Friday, November 24, 2006
That’s right. Before anyone starts accusing me a hoax for not completing the full circle resurrection of Cinta Arjuna, let me make this clear. It’s been a hectic past couple of weeks and I may have lagged off a bit in terms of updating this “child” of mine. Nevertheless, I’m not one to come up with excuses, unless they’re totally baseless and I say that just to knock the sense out of anyone (like “I was shooting birds at the airport” when I come late for class). Having said that let me explain in detail on what I was up to recently. Of course, like everybody else, I had a bucket load of assignments to be completed since we’re approaching the end of a long semester. One of the most exciting ones was the magazine. I mean, it was physically exhausting and drained out the brain juice out of me, especially since I only did it with Johanna whereas most groups are made up of 6-7 people. But let me tell you, when that was completed it was one of the most rewarding feelings I’ve ever experienced. Seeing my very own magazine coming out of the printing shop was like having a baby (you guys how magical that feeling is, right?). I’ll definitely try to scan the mag to share it with all you friends of Cinta Arjuna.
After the magazine was done, it was time to shoot our 20 minute feature film for Film Studies (duhh). If the magazine drained out the juice out of me, this project definitely sucks my balls clean! Please excuse the language folks, but being the director and also covering for some “missing” cast members in this project ain’t a walk in the park, unless it’s one of those muddy parks in Kelantan under the unforgiving scorching sun, those are hard to go through as well. Anyways, as I was saying, this assignment would dry me up and flush me down once everything gets done and dusted. Here are some photos for you guys to get a picture of what goes on during those shoots.
Day 1: Bandar Sri Damansara (finished at 1.20 AM)
Day 2: KDU College and Clarence' House (Kota Damansara)
6 souls that need closure
Monday, November 13, 2006
Weekends come and weekends go. Before you know it, the week has started another flow. That’s what has been happening to me lately, or so I think it has. There’s always something to look forward to during the weekends, be it a movie date, jamming in the wee hours of the morning or just relaxing at home (I refuse to work on ANY assignments during weekends).
This is what a one year hiatus does to a blogger
-Before and After-
This past weekend was no different. I had an invitation to attend Intan’s open house last Saturday. Sure, there must be like 12 other open houses to go to during this festive month, right? But when it comes to Intan’s, only two types of people would find it excusable to miss: People with life threatening health complications and Mohd Hafiz Abdul Ghani. The first category explains for itself while the latter is just obnoxious. I mean come on; Intan’s open house is always packed with beautiful people, the food is just to die for, and you get to see Syar in her “As seen on brighthopes” baju kurung, what more would you possibly want on a Saturday evening? Of course these comments may seem a bit unfair to you, Mr. Hafiz, but the truth is this is not about Intan’s, not at all. I’m just disappointed that you didn’t make it to MY open house the following day. So there =P
-Saturday @ Intan's-
(Top) The Sunday Spread (Below) The Four Daughters of The Apocalypse
As the guests start checking-in from 11.30am, it was time to tango. My parents and I had to strike conversations with everyone who came and made sure that nobody felt the slightest discomfort whatsoever. In a way, what the three of us applied that day might be something straight out of the “Cabin Crew for Idiots” handbook. Idiots or not, it seemed that everyone had an enjoyable time while they were there (god knows what happened when they left though), with the very last guests leaving at around 5pm. After cleaning everything up and delivering the leftovers to some important individuals, I finally got to rest at around midnight. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who came and made it a memorable day for our family, we appreciate every single breath and step that you took to get to this humble crib of ours. Your presence made all the money and hard work spent towards this day worthwhile.
-Eternally Grateful-Monday, November 06, 2006
Foreword by Syar*
Shaiful asked me to write a little something to "usher in the new era of Cinta Arjuna" after a year of his blog's 'death'. Like Buffy, clawing her way out of her coffin after being prematurely buried. That might be a little morbid for you, but well...that's part of who Shaiful is. Not morbid in a sad sense, but in a maniacal, mad-scientist sense. And that is one of the highest compliments I can bestow anybody. He weaves weird magic with his words and however lame his rambling stories he'll make you listen all the way to the end even if only to leave you scratching your head wondering what was the point. Because the thing is, Shaiful doesn't need a point. Shaiful tells stories. And what wonderful stories he tells. Hopefully Cinta Arjuna doesn't die another death. Its got too much to waste lying there unread.
* Who thought doing this was highly ridiculous but fun practice for when she has to do this again for Shaiful's other professional endeavours, and/or her own novel.
Welcome Back to Myself by Shaiful
365 days have passed by right in front of our eyes…that’s equivalent to 8760 hours, 525,600 minutes and god knows how many seconds (I’m too lazy to update this blog, what makes you think I want to type on this calculator again?). In chronological order, I personally experienced Rock The World 6, Selangor’s 30th Malaysia Cup triumph, the first ever metal gig in Planet Hollywood, 19 new movies, 67 new albums, 22 visits to FAM for char kuey tiaow, 2,190 gallons of liquid consumed, an countless crushes (big and small) along the way.
First off, let me apologize, err…maybe I should wish first (thinks to my OCD self). Okay, I’d like to wish a very, very belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2006 to all of you! I’m catching up here alright, so please cut me some slack! “Jingle bells, Jingle bells...” Same goes for Chinese New Year, Thaipusam, Hari Raya Aidiladha, Wesak Day, Hari Gawai, Tun Dr. M’s 300th birthday and so on. And most recently, Happy Deepavali and Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, maaf zahir batin dari hujung rambut sampai ke hujung nyawa.
Now, here comes the difficult part, just because Sir Elton said “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” and Air Supply agreed with “Hard to Say I’m Sorry”. I would like to sincerely apologize to all of you, my dear friends, for letting this blog rot in its own filth for oh so long. I’m not one to give excuses (at least not this time), therefore let me just admit that I got lazy. It all started when I thought of taking a couple of weeks break off blogging. Those two weeks felt real good that I decided to just postpone posting till, well, indefinitely! But as the weeks turned to months, the urge to start blogging again grew stronger as certain things happened in my life, and I needed a channel to pen it all down, alongside my views and whatnot.
The catalyst, or as Nana likes to call it “the lemon that got squeezed into my eyes” for me was when I started reading other people’s blogs again. Namely these two individuals: Syar and more recently Chris. Their posts are so witty and full of life that I felt compelled to start doing something useful again with my free time instead of procrastinating on my assignments. Thank you Syar and Chris for the inspiration (kudos should also go to Nadia and Ayu, the two other blogs I frequent).
As for the future, I was initially planning on having an offshoot blog to post my literary creations and entertainment reviews, but alas both of my mentors have thought of this before I did. Syar’s poetry and Chris’ reviews made me decide to just post my other materials on this blog as well, instead of having another one. Having said that, I already have an offshoot blog underway though, which is more on the fantasy side. I will only reveal that one when it has garnered positive response and prove itself worthy to be announced. So do stay tuned for updates on that prospective project.
Finally, I would to welcome all you friends to the semi-new cinta arjuna. Expect nothing, ‘cos that is what you might get from this blog! Just kidding. The new Cinta Arjuna will strive to beat its predecessor both with the diversity of its contents and also the promptness of which it is updated. Stay Tuned (I kinda like saying that nowadays =P)
6 souls that need closure
