PHOTOGRAPHY

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Yes we will remember you, Charles. Always.

Friday, November 25, 2005

Being Malaysian

The great thing about being Malaysian is that you can speak Malaysian English and most English-speaking people from other countries [except Singapore] are not gonna understand half the things you say. Unfortunately, the downside about being Malaysian is sadly the same reason. A lot of Malaysians use Malaysian English [Malenglish] so much that they forget real English. Either that, or they've got Malenglish so embedded in them that they don't accept proper English as....well..proper. So why am I bringing this up? hehe. Selfish reasons, really. Coz' I think I've been "FOUND" by either Max or Nannue [for more information, refer to Nov 7th below] so I quickly scanned through all the posts to make sure I've never said anything too harsh about them. *chuckle* Well, I guess I shouldn't really care too much since it IS, after all, JONI's blog, eh? Eh. Also, it's full of Malenglish, I noticed. So prepare to think , "HUH??". *grin* But all the same, WELCOME to the jonified blog. Comments welcome at all times. *handshake*
Welcome to my abode. It needs filling up and if you can do that, then by all means, go ahead. Hehe. Actually, for the first time, the walls are bare, did you notice? I haven't lived in a bare wall-ed room for a loOong time. I shall have to find time to "fix" these empty white spaces. Real soon,too.

Friday, November 18, 2005

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Lysander was really good. But then, maybe I'm biased since I know him. eakhekaehkea. I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Meet Derek Porter [darn it,where's the camera when you need it!]. 16, American, dancer, actor, singer. And today he was, yes, Lysander of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream in his high school play. Gosh, if ever I complained about how Malaysian schools suck, I didn't do justice. To say they "suck", is so insufficient and mild, when compared to many schools outside the Malaysian government. Remember how we had "Kelab Drama", which we never watched EVER in the year? And what about "Kelab Musik"? Anyone ever heard a note from them? And let's not even go into the halls we used to cram our icky two-layered turqoise uniformed bodies in to hear some Doraemon-lookalike supervisor yak about the fundamentals of who-knows-what and Raymond-will-you-PLEASE-sit-down-and-shut-up-right-now? Oh,the memories. Haha. But *snaps back to reality* yeah, no wonder they had to FORCE us to join the clubs and extracurricular activities. Because they SUCKED, and no one was interested, not even the nerds who joined, I'm pretty sure [Bet they joined just to please the teachers, or their parents, or just for the good grade. hyek.] Even the TEACHERS weren't all to excited about being in charge, except maybe the supervisor in the Kelab Bola Sepak [football/soccer club, to those who need translation] who had watched too much World Cup that month. Pah. If we had more resources and were given better chances and opportunities, I'm sure our schools would produce brighter and happier kids. *pauses to re-think* Well, at least to SOME degree, I think. Think about it. I personally love music, but I was rarely compelled to join any such music club in school. Why? Well, okay okay, the others in the picture looked super nerdy, but that's not the entire reason! There's never any promotion, there's never any show put up, there's just never ANYTHING! If those already IN the clubs at least PROMOTED [fliers/announcements/miniconcerts/yadadoo] what they had, surely those interested in that particular field would take notice more and be more likely to find out what was going on. But I assume the clubs never HAD anything to promote anyway. Either A. they were too small a group, B. they had a boring president, C. they didn't have money and were too stupid to think up fund raisers, D. weren't allowed by the teacher-in-charge to proceed with new ideas OR, E. All of the above. Going to that play today made me realize how much we miss out on in the public schools in Malaysia. There's so much more to learn than just sums and which-fruit-fell-on-whose-head-and-so-he-named-the-state-so. Not all of us are meant to end up as teachers or accountants or mathematicians. Wasn't that the whole purpose of extracurricular activities in the first place? So the rest of us who feel lost in class can excel elsewhere and have a chance to explore other career options/hobbies? To hone talents that are lurking around waiting for opportunities or newfound skills that need refining? Why do you think so many foreign artists are so young? Yes, of course some may be dropouts who got miraculously spotted and signed, but there are those who started in school. The ones who had teachers backing them up. Encouraging them. The ones who went to competitions and fellow schoolmates were there to support and announce their victory back in school and celebrate. The ones whose faces were out there so much more, so their skill or talent was noticed somewhere along the road and they were given bigger chances eventually. Maybe THAT's why so many "second world" countries are seemingly stuck in their own little holes - because they refuse to let the younger generation in and are so caught up with cracked highway repairs. [But that's of course another story altogether]. ANYWAY, back to Lysander, the lover boy. Yeah, the performance they put up was so impressive, I'm proud of you Derek!!! I can't imagine me memorizing all those lines so perfectly! And they were convincing, too. No silly giggle-giggle-oh-i-forgot-my-lines-giggle. They had scenes which weren't meant to raise eyebrows yet in the back of my mind I was thinking "Yeah RIGHT Malaysian teachers would let any of US do any such scene without "censoring". It's ridiculous. Can't they see that the more they restrain you from doing something, the MORE you'll wanna try it just to rebel?? It's .....wait, sorry. FOCUS. Mm. Basically, the play was excellent. I give them an A+. *clapclapclap* Their hall was a real HALL with sloping seats and a stage that WASN'T falling to pieces and a sound room behind on the upper floor.We shall not describe OUR halls in our schools. Oh oH! And Isaac, played the little Indian boy!! He's a darling. [Isaac is Derek's 9yr old brother]. Pah.My pics refuse to load! I give up. I'll try to get pics of the play from Derek soon.

Saturday, November 12, 2005

And the pressure's on!

I was asked to sing at this event where Lady Khun Ying Jaruwan is going to speak. She's some Thai politician who was fired coz she's a Christian. Hm. And of all songs, Mariah Carey's Hero was requested. I mean, nobody pulls off a Mariah Carey as well as only she can. Sheesh. So I gotta practice giler. And change the vocal techniques here and there so I can actually fake it. Plus, I gotta this terrible outfit. Long skirt [which restrains walking space], freaking high heels [which restrains normal walking and makes me nervous that I'm going to fall coz they're new], and Chinese blouse [which makes me feel Auntie], and hair's gonna be up in bun with chopstick [which makes me nervous that that too will fall]. AIYOHHHHhhhhhhh. The alternative would be to find a matching pair of pants and scarf for that new top Susan got me. Which I shall frantically do soon. Either way, I need to be formal. Ok now, on to the main reason why I'm so gafferlunking about the outfit. Coz I'm supposed to get a classmate to help with the miking and video stuff. And obviously I don't want them seeing me look like an Auntie, righhtttt? Right. So like dat lor. hehe.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few days ago these two guys peeked their heads out of a bar outside my house, while I was hailing a cab under the rain. Chubby European middle aged dorks. "Hey, come on inside and have a drink with us..We like you...It's raining anyway, and you're getting wet and it's dry in here...just come on in...but we like you!". *groan* With slight regret, I have to say I was kinda rude to them. I mean, I was nicely dressed up and getting wet, the cab was taking forever, and I was just NOT in the mood to be polite! Anyway, it's irritating when this happens. So they got the response they deserved. I think. arghhh...
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Churchy holyschmoly people should just get real. They piss me off majorly. I'm just too lazy to explain what happened. But seriously, they need to just buzz off.
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Oh, this fan is in this living room. I think it's darn freaky. Look at the holes. They're huge and totally not child-proof! I'm so scared it's gonna get my fingers or hair one day!! *shiver*

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Bras and Bars

Thai females have no boobs. Can you tell where this complaint is headed? Haha.. Yup, bras. Their general lack of upper assets causes the market to stock up on pillowed brassieres. Which is really frustrating for people like, me. I mean, even if you want those ridiculous pillows shoved in your bra, at least make them REMOVABLE for the rest of the world. *grunt* EVERY single one I picked up during my shopping spree had a horrid cushion in it. Pah. Reese's choc bars are good. Period. lol. Randomness of Joni. Actually, my mind's pretty blank right now. Bjork's playing in my ears right now, so maybe that explains it. Aehkaehkeahkae..Love.

Monday, November 07, 2005

Girly Wirly Badaboom Weekend.

Fun. As most know, I have long weekends which start Fridays. This particular one started extra early,Thursday night after school, and has been packed [with seemingly a LOT of shopping,strangely]. Now I'm the total opposite from the day before the quiz. SOMEONE PUT ME TO SLEEP,please! See, after class on Thursday night, a bunch of us went to check out this jazz band which turned out to be VERY good. So we stayed till they closed! The lead female singer could play bongos so well!! *jealousness* Then we sent a friend home, and one tayar kena nail. So had to change tires and waste precious beauty sleep there. Friday afternoon I went shopping as soon as I woke up. Checked out an area that's well known for shoppery, but it was outdoors and too hot so ended up in a mini mall. Pet, I got three "basics" for RM10! Ok, sorry, ya then, Susan calls me and asks me to go to a mall with her later that evening, to shop for a nice something that I can wear for the KhunYing event [more on this later]. At first she wanted to find a SUIT. Then we tried this lovely brown/gold top that Pet would probably kill me for. And it was more suitable she thought, then bought. *big grin* Like I said, I'm so blessed a.k.a. spoilt. Yep. Anyway, after that I went out to meet some friends coz' it was my classmate Khyle's 19th birthday. It was hilarious, really. We all went crazy. haha. More details in inlay. Or not. So that was Thursday&Friday. Saturday, I go "Christmas" shopping when I wake up.And shop indeed I did. But nothing Christmassy, I realize now. *searches for camera to take pics of purchases* *fails*. Sigh. Anyway, the foursome would be proud of me if they'd been there. I made decisions so much quicker! haha. Spent way too much, but I'm happy still. *satisfied grin* It's hard to find perfect sizes for me,kayyy. Then I got home, played dress up for a while, then Mario says we're going to Saxophone. Which is another place where the live bands are good, he's been saying. So Saxophone turns out to be alright. It made me wish Darren was here to "show 'em". Coz the drummer was boring.com. Thai lead singer was real good, though. She looked and sounded like black singer from where we were on the second floor looking down into her Afro. *chuckle* But it was good lah. I met two girls!!! Mario's friends. SO NICE TO TALK TO THEM about lil girly nonsense. Like the cockroach hunt they'd had at home just before getting there to meet us. And we both said at the same time "The FLYING ones are the worst". AHAHhhhaaa. Girls are fun. ny. This night was very relaxed, very slamba, just lepaking together-gether. I declare it was swell. [yes, I seem to be feeling the Christmas spirit these weeks]. Today is Sunday [they don't put the day of these posts,mah]. Decided to visit a Thai church nearby instead. Just for fun since I pass by it pretty often.The service was so long. Max and Nannue [both lecturers at SAE, and both combined together, named themselves SIMPLEX and make electronic music] played live electronic at the Fat Festival today. No I don't know why it's "Fat". It was great, but the setting of the area could have been wayyyy better. The whole concert/festival was pretty weird and split up, it seemed. *shrug* But Simplex did a good job. *clap clap* I think I'm gonna learn how to appreciate trance/house/drum&bass wayyy more these few months. Just a random comment. So yes, after all those dayshoppingsprees and night outs, you see why the blotches/crates on my face are present, and why the bags are being discovered [Yar,Sarah, turns out I DO get bags after all. sighhh] And that pretty much sums up my weekend. Sorta. *grin* How was YOURS?

Friday, November 04, 2005

Miracles and randomage by color.

It really amazes me everytime. I mean, I know I wasn't prepared for the quiz today. But somehow I made it. And for the first semester exam, I made it too. I even got third in class, kicking some guys' butts. It's shocking, I dunno how I managed it. But I'm grateful. Today is Raya, as Fahmi [the malay dude in class] told me. How did one month of fasting go so fast?? I thought he just started fasting last two weeks?? Anyway, so halfway in class, I just blurted out ,"By the way, today is Fahmi's Christmas, guys, so everybody say Se-la-mat Ha-ri Ra-ya to him." To my surprise, ALL the guys obediently turned to Fahmi and followed after me with the Selamat Hari Raya. It was cute beyond cute. I was so tickled by it. *chuckle* My Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants dvd not workinggggg *whine*. I thought caffeine doesn't work on me. Today it proved itself to be what they say it can be. Coz I thought I wasn't gonna make it through class after the late study night I had. So I attempted caffeine. An OVERDOSE of caffeine, since it kononnya doesn't work on me,right? Wrong. Apparently, a little coffee doesn't affect Joni, but if you add 2 spoons more to a 3-in-1, she gets ultra fidgety/hyper/shaky/excited/gila/giggly/jittery. And so I was. It was crazy; Mario asked what drug I took,okay. *chuckle* The hyperness is worn off now, although I'm still awake. Actually, I kinda like some of Charlotte Church's new songs. She's totally changed image AND genre. I thought I'd hate it, even though I've been expecting it to happen sooner or later. But strangely, her pop is hooking on me. Hm. And I wanna sing more and more these days. Joss Stone lah! I wanna sing like her. Which makes me sing along with her songs and repeat them until I can follow properly. Which makes me realize I didn't finish my vocal class properly and then I wish I can. And I've been performing on a few occasions at different meetings, including a different district, Pattaya, and not been satisfied with them. Someone recently told me I'm a perfectionist in certain areas. The topic at that time was my singing. I won't sing onstage randomly unless I KNOW for sure I'm capable of a 100% good job. And that if I could only give 98%, I wouldn't do it. And that if I overcame that hurdle, it would hard to get me offstage after that. And I realized that this is so true. I DO refuse to go onstage unless I'm sure I will do good. And I also realize that you'll have to drag me off once I'm on a roll. I'm not used to performing, but I really DO love to sing. But really, can you imagine me onstage performing for real? Seriously? Hm.