Tribute To The Best, 2009

Hi.

So, yes, this is the annual corn-harvest. This is the time of the year where I get all sappy and mushy and start parading around the town with banners, dancers, a marching band, and booze aplenty. :)

In no particular order:

Straight Forward

Our band. At last. After toiling for years, and jamming for...hours, we made our debut performance this year for Leo I.U. 2009. And...I think it was awesome. We don't get to decide at any rate, the crowd does. But yeah. For that performance, Justin, Shaun, Jun Wei, Leon, Keith, and Joseph. Thank you! The performance would've been nothing without you.

...To the two in the band that I can say with confidence that I'm closest to, Justin and Shaun. You guys are like the brothers I never had, but brothers I can say with conviction, that I can appreciate for a lifetime. Primary and high school; the two of you represented life-lines, and solid anchor points for me. I thank the hell out of both of you. :)

And of course, next year, we're gonna come back just as strong, if not stronger. And yes, some people might say it's not wise to say what you're gonna do online, but we will, and always will be, Straight Forward. :D

Kenneth

I owe you thanks and an apology. You know what for. You've always been a wonderful friend, at times when I haven't. And just so you know, I do look up to you. So stop burning down schools. :)

Jay

For always being able to lend an understanding ear when I needed it, and being able to provide good advice. Especially concerning chicks. Thanks, dude.

Farhan, Nufail, and Zarif

Thank-freaking-God we ended up in the same class. Seriously! I can't imagine getting through this year without the three of you in class. We always had something to talk about, and on Farhan's part, something to sing about. :) Oh, and the guitars too. Every day, the guitars...haha. But damn, it was fun. You guys made it fun. And of course, awesome. Haley Williams, ftw.

Julia, Joanne, and Liesl

...Well, why do you think I keep coming to 4B? Cuz the three of you are always there! xD Honestly? You gu-...um, girls, make excellent conversation. On Jo's part, none whole-heartedly intelligent or scientific conversation (think, flying hippo's and purging whales), but conversation nonetheless, which is entertaining as hell. Julia, you're my ponteng-partner. And Liesl, well...SUP!

Azhar, John, and Razlan

I never would've survived Interact intact without you guys. I kid you not. You guys were like, sanity pills, man. And of course, I learnt and experienced many cool things. Trips to KL, a certain rooftop, and just plain old breakfast at a mamak. Thank you, seniors. :D

Nick

I think we got a whole lot closer this year. Compared to...more tense times. But hey, I think we both did a pretty good job of putting that all behind us. I thank you, for taking a fresh look at Genesis, and being able to entertain people with a variation of it. More coming up next year, right? :P

...Last but not least, Tiger. Thank you, for making the twilight months of 2009 so very memorable for me. And even better, we'll get to make new memories next year. I always wondered how a life like this would feel like, you know. Now I do. And boy, is it awesome. :)

So yes. This is the list. And of course, it's a summary. I can't say everything I really want to say to you guys here. Maybe I will, when I get to see you all face to face. But for now, this is my testimonial, as your humbled but honored friend.

Thank You All.

Merry Christmas! :)

Elementary

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

-Sherlock Holmes

Watched the Sherlock Holmes Premiere last night. Yeah, I know, right? First ever premiere I've ever been to. And yes, I do find this daily event very much worth blogging about.

Went with Audrey, Chia Sing and Shaun. With, in all manner of positive effect, made the movie that much better. The thing is, we kinda got there late. So we kinda only ended up with half-an-hour to eat. And our food kinda only arrived in the last 15 minutes.

And the cinema was kinda on the other side. Of 1 Utama.

...Ye-ah. We were ten minutes late.

But still! It was a good show for me. It wasn't horribly cliche or anything. And it's cool, when you can actually see in live-action, a childhood hero. Y'know what I'm talking about...."The greatest detective in the world". Seriously. I was crushed when I read that he was a fictional character. xD

Stupid Encyclopedia of the world...

Not one to usually give ratings of movies on this thing, but if you were curious, I give it a 8/10. Maybe, 8.5.

...Can you tell I liked it? xD

Stick strong, fellas.

F**k That Coldplay Song

Ah...youth.

Clicking around Facebook these days, popping over at some of my younger friends profiles, I can finally look back and laugh. Laugh, like how my seniors would have if they documented what I wrote down online what I was doing 4 years ago.

Not stories, mind. But the fact that all of them are currently trying to make themselves sound like complicated, messed up, loners. When in all actuality, they have; in their own way, the perfect lives.

Ah...youth.

Plunk

I've got bad news.

Considering a lot of people can't make it on the 22nd for the photo-shoot, and also because something came up in my life which I think is a margin more important than dressing up and snapping pictures...

The photo-shoot on the 22nd will be postponed. Indefinitely. Sorry to dissapoint you guys.

...Maybe I might try to make it happen sometime after Christmas and before New Year's Eve. If, you guys are still available, of course.

Thank you for your patience and I hope, understanding.

Oishi

I can personally say, with much conviction, that this is the best picture of my family in a long time. Good thing we went to Japan, huh?

So yeah. Whoa. A picture. I know, right?

...Sorry if I got your hopes up though. This is the first, and last one of Japan on my blog. Cuz' ye-ah; it took 3 freaking minutes just to upload this one. So, I'm stopping here. At the first one. But I like it. This is one of the only pictures of my family that I really like, and I feel that it deserves a special place here.

We were at the Mitsui building, and if this computer had 3D, you would be able to see the Imperial Palace just behind us. Amazing view, absolutely beautiful. Coincidentally, it was casual Friday that day, a fact that I will remember for a lifetime. So naturally, they didn't make a big fuss about us not being completely black-tie.

Good memories.

Touchdown

So I guess I didn't exactly manage to update my blog everyday, for every single event of every day I spent in Japan. But, I've got good reason; we moved hotels like, 5 times. So yes, it's a little bit hard to get Internet connection in places like Hakone where the nearest port is 20 miles away. Capishe?

...Not trying to be hostile or anything. Just wanna bluntly explain the situation.

Oh. In case you don't read titles and you haven't noticed, I'm back! Now back in Malaysia. Gosh, I need some curry. Like, real mamak-style curry, not that weird Japanese kind where it's kinda sweet and stuff.

So yes. This is just the meet-and-greet-ish post. I'll try to post some pictures, along with a proper post of Japan. If you're interested, of course. :)

...Doesn't matter either way, actually. Stick strong, peeps.

Nippon, Go Pt. 1: Can You Say So-Ba?

Hello, world.

So turns out, Japan has Internet after all.

Oh, f***ing yeah!

Right now, it's about 11.30 pm in Ikebuko now; we're just a a few train stops away from Tokyo! Ikebuko means "Pond Bag" if you translate it! Which, to a certain someone I know, kinda fits that we're staying here for the night.

Yes, for once, I'm going to blog about a holiday. Cuz' I wanna remember everything about this one.

Plane ride was terrible though. Not because of the plane itself; by all means, it was a good

un'. But I got sick during the flight. And lemme tell you, when you've got the flu, and the whole H1N1 thing is still being taken seriously by the Japanese government, and you've gotta spend a whopping 3 minutes in front of the immigration officer, the thought of sneezing then is exactly equivalent to a death sentence. Freaky dudes.

Took a lot of train rides today. And yeah! Thanks to genetic information, and that I've inherited my dad's navigation skills, I can actually find my way from the hotel, to the train station in Shinjuku, Tokyo, and Akihabara. Woot. Me and my sister took a train back from Shinjuku earlier on too; solo. :D

Ooh, one thing about Japan; we've had no fixed meal times. Seriously; meal times are like, non-existant here. You eat as much as you can, whenever you can, and you do it all usually standing up. Not a lot of trash bins here either; you gotta dump it, you gotta keep it with you.

But damn. Just one day here and I can lead a choir into singing long praises about the food here. First meal was on the train; some sandwiches from a lunch cart (ding; Harry Potter). Second "meal" was a bunch of pastries from this bakery. It was good. Last meal for today was at a sort of streetside vendor; hot soba noodles with chicken katsu don. Ye-ah; oishi indeed.

So ye-ah; I'm not really good at all this jakun-ing stuff. But hey, these are my honest opinions, and I really, really enjoyed today, even though we were just settling in. Eh, screw settling in. if there's another thing about Japan, is that if you're not Japanese, and you come here, you will feel fat, ugly, and shabby. I'm not trying to insult anyone; that's just the way things are here. Everyone who's anyone who tries to be no one, is freaking beautiful. Screw your Robert Pattinson's and Taylor Lautner's and Swift's: Everyone on the freaking street could be a model.

...And yes. I miss you more than I thought I would. It's only been a day! I actually really regretted not bringing my phone with me; turns out the flight last night left at 11. We said good-bye too early... and even worse, I had no Pokemon Yellow to turn to when I was bored. Gasp.

Thank you to Kenneth by the way, for wishing me a safe flight. Forgot to mention that to you before I left :)

See you guys real soon; we're gonna hit Osaka tomorrow with everything we've got. :D