Explosions in the Sky

I’m in KL for the weekend again!  We managed to catch the fireworks display at the Malaysian International Fireworks Competition by team Australia.  Frankly speaking, although they look beautiful decorating the dark sky and all, I admit I didn’t find anything spectacular about the display compared to the ones that I’ve seen before.  Then again, I don’t get to snap photos of them very often, so I guess my camera enjoyed most of the night.

Oh, topic of the week : Independence Day.  Unlike previous years where I’d write a post dedicated to this supposedly special day, this year the hype just wasn’t there for me.  Yes, I love my country, but sorry, so many things have happened that I can’t find words to say about it this year.

If anything my website has a new look now.  I didn’t quite favour the first theme from the start, it was just a temporary thing before this one goes up.  I’m still trying to adjust a few things though – such as the spacings in my Pages and the Comments section.  Bear with me, yea?

A little update on the T-Shirts.  Yes yes, I know you want to see the designs – I want to put them up too, but I need to finalize something before I can post them up ok?  However, if you look closely, you might just get a sneak preview of the designs.    I’m in quite a dillemma really.  Met some printers and I’m down with two options:

1) Superb quality T-shirts with much (like a lot) higher price? or
2) OK quality T-shirts with much affordable price?

This whole thing is so new for me, so I’m really trying to make the best decision to provide all of you the best deal. Or, why don’t you leave your two cents behind and tell me what you think?

Sorry for such a rushed entry – thought I’d just put up a quick one before I go back to my work again.  Have a great week ahead, people.

Did You Spot the Kooky?

Did anyone do what I told them to in the previous post?  Did you watch Latte@8 last night?  Did you?  Did you?

I took a ride to KL yesterday afternoon as I wanted to spend the weekend with my brother and finalize some kooky business.  It’s nice to be able to know that should I head north or south from campus, I can still go home.    Anyway, the Gossip crew had to meet up with Jason Lo and Rina Omar to discuss a little bit about the event. In case you’re mistaken, Gossip did not feature on Latte@8, at least not yet.  We met and spoke to them after the show.  So along the way, we figured some coffee and a few seconds of fame wouldn’t hurt.

I got the hot seat.  As in, really panas.  The lights were shining directly at us and within minutes I was sweating like a pig.  I cannot imagine how these people do it with all the thick make-ups to look pretty on camera.  Ida Nerina was there, and so were Butterfingers with their latest album.  But to me, the most interesting part was when Jason interviewed Moon K. Chan, the founder or MFX, a graphics and animation design company.  They have won numerous awards for their work, and they are the brains and brawns behind the local animation the Blue Karipap (which I got the opportunity to try!) and also the Bollywood-style Ribena commercial.  Probably a millionaire by now, Moon K. Chan displayed a laidback personality, and I like the fact that he’s always willing to give young people a chance to unravel and showcase their talent.  Funny thing was I felt like going up to him on the spot and interview for a job in his company.  Haha!  Anyway, here are some snapshots (from my 2mp camera-phone) of last night:

Oh, and before I left for KL, I received some really neat stuff from a friend through mail!  It was really encouraging and I just can’t help but feel really fortunate to have friends like these.  Here are the really cool magnets I got:

Do I hear somebody say “Awww”?  Thanks, Steph – I’m now gonna buy myself a fridge (or at least something made of metal) so that I can put them up in my room.    I also have a feeling that I’ll be doodling that one tough cookie on my notebooks all over for the weeks to come, haha!

It’s raining now, been pouring a lot in KL- and I love it.  I like it when the world goes into silence and all you can hear are the raindrops hitting on the rooftops and the ground.

Peace.

Project GOssip

“I’ve got something to tell you.”

It’s normal.  You’ve got the latest news in town and you want to share it with the world, doesn’t matter if it’s true or not.  Gossiping has been such a popular trend (and a favourite past time for many) that there is even a TV series about it!

But how many times have you heard of gossip with good intentions?

I’m about to tell you one.

Summersands Production and the Rotaract Club of Taylor’s College in Subang Jaya have collaborated to spread the biggest gossip in town.  Introducing…

Project Gossip is the absolute girl-power event of the year, or perhaps, ever.  Broken down to three parts, Go Away – a campaign to stop violence against women, Go Safe – a reminder of how important safe sex is, and Go Celebrate – a huge celebration of the role of women in the society thus far.  Artists like Jason Lo, Hannah Tan, Suki and many more home-grown bands are going to be a part of this huge event!

And as The Kooky Jar’s first project, we are the official merchandiser!!  I have submitted my t-shirt designs, but have yet to finalize them, and the targetted charity organization.  As a matter of fact, the closer I get to deadline the more ideas are coming to my head!  Anyway, the moment I’ve finalized my designs I’ll definitely put them up here so you kind folks can place your orders.  Haha!  No pressure ok?

To read more about the event, visit their official blog HERE. Guess who designed it. 

Have a great weekend, folks.

P/S: There might be a thing on two about this on TV, check out Latte@8 on 8tv, 11pm this Friday night.  You might be in for a treat! 

Prelude to Opening The Jar

Hello everyone.

For the past few weeks I’ve been asked about what this new venture of mine is all about.  And my usual answer would be, “Just wait and see.”

Well, wait no more.

Before I reveal what it is all about, I just want to say a thing or two about what I’ve learned recently, amidst all the work and busyness.

And that is to give thanks in all circumstances. 

It’s a hard thing to do, but when you can do it, it makes you feel a whole lot better.  When you can say to yourself, “Things happen for a reason” even when times are tough, it does bring an odd sense of comfort to the soul.

I give thanks to God for putting me where I am right now.  At times I feel like I’m in the middle of nowhere, and there are moments when I’m peeved that my cheese has been moved.  But whenever hard times hit me, it just helps me to be a stronger individual – inside and out.  I made friends and begin to put trust in people, I shut my judgmental nature, and I learn to adapt and make the best out of every situation given.  And I’ve learned to put my faith in Him in everything I do.

I give thanks to my parents for being so, so patient with me.  To bear with my mood swings whenever I’m busy, and to support me in all my fantasies and dreams that most parents would usually say a direct “No” to. 

I give thanks to my brother, for being my hero.  He may not be a shining example of what an ideal son/brother people usually expect, but that is the very reason why I look up to him.  He doesn’t say much or share words of wisdom compared to his endless lame jokes and teases, but he has carved a perfect picture that nothing is impossible.  He has played a huge role in helping me open this jar.

And I give thanks to my amazing friends.  For not thinking that I am crazy, and instead showering me with encouragement and prayers.  For carving a smile on my face each time you attempt to be crazier than me.  I love you, all of you.

So, enough of all the sappy thank you’s as though I’ve won the Oscars, because I didn’t win anything really, but I’m on my way to a whole new journey. 

After two years of dreaming, and couple months of planning, I present to you,

The Official Kooky Jar Site

Opening The Jar

As the photo says in French, welcome.

For first-timers here, thank goodness you didn’t have to endure my 5th shifting to a new place.  But to readers of my previous blogs, thanks for sticking around – your patience means the world to me.

So what’s the big deal of this new place?  What’s with all the hoo-hah of dreams and aspirations and all the melodrama in the last few posts of my previous blog?  Sure it’s red, has some fancy buttons and it’s got a new logo…then what?

Then, kindly proceed to the About page.  I think it will answer a lot of questions, and hopefully live up to the hype.  If there is such a thing about waking up and living your dreams, the alarm clock just rang.

I know there are a lot of silent readers out there, and I usually don’t mind if you don’t feel like leaving a comment.  But just this time, I would really appreciate it if you could tell me what you think.  If you’re shy in revealing yourself on the internet, you can go to the Email page and drop me a note.  It would really really be a huge deal for me to know that people are responding.  At least just this once.  Thank you very much.

I’d like to specially thank CC for providing me superb webshosting and tolerating all my whims and requests, and also to Redbox Studio for helping me purchase the domain the-kooky-jar.com.

And to you.  Yes, you who are reading.  For being there, and letting me a part of your world.

Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done.

Cheers to all of you!

Love,

I Don’t Care What They Say

Because I still think Lee Chong Wei is a hero.

Maybe he didn’t win tonight, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t lose anything.  Do you know the amount of pressure he must have felt before and during the entire game?  I’ve experienced how it’s like to have incredible amount of pressure on you, even when you’re not on home ground.  And it was just a national high school public speaking competition.

We’re talking about the Olympics, people. 

I feel disgusted when people begin to comment how bad he played and how disappointed they got until they didn’t feel like studying, do assignments, etc. 

It’s funny how we forget about what we have when we keep yearning for more.

One friend said that “700k wasted” because Chong Wei did not manage to claim RM1million for his gold medal.  Wasted?   When a silver medal was secured in his hands, he no longer had anything to lose.  He already made history.  He has already put Malaysia on the medal tally chart. 

But no.  We just can’t get enough of a good thing, can we?

Sure, that guy got slaughtered by Lin Dan tonight, and I too had my equal share of “ooooh no!” and “come on!” throughout that short game, and silent prayers that he’d crawl back to win the set.

But I also remembered each time he scored a point and the entire cafe went wild.  And how angry the crowd got each time Astro showed a black out in the crucial moments.  And how we boo-ed unanimously when China scored a point.

I won’t comment on this country – I’m no politician.  But I’m a student in a local university where we are already divided enough.  Where race, religion, language are our usual barriers (don’t pretend it doesn’t happen).  And tonight, just for about 45 minutes, everyone forgot about those barriers.  We only had one thing in common – hope for the nation. 

And don’t pretend that didn’t happen either.  We just forgot about it when Lin Dan clinched the winning point to the gold medal.

I don’t know, for me, there’s a lot to thank Chong Wei.  This blog is supposed to be on hiatus, but I can’t resist from defending a hero people might forget.

Someone reminded the world that Malaysia participated in the Olympics tonight.