Salsa!!!

Salsa!!! (not the food kind… it’s the dance…)

Some of you may have realised that I have recently embarked on a new passion… DANCING!!!  So is it a new thing?  A craze of the moment?

No… cause I’ve always loved to dance.  When I was 17 and studying here in Kuala Lumpur, I was always itching to do some stuffs in my free time after schooling hours.  Japanese classes, sign language classes and the short stint at Cyber cafes to see the new craze of internet at the time (Yes! I am THAT old… sigh…).. and most importantly, weekly dancing session at the Federal Academy of Ballet here in Bangsar… and NO it wasn’t ballet that I was learning, it was Ballroom Dancing 101..

What made me start?  Well, for starters I was in the hotel management line and dad always said that some knowledge and experience of cultured hobbies would be a great base to start this off.  Haha…. so ballroom dancing it was.

Well, that was then.. and now, after so many years, dancing again is at the top of my list (after gym of course) as one of the things I would do as a break, and escape!

And you know what’s the fringe benefits of Salsa Dancing?  Getting to know other friends who are as passionate about this!

So now… Saturday nights, instead of club hopping, getting pissed drunk, dancing silly with arms and legs swinging in all directions, laughing and shouting at whatever and most importantly the dough from one’s wallet flows out as fast as the liquid from each bottle and jugs ordered to the table (not that this happens all the time, but still.. most of the time); at the Salsa Club, I end up with a bottle of mineral water and a glass of coke! Hahahaha…

Imagine this… it’s a new thing for me… It’s Saturday night, and you are dancing and the only thing that passes down your throat is cool clear refreshing water that replenishes all the sweat from dancing… and if it’s a bit of sugar high you need to get your feet moving, a glass of tall long coke is all it takes.  Culture shock?  Yes, it is!

Hahaha, but, seriously, there’s always the best of both world’s.  Drinks are here also… but most importantly, you get sucked into this celebration of socialising and getting to know people!  Not hard to get to know new friends… ;-)  Well, my class starts next week, hoping my darling wife will follow suit and come with me as well… of course that is if she can stop laughing long enough to start dancing!!! Hahahaha…

 

A Friend In Town

I had a nice guest from Nottingham in town last Sunday evening.  Marianne, a friend of my good friend Jennifer Latham came by.  (Jennifer, if you’re reading this, you should have CAME down as well!!)… Anyways, a brief historical recap, Jennifer was a really good friend who gave me my first English treat in good ‘ol Birmingham, a nice little English dinner.  I never forgot that!  So, I owe her to bring Marianne around for an evening to see the sights. 

Well, being a seasoned globe trekker from Australia, Bali, Europe, Thailand, Indonesia etc.. I am sure backstreets and secret spots were where she wanted to head to.  We trotted from KLCC, to Skybar, for an amazing view of the towers from the top, nasi kandar for dinner (yes, her first time!.. hehehehe), Petaling Street and eventually, a spot of night scene in Bamboo at Taman Tun…

Here are the proofs!! ;-)  (Note to Marianne: I had as much fun as you did… !!  Hehehe…)

   

Lounge Music : Samantha James

Oooh….

New CD time!

So, I was on my music spending binge again and I got the album, Music In Style Vol 2 and I came across a piece which is simple to die for… errr.. I mean in the terms of simple having your breath stop and then rising into the light towards a place called “Lounge Heaven”…ahhhh….;-)

Lovely!  The whole CD was lovely.. but one particular track by Samantha James an American singer that has a casual, relaxed, lounge-styled voice caught my attention.

It was “Rain” by Samantha James.

Couldn’t find a clear piece of that on YouTube, but here’s another one of hers!…”Angel Love”..  Looks like this will be my fav genre for a long-long time to come…

Elaborations

Ah… the pleasures of dissecting ANYTHING at all, be it a single word, a few text, a paragraph, a situation, a real scenario, a hypothetical event, verbal words uttered in a conversation, a picture, a person, a group, emotions, thoughts, a dream, someone’s problem, your own difficulties, a little excitement, about something, a new muse, an old passion, etc……

That’s my escape.

Give me a word… and I’ll give you a 200-250 word paragraph relating to it.

You know what it is?

It’s the pleasure of letting your words (and thoughts) take you on a journey somewhere else other than where you are right now…sometimes simply because you need to get away and you physically can’t!

Everyone can think… and think a lot.  May not be the same as another, but that’s the beauty of reading another person’s writing… it’s always different.

So, go ahead, “elaborate”… that’s my word of the week.

Managing It

What do you do when a stressful schedule begs to intrude into your life and mind?

Well, we all would like to escape to someplace and just be “lost” to the world and to just think of nothingness…

These few weeks it is.

What do you do when you can’t physically leave?

…and your mind is in a fix and you can’t pin-point just one thing that may be the cause of this all?

Hmm… I come to remember having heard… “don’t eat a cake in one bite, eat it bit by bit”…

…but you know what?  That FREAKIN’ cake is damn huge!!!!

*sigh*

The Pleasures of Ambience and Writing

Call me naive but having written articles and doing some freelance copywriting for 4 years now, I have just discovered the pleasures of finding the right places and ambience to write in. 

I used to think that when you put a pen to paper… or in this case.. fingers to keyboard, hehehe… you’d have to be totally focused and close-in on yourself while ignoring your surroundings.  Well, that’s one way of doing it, but it takes too much effort to try and block out your surrounding!

But, writing the last few issues for my mag, I have decided to find nice little lounges and cafes to do it in.

Talk about being REALLY naive…. hahahaha! Goodness.. laughing at myself.

So last Saturday I hung out at “The Apartment” in the Curve, Mutiara Damansara.

Nice little place with the concept of a home… well, at least it tries to be!

It’s a nice place.. I was there at tea time so it was kind of quiet.  Hmm… the type of environment you would want to be in when you are pressured to finish an article which you’ve been putting off for WEEKS!!!! hahahaha… (errr… If my editor sees this, I wish to APOLOGISE profusely!!!!) :-P

Anyway, I realise that when you are comfortable and not distracted… the thoughts flow easily… and you can go on an on… (Coincidently as I am writing this blog, I am in Old Town White Coffee in Sri Sinar… hmm.. looks like I’ll be a kopitiam junkie soon)

Well, I ordered 2 plate of dishes from their tapas menu.. An Avocado salad and Chicken Liver Pate…. hmm… food was so so only… But then again, those were just to keep my mouth busy as my brain was working.

And of course my FAV drink… Ice Latte!

Looks like Nescafe Ice, doesn’t it?

Anyway… safe to say I finished my article as I took the last bite of my tapas… the 2 whole hours there was quite an enlightening experience… Must do more of this again!

Now… for my next article… (Yes… Mr Editor I am starting the next one early!) ;-)

My Notes for a Happier Life

Some notes that we should always remember to make each of our lives a bit sunnier:

1. Live life like you have only ONE LIFE TO LIVE!
2. Kiss like you are giving LIFE to your lover
3. Laugh like you are the only one in the room
4. Dance when you are NAKED and see yourself smile and even LAUGH!
5. Hug your child like you are her WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD!
6. Say "I LOVE YOU" as much as you say hello
7. Tickle another and allow yourself to be TICKLED!
8. Look in the mirror and smile, happy that YOU ARE YOU!
9. Cry like a thunderstorm, because when the tears end like the rain, the SUN WILL APPEAR!
10. Money comes and go, but LOVE IS FOREVER
11. Spend more time on WHAT YOU HAVE than working for what you have not!
12. Do you COMPLIMENT about good service as much as you complain about bad service?
13. A nice thing you say to someone does AS MUCH GOOD FOR YOU as it does for that person.
14. JUMP OUT OF BED instead of crawling.
15. Write your FAVOURITE SONG list on the wall of your toilet and sing!
16. TOUCH your partner every moment, every minute you are with her and FEEL it!
17. Let people OWE you and don't expect to OWE people.
18. STRUT to work with your head up, don't slouch!
19. Practice your SMILE, not your FROWN!
20. Most importantly, love yourself like YOU ARE THE MOST PRECIOUS THING IN YOUR WORLD!