Mood: Pretty good
Currently listening to: Sugar Sugar - The Archies

Yeah, ok, so i haven't posted in a while but life has suddenly gotten busy.

I don't know HOW it got to be so busy, seeing as it feels as slow as it has been in recent times, but i just find that the virtual umbilical cord that kept me confined to the computer (and thus my room) being broken with alarming frequency because of the various functions that i have to attend.

And maybe that ain't such a bad thing.

At the very least it allows me to come up with wacky post titles like the one above! ;p

So anyhow, it looks like i need to do a quick recap with regards to what i've been up to these last three days (beware! Knowing me this is likely to get quite long!)...

SATURDAY - "A Hero's Life"

Went for my French class in the afternoon with the mistaken belief that there would be an exam - not that it would have mattered since i didn't study regardless. Nor do i have to (hah! Cockiness in this way can only result in tears i tell you!). Long class though, what with it being three hours. Really wish it was shorter, or at least a little more mentally stimulating... :(

So anyways, i went to watch the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra with my mother at KLCC straight after that, where they were showcasing a guest conductor (Gabreil Chmura) as well as a violinist of considerable fame (Boris Belkin). Well, famous to some i suppose because the only famous, living, violinist that i know of would be Vanessa Mae. And with a body like hers how could anyone possibly forget her? Hot! ;p

Hrmm, wonder what happened to her? Ah fame, such a cruel and fickle mistress...

So where was i? Ah, the orchestra... Well, the orchestra performed Kilar's very energetic Krzesany at the start (i quite liked that one), followed by Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No.2 in G minor (Op. 63) as performed by Mr Belkin. Didn't really enjoy this piece too much, maybe it was just me but it felt a bit lacklustre and repetitive. Oh, and one of the strings on Boris's violin bow snapped during the performance - which was hilarious since it kept flapping into the composer's face! Bwahahaha! ;p

The last performance was that of Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben (Op.40). Interesting because its supposed to mimic Mr Strauss's life from start to finish, with him being the hero of course. Great piece! I personally thought 'The Hero's Battlefield' was particularly good because of the impression of the grandeur of battle and the victory that it is meant to represent (yes, downloading it now - yay!). Oh, and in case you might not have noticed i finally bought the programme! Piece of advice for those budding amateur classical lovers such as myself (and unlike JL and Abe who have a habit of arguing with each other over the relative strengths of various composers) - buy the programme!!! Wow, everything sounds a LOT better and a lot more interesting once you actually know and follow the story or feeling behind it! Not to mention the title and the name of the composer... ;p

After the show, my mother and i went for a quick dinner at Burger King with the rest of the well-dressed crowd that attended the show (at 11pm its the only thing open at KLCC) while we debated whether or not we should attend the DJ Cam performance at Zouk that night - seeing that no one had responded to my plea for a female companion in the previous post! *hrmph* ;)

My mother didn't mind going and we were both curious as to how Zouk looked like inside (it occupies one FUNKY looking building). That, and it was a VIP invite after all, which would surely have entailed some free drinks and perhaps even some tasty hors d'oeuvres. Mmm... tidbits... Thought my mother looked a bit knackered though, and not to mention that if we did go there would be a slight problem with the cars since both of us had driven to KLCC seperately. So i decided against it... *sigh*

Sorry Kwong Heng! (I was supposed to meet him and his 'posse' at the Guinness 'Black Passion' party which was being held in Zouk at the same time - and i was quite spiffily dressed in all black, jacket and all, to boot! Think i could have won a prize *sulks*) ;p

Ah well. Next time.

SUNDAY - "The Sultan"

Woke up at the ungodly hour of 6am after a restless sleep which lasted exactly one hour. Was then dragged, protestingly, by my ma to attend the 'Penchala Link Fun Run' which was being held in order to raise money for some poor orphans or somesuch. You've gotta love these events. Not only do you get to look like a complete idiot in a tacky Fun Run shirt with a gigantic putrescent green number pinned to your chest, but you get to BE surrounded by about 2000 other sleepy idiots in tacky Fun Run shirts with green, pink and blue numbers pinned to their chests (ah yes, the comfort one gets from conformed mass idiocy). Wasn't exactly feeling in great shape what with my recent lack of exercise (aka, my 'hermitage') so i sulkily viewed the pre-race proceedings while hopelessly yearning for a cigarette. ;p

Those pre-race proceedings comprised of some pretty lame MC-ing and the overly cheery warm up performance by the 'Bossini Sports Apparel' girls, who managed to amazingly incorporate Tae Bo, gymnastics and moves from the Dirty Dancing movie into their routine. What wasn't so great was the large guy in front of me following their routine. He wore no underwear (Spandex can be such a double-edged sword *sob*). :(

And did i forget to mention that it began to rain? Argh.

Anyhow, the race got underway and i found that the prior pact that i had made with my mother regarding the fact that i would accompany her in WALKING the race (jogging wuss that i am) was rapidly destroyed faster than you could say 'Brest-Litovsk'. Have i ever mentioned that she's an ex Malay Mail Big Walk champion? Well, needless to say she very rapidly left me behind. Swing those hips ma! ;)

I walked the first 3kms at my usual pace - which, as many of you may know, is pretty damned fast so i managed to hold my own against the rest of the midgets i was pitted against. But good lord it was pouring by this time! Anyhow, once i had gone through the long underground Penchala Link tunnel and started heading back for the finish/start line the rain had cleared up and we were going downhill. Started feeling better (sweat has a tendency to do that) so i flat out ran the final 2kms in my own 'leaping gazelle' way (read: '6ft 4 man, uncoordinated and stumbling at full speed' way). Whoo! That felt pretty good though! Of course that could have been the post race build up of endorphins talking but i'm seriously considering taking up jogging. It may suck while you jog, but don't you just feel so good after its all said and done? What a high! :)

Managed to stay awake long enough to meet up with Joa, Julian and Zamil at Times Square for lunch and his Malaysian Idol audition. Yes, this is Zamil's second audition! If he gets past this one - he's in! Of course, in typical Malaysian style we found out that his 1:30pm appointment with fame had had to be rescheduled due to the judges breaking for lunch! Boo!!! Hiss!!! Went to Starbucks in order to kill time while i tried in my own morose and morbid way to cheer Zams up while he chugged down his honey tinged peppermint tea. Well, we all finally got in at about 3pm and then basically hung around the incredibly dusty, dilapidated auditorium twiddling our thumbs while scoping out his competition. Three of the more unusual ones were 'Elvis boy' (because of his white jumpsuit and snakeskin shoes), 'Buff Boy' (insanely pumped arms and coloured dreadlocks - he was such a 'tryhard' i swear) and 'Collagen Girl' (she looked like she was 16! Yet more proof that Britney is evil. The scariest by far *shudder*).

That and there were a few roving video cameras hovering around - funniest moment was when i was talking to Zams and then out of the corner of my eye i spot the camera dude taping us from a distance, and when he realises that the two of us had noticed him he suddenly starts taping the ceiling! We played this game for a while until i mentioned to Zams that it was just plain creepy and made us too self aware - so we started posing and the guy just visibly (and audibly) sighs and walks off! Hehehe... Spotted him later taping another contestant THROUGH the advertising banners - damned comical i tell you! ;p

Oh, back to the action... Aaaand so we waited. And waited. And waited some more. We stayed there until 6:15pm and by that point i, Joa and Julian had to leave for a wedding and a bus to Singapore respectively... We were there for five plus hours and in the end we had to leave poor Zams on his lonesome with nothing more than plenty of hugs and words of comfort... and you know what?

HE DID IT! HE'S IN PEOPLE! ZAMIL IS NOW CONFIRMED TO BE ON MALAYSIAN IDOL! w00t!!!

CONGRATS MAN!!! :)

Heh. Was there ever any doubt about that? ;)

Crap, there goes my policy on not watching any of the Idol shows or getting swept up in the resulting euphoria... Oh well, at least i know who to vote for! That, and i get to mooch off his fame! ;p

*ahem* Any chance that i can go to the show and cheer you on Zams? *nudge nudge* *winkity wink* ;)

Ok, moving on (shit this is getting long!!!), lets get to the reason why i had to leave Zams...

I had promised my mother to escort her to her wedding ceremony at the Istana hotel that evening so of course we dressed in our best (sassy!). Ah, but i do love suits. On the other hand, little did i know that the groom was the son of the Sultan of Johor - and the consequences of THAT. Anyhow, we arrived a tad early and were ushered into the huge ballroom which comprised of rows upon rows of gigantic, long, banquet tables. This being a royal wedding (my mother is the friend of the bride's mother) formality was apparently a must - the first being that all the men had to sit on one side of the table directly opposite their partners. I happened to be seated next to Jerry, our neighbour and owner of Bufori automobiles, and the wife of some IT industry leader. Was a little uncomfortable at the age divide for most of the night, being the anti-social bastard that i am, but i managed to get on by amicably enough with Jerry in particular who has now offered to have a drink with me sometime in order to help me out of the slump i'm in (ah, if only more neighbours could be so kindly).

Come to think of it, its just as well that we got on so amicably because the Sultan and his entourage were THREE HOURS late!!! And let me just say that since this was a malay wedding there was no alcohol to speak of (sacrilege!), no entertainment other than some occasional jazz songs, and the food had been served very early on. Right in front of our noses. Sheer torture to one as hungry as i was i tell you... :(

And when he DID finally arrive, with a tear streaked bride (!) and groom in tow, what followed was an incredibly boring series of prayers and speeches before we could tuck into the (now rather stale) food. On the bright side, the MC for the evening was very good and certainly brought back a few childhood memories - can't remember his name but he was a newscaster from way back (chubby feller that he is it wasn't hard to place him, Lothman or somesuch?). But the tone, and formality of the whole thing was so... suffocating. There most certainly was no feeling or semblance of love in that hall that night i tell you - no dancing even! Oh how i abhor these formal weddings!!!

Not that the Sultan of Johor is a very nice man - as any self-respecting Malaysian will tell you he's the one who allegedly clubbed his state hockey goalie to death a while back, keeps a private army, and generally bullies everyone around. There were even whispers that he had disapproved of this marriage (thus perhaps the tear-streaked bride, and his son seating himself FAR away from the Sultan, AND his bride, that night). Geez, in this day and age! Given his behaviour and disrespect to the guests (and not to mention his past) as well as all the pomp and ridiculous ceremony that we all had to annoyingly prostrate ourselves to i can only wonder at anyone who would support such priviledges granted by the ridiculous notions of 'divine right' by birth. That settles it for me - royalists are the greatest of idiots. Death to tyrants!!!

Hrmm... then again i should recall that such beings are not the exception to the rule. On the other hand, my good friend Latiff (who happens to be the grandson of the Sultan of Perak) did invite me to his sister's (brother? I forget) wedding some time ago and that was FUN. Dances, performances, a distinct minimum of such strict formality... ah well... Not to mention that when his dad was the Agong (king - the Sultans take turns) back when i was in primary school i got to run around the Istana (palace) in KL - not to mention meet his grandfather. From what i recall, he was a very nice man. Even sniffled when we watched Aladdin (The Little Mermaid?)! :)

Ah well, there's that contrasting paradox again...

MONDAY - "The Godfather"

Woke up mercifully late today.

I swear i was SO tired the night before that i switched on the computer and promptly collapsed in bed for 13 hours in the time it took to boot up... Had nothing to do today aside from a few miniscule errands so i mainly stayed at home to happily vegetate. That and my ankles are killing me from the run the previous day! ;p

Parents had to go to Genting Highlands for the French Trade Association Dinner tonight so i was left to my own devices. Was planning on catching up with Zamil, Chen Hoe and the rest but then my Godfather, Bernard called...

Hadn't met up with him for a while since he had been travelling a fair bit - and i felt like some alcohol - so i decided to hang out with him for the evening. Took him shopping for some household items, food, and a TON of bottled water at Bangsar Shopping Center (he has no car here) and then ended up in his apartment where he treated me to a most exquisite meal of all the foie gras i could eat as well as a delicious home-made concoction of melted cheese and spaghetti topped off with a great bottle of champagne, vodka, and talk of Armenia, France and Xavier (my cousin twice removed - works for Pernod). Ahhh... relaxing. Not to mention filling! *burp*

Not sure if i've mentioned this before but in recent times my godfather has started trying to get closer to me (more from guilt i suspect) which is good, and i'm glad to say that we're going well along the right track with our mutual love of alcohol (this is the man who brings back 40kg of wine each time he comes back from France!), charming conversations in a smattering mix of French and English, and... er... other things... ;p

On a side note - the man has approximately 120 bottles of various alcoholic delights in his house here alone! What a Frenchman! :)

Hrmmm, promised to look after his son for a few days when he comes down. He's 14 but quite a handful if i recall - hehehe, well someone has to show him a good time i suppose! That, and i need another new innocent to corrupt... ;p

Came back home, watched Cobra on TV (which was BAD - always wanted to watch it because of the cool poster though *sigh*) and... here i am.

Well, that was my weekend!

Boring huh?

;)