It's a long way to the top

Any fans of AC/DC in the house?No? What about School of Rock? Anyone? The questions are actually related to the title of this post,which is 'stolen' by yours truly from one of the best and most inspiring song from the classic rock genre : It's a Long Way to the Top by none other than the legen...(wait for it) dary AC... (wait for it) DC! If you haven't heard of them,may God have mercy on your soul,LOL. You have not been blessed with real music and you need to get yourself to a musical rehab asap! to be perfectly honest,I used to be unaware of the epicness of classic rock until several rock-dedicated movies and documentaries became an eye-opener for me as a whole.I've experienced something we can proudly announce as MUSIC,as in the art,not the bullshit we have in 2011.Then again,that's not my area of focus for now.

"It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll.."  brief,straight-forward,yet meaningful.

Nobody said rocking was a walk in the park.As all of you might have already known,I'm in a band called Band 93 (lame name,predictable significance,I know).We may be newly-formed but somehow we've developed a brotherhood-sisterhood bond over the weeks and hours of practicing together,so much so that I'm actually anticipating our next gig now that I'm missing my boys so terribly,and I guess I'm not the only one who gives a crap.Nadzmi was excited about our weekly planned jam sessions, Ken Yue is starting to come up with song suggestions and numerous arrangements in his head as I sat every midnight sharpening my guitar skills and sometimes,taking long showers thinking about the future of the band.Like wow,it's overwhelming enough that we,unlike Gastro Geeks, are definitely NOT a one-show band.Somehow,we stuck together since the MJ Night event,to the Twisties audition to Step Up and we're currently still waiting for the next gig to fall on our laps.

Speaking of the future,we clearly need more practice.We need to tighten the band.We are aware of our weaknesses and are willing to do a couple of sacrifices to rectify them.Then again,one question remains," How far do we want this band to go?" By the looks of it,we do have potential to get far,that is,if we manage to carve a niche and find our sound; and if we're lucky,stand out the right place and the right time to make it to the top.Admittedly,Malaysia has a very oversaturated musical industry whereby new talents sprout almost every minute and some of them do not get the exposure they deserve while other live by 'fame of their useful cables'.Each and every one of the members of Band 93 are committed full-time students,we only rock during our spare time and we have careers planned out for our future - relating to our respective courses,of course. Me & Ken Yue - future programmers,Nadzmi - future engineer, Neo - future lawyer, Adam - future chef, Josh - future journalist/broadcast manager.Music is our passion,it is something we fight for because it has done so much for us when words fail and when life felt meaningless at some points.

After much thinking,I suddenly recalled the moment when we all sat in a circle in the contestants' room back in KDU.I asked my bandmates : " How far will we get?" They answered me with , " We're only doing this for FUN."  Indeed,it wasn't the answer I had expected.Post-audition,we came to an epiphany. WE SUCK,but somehow,something stops us from giving up. I saw the rage in their eyes,I knew this was the right time to ask the same question again. "How far will we get?" They each answered exactly what I had predicted in my mind " Hollywood Boulevard!" As far-fetched as it may sound,it's more like a dare-devil's dream to me.Then again,it's never wrong to aim for the stars,as long as we work hard enough to get what we desire. :)

A tiny piece of advice from Cikgu JD : "in pursuit of the 'Hollywood dream' it should at the core of things, always be fun otherwise u stand 2 lose more than u gain."

Thank you sensei,for the guidance and never-ending support despite the fact I have failed your expectations once.I promise,it will never happen again. God bless you,JD Wong :)

Life is a book God has Written about us

I'm supposed to be having a super productive weekend of working on my 5 assignments due within two weeks but instead,I don't know what's gotten in to me,I keep procrastinating to this day,only to know that the long weekend's over and tomorrow I gotta go for classes again.

Mission: work on English 450-word essay assignment on e-mails.

Time elapsed: 12 hours.

Progress: still in essay development plan.

Procrastination level : ASIAN.

Rank: Professional procrastinator and staller.

I've been reading too much 9gag and probably have been gaming too much too.This is exactly what you get for being "one of the boys",literally.Ever since I joined Band 93,I've been acting like a boy,but no worries,I still have high school crushes and cry like a girl xD well,back to the topic,I honestly have no idea what i've done all weekend.My productivity level decreases as I'm getting older and I know things are gonna get ugly if this persists.I need to get an epiphany of some sort to get my life back on track,I've been too out of focus lately and I give less fuck than I'm supposed to.It worries me in so many ways.I have had several tight slaps from life for keep delaying my tasks,yet somehow the "once beaten twice shy" proverb just doesn't take much effect on me,probably because I'm too thick-skinned,I dunno.Whatever it is,I promise, thou shalt not pass if thou  does not henceforth thy tasks << I have no idea what i'm saying,so just bear with me.

So as part of my reasons to delay my important tasks and screw up my non-existent supposedly-efficient schedule,I talked to Ken Yue (one of my closest friends).He needed a shoulder to cry on (or rather,to punch out his anger on) and he felt so demotivated.I had to say something,and for this,the philosophical side of me started to shine.He complained how life has been hard on him and whatever he does will meet failure sooner or later,I noticed the fact that I have been experiencing similar situation and I too,have crumbled.Crying was a good temporary remedy,yet it's insufficient to fully get rid off the root of the problem.In the pursuit of happiness,tears are bound to fall and people are bound to bleed,no matter who you are.No matter how suckish your life is,and no matter how much you feel like your life is not worth living anymore *cough*suicidal thoughts*cough*,always bear in mind that God made His creations the best that they could ever imagine to be,and His plans,although they're beyond our knowledge, are for nothing but the best.In my perspective,I look at life like a book,written by God.Moving on and not giving up after a tragedy is like reading the next chapter,if you don't do it,you will piss God off as He has made an effort to write one of the most epic stories about your life and yet you're being a bitch by not wanting to read it or even have a tiny peep on it at all.How would you feel if people don't appreciate your masterpiece?Let alone with the fact that God is a heavenly Being,therefore his superiority leaves you no choice but to go with His flow of the story,which for me will eventually hook you up with the most unexpected fairy tale ending you can ever think of.So why live in the past whilst you have a future to walk to?

Quoting Jurassic Park :"Life finds a way".



Christmas wish - Forbidden/Permissible?

Billie Joe & Adie's awkward Christmas guests.

Title speaks for itself.I guess,doubtlessly,I'm sure everyone regardless of where you are right now,is aware of what the significance of 25th December is right? yes,it's Isaac Newton's birthday! LOL.. kidding,as far as that is true,it is also the day the Christians believe to have been the day their lord Jesus Christ was born.In the Islamic context,Jesus Christ is Prophet Isa Alaihissalam,one of Allah's messengers before Prophet Muhammad SAW whilst the Christians believe that he is the son of God.Christmas is celebrated on the same day each year.Some views also mentioned the fact that Islam and Christianity have a lot in common,except for views on Jesus. However,the differences in belief is NOT what I'm gonna point out in this blog post; Instead,the issue of whether or not it's permissible to wish our Christian friends a merry Christmas.

There has been several clashes in opinion regarding this issue.There have been posts circulating around saying that it's forbidden to even greet your friends,with their arguments supported by the following quote from the holy al-Quran:

"Laakum diinukum waliyadiin.." - surah al-Kafirun,which translates : "Your religion is your own and my religion is my own."

Scholars have agreed that this quote forbids Muslims from being influenced by other religions' practices,but the posts I meant to talk about interprets it as forbidding Muslims to even greet their Christian friends for fear of wrecking our own faith.Then again,is "Merry Christmas" really a declaration of faith the same way the Syahadah is for us Muslims?Varily,according to my Christian friends,it's not.it's only a harmless greeting,like Happy Chinese New Year or Deepavali Valthukel.In fact,even the Christians wished us Selamat Hari Raya or Happy Eid Mubarak,yet I don't see their Christianity being affected in any way at all (they're still Christians),unless of course,they've been interested in Islam all along.In my view,it's quite silly to make tight restrictions without proper logic or base.Didn't our Prophet Muhammad SAW teach us to accept diversity in race and religion? Didn't Allah mention in his Holy books that we must tolerate our differences and live as one in order for the world to prosper?

I speak with evidence from a Quranic verse:

O mankind, We created you from a single pair of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other [49:13].

I admit,I am not one who is educated enough to interpret the Holy book,but my faith,and my knowledge is deep enough for me to know that Islam is a religion of tolerance,and by tolerance I mean we must not make our racial and religious differences a barrier that breaks our unity apart.For this,I conclude that I find the argument made by 'those posts' to be invalid.

to my Christian friends,wherever you are,if you're reading this, Merry Christmas and a Happy new year! also,happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends,and Happy Barmitsvah to the Jehovah's witnesses.

bottomline: to me,a greeting is permissible in Islam,as long as you do not celebrate or join their religious activities.



7 Months..and counting

I can't believe how fast time flies.It's been 7 months since i first met you,came to know your name,and all the madness began. I didn't expect a slight crush to go this far,and never in my life have I remembered so many details about a guy on the first day I met him.

I remember what you wore,how you approached me,what we talked about,and I remember every single line and every single thing we did.

It was 3 days before you turned the legal age.Happy 7 months,friend?... love? I wouldn't know,but I've never waited for a guy this long,and I've never felt something like this before.

To this day,I haven't given up,and I'm still wasting my wishes on you,wishing that one day I will be able to tear your walls apart and break into your ribcage to steal your heart/take my heart back from you.

But for now,I'm looking forward to the next cup of coffee I have with you,on a rainy day,with nothing but silence.

I Can Wait Forever

The above line was quoted from Simple Plan's "I Can Wait Forever",a song that's currently speaking my mind and my heart unlike any other. Self-explanatory much? And why the sudden mention of it you ask?

He defended me like a gentleman,he helped me carry my heavy loads,everything he does just makes me swoon and think of him all night.

Also,I had a dream about him.It was beautiful,he was beautiful,the moment was perfect.It went on repeat and the second I realize it was a dream,I didn't wanna wake up if it wasn't for college.

Please visit me in my dreams again <3

Step Up! For Charity Concert - behind the scenes

First of all,on behalf of Band 93,I'd like to thank the organizers of Step Up! for Charity Concert (Taylor's School of Architecture & Design - Foundation in Natural Build Environment) for allowing us to get a spot to perform in the Talent Show to raise fund for the Malaysian Kidney Foundation.'twas an event held for a good cause whereby admission tickets are priced at RM15,proceeds were to go to the health foundation itself.as usual,Band 93 being Band 93,we wouldn't wanna miss a single opportunity to gain both experience AND exposure,however,there were only 5 of us instead of our usual 6 because Adam decided to perform on his own this time.also,a few changes have been made,not on the line-up but more to what the line-up does.

- Neo remained the vocalist.
-I remained the guitarist,but this time i'm only playing rhythm and i had to backup Neo's singing.
-Ken Yue remained the drummer and ever-so-stressed-out manager.
-Nadzmi went from bassist to lead guitarist.
-Josh went from keyboardist to bassist.Interesting story here,he messed up the date on his mind and thought yesterday was only gonna be our band meeting day and the event was on some other day.The best part was he had a pre-baptism course AND a complimentary dinner to attend,all on the same night.Solution?We borrowed a bass from one of the guest performers and Josh skipped his other events to be our bassist.Things we'd do for the band :') Passion is indeed power.

Back to the story,all of us had to stay back in uni until nightfall.Ken Yue and I had classes until 12-ish.For a second,when our lecturer almost made us stay back to finish up our Asian level context diagram and Level Zero Diagram,she actually let us out earlier than we expected.We then moved on to our little 'headquarters',SLC (Student Life Centre-where us students go during our free time to get a life,thus the name,lol) for our band meeting.Nadzmi had been around since 10am considering the fact that he no longer had classes to worry about.Josh and Neo showed up a few minutes later and the discussion began.Then again,song arrangement only took 1% of the discussion time,the remaining 99% was all about 9Gag jokes and other unrelated stuff.Eventually at about 1pm,the meeting ended and Nadzmi left for Friday prayers while me,Ken Yue and Mahirah went for lunch in Subway.Neo had classes and Josh stayed in SLC to catch up some foosball and pool sessions with Adam.When we came back to SLC,Mahirah left for her classes and we decided to have a little 'warm-up' while waiting for Neo to come.Let's just say our band has our own way of chilling before a performance.

Josh taking a chill pill as we had our meeting.

Ken Yue and I had a little friendly pool match,I almost got him but I lost the game by one ball,dammit!



And then Neo showed up earlier than expected and helped me own Ken Yue.

Nadzmi's intense foosball match with Josh.no idea who won,but they pretty much stalled us from going to the studio on time,lol.worth it though,the more stressful the game went,the more thrilling it was.

According to Ken Yue,he booked the studio at 3pm,but he then postponed it to 3.30pm because Neo had classes from 2.00-3.30pm.After goofing off until about 3:45pm,we only showed up in the studio at about 4.30pm LOL.We hitched Josh's ride and there was coincidentally a massive jam along the way.We then had a super rapid run-through of the song,altered some parts (which sparked some silly,childish argument among one another) and finally met a point of agreement when we had only 10 minutes left before we're supposed to return to uni for soundcheck at 5pm.Obviously we didn't make it on time and ended up soundchecking at 6.30pm++ instead of the actual time.There was yet another traffic clog up on our way back to uni considering the fact that we made a move at the exact same time the office staffs are going home.More 9Gag jokes to kill time,and some other crappy topics. Oh,did I mention Ken Yue accidentally leaving his phone in the studio and I lost my guitar tuner?

We reached the venue at about 6-ish and had to wait for the other bands to soundcheck first.Meanwhile,we managed to rehearse a little bit,grab some free food from the organizers as dinner and some other private businesses.Staircase rehearsal FTW! The show started at 8pm with the awesome Rhythm Nation and Seconds to Collide (which made Josh slept soundly like a baby).Then there was this speech by the dude from Malaysian Kidney Foundation and the show began.

Highlights of the night were:

1. The dancers who did a dance medley. (couldn't tell if the other dancer was a male or a female until we saw... whatever that needs to be seen to identify her identity LOOOOOOOL)

2.Ping (Lady gaga) who nailed Bad Romance with her showmanship and somewhat vocal strength.

3.An acoustic band consisting a guitarist (who reminded me of Sasi the Don,in terms of hairstyle) a really powerful singer and a cajon player (whom the audience deemed as 'box guy').The minute they were requested an encore,we knew they were gonna win something.

Then it finally came to our turn.I met one of the Sharifah sisters (Sharifah Alesha) and her bf backstage,they were to perform after us.The dude mentioned the fact that he seldom saw tudung girls such as myself picking up electric guitar,and I predicted that he might compare me to Yuna or Najwa Latiff,so I beat him to it,pointing out that i started guitar way before it was cool.Alesha wished us luck and we went into the limelight.We did a little set-up while Neo stalls the crowd and the show began! Long story short,Bad Romance intro was epic,until the bridge came when I rapped in the wrong key and Neo was somewhat influenced by me.It was then when the rest of us started to fuck up as well,Ken Yue's drum beats were everywhere,Josh played the wrong bass notes (or perhaps he forgot to retune the bass) and Nadzmi also did a minor error in his guitar solo.I guess Ping pretty much saved the show when she showed up on stage with us as we planned,so I figured maybe no one noticed all the fuck ups we made.This is where showmanship comes in handy ;) at that particular point,i knew we had no chance to win,so we decided that we were doing it for fun.Adam had the finale spot and nailed Sunday Morning & Rolling In The Deep.

Next there was this awesome band called The Metaphor.Hands down,the tightest instrumental band ever! Nadzmi bought their CD for RM18 and we agreed to share it with him.

We then had a little band photography session before I ran to Starbucks where my brother had been waiting for me for the past 45minutes.So fucked but so fun,LOL.

That was it people,one of the best shows I've had in my life in spite of lack of practice and alot of other fucked up factors.Still,I got to experience Line 6 Spider III amp,for fuck's sake it was damn amazing!

More pictures and footage of the performance coming soon.Stay tuned,I'll make an all visual version of this post later.Toodles folks!

Living Lavigne-da Loca!

Buy me a Rock Zone ticket for my advanced 19th birthday present and i swear i will love you forever,LOL.this is all I ever wanted,yes,Avril Lavigne is in my bucket list of artists i would love to see before i die.i would reveal my whole bucket list but that would take up a whole lotta posts.for now,just know that if you're wondering what to give me for my birthday,get me a ticket! please! i'm not asking much,don't have to get me fancy teddy bears or clothes or chocolates,just pool money for all i care and get me a goddamn Avril concert ticket! hehe

wow first Simple Plan and now her!!! i hope Tune Talk stops bringing all these awesome people in one year,i need $$$ for tickets!

If I were A Millionaire

I've been talking to one of my closest friends about his dream he had about winning RM20Mil.he told me it was exciting at first but after awhile,it gets boring because he wouldn't know what to do with the rest of the money he has.however,if i were him,i would know exactly how i would spend each and every single cent i own.

for starters,of course as a Muslim it's an obligation to go for pilgrimage,so i would spend around maybe rm100k for that,which means i will be taking my family members with me.i will set aside 20% of my wealth for zakah and charity.speaking of charity,i aim to help those countries at war especially Syria and Palestine.i'll make an expedition to these countries and help the children.i'll also try to help as many cancer patients as possible.

then i'll change my phone,maybe to a typical Blackberry,get myself a Samsung Galaxy Tab in replacement to my old laptop.

afterwards maybe i'll buy a house; but i'm not planning to get myself a 10-million dollar mansion,no sir.i'll only get myself an ordinary pent house that overlooks the view of the city,maybe i'll get one in Los Angeles and another one in KL.

with that done,I'll get myself a car,again nothing fancy considering the fact that i'm not really the best driver in the world,wouldn't wanna damage a car that costs a fortune now would we?haven't quite gotten a proper thought on what type of car will i be getting,but there's a high probability that i will get myself a Jaguar,or any of those fancy convertible cars with roofs i can opt to open or close.

in terms of music,i plan to start a business,open a recording and jamming studio somewhere in KL,hire a few musicians to teach musical instruments in the studio,hire a few audio experts to handle recordings,and have a special studio reserved for Band 93.it would look like a mini house where we can all jam in overnight and treat like our own homes,so that we can churn out music anytime we want for absolutely free.i will have proper drumsets for my drummer,proper amps for my guitarists,bassist and keyboardist as well as proper mics and audio interfaces for our own personal use and also for the recording business.we would be the next KRU,except we're not siblings.with all the money i have,we can collaborate with any bands we love,Avril,Simple Plan,you-name-it.i could also have Green Day to perform in my backyard for my private birthday party.

i'll use the rest of my money to invest in large scale businesses,maybe McDonald's or anything i love.i'd travel the world to all the continents and places i've always wanted to visit,and i'll finally meet the celebrities i've been meaning to meet.

my dream wedding?i want a simple garden wedding with only the closest relatives and acquaintances invited,at the Himalayas or somewhere in Maldives,any sandy beaches will do.i don't want something like Kim Kardashian,too much of a fuss and it doesn't even last.and i don't even care if my husband gives me a diamond ring or not,what's important is,i get married to the man I love and that we vow to keep each other for better or for worse.but i really want Christina Perri to perform A Thousand Years at my wedding,hihih.

okay..back to planet earth.wouldn't it be fun to be a millionaire?set aside the possibilities of getting pursued by mafias and assassins of course.

Drops of Jupiter in my hair

"Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
Your best friend always sticking up for you
Even when I know you're wrong?

Can you imagine no first dance, freeze-dried romance
Five-hour phone conversation
The best soy latte that you ever had, and me?

But tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet?
Did you finally get the chance
To dance along the light of day
And head back toward the Milky Way?

But tell me, did you sail across the sun?
Did you make it to the Milky Way
To see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated?

And tell me, did you fall for a shooting star?
One without a permanent scar
And then you missed me
While you were looking for yourself?"

-"Drops of Jupiter" by Train.

do you guys remember this song back from the 90's? back in the days,music was like poetry with tunes,beautiful and abstract.this song,for instance,is one of the deepest songs i've known to love,but only know have I discovered the title and surprisingly,the songwriter is the dude who sings Hey Soul Sister! i fell in love with it instantly,just like seeing an old lover across the street and discovering that you still had feelings for him after all these years.right here,right now,in spite of all the interpretations of the wordings of this song,i find that the meaning behind it has something i can totally relate to right now: it's about a girl who loves a guy so much but then realizes that she has yet to find herself,only then can she love whole-heartedly,but the journey of self-discovery took so long that both her and the guy had changed personality wise.the guy then realizes bout her feelings,but it was too late because she might have already moved on.the song is about the guy hoping for her well-being,and hoping that she still remembers him and all the moments they once shared.could that happen to me and you?

a few months ago,i decided to do some self-discovery practices,reflecting on why none of my romantic relationships seem to work ever since i was much younger to this day,and why is it that i have little/no control over my own feelings,and it turned out i was afraid of commitments all along.it was a shocking thing to find out,and it explained a lot about why i am so allergic to the word 'marriage',just mentioning the word gives me goosebumps,let alone discussing about it.i know,i'm not getting any younger,but it was clear to me that my feelings should be tamed and i should not overthink about them too much because i am not mentally and physically ready to fall in love or be in a serious relationship yet.i may think like a 30-year-old,but a part of me is still a child,with great fear of getting hurt again.past relationships haven't been good to me and they left me with traumatizing experiences,there was even a time when i hated the male population so much that i didn't even want to be friends with them.i guess shutting down my feelings will be the best resort for now,then again,i can't keep pretending i feel nothing while in truth,all i ever think about is you.i thought "out of sight,out of conversation,out of mind" would actually work out,but it doesn't.the less i see you,the less i talk to you,the less i talk ABOUT you,the more my mind thinks about you,and the more it assumes "what if".i tried to avoid talking about you with hopes that the feeling might go away on its own but i was dead wrong.the same consequence goes for my attempt to look for your flaws,i keep seeing your perfections instead.it drives me nuts sometimes to know that,thus far,you're the most perfect guy i've ever met.it sucks even more that i secretly waste my wishes on you,even with the knowledge that wishing for a miracle to happen is beyond idiotic.i don't really know what keeps me waiting,i should be moving on by now but no,my heart insists on me to keep waiting for a shooting star to fall on my lap.i notice how we seldom talk or spend time with each other as much as before,i feel the void between us and the distance is growing wider as the days go by.is it worth fighting for anymore?i'm sick and tired of all these crappy,delusional fairy tale endings i keep making up in my head,all these just have to stop.is it too much to ask for if i want these feelings to go away and we return to normal?i'm not sure if it's just me or are you tremendously changing into something i fear the most?i miss the old you,the crazy you,the sweet and gentleman you.why do you have to ruin it?why do my feelings always have to get in the way of an awesome friendship?i keep an unintentional recording of us having fun,we laughed,we joked,we had so much fun.what does it take to have those moments back?

i miss you,a lot that it hurts sometimes,and i wish you would just leave,so i have a reason to carry on life without you,and let go of all these false hope,and stop wasting my wishes on you.

Can't keep my hands off you

chill people,i ain't no perv xD that's the song that's been playing on my mind,so much so that it's been a part of my musical dreams for many nights already.yes you did read that correctly,MUSICAL DREAMS.somehow i've been having glee-style dreams where people would randomly break out into a dance routine in the middle of hallways to the catchy tunes on my mp3,strange indeed.also,the past few nights,i've been extremely insomniac for some reason and yesterday,my body finally condemned on me,missed half the classes and spent most of my time in the sick bay.

and so what i thought was gonna be a dreadful hospital ward-like place turned out to be heavenly.entering the place alone,i was greeted by the friendly faces,who then offered me temporary treatment.they provided me with hot milo and i rested for about an hour before they prescribed me 2 panadols.feeling drowsy,i slept for about another hour before leaving for lunch with Mahirah.Actifast works wonders yo! and it's pretty awesome that the sick bay provided first class treatment for absolutely no additional charges at all,well apparently facilities were first class,hands down.

And then there's that terrifying blackout experience.I was downstairs,alone,doing work as always when a short circuit occurred with one of the switches in my house and the whole place went pitch black.it was 4am and i had that "shit :)" face.used my laptop as a torch light,went upstairs and straight to bed.i guess it's the universe's way of forcing me to sleep.yeah it worked,because if there's one weakness in the world,mine would be fear of darkness.my insomniac days are over! for now.