celebrate independence

August 31, 1957, the day Malaysia achieved independence. That was 51 years ago. There were hopes and dreams.

Today, we see fireworks at nearly every kind of celebration. Even the politics in this country tend to have a fireworks quality to it. A big bang signalling something about to come. Then a flare of light. But just as quickly as the colours and light amaze you, it all disappears in a haze of choking smoke. Yeah, I'm not jumping to celebrate our politics.

I am celebrating the one day when everyone puts aside their differences to believe in a united Malaysia. I am celebrating the hope that this country with so much potential will one day be admired and respected the world over.

Selamat Hari Merdeka Malaysia!

sweet milk

This is Cendol. Its a local dessert slurped by everyone. You can't see it here but it is served with syrupy palm sugar and lots of shaved ice. This one here is served in a paper cup but we usually have it in a bowl standing by the roadside on a hot day.

So, if you come visit, you can choose to go safe and have a bottle of water to quench your thirst or try this yummy dessert drink.

Have a great weekend. Tomorrow is Independence Day. To all Malaysians, MERDEKA!

steel towers

A steel lamp post shot with a wide-angle lens. I thought it looked great with one of the Twin Towers angled behind it with the bridge connected to it. Shows the current state of development here in KL. Lots of construction around the city.

Its been raining heavily these last few days. The colours gone. The city suddenly goes monochrome.

onions make me cry

When I studied the different religions in college, I cried from the beauty of what I read. Each one beautiful in its teachings of piety, peace and understanding. The Olympic Games are held every 4 years to bring together athletes from all around the world to compete under the name of global harmony.

And yet, hundreds of thousands fight and die 'for God' and others refuse to admit defeat for games now completed. By the time you finish reading this, hundreds will lose their lives and a certain Western nation continues to think it is the Earth's greatest country. Time to wake up my friend.

Here in KL, we wonder what the future holds for us. A developing nation with ridiculous front page news. A once-condemned politician has officially returned to Parliament.

This is a picture of an onion dome of one of KL's more popular mosques. Beautiful, isn't it?

I still cry as I continue my study of religions but my tears fall harder when the beauty is twisted and abused.

Spark!

This past week was incredible. I spent it with 58 teenagers (18/19 yrs old) in a DiGi Managing Mindsets Youth Program called Spark! The idea was to bring these teens from around Malaysia and show them a different side to corporate life as well as creative expression workshops that included photography, dance, song-writing, production management and drama. Everything was geared towards showing them things they wouldn't normally experience in their daily lives.

Having worked with kids and special needs teens, I had forgotten how sheltered most youths are nowadays. When I was 18, I got into all sorts of mischief, things many of these 58 have yet to experience. So, it was with great pleasure that I got to relive my youth through these wonderful people. We laughed and cried, we spoke of future fears and we said goodbye with a smile knowing we'll meet again someday.

I would like to thank the folks at DiGi, Saffura, Guri, Frank and Sherina and the production team of Emily, Vivian, Nurha, Khai, Arief. I had a great experience. And thank you so much Sparkers for all you have taught me about the youth of our nation.

This shot was taken at the last dinner we had together. Where do we go from here? Only time will tell.

birthday thankfulness

Hello everyone! I do apologize for my week's absence. I've been crazy busy doing a couple of corporate projects. Like today, I was in a think-tank meeting for 7 hours. The moment it ended, I called my friends. Today marks my 34th birthday. I would usually plan a fabulous party but because of work, I didn't think of anything. So, in one hour, we managed to book a table at a restaurant, got ready and made our way to dinner. I just came home. Completely happy and very thankful.

In keeping with the spirit of thankfulness, a picture of the woman who gave birth to me. I snapped this with a tripod just before I hopped into the shower. My mother, Yvonne.

I've not had much creative/artistic work this year but I'm extremely blessed to have a group of mad friends and equally mad mother that have kept me sane.

Cheers to us!

* I will post sporadically these next 2 weeks. corporate workload ends august 22nd. love always.

car for free

If you go shopping at everyone's favourite mall, Sungai Wang, remember to save your receipts because you stand a chance to win this Nissan that's displayed at the entrance. Most of the outlets are participating in this 'Win A Car' promo. So, go bust your bank balance, get the entry form, attach the receipts and good luck.

sunday in the park

Sunday always is the perfect day to take a stroll in the park. You see families having picnics, couples holding hands, kids running about, amateur photographers gloriously taking pictures of everything that passes by. Sunday is lovely.

Hope you're having or have had a lovely day.

nightcrawler

The streets will always have stray cats. My friend Seow Yee was driving home one day and saw 2 tiny kittens. She stopped her car and picked them up. One lives with her now and the other is with her mum (I think.)

So, the streets have stray cats, I've said. Here's one I found one night. Have a great weekend.

DP Theme Day: Metal

August is here. Leos of the world celebrate. I know I am. Back to today's theme day post. Metal. I looked for a heavy metal concert but alas, none. I thought that would've been an interesting skew of the topic. Officials are a little testy nowadays and anything deemed 'not appropriate' won't be seen or heard.

So where does leave me? Well, I'm standing at the taxi stand waiting for my turn to get into one and zip away. Hey, the sign is metal, innit?

Have a great day everyone. Go have a look at the other 183 metal maniacs. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants