My Unscripted Life

I saw the article a few weeks ago in the papers. The Actor’s Studio (TAS) at Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC) is closing down. Many years of procrastination has finally caught up with me. I have always wanted to go and see the plays there. The art of poetry declamation, passionate people on stage, who want nothing more than to be well received by the small crowd of 260 seat hall. It was not like I could not afford to go. Most of the time, the shows were free of charge.

It was no different on Sunday, when Baby told me that Kevin was performing there at 3PM. We headed there as soon as I got off work. (yup, working on a Sunday…sucks huh?)

We got there just in time. Got our free tickets at the ticket counter and went into the small and humble hall. Kevin was there, as if he knew we were coming. But he didn’t. And it was great to see him again in his trademark red shirt.

The day’s concert is part of the Gala Farewell, a one and a half week event where old friends of TAS and artistes who started their career on its stage come together to say goodbye for one last time.

Fahmi Fadzil was our MC for the day. I kept saying to Baby how familiar he was, but I couldn’t really put my finger on it. It wasn’t until later that I realised that Fahmi is also the host for the local quirky online show called “The Fairly Current Show”.

First up was what was supposed to be a poetry reading, but turned to be an impromptu comedy stand-up by Pappi.

He did impressions quite well. After that was the first set of the singers, featuring Ian Chow, Jasemaine Gan and Otam.

Ian Chow has more folksy tunes, while Otam has a bit of the blues vibe going on. Jasemaine clearly had the best vocals, and her songs felt very Taylow Swift in a way. You gotta be there to get what I mean.

Before the next set of singers, Farah Rani made an appearance, and read a few of her poems and some of her own favourites. She came off naturally, and nothing like some poets I’ve seen that could come off as a little pretentious.

The next set of singers were Rashdan Harith, Izzy Mohamed and Kevin Brokenscar (yay!). Rashdan had really nice vocals, and so did Izzy. Kevin was clearly the more seasoned perfomer, and was rocking the stage with his acoustic guitar! All three were accompanied by Ronny the violinist. He makes it look so effortless, playing along side the three. And I think the sounds of the violin added a little something extra for all the songs.

Rashdan had more of the pop thing going on, and had catchy songs and ballads. Izzy also had the ballad thing going on, and it suited her. She also sang a song which was dedicated to the Palestinians called “Fade Away” if I’m not mistaken. I loved it.

Kevin moved around a lot, which proved hard for me to get a clear picture of him without using my flash. But there are a couple of good shots. And I think it captures what he’s all about. 

All four performers teamed up for one last song to say good bye to TAS. A song aptly called “Goodbye”. 

TAS, who has for a long time been supported financially by Bandar Raya Developments Berhad (BRDB) will have its last performance on the 28th of March, after which it will be closed down, and make way for a more profitable business: A gymnasium.

What an ironic end to a hall that has seen such great art and music over the 8 years.

But good bye rarely means its the end.

I was in Taiping recently for a student event, and caught this photo of one of our students by accident. I loved it immediately. 

We were also at the Taiping lake Gardens, and had a blast taking some landscape shots. Here they are.

Have you seen anything quite as beautiful? Well…maybe far far away in New Zealand where they shot Lord of The Rings. But Taiping is definitely a close second.

We also indulged in ice-cream sandwiches.  I remember eating them when I was a kid, and the ice-cream man was going around rather often in our housing area. I think it’s a dying service now, and certainly one that is sorely missed.

Because the ice-cream man was going to call it a day, he gave us extra ice-cream and lots of nuts inside. Hea-Ven-Ly!

My colleague Lee Yin. She’s always giggling!

Another colleague, Terry. Also one of the lead guitarists for Altered Frequency. He is still trying to get me to buy their CD. So I asked, “Can I download it on Limewire?” Terry: “WHattt?!”

Kidding dear, will get the CD in time.

Before that we had lunch at the Taiping food court. Since it was a Saturday and it was 3PM, none of us thought it was any harm in parking the car without paying at the parking metre. Apparently Taiping’s town council parking attendants are very hard workers, and half an hour later, we found the pink slip on the windscreen.

According to the slip, if we paid on the same day, the fine would only be RM10. So we decided to all chip in, and headed to the town council to settle the fine. Guess what? It was close. This was before 4PM. A man who was hurrying by asked us to come back the following week. “Oi, we’re from KL la, mana nak datang balik?”

Expectedly, we were ignored. So we all resolved to not pay the fine.

It was still a frustrating episode, as you can see on Terry’s face.

But all in all, I enjoyed Taiping. But because the days there are so laid back, no true KL-ite could stand staying there for more than a few days. You’d have to admit though…the place is beautiful.

Life is filled with joy.

Don’t let the clouds get you down.

Always grin, never frown.

Love Mummy & Daddy,

As much as they love you.

Always say “Bless you!” whenever they go “Atchoo!!”

Life won’t be easy,

Especially with its twisted and winding roads

But like the sayings of a wise old toad,

“Tomorrow will always be a better day.”

Remember that vegetables are good for you,

So eat that green goo.

When you start to walk, try not to bump –

into your Daddy’s tummy hump!

With your new tooth, don’t you bite,

everything in plain sight!

Never use your chubby cuteness,

Although really, who can resist such goodness.

Most of all, remember this aunty of yours,

Cause one day she will the source,

of angpau and presents and candies galore,

and stories of your Daddy and Mummy you’ll never bore.

Just how much you say? So much that I read Barney Stinson’s blog. It’s so ridiculously like the character in HIMYM, that it’s addictive!

Check out Barney’s Christmas list to Santa:

December 15, 2008

Dear Santa,

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I’ve been extra special good this year, even taking on some of your work load… by stuffing as many stockings as I can. So it’s with great admiration and what I’m sure is mutual respect that I humbly submit to you my Christmas list for this year. And bro, if you have a sec, wake me up — I’d really like to talk to you about how you sneak out of so many women’s houses undetected. I’m good, but I’m not that good.

Happy Holidays,

Barney Stinson

P.S. I left you a glass of twelve-year-old single malt. Milk? Let’s get serious, bro.

There’s also a blog (presumably set up by the producers of the show) called tedmosbyisajerk.com which is a hate blog from one of Barney’s conquests who thinks that he is Ted Mosby *The Architect!*

If you have been a fan and have since fallen out with the series (there was a hiatus during the Writers Strike) you should really get back to watching it. The episodes get better and better. There is no longer a suspense on who Ted will end up marrying. But rather a dynamic shift to the other supporting characters.

Now, all everyone could talk about is when Barney and Robin would hook up. Or would they ever will?

I found this great video posted by a fan on Barney’s love dilemma. I usually never like the fan videos on Youtube, but this one is exceptionally good. Check it out.

And if you really are an avid fan, check out the blooper reel below.

Note: Downloading episodes is the best option if you want to watch with peace of mind. But I found this website which streams the episodes at a relatively decent pace. This applies to the latest season though. I tried watching season 1, and the links weren’t that good.

The local media and politicians have this warped idea that we actually care about the going-ons of Malaysian politics and drama.

Truth is, we couldn’t care less.

We don’t care what party you want to jump into.

We don’t care about the drama of yet another by-election.

We don’t care about your endless bickering on who is right and who is wrong.

We just don’t care.

So, stop dedicating the first 15 minutes of the news every night to politics. It saddens us to see our “leaders” scream nonentities during parliamentary sessions.

Stop printing the first 6 pages of the newspapers everyday with politicking morons who don’t seem to give a damn about what their actions are doing to the rest of the country.

They don’t care that baby formula costs up to RM70 a tin.

They don’t care that poor families are paying more than RM200 a month on electricity.

They don’t care that people no longer can afford fresh fish.

So we don’t care about you stupid politicians.

Until you start to truly care about us.

There are perks to living in Negeri Sembilan. There’s minimal traffic. There’s no shortage of great Malay nasi campur and there’s Cendol Leman Dawi.

We were on the way back from Pedas, when we spotted it by the roadside. Near the district of Rembau, it’ is on the right side of the road as you drive back up North towards KL. The first thing you’ll notice are the many banners around the stall. Each proclaiming the stall’s name and it’s Manifesto.

Yup, you got that right. A Manifesto for Cendol.

What is the Manifesto for Cendol according to Leman Dawi?

The Cendol Manifesto is about giving Malaysian citizens the best cendol at the best price even while cost prices are on the rise. That means, even when the price coconut cream (santan) is at an all-time high, at Leman Dawi, you are getting it FREE. Same goes for Ice, Palm sugar and the all important green sago based squigglies, the Cendol.

This means all you need to do is buy one bowl, and then get as many refills as you want for FREE.

But even buying a bowl of this delicious local dessert is ridiculously cheap. My bowl above has a huge chunk of pulut (glutinous rice) in it, and extra red beans at only RM1.50.

A normal Cendol is only RM1.00. Most expensive is Cendol with sweet corn at only RM2.00. And after you’re done with your dessert, refills are absolutely free.

Wait, it doesn’t stop there. Not only the santan, ice, plam sugar and cendol refills are free, but plain water and some delicious barley drink is free as well.

And where some Cendol stalls in KL charges extra when you want to tapau (take away), it’s absolutely free too. Not only that, they give you extra too!

If you ever have the chance and happen to be passing by Negeri Sembilan next time, don’t hesitate to take a short detour and take the old trunk road. You won’t be disappointed. Plus, you need not worry about being shy in filling up with the refills as the owner would practically shout at you to help yourself.