Lives Can Change In A Second

There have been a few moments in my life where I've felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff.



No, I'm don't mean the suicidal kind of feeling.

More of the I'm-on-the-precipice-of-a-new-beginning kind of feeling.

In a space of a few minutes, I have made some firm decisions and followed them up with some firm action and in the slightly numb state in the aftermath of the action, right before the full consequence of what you've done really sinks in, I'm relieved, proud, anxious, grateful and excited that I've made those decisions.

I've always felt that you cannot possibly predict the future, so the only way to make sure you never have any regrets is to do the best possible thing at the exact moment that you are in.

I think those are the best things I can do at this moment, so no matter what the outcome (usually it's better than what you can imagine!), I will have no regrets!

I am 25 and I can't wait for the rest of my life...

... because for these 25 years:

I have laughed, I have cried, I have criticized, I have praised, I have been kind, I have been cruel, I have learnt, I have taught, I have judged, I have been judged, I have protested, I have learnt acceptance, I have made new friends, lost old ones, but kept the most important ones, I have railed with passion, I have considered with reason, I have hated, I have loved, but most of all...

I have LIVED.

And if 25 years of living have moulded me into what I am today, I know 25 more years of Life will make me bigger, bolder, better and more beautiful.

And although this quarter-century milestone was marked with...

... an exuberant dress as a self-celebratory gift...


...and a pair of shoes to keep me on my path...


...a shirt and cashmere shawl from my parents to remind me of the warmth and protection of their love...


...my favorite scent from the beautiful people I work with everyday that reminds me how wonderful and pleasant they make my life...



...an adorable card from my uncles, aunts, grandmother and cousins to say that they think of me always...



...a book of my favorite poet from my 'second' mother who has taught me grace.....


...and countless phone calls, sms-es, and facebook wall posts to wish me a great birthday...

I know that I already have the best gifts anyone could ever ask for....
...a family who loves me unconditionally and friends who enrich my life in ways deep and profound...

but most of all...
...the love of God that gives me strength, courage, wisdom, kindness, freedeom and power to be the best that I can ever be.

HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Our soundtrack in Paris (1-5 August 2008)

You know, love is really something.

After attending the 2008 European ECK Youth Campout in Heidelberg, Germany, my friend Arianna and I picked up our brooms to help clean out this underground chamber at the castle where we were staying.

It was a lovely echoey chamber and we started humming the tune from Disney's Cinderella 'So This Is Love', from the scene where Cinderella dances with Prince Charming, I grew up loving the cartoon and have always loved this song.

But as we were singing the song, we realised how beautiful, simple and resonant the lyrics were. And they don't only apply to romantic love, but because our hearts were then bursting with pure, divine love, the song seemed to echo the melodies of our hearts and expressed it so beautifully.

After the Campout, a bunch of us went to Paris, the City of Love, and we hummed, sang and danced the song in every street corner, metro station and historic landmark.

Sometimes words cannot describe how you feel, but in this case, it did.

So let love work its magic... ENJOY!


SO THIS IS LOVE

Mm mm mm mm
Mm mm mm mm

So this is love
Mm mm mm mm
So this is love
So this is what makes life divine

I'm all aglow
Mm mm mm mm
And now I know
The key to all heaven is mine

My heart has wings
Mm mm mm mm
And I can fly
I'll touch every star in the sky

So this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of
Mm mm mm mm
Mm mm mm mm
So this is love

Episode at Heathrow

Saturday, 9 August 2008
9pm London Time
Heathrow Security Checkpoint

Nicole stands in line at the Heathrow Security Checkpoint and the Security Officer puts out a plastic tub for her items.

She places her coat and bag into the tub.

Security Officer: (sternly) WRONG.
Nicole: (shocked) what?!
Security Officer: (grins in glee) You have to take your bag out.
Nicole: (relieved) Oh thank goodness. Haha.
Security Officer: (seductivtely) Did you enjoy that?
Nicole: uhhh. no? (thinking to herself: but bet you did, you, you, you *#^#&$ !!!!!)

The Warrior Time

I once read a quote that the world's two greatest warriors are Time and Patience, and as the seconds drip-a-drip-drip by as you're staring at the computer screen, watching that football game or just plain snoozing away, I feel like a tiny chess pawn sliding bit by bit on the Time Track, meandering my way to the first finishing line, before embarking on another stage of Soul's journey.

As of 19 June 2008, it would've been 2 years since I've been at MF as a writer.

2 years.

That's 24 months=105 weeks=720 days=17,520 hours=1,051,200minutes=63,072,000seconds.

A staggering amount of numbers that force me to wonder if I've fully utilised these 63,072,000 seconds into fulfilling my Life's destiny.

Because I read once too that if you can dream something, then you can achieve it, and if we're not aligning our actions to our dreams, then we're not fulfilling our true spiritual destiny.

But I don't know. As I search for the answer to my question, it is with gratitude that I reflect on those moments of Time where all seems to be encased in a golden bubble of goodness, joy and love.

Last night at No Black Tie was one of those moments. A truly magical night which felt like all the elements of the universe had converged to create a memory that might just last a lifetime... :)

Youtube updates soon. :)

Wake UP!

Sluggishness
Dreariness
Demotivation
Ungratefulness
Stagnance and Stillness

Please replace them with

Action
Verve
Enthusiasm
Thankfulness
Movement and Love

WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP

!!!!!

First Gig. Cancelled.

The Sunburst Music Festival KL.

What an exuberant name bursting with brightness!
It was supposed to be an exuberant time too, being also the unheralded debut of my new band 'Layan Sound System'.

But we just got axed.
Trouble with time limit, advertisers etc etc etc.

Sigh...

Suddenly the sun don't seem to be shining no more...

The Latest Lyrics

TAXI (for Layan Sound System)



Red, yellow, purple and green
They zippity-zip-zip-zip down the street
Carrying my hopes and my dreams
Travelling companions, you and me

Hey Taxi, oh Taxi man
Will you take me where I want to go?
Oh Taxi, Eh Taxi man
Please just take me where I want to go

The streets are stories of our lives
I’m a tale in yours and you’re in mine
Two simple souls just sharing time
In this great journey called Life

I don’t care if rain is pouring, journey’s short or traffic’s crazy
I have places I have to be, listen to me
I don’t care if rain is pouring, journey’s short or traffic’s crazy
Turn the meter on right now and go, Whoa oh oh oh oh

Don’t just dance on the periphery
Living right needn’t be as scary as it seems
Every turn is a decision
Gotta be the cause and not the reaction

What goes around, comes around (4X)

Hey Taxi, oh Taxi man
Will you take me where I want to go?
Oh Taxi, Eh Taxi man
Please just take me where I want to go

Writing Right

I've noticed that ever since I got this writing job at this fabulous men's fashion rag, I hardly ever write for pleasure anymore.

With deadlines hounding and a neccesity to write right, I find myself almost questioning every interpretation of my thought form into the written word.

Since I have the 'writer' tag, will my every word be scrutinized by readers going 'I thought writers wrote better than that'? I find myself doubting whether I'm writing right.

But do I have to write right? What is right writing anyway? Is there such a thing in the first place?

I think the endless analyzation helps me become a better writer as my tone is sharper, my points get across clearer without any befuddling prose masquerading as artistic license.

But.

Not when the mind takes over the heart and I am left with passionless pages of words, with question marks weighing behind every letter.

Maybe I just need to accept my improved technical skills and rekindle that burning fire in me that led me to apply for the job in the first place.

Then I shall truly write right.

Sweet Cousin Of Mine

I have a LOT of cousins, maternal ones, paternal ones, twice/thrice-removed ones, you get the picture.

But undoubtedly, my favourite one of all would be my cousin Wun who's a couple of months younger than me.

We grew up together and have bonded like sisters simply because we both have brothers, I have one very annoying one, and she has three.

Anyway, just to cut this story short, she wrote me a very, very sweet birthday post way back in October and I read it again recently and thought I'd like to share it...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICOLE!!!

“Eh, you see, you see this picture. You see the girl or not? That’s my niece. She’s a magazine writer.” That was the conversation I heard the other day when I was walking past a table where my mum was sitting with her friends. They were looking at a booklet which highlighted the World Music Festival that was held back in July.

Who is the girl? Hmm…. who arr?

Well, she’s none other than my favorite cousin sister, Ms. Nicole Foo Bihzhu (Sorry la, have to announce your name). We’ve been together since we were little. We’ve been through the good and bad times together.

I still remember those kampung days back in Popo’s house. We used to play in the garden. Oh I remember plucking Ixora (flower) and we would suck out the sweet pollen from the flower. Where did you got that idea from? Then we would place cards and I would be the unsporting one. Hehe…I do remember that. And there was once where it was so hot we went shirtless while having lunch.

To read the full post, click here

Ich bin in Deustchland!

ok. I'm officiallz in Germanz right now.

And I'm still partiallz suspended in disbelief. Pinch Pinch. Am I reallz here?

but i guess one waz of that fact sinking in is that on German kezboards, the z and y are not where thez're supposed to be... :)

But its slowlz starting to get to me. Like the fact that all the trees and ground are covered with frost, like icing sugar, it's like nothing I've ever seen before. Zes, i know, I'm like the countrz mouse seeing the citz for the first time...

And zou wouldn't believe the amount of time I spent last night after getting out from the airport puffing out mouthfuls of air just so I could see mz breath, in mists, like in the movies... :)

I have a feeling I'm going to be squealing like a little kid everztime something new comes along, in which case would be a lot of things, and I'm still hoping for snow... :)

Random things that make me smile

I was hanging out with this cute guy that I was very attracted to, and behind us were a Phillipine band with the pre-requisite hot, skinny singers dressed in f**k-me boots, navel baring tops, super short shorts and gyrating suggestively to the music. Being a singer myself and on the chubby side, I could never imagine myself dressed like them.

Me: God, those girls are so sexy aren't they?
Cute guy: (makes a face) They need to eat.
Me: (surprised) Oh?
Cute guy: (turns to me) But you're beautiful.

And I smile endlessly for days.

Time. Or the lack thereof.

When you have deadlines every week hounding your back, you just don't have the time to indulge in languorous blog posts recounting every moment of your life for the world to see, but I do feel like I've neglected my darling blog so here's a quick tag I stole off my Cousin K. as a random update of sorts about my life:

4 Jobs I have had in my life:
1. Human Resources Assistant
2. Voiceover talent
3. Party host at kiddie playland
4. Writer

4 Places I have lived:
1. Penang
2. KL
3. In my head.
4. Physical and Astral plane.

4 Countries I have been to on vacation:
1. Thailand
2. Singapore
3. Indonesia
4. Mauritius (I went for work, does that count?)

4 of my Favorite food:
(easiest question so far)
1. Calamari/Squid/Sotong (however you call it)
2. Broccoli
3. Jelly
4. Dark Chocolate

4 Places I would rather be right now:
1. Definitely with Mr. PCT.
2. Spain.
3. Catching up with Beansy again.
4. In the future where I've finished all my articles.

Whoosh!

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't updated the blog in a long time, mostly because I am SUPER busy right now!

My second daughter, Solidad (the camera) went wonky on me right before my Mauritius trip and I haven't had the time to send her to the doctor yet. Bad, bad mom.

But anyway, say hi to my other daughter Felicidad... at the rate I'm going, I might end up with more children than Angelina Jolie!

(image from www.apple.com)

Ok that's it for now!!!

Monorail Madness

This is what I have to put up everyday when I go back from work...



Squeeze, squeeze and squeeze some more... Raised armpits in a cramped space ain't fun at all!