DADA

DADA

Check this babies out! My new shoes. Green and YELLOWWW!!!! I call her DADA. DADA and me had gone a LONG way, trust me. We walked for 1 hour. From Holland Rd till Holland V. Say hi next time you see her ok?

Ja

Bintangku Angan Jauh (Preview)

Bintangku Angan Jauh (My Star Dreams Far)

Based on a true story about me. Some of us dream far about our certain things in life; our ambition, our goals. Sometimes, I think that I can reach and grab the stars with my bare hands. If I am lucky, I'll get accepted by the stars. If not at least the ground is there to greet me; again. But if I never try, I'll never know whether that particular star is my lucky star.

p.s. watch out for the lyrics soon.

Ja

Apa Guna Preview (Newly Composed Indonesian Song)

Coba kau rasakan
Indahnya seperti dulu
Kita
Bisa menempuhinya
Ku tahu

Coba kau ngertikan
Apa yang kumahu
Bukannya mentari pagi
Cuma belas hati kasih

Cobalah engkau fikirkan
Apa yang kukatakan
Apa yang kurasakan

Munkinkah yang terbaik
Untuk kita kini....

Apa guna jika kau tak pernah memberi
Sejuta kali pun tak pernah kau peduli
Cukup sudah kucoba mengerti
Cukup sudah hatiku kau sakiti

Apa guna jika kau tak pernah memberi
Sejuta janji pun tak pernah kau penuhi
Biarkanlah kumelangkah pergi
Apa guna untuk menemani
Lagi...

Ja
Royale

p.s. thanks to Putra for playing the piano
(pardon the poor recording. It was just a first take demo by a poor musician)

Silent Film Prejudice

Yesterday I did some recording work for a new song at my bandmate's house. Slept at 2 am and woke up at 7am. Freaking sleepy but still manage to greet his parents a good morning.

On my way to SMU, it started to rain and had to seek for shelter. Sat down at some unknown coffeeshop today. I was unaware of my bearings except for the spot where I parked Love Machine. I sat, closed my eyes and just slept. Literally, slept. People were just looking at me; the hawkers, the patrons. -Shrugs-.

I felt like I was like in a silent film; oblivious to what was around me and what was being said. People were opening their mouths but nothing was heard. It felt good. Really good. For an hour I slept at the seat and I could not imagine what was going on in the minds of these people. I prefer not to. I don't know why.

Picture this guys. Here sits a malay guy, with a guitar, a helmet, donning a weird hairdo and sleeping at the coffeeshop. hmm....... thinks....

I don't know what picture or perception that they might be having in their heads about me. I don't know why but if I were in their shoes, I would think of negative things. Sleeping at the coffeeshop......

Maybe I just don't like to be judgemental therefore I hope people are not judgemental about the things that I sometimes do in return; how I dress, the way I speak, the people that I have conversations with.

Opened my eyes reluctantly, glanced at my handphone, hoping to get a message from anybody and saw the time.

10am. Late. Oh well.

Lo0ked at the sky. The rain stopped at last. Took my bag, my Fender acoustic, my helmet and as I walked away, eyes were pinning on me. I just love it. Not for the attention. Don't get me wrong. But it's just the mere feeling of sorriness for those people who has nothing to do but cast negative judgements on certain people with certain attributes. I hope God sends some wake up call or something to them. Sickos. I don't deny that there was times that I have been judgemental about certain things.

This blog was just one of them.

Silence

Never take someone for granted,
Hold every person close to your heart,
Because you might wake up one day,
And realize that you've lost a diamond,
while you were busy collecting stones...

Ja

If Only I Could

If I could, I would speak your mind...
If I could, I would walk your steps...
If I could, I would feel your heart...
If I could, I would see your vision...
If I could, I would talk your words...
If I could, I would smell your scent...
If I could, I would sing your voice...
If I could, I would cry your tears...
If I could, I would shine your light...
If I could, I would chuckle your laugh...
If I could, I would waltz your dance...
If I could, I would sway your move...
If I could, I would gasp your breath...
If I could, I would beam your smile
If I could, I would embrace your hug...
If I could, I would...
If only I could...

Ja

I Am

I am...
an existance created by love and affection...
a memory to be remembered one day...
a space that is empty when gone...
an influence that lasts an eternity...
a stage you stand and spoke your mind
a dream that is yet to be awaken...
a drama with curtains that will not close...
a face that will grace the Earth only once...
a song that is stuck in your head...
a story that never ends...
but nothing till you write my ending

thank you

Ja

Lefthanders

Last friday, I borrowed this book called 'Left-Handed Kids' and it tells about the attributes of left-handed kids and how our brain works.

Now, how many lefthanded people do you know of? What were your initial perceptions of them? They are good in art? Music? Now, let me enlighten you on certain facts about lefthanded people and how they are different in a special manner.

On a lighter note first, left-handed people are

1. A little messier
2. A little dreamer
3. A little more emotional
This is what the book says! If you're not happy. Find the author cause I know of many right-handers out there whose rooms are like a forest. Mine's like the tropical rainforest. LOL. Next!

Interesting facts,
1. 1 in 10 is left-handed
2. Life was never easy for left-handers becasue in the ancient times and well until the twentieth century, left-handedness was looked upon as a loathsome and unnatural aberration,to be dealt with ruthlessly and with dispatch. Are there any left-handers out there who have been in this situation?
3. And given all these social pressures, most natural left-handers were forcibly switched to right-handers.

But now we know that left-handers are inherently differnt from right-handers.
It's not much which hand they use that makes them different. It's which brain.

If you're left-handed, then you're right brained and if you're right-handed, you're left-brained. Read this again and don't get confused ya.

Right-handed brain handles words. This means it contains the basic speech centers and is highly verbal and adept at analytical and sequential thought. I'm a right-hander but my mind's all jumbled up. LOL. Maybe I'm just confused. Nvm. Carry on.

The EMOTIONAL left-handed brain thinks in pictures. It understand three-dimensional space, music tone of voice(but not words), and is highly imaginative.

What are we good at?

Right-handed brain is good at school because reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic are all logical, linear disciplines.

Left-handed brain is better at making music, drawing pictures and telling jokes.
*It is no accident that many of the great comics are left-handed. e.g. David Letterman, Jay Leno, Charlie Chaplin, Carol Burnett

We dream and also get our 'hunches' and other 'feelings' that we can't explain with words with our left-handed brain.

The left-handed brain is more susceptible to alcohol than the right-handed brain.
Now, I would't advice all those left-handed people out there to start having drinking challenges ya! So for you guys out there, beware of left-handed drinkers. LOL. You might wanna think twice.

**But the most important talent of the left-handed brain is creativity.

Contrary to popular belief, creativity has virtually nothing to do with language or any of the intellectual skills associated with book-learning. The basic tools of creative thinking are mental pictures. These are handled by the left-handed brain' and because it is unhampered by logic, it is free to make the kind of creative connections that cannot occur in rational thought.

Michaelangelo, who was left-handed, said "I have only to throw a pot of paint on the wall to find there fine landscapes." What he was describing, of course, was his left-handed brain's wonderful creative ability to bring order out of chaos.

Have you guys ever seen a picture in a cloud? Or a face in a cracked plaster? That was your left-handed brain in the act of creating.

Truly, in my opinion, currently, we are inside the Golden Age of the Left-Handers. It's an era when left-handed thinking is at a premium. The talk about having degrees alone are insufficient. We have to differentiate ourselves from others. Being innovative, creative and thinking out of the box are crucial for us to get our jobs and for the companies to continue staying and surviving in their industries. With so many companies providing the same service and products, its about that little touch of creativity and innovation that gives them the upperhand in the market.

***4 of the 5 designers of the original Macintosh computer were left-handed. Mac forever!

From what I have observed after writing this is that, it looks as if the right-handers does not have the attributes of the left-handers. Don't get me wrong. We do use both of them but it's a matter of how much more of the other. I'm a right-hander but I think I use more of the left-handed brain. It's a matter of training that particular side of the brain more. So don't fret if you don't have that left-handed brain.

To my fellow right-handers out there, we can be equally as competent as our left-handed friends out there if we put in the efforts. This is just a book that dictates the attributes of a left-handed person. That's all. But the book doesn't shape what we right-handers want our life to be. We can be as creative and as musically inclined as the left-handers. We just have to practice more. It's pointless to be a left-hander and not fully utilize their strengths and just leave it as it is.

Respect to all right and left-handers.

Ja

A song at 3 am in the morning... Inspired

It doesn't matter

Nice and slow
You let it go
About the things you said today

Cause on the phone
And home alone
I want to know what's in your head

So just whisper slowly in my ear
And make me light so I can fly away from here
And wander deep into your soul

It doesn't matter if it doesn't shine
It doesn't matter if it rains, it's fine
It doesn't matter if the rainbow doesn't wanna show
Cause i'll be there to shade and colour up your life

It doesn't matter if the sea dries up
It doesn't matter if the mountain crumbles to the ground
It doesn't matter if my heart skips a beat or two
Cause i'll be there to share my company with you

Ja

The Ugly Duckling

Let me share with you the story of the Ugly Duckling. Long story cut short, its about this baby goose, wrongly placed in a duck's nest. When he was born, he was despised by the ducklings and no matter how hard he tried to impress his step siblings, he was always being coined the 'ugly one'. He felt so low and sad. And so, he left the nest in search for peace. He faced a lot of challenges in the wild. But it made him stronger.

Fast forward the story, (makes fast forward sound effect) ewewewewewee

He hasn't been seeing his reflection in the water for quite a while. And when he did, he met a group of swans that called him beautiful. He looked at himself in the water and realise how true they were. And he lived happily ever after.

Ok. Rememer the times when we were very self-conscious about how we look and how we behave? How we dress and how we speak? It was a period of vulnerability and insecurity. What is our identity? Everybody was trying to find one. It was a battle between who you are and what you want people to see you as. Do I want to be the class clown so that I will be noticed? But I am a deep thinker at the same time and want to be viewed as a serious person. Or do I want to be the sweet girl whom everybody adore when in actual fact i want to do rock climbing and outdoor activities. Everybody will go through this phase. The phase that I call "The Duck Phase".

Every little negative comments that was passed seems to be a HUGE deal for us. "Why do you centre part your hair? Why do you speak with a slang? We are just going to the Cold Storage but why are you dressed up as if we're going to town?" These are just the few questions that many of us faced during our teenage years in school. Remember them? Well, those were the times when we depended on our friends for emotional support and comfort. It is natural to have a sense of belonging. But being too dependant on this can go both ways. One extreme is that it inhibits your self-esteem development. To belong to a group, you have to succumb to the group norms and ideals. The baby swan was trying to be a duckling and feels low when it is rejected or being put down when being called ugly. When you feel low, this retards your self-esteem development. From my point of view, this is just a self-fulfilling prophecy if you just accept the negative criticisms and not do anything about it. The most important thing in life is to be confident in oneself no matter how different we are from others because our happiness depends on how we want it to be and not necessarily what others want it to be.

The other extreme would be that you're just happy the way things are in the group. Let me emphasise the phrase, "just happy". But are you really happy deep inside? Is this who you are? Is it what you want to be? Questions are raised. You start to do some soul searching. But to some people, they don't search at all. Just like the guy who got lost outside McDonalds, sitting, doing nothing with his friends and coming back here again tomorrow and the day after, doing nothing but the same thing again. Nothing. Have we ever stop at our tracks and look around in awareness?

Actually we do stop and think. However, some of us stop thinking when we see that the future is uncertain. That is why we'd rather stop and seize the moment while we can. Because we're afraid of what the future holds for us. By doing so, we do not allow the swan in us to emerge. But in actual fact, we are already the beautiful swan. It's just a matter of how fast are we able to get out of the "Duck Phase". But however, if we remain afraid, then we'll forever be the ugly duckling. If only we can liberate ourselves from this "Duck Phase" and be the beautiful swans we are, then maybe we'll look back at the ducks and realise that we have been better all along.

So, give yourself some self-empowerment and be confident. Everybody's beautiful in their own ways. So don't worry about other people's comments. Be confident about what you wear and how you portray yourself. You don't have to pretend to be somebody whom you are not just so to be accepted by others. Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself, "I'm Beautiful". (thumbs up)

Ja

I pity this fella. Really...

I just love this chap

Cartoons! I love cartoons. The ole skool ones i mean. Sesame Street, Walt Disney's classics. They were awesome man. Big Bird (hmm....big? bird? hmm...)Ok. Now, stop for a while and look at the picture. Don't you just pity him? He has anvils droppin on his head all da time and we're complaining about small headaches. LOL.

Actually ah, what does he want with/from the Roadrunner? Catch him so that he can tickle the bird till it lays an egg? Cook him in a frying pan just like Jamie Oliver? Shrugs...

Why do you think Oscar is grouchy in Sesame Street? That's because he's living in a smelly crampy place and his only friend is a worm called Mr Slimy. Wouldn't you be grouchy also if you live with stale rice and rotten meat?

Big Bird. I just have to mention him. Big. Bird. Get the picture? Good. Don't know whey they can't give him a proper name. Geesh...

Remember the aliens that goes. YupYupYupYupYupYupYupYupYupYup. They're funny man...
YupYupYupYupYupYupYupYupYupYup.

Bert and Ernie. Which would you choose?

Lastly, Mr Snuffalofogus. HUH? He looks like he's high on grass man. The way he moves and speaks. His supplier? Big Bird. Who else. Should change his name to Mr Sniffalofogus.

But I just love them to bits. Without them, i guess, i wouldn't be able to recite 1 to 10 that fast. I owe that to Sesame Street for that 1 to 10 song.

They should do away with these Tinky Winky and Power Ranger crapz. They don't educate but instead influence the kids to fight and say words i dont freakin understand.

Ay OO!!! That aint a word to begin with! I would just love to push the Telly Tubbies to the ground and put them to a submission hold and tell them to stop the nonsense. But i aint gonna do that, cause i'll only be hurtin the man in da costumes. Pity him. Hehehehe...

Ja

Lost in Summer

Hey peeps... How you guys doing? Now that term's over, there are so many things that I wanna do. But actually, i don't know what to start of with.

1. Need to find $$$ to pay for vespa
2. Need to finish songs for recordings. i need inspirations...
3. Need to organise Royale
4. Need to find $$$ for trip to The Golden Triangle
5. Need to have some ME time
6. Visit my relatives and catch up with my friends and inner self
7. Need to find a singing job at lounges and cafes with my friend

i didnt really wanna write this. I donno why but yeah. i've already did. my thoughts are jumbled up actually... got to straighten certain things out with myself.

Many of us couldnt wait for summer to come back then so that we can do this, do that. But now since summer has arrive, most of us are at a total lost since we are given that freedom to do WHATEVER we want. I guess that's the problem. We are too used to our daily academic routines that when freedom is being thrown upon us, we just become lost. Are you guys one of em?

Ja

My Everything

My Everything

This is my everything people. My grandmother. Well, she's da sweetest gf i've ever had. Love her to bits... Muackz!~

She's been staying over for the past few nights because my parents are away in KL for 4 days. Now my house is spanking clean! My room is no longer a forest and the kitchen is no longer a swamp. Lol. She can't stand the sight of a messy room. She'll be on automatic cleaning mode if she sees one. Well, to repay her sweetness, I'm gonna treat her like a princess today by not being a naughty grandchild and stay at home.

Don't you guys think grandmas are the best? I just love to listen to her stories on how she had to change her name and be adopted by another family just so that she could be on a boat to get to Singapore from Indonesia. How many of us would do that given that situation?

Learnt a lot from her stories. A brave woman who's willing to face all challenges, even the stormy seas, literally, so that her future family could have a better life. She was only 15 at that time... Unbelievable. I feel like a total fool if I were to even think about giving up on my dreams just because I have a river to cross...

I have always believe that I would have a happy ending at the end of my life. I don't know what that will be actually. A filial son or daughter? A great wife for life? A wonderful job? I don't know. But I believe in that and to reach that wonderful ending, just like in many fairy tale stories, I am bound to meet evil witches, cross fiery mountains and battle against an army of millions.

Believe me, each and every one of us has a happy ending. It's a matter of choice in wanting to believe in it or not.

I believe in destiny and that one event would lead to another. So that is why, if something bad were to happen, I don't fret on it for long because life just have to move on to reach that happy ending. No matter if I get a C+ in International Econs or an A+ in Finishing Touch, it doesn't matter much. God works in his own unique ways. If he wants something good to happen after that C+, then it will happen. He would not help you if you don't help yourself. Bottom line, don't give up and just move on towards that happy ending.

And I believe that my grandmother examplifies that attribute of sheer determination and hunger for success that I guess most of us lacks at times.

I owe her big and I know that my company and my phonecalls are not suffice, but I hope she loves me just like the way i love her so dearly.

Love you grandma...

Ja

Royale Album

Royale Album Cover

Summer!!! It's here! Finally! Now I have like lotz of time to focus on my Indonesian Band. It hasn't been running smoothly for the past 2 months. Sometimes I wonder, how many challenges do I need to face to reach my aim... But I just love to face them head on and not let trivial matters be my barriers. Problems are inevitable nevertheless. But I guess, if you want them that badly, you'll just have to face em head on and PADABAM! em nicely. Hope da songs are recorded by the end of summer...

Ja

Full Cream Milk

MOO

My morning was greeted by these babes. Found them grazing in front of Food Inspire. Looking at them makes me REALLY HAPPY. Moooooooo........

Ja

Dead Man Walking

Ole Skool

I don't know how many of you would notice this piece of silver box. Walk down the one way road and you'll realize that it's at the junction towards evans and raffles. I call this street light box, 'Bob'.

I would call Bob a relic for certain. If only Bob could speak, probably this would be the few things that he would say.

~Fashion back then, when Mr Lee Kuan Yew was THE Pimp there, respect to him, was freaking RETRO man! Mismatched colours, bell bottoms and jock straps were IN. Brylcream was in every guys' bag. They had to make sure that their centre partings were assymetrical and their side partings were perfect. Baskets and umbrellas were their accessories and people would lay their mats in the middle of the quadrangle outside the library to bitch, flirt and have a tan. You might even get to see Mr LKY, respect to him, sitting on the low branch of the tall tree near Viet, reading his FHM magazine. Bloody miss that era man... But then again, ole skool never dies. I'm one of their undying fans.

~Fashion today is getting really WEIRD. Well that depends on how you view it. You can see gurls wearing skurtains, skirts that has pleats like curtains (i coin this term myself) and people carrying gorrilas and vulgarity prints on their t-shirts. e.g Sex Instructor, First Lesson Free. -shrugz- Can't wait for Izati to thrash all these cheezy lines away and share with us the GREAT stuffs. Respect to Izati.

~But, I've seen a few who are reviving the Rollin Good Times baby. Suweeet... Big shades in an assortment of colours, worn by Abigail and Ja, respect to them, ole skool Adidas T-shirts worn by Larry, Chief of Breakdancing, respect to him, and coudroys, worn by Syarifah and Ja and many others, RESPECT to ALL of them, seem to find their way back into the SMU fashion scene. Great effort. Respect to ALL of them.

~Back then, my Vespa dudes and Triumph bikers used to rule campus man!!! SLOW and STEADY... Suweeeeet.....

~Now, heavy metal and racing bikes speed around school without any helmets on. If only there were no humps, my man, Ja, respect to him, would have turned SMU's one way road into a racing circuit and make huge money from bettings. Let's get FAST and FURIOUS people!!! VROOOM!!! VROOOM!!!

Well, if you happen to see Bob, don't forget to say hi cause we're SO not gonna see him again. Once we shift, it's difficult for us to associate ourselves to a great school; a school that's SO ole skool that there's even a tombstone lying by the side of the road.

Ja

Spark Plug

Spark of Inspiration

I just woke up from my short dreamless slumber in GSR 5 at Evans. Kinda weird as it may sound but it was great. Just me and da 3 supportive chairs. In certain sense, it was much betta than da sleep that i usually get at home. This room does have that 'funky' smell to it. No words to describe it, just 'funky'.

Waking up to the sound of Summer Romance from Incubus just sparks me to write melodies for my next songs. This SO not right at the current moment. It's so sinful just to even think of it! It's like a little white mouse that is thinking of eating a creamy cheese cake when it's supposed to be on a one-week diet program. Anywayz, its just so amazing what cartoons do to our fragile brain. We always associate cheese to mouse... It eats cereals and milo too man! Ask that to my friend's house rat in Indonesia.

Anyways.....

What I really need is a kickstart to my mugging mode; the motivation that everybody has been complaining. The motivation that doesn't seem to exist when they need them the most. In short, I would just call it the spark. It just takes an ITSY BITSY spark to light a fire. Currently, I'm just like the spark plug that fails to start Love Machine when I need her the most. I still love ya baby. :D. She's still parked all alone at the library...

Well, that's what all of us need now. A spark to prevent us from procrastinating and being stuck at the carpark.

The remedy you may ask? I dunno. To me, a cup of hot hello, a slice of good morning and a spoonful of smile from all my friends would be a nice start. I think it just boils down to putting your laptop aside and just YOU and THE BOOKS. No msn, no blogs, no friendsters and da other distractions!

Can't right? All of us would have been in the dean's list if we can do that. But for those who can, all da way man!

Strong advice from me, close this window and start DOING YOUR REVISION PEOPLE! :D Love ya guys... Take care.

Ja

Writers Block

No Entry

A friendly Bangla helped me take this photo. I just happened to see the sign on my way out of school.

The sign of a writer's block. Or maybe it's just my mind not wanting to receive anything because it's just TOO lazy at times. And at times,it's more like an irritant when you really need that inspiration at that moment in time.

Guess the reasons for these No Entry:

Under 21
Actually its pointless when everybody has seen porn at least once in their lifetime. So what's da freaking difference. Scrap the rules man so that my fellow under 19s can enjoy art!

Those who are having a bun in da oven
Hmm... This is truly advisable people. Adhere to the rule. We DO NOT want any baby to be hanging upside down now do we?

Those having heart problems
Same reasoning applies. I DO NOT want to see somebody having a crampy face when it's over.

Those below the height of 1.50m
THIS! I do not know why they had this rule in the first place.

Anywayz, thoughts are meant to be explored. Try and read my mind through this picture. It says a lot about me.

Ja

The reason I come to school

Starry Nite

Shifting away from the old kampus is truly a saddening moment in my life. This colonial school is the place where I started to scream my thoughts into the microphone; the microphone seems to be da only medium where people could listen to my melancholic happiness, feel my rainy sunshine and see me sleeping awake. At the end of the day, what moderates these mixed emotions would be my friends.

Most of us wouldn't deny that we come to school just to meet our friends. May it be just to bitch, or jam in da studio or just laze around at the Viet cafe. That is the ideal university life that everybody would like to have; just minus off the unnecessary meetingz due to our procrastination syndrome. 2 years have gone by and I'm really gonna sorely miss my dear friendz during summer. Take care guys. Drop me an email ya...

Ja

Faye and the Guitarist

Starry Nite

One of the best acoustic set in SMU. And i'm munching on Chocolaty Nutty Donutz and drowning it in Teh POWER while typing this. -rubz tummy-

Jetlaxx

Starry Nite

The Jenggo and his other jenggos. Rock on jenggos. Do this Jenggo proud. -nods-

High on Musick

High on Musick

Its interesting to me, on a night like that, the support from SMU was very encouraging. Knowing that the strength was in place, musicians like us are able to share our thoughts and voices with you. Take the ride in my yellow bus and I'll ensure you, there will be plenty of sheeshas, nice retro bubble cushions and crispy conversations for everybody to share. More to come I promise you. Just lend us your ears and we'll give you our minds.

Ja