Yep, It Was Indeed A Brilliant Night :)

Sorry for the delay of this update.  I know you guys must be waiting for it.  I've been so busy with work stuff these past weeks.  Was busy organising & coordinating an offsite meeting event for half of our department which took place just yesterday and today.  All I can tell you is, it was SPLENDID, AWESOME, SUPER and of course I gonna blog about it.  Sometime soon I hope. Meanwhile, let's just get to the performance we did.

I somehow managed to get thru my anxiety on that Friday night (erm, two Fridays ago?)  rehearsing at Modesto.  Come Saturday, I was all cool and good.  :)  As our event was at night, it was hilarious seeing my team mates counting down the hours in our private FB group.  Suddenly, we were all so free.  I guess all were nervous and  seeking out each other for comfort!  Lols....

This is us, Team Monday, all dolled up.  I call us the sluts and that was actually a pretty polite term as compared to the words coming out from Alina.  She just yelled out to Pat (our instructor), "Pat...!  Your prostitutes are all ready!" o.O  WtF?!  

Met up with the girls from our team at the studio for a quick bite before working on our make-up.  We had so much fun along the process.  The smokey eyes didn't turned out quite as what we have in mind, fake lashes doesn't seems to stay in place... hehehe... getting into those corsets were even funnier when we tried to push up as much boobies as possible.  Hahaha...  In the midst of total choaticness, some of us even tried to put on the net stocking while still having our shorts on.  Lols...I tell you, it was total madness.

Despite of everything, we still managed to get to Modesto on time.  Picture above is Team Wednesday who will be doing the Jive, Modern, Cha Cha, Merengue & Salsa Medley.  Their theme was all sailor/nautical...  Totally opposite from our slutty/prostitutes/cabaret theme.  Lols... So decent!  hahaha...

Our team did the Paso Doble, Hip Hop, Modern, Bachata & Salsa Medley which lasted about 7-8 minutes.  I had so much fun that night.  All anxieties prior to Friday suddenly just melted away with the rehearsal.  Thank God.  Otherwise, I am not sure I would even flip.  

This is the flip that I have been talking about in my past few entries.  The one with the crooked leg at the back was me.  I still couldn't quite get the whole methodology into my brain.  I always have the tendency to bend my legs.  If I remember to hold my breath, I would forgot to kick.  Or if i remember to kick and hold my breath, I would forgot to straighten my legs.  Lols... sigh....  Nevertheless, we got it pretty in sync this time round.  I was quite impressed actually looking at the video.  For once, we flipped and land at the same time.  Amazing. :)

Not only that, we managed to end at the same time too.  The applause were ear shattering.  Seriously, I have a feeling it was more for the outfit than the performance.  Right?  Right?!  Those super short mini skirts, net stockings, corsets..... hahahahaha..... 

It took us almost a year to put everything together.  When we were at it practising day in day out, it was so exhausting and can't wait for it to be over and done with.  It was worst for the last two weeks when we were practicing every night from 9 - 11:30pm.  Work, dance, work, dance.  It was even worst for me since I also got a life! You should know by now :p Work, dance, play, socializing, traveling, dinners.  Now that it is finally over, no more daily practice, it somehow felt something is missing.  :p  Suddenly not sure what to do at 9pm.  Hahahaha....

Remember a long time ago when all these dance practices just started and I mentioned that we will be trained for a performance which we will be audited?  Some sort of audition to get into the Ritmo Dance Team?  Well, we were all called back to the studio for a meeting last Wednesday and yours truly is now officially a Ritmo Dancer.  :)  

It was a mixed feeling.  A part of me wishes to be in.  Another part of me wishes otherwise.  Wishes to be in cause I love that team spirit.  Love being a part of something.  Love my Ritmo family which I've grown so close these past few months.  For the otherwise, it was most because of the time & effort involved as well as how things will go all crazy when the stress level is high.  

Anyway for time being, since I am in, I'll just do what I can and enjoy it along the process. :) 

Almost one year of hard work... for tonight.

I think I am living life on the express lane.  If you asked the husband, he would probably say this... "Express lane?  You must be kidding me.  I thought it was bullet train's lane!".  Lols... 

With so much to do these days (besides working 8 - 7pm unofficially), it is making it worst.  Days just zapped by one after another.  Just the other day, I was caught by a colleague after work and went for 2 mugs of Stouts.  And another day, had a spat with a fellow dancer due to some costume issue.  And another, kicked the very same dancer on the head real hard as we were doing the flipping stunt simultaneously due to space constraint.  Believe me, it was an accident.  Though I tried very hard to find guilt or sorry-ness within me, it simply wasn't there.  I am just concern if her skull cracks. :p  No cracks, fine. I know, I know...tsk! tsk! evil me!  So what?  Lols... 

I've never been categorized as the nervous kind.  It was always "come what may", "bring it on".  Shoot! Surprisingly, this time round, for the rehearsal last night, I was overwhelmed by anxiety.  Serious shit!  I could feel my heart popping out of my chest.  It was beating so hard that it sort of get pretty annoying.  I wish I could just put it on silent mode. :p  Alina commented that the dancing was good, just need to smile and flash that 'come fuck me' look.  I told her I know... just that, with those anxiety within me, the only look that I can conjure up that very moment was 'come fuck me and you die' look.... lols... we both had a good laugh over it. hehehehe...

But then again, I think tonight would be better after last night's rehearsal.  I've gotten over the anxiety.  I guess I was freaking out cause the kicking accident was still pretty fresh in my head, that's why.  Strange.  I was just telling the husband the other day, I am the kind of girl that met an accident on the first day I gotten my car license and would still drive on the next day.  No phobia, nothing.  And now this.... unbelievable.  I guess I am just worried that the second time round I would kill somebody.  Lols... Afterall, I got pretty strong legs according to the Russian I kicked. :p

We took the opportunity to celebrate a dear friend, Jonathan, also a fellow dancer's birthday last night and had a great time.  Seriously, irregardless of everything, I really do enjoy the team spirit we have.  The constant motivating each other despite of bad comments.  The looking after of each other making sure everyone is alright and etc.  End of the day, the show is secondary.  The team spirit should be the priority.

A final shot of everybody last night.  Both Team Monday & Wednesday. :)  Good luck gorgeous people!  Tonight is gonna be brilliant! :)

Sibu Islands Resort - WE LOVE IT!

Remember I shared this teaser photo two weekends ago?  Well, this is it.  This amazing place that I went was a super amazing place (lols... brain dead.  Can't think of more words.).  It was totally beyond expectation not just on my part, but for my girlfriends too.  All of us have this thought that we are going to some kind of island off Johor, where there will be other villages besides the resort we will be staying in.  Just like what Tioman Islands or Pulau Besar or Perhentian Islands would have been.  We gonna just spend some girly time together, bumming out at the beach enjoying the breeze.

Imagine our ecstatic-ness when we were greeted by these free roaming docile deers the moment we walked out of the jetty.  All earlier discontentment of having to fork out the additional RM150 to charter a speedboat dissipated!  Well, the chartering was because we missed the arranged ferry.  We underestimated the distance from Kluang to Tanjung Leman. 

It was such a pretty place!  No villages.  No rubbish strewn all over.  Surroundings were all landscaped to perfection!  Pretty gentle deers lazying all over the place minding their own business and peacocks too.  

There were nice table and chairs put out at every corner of the island for us to chill and enjoy the sea breeze.  By the beach, in the middle of the garden amidst the deers, along the walkway to the chalets and etc.  I remember when I just got back from my trip, my other friends asked "WHY?" when I told them that I didn't go for any dives, I simply replied: "The island is simply too pretty to leave.  I don't feel like going anywhere!"  Lols...  Really, it was that. 

The weather was awesome too.  I guess we were really blessed for having such a nice weather.  Blue sky, white clouds, breezy.... The first activity we did was went dipping at their pool!  A pool on an island you asked.  Well, that was cause at that time, we have yet to discover it's gem! :)

Lucky for us, due some reasons, probably cause we were all four hot girls group, we were given the best service ever.  A guide was arranged to show us around the island, activities were all arranged and planned out for us all.  Free of charged.  Or probably their occupancy were low on the day we arrived and they have no one else to entertain.  Well, I still prefer the first reason :p.  That we are hot! Lols.... 

It was archery next.  We were all so ambitious and wanted to start off at 15m and was pretty disappointed when the instructed make us start at 5m range.  All four of us broke out in hysterically laughters when our arrows began flying all over the place except for the target (even at 5m and we wanted 15m!)!  Hahahaha...  Nevertheless, as we progress from 5m to 10m to 15m, we did managed to aim better.  No wonder we are ladies!  It gonna be a huge problem if we are men!  Hehehehehehe....

This was what greeted us when we decided to check out Beach 2 (their best) after the arrow game.  It was so pretty and crystal clear.  Can see right thru to our feet.  Even caught sight of fishes swimming around us.  Oh my......... I never knew we have islands like these right here!  Who needs Maldives or Mauritius?!

We enjoyed the crystal clear and calm sea so much that we stay right thru sunset till the sky turned dark before heading back for shower and dinner. The sunset were really nice too with clouds like on that first day we arrived.  Lucky lucky!

The first thing we did next morning after breakfast was... snorkelling at Beach 2 together with our guide, Ah Long.  There were so many pretty colourful corals and fishes.  All of us was so excited.  But this is still not the best yet.

 I found Mr Krabs (Spongebob Squarepants) loitering on the beach.  Probably checking us out!

The not so appetizing canned food we brought were exceptionally appetizing after a day out at the beach!  We even made Ah Long take us out to another island to purchase more.  :p  Seriously yummy I tell you! No bluffing one!  We had chilli tuna, curry tuna, anchovies sambal & etc.  We didn't bring enough bread though and have no choice but to purchase a loaf from the hotel.  It was freaking RM10 for a loaf of bread!  So guys, bring more bread next time ya if you going to island!

 My blue mask and snorkel.

This is by far the highlight of our trip.  The best.  Ah Long took us out for an Island tour as well as island hopping in the afternoon and brought us to this little island called Kukus island.  It was so beautiful that we started screaming even before we get off the boat!  Lols.... yeah, when you have a bunch of crazy girls travelling together, do expect lots of screaming and laughing!  Lols... 

The sand was powdery white, the sea was greenish blue and there was a bunch of seagulls awaiting us when we arrived.  Typically out of postcards scene.  Or movies even.  James Bond.  Lols... We had so much fun there.  I know I did.  Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Went mad taking photographs.  The corals were absolutely fantastic.  We were all screaming thru our snorkel!!  It was a hillarious sight! 

After Kukus, Long brought us to this other island where they have shops to chill.  We each ordered a fried noodle and gobbled it down within minutes!  This is the place we bought extra canned food.  Long show us this kitty cat that has deformed paws.  I am no expert in cats, but I am sure u can tell the difference.

This was what greeted when we finished our fried noodles.  Such pretty sight.  Sigh....... I am missing it so much!  Shimmering golden sea....  We were actually talking quite loudly until we caught sight of the sea.  We just we silent and each pulling out cameras to capture the beauty!

When we got back to our island in the evening (yeah, our island... lols)... the deers were all out.  Nice.

And of course the peacocks too.

We absolutely had a great vacation though it was just a 3d/2n thingy.  Just nice.  Am missing the island so much and can't wait to get back as soon as possible. :)  Such a nice place right in our backyard.  If you are keen, try googling Sibu Islands Resort.  You might be able to find them.  I am too lazy to dig out the receipt for their website which was probably buried underneath a huge piles of documents on my desk.  Anyway, I highly recommend this place if you are seeking for some relaxing short vacation!

I've a lot to say.  I had a great weekend despite of the Bersih demonstration.  In fact, it was because of it that my weekend was great (other than the facial, the gymkhana, the shopping, the eating and etc).  Yeah, I did all that in one short weekend.  Not only that, I even went back to my old office to do some works, tidied & cleaned up the house a little, bathed Rumba & Sunshine, gone out for some lace for our performance skirts, bought the fish net stockings too (yeah, going for slutty theme complete with super hot corset! oo la la! *smack*).  

Was following closely on the updates of the demonstration thru the internet.  Wish I was there.  I should have. Sigh...  It's too late to say that now isnt it?  Should've walk the walk and not talk the walk.  The more I look at those updates, the more frustrated I became.  Just for your info, I hate politics.  Especially so in my country.  It give me a sense of hopelessness and despair whenever I read something about it.  That's the reason why I don't read the our newspaper (which was monopolized by the government) too.  

So I thought about it, and I've decided that should there be a BERSIH 3.0 come next year, I'll definitely go.  No more hesitation.  No more being a coward.  I shall stand together with my people to fight for what we believe in.

Then I thought about how can I get pass the police to get downtown wearing yellow?  A bright idea came to mind almost immediately.  I shall bring a tube of yellow body paint, and paint myself yellow when I get downtown. :)   Tell me it is a good idea cause I think it is SUPER!  :)

Bersih, Clean, クリーン, Schoon, สะอาด, чистый

What is BERSIH?

Wikipedia:  Bersih, literally means 'clean' in Malay.  In Malaysia, it is also a coalition of Malaysian opposition political parties and NGOs with the stated aim of reforming the electoral process in the country specifically:

1) Usage of permanent ink to ensure that voters may only vote once.

2) A clean out of the electoral rolls to remove entries that are no longer valid such as deceased people.

3) The abolition of postal votes on the basis that they are easily abused.

4) Bersih demands that all candidates and political parties have equal access to print and broadcast media.

So, what about it?

Well, BERSIH scheduled a second peaceful street demonstration for tomorrow, 9th July, ahead of the anticipated 2012 national Malaysian elections.

What's the big hoo haa?

1) The government & pro-government media critised the demonstration extensively.

2) The police arrested a number of BERSIH supporters in the lead-up to the event.

3) The government banned the demonstrations.

4) The government requested for the demonstration to be held at stadiums but did not approved stadium usage?  Confusing? 

5) Placed road blocks on all road leading into city centre to prevent demonstrator from entering.
6) Block/Checks on light rail transit and arrest whoever carries a BERSIH t-shirt.

7) They mislead the general public of BERSIH with 'May 13 Tragedy' which was erupted out of racism rather than fair electoral system thus creating dejavu sense of insecurities and anger within the people.

Seriously, what's so wrong in demonstrating for a fair electoral process?  What's so wrong in using permanent ink to ensure voters only voted once?  Or cleaning out the electoral rolls to remove deceased people's entries?  Die already definitely cannot go vote right?  Or abolishing postal voting which are easily abused or equal access to print and broadcast media?

Unless of course they don't want the electoral process to be fair and they need people to vote more than once, even the dead too.  Tempering with postal voting when necessary and monopolizing the print and broadcast media to mess up the general public's mind.

You decide.  I gave up.  But, I wore YELLOW today!  Yay! 

Another 5km Run Two Weekends Ago

Pardon me for my 'lack of blogging' lately.  I am so tired, all the time, really.  And it's not helping when you are working with some 'funny character'.  Sigh... really need to oo-sha a little more!  Or, I can do with a few more vacations (despite the fact that I just got back from one over the weekend which I will leave it for the next entry.  :p

Nevertheless, a sneak preview of most recent vacation.  Another hidden jewel right at our own backyard! :)  Awesome isn't it?  Well, this is the kind of sunset I've been enjoying this past weekend.  Not forgetting to add, dozing in and out to the sound of lapping waves and gentle breeze... Ahhhhhh!  Ok, that's it for time being on this  part.  Will leave it for next entry :p

Participated the much talked about Standard Chartered Marathon two weekends ago (last last Sunday).  Accidentally joined that is.  Forget about the details, it's a long and not interesting one.  To cut long story short, when I wanted to register, the registration was closed.  When I didn't want to join, the opportunity opened.  Complicated, yes.  Anyway, went for the 5km run with one of my run buddy, Mambo (yeah, quirky name :)).  Almost sign for 10km but thought better of it.  Why la I wanna torture myself like that on a Sunday morning?!?

Our 5km run was scheduled to be flagged off at 8am.  Nevertheless, still needs to get to town by 6am due to all the roads closure.  The full marathon (42km) was flagged off at 5am.  When the husband gave me a ride to the train station at 5:15am, the runners were already at the highway outside our house!  It only took them 15 minutes to run from Dataran Merdeka to MidValley.  Unbelievably fast!  I can't help but thought of these:

(1) They definitely will find no use of a car.  They can run to everywhere.  Go green.  Save the environment! 

(2) It gonna be good fun to watch them chasing down snatch thieves.

(3) McD can consider hiring them for delivery services.  Then we would not have 'traffic jam' excuses. :p  Hehehehehe......

Lucky for Mambo & I, we managed to execute 'Plan A'; i.e. to catch the last free shuttle service from the train station which took us right to the flag off point instead of 'Plan B', i.e. taking the train which will require us to walk for quite a fair bit to get to the point.

Though still having bout of cough/flu, I couldn't resist going.  I simply don't want to miss a thing.  Nevertheless, I kept reminding myself not to over exert myself.  Just run at my own pace.  Surprisingly, I was feeling rather ok that morning and I thought I did pretty alright. 5km under 40minutes. :)  It was quite an enjoyable route actually.  Not much terrain, pretty flat.

Conclusion, it was not the run that was tiring.  It was the whole hoo haa of getting to and from the venue that is tiring.  The early hours, the bus rides, the train rides home which we got lost on the way (thanks to Mambo) & etc... *yawn*

Will I do it again next year?  A definite yes and I will do 10km next year!