My Very First Blog

1. It had been a very busy week for me. So busy I did not have time to blog about my visit to Taal Volcano in the Philippines last January. I also had no time to blog hop. Hopefully my schedule next week would be less tight! But some people told me being busy is good! Really? I think I need a break!

2. I have started an online newspaper called The Panda Daily. Read it HERE. OK, it's not really a newspaper but simply a collection of my tweets and the tweets of people I follow on Twitter in newspaper form. Haha!

3. Have you done your Income Tax? I have not even started thinking about it! I am just too lazy! I hope to get working on it next week but knowing how well I procrastinate, I may just postpone it to the very last minute.

4. I have eaten at OldTown, GeorgeTown and OldTaste. Have you? I can't believe that both GeorgeTown and OldTaste are exact copycats of OldTown right down to the interiors and menus! As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

5. Remember the panda head Eric Lee gave me for my Christmas gift last year? IT IS GONE!!!



Why gone? Well, my mom gave it away to my sister's children as she thought I was too old to play with it! Now I can't take a photo of myself hiding behind this panda head! Boohoo!

6. Have you eaten the banana kaya dessert from Domino's Pizza?



I found it pretty good with banana slices, pandan kaya, topped with cheese and sprinkled with icing sugar! Not exactly healthy, but what the heck!

7. Last week, I ordered a spaghetti bolognese from Domino's Delivery. But they refused to deliver unless I order a pizza!



So I ended up ordering a personal pizza and a spaghetti bolognese plus a banana kaya dessert! Am I greedy or what?! Their strategy worked! Dammit!

8. I like listening to all types of music including Malay music! I am a fan of Sean Ghazi and this is quite an amusing song sung by him, with Ida Nerina as Mary and Adibah Noor as the wife. If not mistaken, I think this song was originally written and sung by the late P. Ramlee. Have a listen! Enjoy and have a great weekend everyone!



Mari-mari kawan dengar ini cerita
Perempuan sangat mudah cemburu buta
Kalau suaminya sangat bergaya
Dia so jealous, tidak percaya

You know apa yang jadi pada suatu hari
I perang besar you see!
Tapi baik juga, sudah hilang bengkak
Benjolnya dekat sini you sudah tak nampak!

Di office saya ada seorang secretary
Potongan badannya…
Namanya “Mary”
Merah bibirnya macam cherry!
Salah pandang macam Halle Berry…

Dia mengajak saya pergi makan angin
You know, she wants to ‘romance’
I tanya “Ke mana?”
She said “Kebun bunga”
Ini chance baik I said “Ok, Senorita!”

Tiba di sana si Mary mula-lah posing
She makes badan I sejuk
Terus I shivering
She said “Don’t be afraid my darling”
Saya jawab: “I like this kind of thing..”

Kita pun pergi duduk dekat satu bangku
And then she said “ I love you!”
So then what did I do? I think you pun tahu…
Sudah tentu I kiss the girl bertalu-talu!

Saya pulang ke rumah cukup senang hati
Tapi my wife ternampak lipstick on my pipi

*
Dia menerkam dan menggigit,
Saya tak malu, terus menjerit!

Perabot IKEA terbang melayang-layang
Menghentam my belakang!
I would like to tanya
Kalau you yang kena
Wife you juga cemburu jadi what will you do?
Wife you juga cemburu jadi what will you do?
Wife you juga cemburu jadi what will you do?

What do Jordin Sparks, Aretha Franklin, Jennifer Hudson and our very own Adibah Noor have in common apart from being well known singers?

Can't think of the answer?

Well, they are all plus size, full figured ladies!

You would have thought that with their plump figures, they would never be famous. But I guess they have proven us wrong!

And it seems that a few singers are going to join in the bandwagon. Singers like Britney Spears and Kelly Clarkson and gasp....even my idol Mariah Carey!

Did you see Mariah performed at the Michael Jackson memorial? She did appear to be more plump than usual, didn't she? I guess she must be having a good married life! Just a few months ago, she was slim and toned and looked better than her younger days. I hoped that with her new album coming out in August, she would get back with her personal trainer and start working out and burning off those fats!

Actually, does it really matter if these ladies have big waistlines? What's more important is their big voices right? Well, I'll just let you all debate on that! All I know is that being fat is not good for health, so it's not just about appearance.

Anyway, I would like to share with you another Malay song today. Sung by a plus size lady who is none other than Adibah Noor. I first came to know about her when she acted as the midwife in the famous Singaporean musical, Chang and Eng. And of course, her popular and funny ads with Ho Yuhang that really tickled my funny bones!

If you rarely listen to Malay songs, here's one that you must simply listen to! It is called "Terlalu Istimewa" which translates to "Too Special".

According to Adibah Noor, the song was transpired from a 10 year old girl who was brutally raped and murdered in Johor, Malaysia. However, it is also dedicated to all children who never had the chance to grow up, for whatever reason.

Listening to this song really pulled at my heartstrings, and it remains one of my top 10 Malay songs of all time! Enjoy the video!



Lyrics (Malay)
Ku tatap gambar wajahmu
Sinar mata itu
Lirik senyumanmu
Pesona yang membelai
Wajahmu bercahaya
Memberi bahagia
Tiap yang memandang
Hati jadi salju

Chorus
Kau terlalu istimewa
Kasih dan sayangmu terpancar
Seikhlas
Tiada batasan terus membara
Terkilan rasa jiwa
Inginku lihatmu dewasa
Apa daya
Tuhan lebih menyayangimu

Ku pasti kau berbahagia
Duduk di sampingnya
Mendengar cerita
Segala rahsia

Repeat Chorus

Bridge
Tak tertanggung rindu
Mendengar suaramu
Tawa mengusik jiwa...

Repeat Chorus

English translation (by Geminianeyes)
Looking at your photo
Those shining eyes
The warmth of your smiles
That caring persona
Your happy face
Brings joy
To all who see
Melting cold hearts

Chorus
You’re too special
Your love shines
Sincerely
With no barriers stopping
It pains my heart
Wanting to see you mature
But what can I do
God loves you more

I’m sure you’re happy
Being by His side
Listening to all stories
All the secrets

Repeat Chorus

Bridge
Can’t stop missing you
Hearing your voice
Your laughter in memory…

Repeat Chorus

I am a Chinese but I listen to Malay songs. Some of my Chinese friends think I'm weird, but I don't see anything wrong with that!

Music is music! Whether it is Chinese, Malay or Indian music, they are music all the same! To me, music transcends all languages!

I wonder how come my Chinese friends listen to English songs then? Should I say they are weird then?

I think we do have a lot of nice Malay songs and we only need to expose ourselves to these songs to appreciate them. To me, the more I listen to a song, the more I like it. But of course, after some time, I will get bored and that's when I switch to another song! Haha!

I even sing Malay songs in karaoke much to the amazement (or disbelief?) of my Chinese friends. Well, they sing mostly Mandarin songs, which I love too, but Malay songs are really not that bad!

I also like songs sung by Indonesian artistes like Kris Dayanti, Samsons and Peterpan. These Indonesians singers are really a talented lot!

But since I'm a Malaysian, I'll talk about Malaysian singers today. There's one Malaysian singer whom I really admire and she is none other than the famous Siti Nurhaliza! She has a great voice and good looks but what I find amazing is that she is able to maintain her popularity for such a long time!

Although I do not fancy all her songs, this is her one song that I really, really like! It's called "Bukan Cinta Biasa" which translates to "Not An Ordinary Love".

Enjoy the video and have a great week, everyone! : )



Lyrics
Begitu banyak cerita
Atas sebab ada duka
Cinta yang ingin ku tulis
Bukanlah cinta biasa

Dua keyakinan beza
Masalah pun takkan sama
Ku tak ingin dia ragu
Mengapa mereka selalu bertanya

Cintaku bukan di atas kertas
Cintaku getaran yang sama
Tak perlu di paksa
Tak perlu di cari
Kerna ku yakin ada jawabnya...ohhh

Andai ku bisa merubah semua
Hingga tiada orang terluka
Tapi tak mungkin,
Ku tak berdaya
Hanya yakin menunggu
Jawabnya

Janji terikat setia
Masa mengupas segala
Mungkin dia kan berlalu
Ku tak mahu mereka tertawa

Diriku hanya insan biasa
Miliki naluri yang sama
Tak ingin berpaling
Tak ingin berganti
Jiwa ku sering saja berkata..ohh

Andai ku mampu mengulang semula
Ku pasti tiada yang curiga
Kasih kan hadir
Tiada terduga
Hanya yakin menunggu
Jawapan...

Cintaku bukan di atas kertas
Cintaku getaran yang sama
Tak perlu di paksa
Tak perlu di cari
Kerna ku yakin ada jawabnya...ohhh

Andai ku bisa merubah semua
Hingga tiada orang terluka
Tapi tak mungkin
Ku tak berdaya
Hanya yakin menunggu
Jawabnya...ohhh

Diriku hanya insan biasa
Miliki naluri yang sama
Tak ingin berpaling
Tak ingin berganti
Jiwa ku sering saja berkata..ohh

Andai ku mampu pulang semula
Ku pasti tiada yang curiga
Kasih kan hadir
Tiada terduka
Hanya yakin menunggu
Jawapan...