This blog has now reached it's end. The American Adventure has finished. Will there be a sequel in the near future? One will never know, but for now let's let the credits roll...

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Chapter Chotiark

WELCOME TO THE NEW ARTICHOKE BLOG!

If it's too ugly for you too bad. But every once in a while, moms move furniture around the house. So I change the colours of my blog.

Enjoy!

Life is like an artichoke. I don't know why. It just is.

*I like the colours on my twitter page better.. but for some reason I can't recreate that effect. Oh well*

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Chapter Buns

Ok, it's been a while, but there hasn't been anything out of the ordinary happening lately. I've been practicing like normal, and life goes on. But I did manage to catch a couple of free concerts online. Mercy Me's on tour right now and if you follow them on Twitter, they announce they're concert online streams there. Or you can just randomly watch m.ercy.me and see if anything's up. I've enjoyed watching them live twice already now.

Other than that, it's all been normal.

But today, I bring you my latest LPW video. Yay for me! I haven't been recording as much this quarter, but I'll try. Basically because this time around, I'm doing the Fusion LPW which is usually empty in the second hour and I have the whole hour to myself. So I end up playing for an hour, and I can't just leave the camera on for an hour.... hence, I keep forgetting to record. But this time I did.

I'm also doing the Jazz LPW again, and like the last time, I'm not recording it because it's more like a workshopping thing instead of performance every week, but I'll definitely get it on the final like last time - 3 songs at once.

And I'm also in an LPW called the Schroeder LPW, which is an improv class... And he won't let anyone video it... so.... you're stuck with scarce LPW's for this quarter and probably the next.

But savour now the video I bring you.

The volume is screwwy. I dunno why. It just is. But to compensate, we have special video choreography courtesy of my drum teacher. And you get to see me in action in my new Passion T-Shirt. Cool eh.

Enjoy.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Chapter Argh - And then not so argh.

No it's not pirate post.

I'm mad. Mad with myself. Today just started off as one of the crappiest days ever.

I normally set my alarm clock on my laptop now because my other alarm clock doesn't really work, and my watch alarm is too soft and my phone alarm sometimes rings at 4am for no reason even though I set it at 9.

So I've got my laptop alarm all set for 9:15 this morning. And I missed it.

I woke at 11:40. I slept for freaking 10 hours waiting for alarm clock. I lazed in bed waiting for the darn thing to sound and when it still didn't I was under the impression that it was still before 9. And so I lazed.

And then I woke. And found out the time. And freaked. And checked the alarm. And sure it had gone off. But then I saw the stupid problem. I'd left my earphones plugged in. And the alarm was ringing all morning through those. And I heard nothing. And I got up. And was late for my 11am class. Well, not late. I freaking missed it altogether.

And then I stepped on my glasses which had fallen on the floor in the night.

I'm so angry with myself right now. In 6 months I haven't missed a single class. Not one. Never absent. Never late. NEVER. And now this. I missed an entire class because of my own stupid error. I feel like kicking myself right now. I feel like pulling out my hair. I feel like eating my drumsticks.

Ugh.


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Edit*edit*Edit

Ok, good stuff really does happen when you need it the most.

After a really crappy start to a day, I thought the day could only get crappier. Thankfully it didn't.

My Passion 2010 T-Shirt arrived in the mail today! (Pictures below)

And I got another 98 in my LPW. No recordings unfortunately. I'll get one the next time.

And so now I feel good going into my practice hours.

Yay.

The great package arrived!!!

And here is the magnificent shirt! I'ma wear it with pride!

Thanks again Louie Giglio and the Passion 2010 team!


Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Chapter 55

This blog post was inevitable. After so many tweets about it, I just had to post something about it. I think most of you know what I'm talking about.

THE RAIN.

Oh yes. It's got itself a couple of tweets in a row, but now it gets a whole post by itself.

It's been raining for 2 days straight. And it's gone between relatively heavy to light drizzle over and over again. It fluctuates around the clock. I think it's stopped now, but the rain clouds are still up there in the sky and if it stays that way, we'll be expecting more. It's still got nothing on the 1 hour super heavy thunderstorms back home, where the raindrops are so huge they sometimes hurt you when they bonk you on the head. It's not that heavy, but it's reasonable. You can still get soaked from it. Thank God for the schools shuttle bus service, or I'd be going home wet like a wet object that's been soaking in wetness. And dripping with.. wetness. Aren't my adjectives amazing.

And I'm loving every bit of it. I loved the rain back home, but after coming here, I've learned to appreciate it even more.

It makes me realise that after 6 months of not having something you've had forever, you tend to enjoy it much more when it comes. It's like a Christmas present. Or a fancy dinner that you treat yourself to once a year. Or a holiday to somewhere exotic. It's new. And it's incredible. It's funny how something as simple as vapour forming in the sky and collecting together with small particles in the air and then coming down to the lithosphere under the pull of gravity can be so refreshing and invigorating. It's just water, falling from the sky. When you say it like that, suddenly it sounds so miraculous.

I think about how God ordained the skies to carry the rain. How He made the water cycle of the earth. Scientists spent time researching and predicting weather patterns but God simply thought it up and imagined how it would work. He directed the clouds and the winds and made rain available to us all. It's a miracle. The rain is a miracle. It's beautiful.

After 6 months of nothing but sun, the rain has got me all giddy like a schoolgirl. You don't rave on about it in Malaysia. In fact, most people complain about the rain and how it spoils their day. But once you don't have it as regularly anymore, it all changes. I'm guessing this applies for everything.

Which brings me to a point. With the world shrinking because of the internet and global connectivity, we may not miss each other as much when we're apart. But I think when the day comes that we're all together once more, it will be so amazingly special that it surpasses all emotions.

Have a nice rainy day.

____

**
On the side note, I was being serious about the smell of dog poop. Having almost no grass at all anywhere, the smell of freshness doesn't really happen. And since nearly EVERYONE owns a dog here, the smell of urine and poop prevails. A gross thought I know.. but that's another thing to be thankful for to you guys at home.

Cheers.


Monday, October 12, 2009

Chapter X - Student Musings Pt 3

If you followed my tweets you'd remember my thumb suffered from some cracked skin.

And I needed something to protect it while I held my drumsticks. I would've opted for a Band Aid, but I didn't have one and I wasn't going to buy a box of them just for that.

So, meet the alternative.

KJ'S SUPER DUCT TAPE THUMB.
TADAAA!

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There's a small bit of floor that isn't carpeted in the apartment - the kitchen. And I mop it every weekend. Problem is I have no bucket for the mop. No pail nothing.

Problem, meet SOLUTION.

SOLUTION, punch problem in the face.

If you look carefully, you'll realise that the bathtub doesn't even have a stopper.

Hence the cup.

Yes that's a cup keeping the water in.

And yes, it's a bath tub.

Student life is awesome.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Chapter Laffter

So, sometimes I have breaks in between my classes and I have not much to do. I nip down to the library and spend an hour there reading stuff online.
"Well, what do you read everyday or every other day?"

To answer that, I have highlighted some of my entertainment below. It's called a 'Citizen's Blog' on TheStar.com and it's hilarious. It's a neverending source of hilarious 'Engrish' reading material. I'm not censoring the names because if these morons have the nerve to write rubbish like this and make it public on the internet, public humiliation is fair play I would say.

So here we go. And this is only part 1. I'll collect more as the days go by. This is my entertainment.
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Notwithstanding, the protesters should be condemned and their act is a stupid act of provocation, done by people who do not understanding the concept of multiracial that we embraced. -
Khairul Idzwan Kamarudzaman
Err... what?

I'm wondering why, were we hated and even upto like waging a war with us. - limbilly
I'm wondering why your english is even upto like crap.

Anyway, please review the punishment of many law acts as time goes by, it becomes more and more irrelevant. - rafi_strght
A request or statement? One will never know..

What's more most of the user of public transport consist of not so well to do background with mere wages, - swchan87
Mere wages indeed! The majority of us clearly work for something other than that...

and patrol cars should do more often patrolling in this kind area's - selva140377
Indeed they should.. in the kind area's.

WHO SHALL WE BLAME THIS FOR? - desmondthomas
Are we trying to blame on someone's behalf?

If Indonesian man marries a Malaysian woman, and get citizenship. If this Indonesian define as a Son-of-soil (eventhough born in Indonesia) or shall be define as Malaysia-Indonese descent. -limbilly
I can't read this and not be confused. Question? Statement? It's spoiling my brain.

And now, the Holy Grail of posters. This particular person is a gold mine of stuff like this.

Malaysian and Singaporean always not in a good relation term in general. -meow_1978
Even the current food fight, the "bak kut teh" was proclaimed by Singaporean. - meow_1978
Of course we are not as better as Singapore but we can be consider than Thailand. - meow_1978
It seems there is a term for that particular relation. And they've been 'proclaiming' a food fight lately. But we can be consider than Thailand wha???

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Chapter 1.5

The last adventure of the holiday. An uneventful holiday it was. Moneyless holidays are difficult to do. But I do them nonetheless.

I rode down to Silverlake the other day which is an incredibly hilly area around a lake. Or at least I think it's a lake. The whole place is just a monstrosity of ups and downs with houses all over the place and interesting stair climbs to do. I parked my bike and attempted to find my way up there, but it's like a labyrinth. I came to many dead ends and went down the hills I got up and up the hill I went down. And I almost got lost. But thankfully, I am not my mom.

So here's the closest I got to a top of the hill lake shot.
Sadly, it's not a lake. It's a lake, but no one can go near it because I think it's also LA's water supply. Or something to do with the LA water department because it's all fenced up.
And as usual, in LA, a gorgeous shot like this is utterly ruined by some man made fence and cables.

And I thought that was that, but on the way back, I came across something interesting. I stumbled upon the Barnsdall Art Park.

I don't know if you remember some of my early posts, but I remember coming across a 'sanctuary' of relaxation somewhere in Downtown LA. Well, this was one of them. In the middle of the busy city and in the midst of nothing but concrete jungle, here was a tiny pleasant part with trees and grass. A sanctuary, up a small hill and shut from the noisy crazy world below. Only 10 feet outside it's premises the concrete jungle began. But yet this sanctuary existed. I think I've found my weekend relaxation place.
Gorgeous isn't it? It's nothing spectacular, but after seeing nothing but buildings for 6 months, this is heaven.

Being an arts park, there were some abstract art sculptures littered around the garden.

I'm not into art. I think those look like scrap. But I decided to take pictures of them anyway.

There was also something called the HollyHock house, which is apparently some 'old fashioned' style house that was donated to the place and preserved as a museum. The tours were off and I didn't have money for them anyway so I didn't explore it. But it did look quite pretty on the outside.

And there is of course an art gallery there. They didn't have any shows when I went there. They're having one next weekend. So I'm definitely going there.



That's the art gallery and theatre. Don't the trees just look awesome? I dunno, but now I'm just so excited to see trees.

People of malaysia, be grateful for the parks that exist in every neighbourhood. It's not so bad. This is the only park that exists in the entire area of Hollywood. Be grateful for the padang asam. Be grateful for public football fields. Even if there's little grass. Be grateful for small sanctuaries like these. For there are few. And even fewer in Hollywood. I'm grateful I found this place.

I suspect I'm going to be there quite often.