future.

Through the video RR has provided me, it allows me to share the moment, only at a different place of a different time. A digital documentation of her every expression, her every gesture and her every words... It's not difficult to tell how she was moved by all our efforts... a call came immediately after the surprise.

It was a complicated feeling. Feeling the sorrow from the distance ... and the sheer joy from the elaborated surprise... She was particular interested in our planning process though. The long trail of correspondence I had with Nik from RR, the well devised plan on how to trick the recipient to receive the gifts without causing too much commotion. Nik was particularly patient with me... and helpful in every way.

Due to my heavy workload... I could stay long on the phone with her...
She then text me... to express a magnitude of joy and gratefulness... and to tell me that she misses me...It was bittersweet.

The truth is...I miss her too.

Thank you Nik and RR... for bringing a part of me to her... and delivering a part of her... to me.

..........


We made 2 people really happy that day. It's really not the kind of feeling anybody can give or I can describe even. But all I can say is, I felt genuinely happy for Ben and Janice that day. I too have had my share of going through a long distance relationship and I know, that LDRs are anything but easy.

I'm so glad that I can be part of bringing these 2 a lil closer maybe, despite the distance. And I'm so glad that my job involves bringing joy and expressions of love to other people's lives. Gifts really are powerful aren't they?

So believe me when I say, April 12, 2010 truly wasn't just another day, it was what we call as, a RedRibbon Day.

Crusin' in the Air

About 2 months ago, Shiva and I had the chance to go on a 4 seater plane ride. A client was supposed to try out the Pilot for a Day experience on a 2 seater plane but because they only have a 4 seater plane available, our kind supplier said we could tag along to try out the experience of riding a 4 seater plane. I can still remember clearly when Nik asked if Shiva and I wanted to go for the ride, I was so happy! Hehe. :D

After chilling at Starbucks at the Subang Airport, the friendly Captain came and greeted us. So after everyone was ready (including the client who was suppose to go for the piloting experience), the captain took us to the hangar area where all the other planes are. As this was my first time to ever get to experience such a thing or to even come remotely close to this side of the Subang airport, I had my trusty camera all ready hung around my neck. Like a jakun, me and Shiva, were like "Waaaaaa, look at that plane wei!", "Fuyohhh..." or "Damn cooool laaah!" with our mouths open all the way. Hahaha. Or okay, maybe it's only me mostly. Hehe. :P




Then, we finally saw her. Isn't she beautiful?


This is the 4 seater plane we were gonna be riding. It's nothing really new or fancy or anything, in fact, everything about it from the outlook to the interiors were really old skool, but I loved it! I absolutely love anything that's old skool I don't know why. Haha. Here are a couple of pictures of the interior.




Before the flying begins, the Captain would usually take the client through a pre-flight briefing session for him/her to learn some basic pre-flight inspection of the aircraft. I was actually kinda looking forward to learning some new things about planes that day, but unfortunately the client wanted to skip that part because he already went through the briefings before. But no matter, I was busy exploring the insides of the plane and taking pictures here and there anyways. Hah! But the Captain did give us a brief explanation about some of the routes we might be taking. Whether or not we will be taking the route towards Port Klang, or towards Damansara...etc.


When he mentioned Port Klang, immediately I thought of what my dad said, "Bee ah, make sure when you're up there, you try to look for our house and take picture let me see ah!" Heheh. And when Captain mentioned Damansara, immediately I thought of searching for our RRD office as well. :D

Anyways, it was finally time to get on board and fly! The interior of the plane is really small but JUST right for 4 people to fit in cozily. After settling our butts onto the seats, we buckled up!


And wore the keeewl headphones! Kekeke. Just like Nik during her Pilot for a Day experience, I too was amused with the voices coming from the control tower after putting on the headphones. Although I seriously have no idea what the hell were these voices at my ears were saying, it felt 'kool' anyway, to be wearing real headphones from a plane! Heheheheh

the point where we were leaving the ground

After the take off (which was such a breeze, I didn't even realize we already left the ground), and while up in the air, I stuck my nose onto the window like a kid seeing the world for the first time. It's really a pretty amazing feeling when you're up there looking down with a clear bird's eye view of everything! It's a different feeling than looking down from a commercial plane because with a commercial plane, you will never get to fly this low.


I'm gonna let you take a wild guess on which route we took. Was it the Damansara route? Or the Klang route? *chuckles*. Sorry couldn't help it! Recognize that short but long blue building with the white rooftop there on the picture above? Guess what building it is! Guess! Guess! :D


The part where it was most exciting (and okay I admit, a lil scared for my life) throughout this ride was during the time the client was having control over the wheel. It really did look like fun (and scary at the same time) especially every time the Captain asks him to do turnings, flying up higher/lower or maintaining control of the plane when strong wind comes...etc. I have to say, I think the client did pretty well, he seems to be calm throughout the time. If it was me, sure heart pounding like 'siao' most of the time wan. ANYWAYS, I bet it must have felt awesome to be able to sit right beside the Captain of the plane, where all controls & zillions of buttons lay right there before him, and of course having the chance to actually fly the plane - Just like an actual pilot!


Now I've experienced being a passenger in a 4 seater plane while another person is trying out the Pilot for a Day experience. And I have to say, as an observer, I can already tell that having a go at flying a plane is really something. It's really not something you get to do everyday and it's definitely one experience you will take with you for the rest of your life. Heck, you can tell people "I flew a plane before". ;) So can you imagine being able to give this as a gift to your loved one? Being able to give them something they are able to cherish forever and maybe even, fulfill one's dream?

I definitely don't mind going for another cruise up in the air again, but this time with ME having a go behind the wheel. Hehe.


Definitely a Saturday afternoon well spent! Thanks Captain and RedRibbon Days. :)

A trip to the Clinic

I went to the clinic just the other day.

Why? Because I had a frigging fish bone stuck in my throat. Not just any fish bone. A measely ikan bilis bone. And that's just assuming that it is, because I ate Nasi Lemak. Unless it's might be something else, but let's not go into that shall we? haha. So let's just assume that it was a stupid ikan bilis fish bone then.

What's so annoying about this situation is that it was just a tiny bone and it got stuck on like (okay how do i explain this) the lower soft palate thingy part of my mouth? Like the end of my mouth? Hahaha. And the stupidest part is that I could SEE it!! Gah!! But I can't seem to get it out! It literally looked like one of those stubborn splinters that gets stuck onto the skin. Haha, I'm disgusting I know. :P

This happened after I ate lunch in the office you see, and after Project Extracting Ikan Bilis Bone 1 in the toilet did not work, I went on to Project 2. This time, trying to swallow a huge portion of what's left of my cold Nasi Lemak rice with hopes the rice will push the bone down. eeww.. FAILED. Project 3; gulping down what's left of CNY's pineapple tarts also with hopes the tart will push the bone down. FAILED AGAIN

Gah! So after having to tahan that piece of !@#$% in my mouth half the day in the office, I decided I will use my toothbrush once I reach home. And yes, I tried it and still..... -____- FAIL. I almost wanted to ask my sister to use a tweezer to get it out. hahahaha! Then I had this horrid scenario flashed through my head. I was afraid that while my sister is trying to get it out, somebody might just come in and give both of us a fright, and thus causing my sister to accidentally tweeze my Uvula (I think that's what it's called) or worse, causing me to choke on the tweezer. Ish.. What a nasty sight!

So anyways, my dad made me to go to the clinic to get it out. And so I did... When I was there, there was this Chinese old lady with another Indian guy who was ahead of me. They were in the midst of telling the medicine aunty at the registration counter the reason for the doctor's visit. It turns out that this poor old lady was all alone in her house doing her house chores and she fell. Her head was bleeding and swollen very badly. She looked so frail and my heart just sank when I saw her. Thank goodness her neighbour, the Indian guy was there to take her to the clinic.

After they were done, it was my turn.

Medicine Aunty: Next. Yes? How are you feeling?

Me: Erm.. I have a fish bone stuck at the back of my mouth.

.....

Hahaha. Lucky the medicine aunty didn't give me a -_____-" face, especially right after the case of the old lady who fell.

So yeah, talk about the fastest doctor's visit in my life! When I went in and told him about my situation, he just told me to say "Aaahhh....." and stuck a huge ice cream stick on my tongue, grab a long tweezer and took it out. All in about 10 seconds. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy! But the bill? Freakin RM30!!!

!@#$%^&*@#$% gaaaaah!



Oh well.

Till next time folks!