Sunday, May 27, 2007 @ 13:43
So You Think You Can Dance Malaysia Top 14
It was a super happening Thursday night as I finally got my butt down to Ruums KL to watch So You Think You Can Dance Malaysia live! Thanks to Chin Yee for providing us transport, we made it there and back safe and sound.
From Left: Josephine, Lai Theng, Chin Yee, Jolene, LileanAm so glad you all could make it!
The stage was smaller than I thought! It always looked bigger on TV. Lightings were pretty good when you see it in person. Way back in the first episode though, the lights were so dim on TV that you could hardly see the dancers sometimes! Well, the show's improved on the technical side since then but camera angles still leaves much to be desired!
Here's Zhen! He got VIP tickets for us (or actually it was his mom's influential power to enlist backstage help) to get in early and grab good spots! So grateful! Haven't seen him in almost a year and a half? Good time to catch up. Anyway, we were there to support Zhen's brother Dennis! Sadly, that poster that you see there was banned. I should have used my brains and realized that 'free advertising' for Magnum 4D would be a BIG NO-NO. But no matter, we're gonna take down the logo and put Dennis' photo there instead =)
The opening dance was choreographed by hip hop choreographer Yannus! *sidenote* he appeared in Matrix II and III as a monk in Zion and a featured dancer. Plus check out his resume, its crazy! *back to the opening dance* It was so cool! In terms of blocking, stunts, moves, energy, camaraderie, everything! The best opening group dance so far!
The 4 judges of the night. From left: Pat Ibrahim and Ramli Ibrahim (they are not related) who are both on the judging panel every week. Then comes the super hot yet sweet Judimar Hernandez who judges most of the time. Lastly, its Yannus Sufandi! That was such a treat to see him in person..he's rarely seen at the judging table because he choreographs a lot for the show! Next up, pictures of my 3 favourite couples of the night (their personalities really SHINE).
Nikki and Yuz! Look at Nikki cheekily flashing a grin and peace sign to her fans/friends who were just in front of us. Their item was broadway. Facial expressions were so comical! Enjoyable to watch!
Becky and Dennis! Dancing tango whooboy. HOT dramatic movements. Coming from a no formal dance training background, Dennis did a pretty swell job! Facial expressions could be improved just a little bit more haha..more lust/desire? Yowza. Now I realize TV viewers don't get to see the way the dancers walk out onto the dance floor. Oh my gosh you should have seen the way Becky and Dennis came out, damn SIZZLING there! Totally FUIYOH part! I could feel the heat man, with Becky being seductively sexy and Dennis being all suave and macho (I swear there was so much fire in his eyes here).
Jo and Jimmy! The most energetic couple danced the style of pop. Nice lifts were done throughout the dance. Picture perfect moments. Their stage presence is amazing!
The Top 14 dancers awaiting the revelation of the bottom 4 dancers for the night. I tell you, me and Zhen were so panicky at the side! Seriously heart-thumping nail-biting fervently-praying kind of mood. Zhen explained the mechanism of the show and told us some behind the scenes stuff and inside news. Super interesting. Luckily Dennis was safe! Phew..SO RELIEVED!!!
Nikki, however was put in the bottom 4!! Slight distress there. The bottom 4 did their solos and Nikki was awesome! How often do you see such a good female break dancer?! Impressed. I was rooting for Nikki (left) and Isaac (right) and whaddaya know? They survived the vote!
So..in the end, all my favourites are safe and officially in the Top 12!
Zhen's dad appreciated my banned poster so much that his enthusiasm was infectious! Haha..this photo was taken by him.
A night of excitement, palpitation, loud cheering and extreme happiness right at the end. Thanks to Jo for enduring my craze! And of course thanks to Zhen and his parents as well, they were so nice! =)
Sunday, May 20, 2007 @ 16:26
Rock Climbing!
I haven't done rock climbing for almost 2 and a half years now so I was so excited when my friend suggested we do it! Oh, my friend has requested to be anonymous in this post so my friend will be referred to as The Friend from now on.
We headed to Asia's Largest Indoor Climbing Gym-Camp 5 located in 1 Utama shopping complex. Getting in the club was a challenge in itself. To qualify for a single entry membership (student price RM17 unlimited access for a whole day), we had to know 3 things:
- How to wear a harness
- How to belay
- Figure of eight knot and double figure of eight knot
The interior was really cool with rock walls all around ranging from short to tall to extremely high. From elementary to a bit more difficult to jaw-dropping extremely challenging walls.
We saw an incredibly toned woman climbing the wall I'm leaning against at a really fast speed. No doubt one of the more avid and experienced climbers. Impressed!
Never realized that there were so many different types of climbing..lead climbing, trad climbing, top rope climbing and what not.
We warmed up on the easy low walls. With bare hands and rented rubber shoes. Didn't take long for us to move on to the more challenging walls. Our goal for the day? To climb 5 walls each.
Sadly there's no pictures of us in action, well for the simple reason that while one of us was climbing, the other was belaying. You wouldn't want either one of us to die just because we were more focused on getting good pictures than the climb/belay itself right? Thought not. Haha.
The facilities were satisfactory gym standards. What was unique though was the rustic decor of it all. Rustic pipes!
It wasn't dirty rustic-ness. Its sort of like that old up-in-the-mountains kind of feeling (for me at least). We hung out at their cafe for a break in between climbing walls (sounds like we're Spidermen =D ).
We made it a point to touch the ceiling at every wall we climbed. At some points, the next step just seemed really daunting, the arms felt so tired and gravity pulled me down but I stayed close to the wall and pushed myself on anyway and luckily! The feeling of reaching the top is such a high! Thank goodness I don't have acrophobia!
-wrap up of the whole day-
We both reached our goal of the day =)
I'm super satisfied! I climbed 6 walls whoohoo!
Anyone who wishes to go for a day of rock climbing, just holler! I'll even teach you the 3 things if you don't know it already! =)
Sunday, May 13, 2007 @ 13:23
Linkin Park
As of now, there are..
2,970 Minutes to Midnight.
Excited!
I refuse to listen to all the available downloads before the official release!
I'll hear it when that CD gets into my hands =D
*edited 2,970 minutes and more later*
The songs are growing on me. Satisfied. ^_^
Malaysia censored some of it though.. -_-"
Friday, May 11, 2007 @ 04:22
May-Aug Semester
Saints UPANDON! Upan Don! Up and On! Permutations heh heh.Thanks to Yoko who got this from the juniors and sent it to me =)
Alright, the new semester has begun.
What will I be busy with?
- Moral Studies
(compulsory MOE subject-why do they have to do this to us?!) - Advanced English Language & Communication Skills: Written Genres
(should be a challenge) - Basic Photography
(yeah this should be FUN!) - Introduction to Public Speaking
(yikes the formal dress code -_-") - Introduction to Journalism
(let's get started yeah!)
I just watched Edward Scissorhands again. Poignant. And watching it again makes me appreciate everything in the movie even more. Man, Tim Burton is one uniquely weird director (in an interesting way). Johnny Depp, I salute him. Love it love it love it. Sherly want to come and watch with me? ^_^
Movies like this touch you in a weird way =)Monday, May 07, 2007 @ 05:39
Fitness First
The fitness bug bit me and Patricia last week. We had these perfect no-strings-attached fuss free no-charges-whatsoever 1 week membership to Fitness First. Very exciting indeed. However it rained so heavily on the first day that we were delayed in getting there (missed 2 classes). Blessing in disguise. The BodyCombat class alone on the first day was enough to kill us off.
First thing we tried? Pounding our feet on those treadmills. With 6 channels of Astro (cable TV) in front of us that we could choose to watch while working out. Also provided of course are headphones (let's not imagine the alarming lack of hygiene in sharing).We focused on cardio throughout the week. We tried the treadmill, 2 different types of exercise bikes and 3 other exercise machines which I still have no inkling what they are called.
Take a look at the super packed hectic schedule the club has. They have catchy and easy to understand names for all the classes such as BodyPump (weights man), BodyCombat (martial arts woohoo!) and BodyStep (all about the lower body). Surprisingly the branch that we frequented is the only branch that offers back-to-back fitness classes. All the better for us both! ;)
I love the studio they have. Nice floor! There's a small stage in front for the instructors to lead. Huge boom box for blasting the music. Full length mirrors on the right side of the stage. And an ultra-hot Nike poster featuring Boa on the left side of the studio. That poster just pushes me to work harder when I glimpse it. Weird.
After a taste of BodyCombat during the Nike Women's Party in March, we were all up for a full-blown hour-long session of it. It was exhilarating! More punch punch uppercut hook kick! Total release of aggression all the while following the rhythm of the music. Great workout! That gave me some shoulder aches. Yikes.
BodyJam was a less intense workout compared to BodyCombat. It infuses dance moves with the workout. There was one move that all of us non-ballet dancers just could not execute beautifully. We tried our best haha. Pretty enjoyable.
Body Balance was all about Taichi mixed with Yoga and Pilates. Lots of extensive stretching, checking our postures, a little meditation and some balancing acts. A very relaxing class.
A break for me to feature a small part of the female locker room. The ambience inside is so nice I could get a good sleep in there. Comfy cushions, clean showers, big lockers, a sauna, hair dryers available and the most laudable little thing is the toilets are always well-stocked with toilet paper! Bravo!
Commercial break over. We also tried BodyStep. My oh my did we totally underestimate this class. We thought it wouldn't be so demanding to step up and down a platform. But no we were so wrong. I'm surprised all those squats we did didn't knock me out. The squats *ouch* and the leg lifts combined to give us terrible thigh aches the next day.Line Dance Funk was the second most enjoyable class of the week! The instructor picks out hot new tracks like Nelly Furtado's Promiscuous and choreographs 4 eighths worth of dance moves. We pick it up and dance non-stop facing all directions. 2 songs in an hour, a workout with a major dance feel. Cool.
We heard horror stories about BodyAttack even before we joined the class. We had a misconception that it was going to be like BodyCombat. It wasn't. BodyCombat is all about fighting off attackers whilst BodyAttack is about attacking your own body. Yes that's right. Torturing your own body with a grueling workout. Basically its pushing your body to its very limits. The instructor included lots of jumping jacks. Oh the horrors of college PE. We survived!
A bonus point! They serve a free flow of drinks. Cold ones-ice lemon tea, 100 Plus, Sprite and the like. Hot beverages-green tea, fruit tea, coffee, Nescafe and Lipton tea. Ahh I definitely took advantage of this free flow offer whilst resting in the comfortable lounge.
In fact, during our final visit to the club, I made sure the last thing I did was to drink a hot cup of fruit tea. Yum. A well spent week. Body aches here and there but amazingly recovery time was quite fast. Guess I ain't that unfit after all =D