The pants I love

Now playing : Gipsy Kings - Amor

This post is long overdue. Soon Yee bought me this cool pair of pants/bermudas that I absolutely adore and fits me just perfectly. Hopefully I don't grow any fatter. I promised to update her on this and *sorry* it took me so long. But the photos are very recent. I'm wearing it right now at 12:05pm 24-Nov-2007. I've been looking around for this style of pants (a bit of stripes and yet look so stylish). My dear friend can surely read my mind. I LOVE the side button at the bottom. Here are 2 photos of it. I'm no Gisele or Kate Moss so please forgive me for these awful poses.

I thought I was losing grip

Now playing : The Jets - You've Got It All
What will happen in 5 years time? What will I be having 10, 20, 30 years down the road? Where does this road take me? Am I going to be sitting in the same cubicle doing the same job? Or will I have the courage to take up a more creative and fulfilling career? Will I get to see the world before I die? The past few days have been like an emotional rollercoaster ride which I believe eventually contributed to the nightmare I had.
These questions populate my mind every now and then. Sometimes I can feel that I might spiral out of control and lose grip on my life and the people around me. Today I feel especially awkward. Last night I had a bad dream and I woke up still feeling a pang of sadness and anger eventhough, logically speaking, the story in my dream was a little non-sensical but it felt so real. The fears I have on my life played out into a movie by itself in my sub-conscious reality. In my dream, I had no control, I had no say. I felt like I was under invisible lock and chain as I shifted from scene to scene. Everything was revolving around a default scenario that I didn’t agree with. The life that was normal was lost in translation and I ended up helpless, which gave me an extreme feeling of losing grip. The moment I opened my eyes from the sleep, I still felt that wave of misery washing over me. Ever experienced a time when you suddenly wake up from a dream and realize that you were crying? Or that immediate tug on your heart and the tight knot you feel in your tummy? I wasn’t crying though, but I was mildly down in the morning after. It gave me fears that I’m going to be losing grasp of decisions and the fear of living by other people’s rules but with fear came determination too. It was pretty silly now that I think of it. I’ve had dreams of alien bugs attacking me, Godzilla chasing me, me turning into a vampire, me being chased by a vampire, me surfing on waves, me playing basketball with Michael Jordan. God knows I have dreams of everything under the sun.

Carrie Underwood : Carnival Ride

Now playing : Carrie Underwood - I Told You So

I have a thing for country music. I like most of the songs by Keith Urban, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Tim Mcgraw, Shania Twain, Collin Raye. Most country song's lyrics tell a story. It never fails to strike a chord in my heart. Listen to Collin Raye's One Boy One Girl and you will understand what I mean by story. Unlike some of the pretentious songs such as Britney's Gimme More...whole song just going gimme gimme gimme..no meaning also..gimme gimme more, give her a slap ler. iissshh (anyhoo..I admit I'm shamefully addicted to that tune). Back to country... I like ALL the songs by Carrie Underwood. Serious..it's really that good! Her 1st album was worth it. Every single song suited my taste and her powerhouse vocals was worth every dollar. Now she just released her second album, Carnival Ride, and her vocals have gone from power to power. This album is 5 star. I repeat...5 star (1..2...3..4....5...star) or gazillion stars..
Anyhoo, I bought it a week ago. One of it is her 1st single from this album which has been playing on my ipod for ages already, So Small. Now, the other song which really caught my attention and has now become my most hooked on song for the week is "I Told You So". First time I heard it, I fell in love with the song. Ok, here's my dog hair's worth of thoughts on this album.
Track 01 : Flat On The Floor - This one is so country with a little bit of rock. This fella really can rock. I didn't like it when I first listened to this one. But after a few times playing it in my car, it is quite a catchy, wake up song.
Track 02 : All-American Girl - Favourite part of this song is the 1st 5 seconds (the instrumental part). Don't know why, I just like the tune. The chorus is pretty nice too. Back again to the part I said that country music always tells a story. This piece is one good example.
Track 03 : So Small - I did talk about this song a few posts ago. A strong ballad. One of me favourites.
Track 04 : Just A Dream - This one is a pretty sad song about a girl losing her soldier boyfriend/husband/lover..etc. It's slightly too depressing for me.
Track 05 : Get Out Of This Town - This...I likey! A fast track. Kinda makes me feel like going on a road trip everytime I listen it. "Let's get out of this town tonight, nothing but dust in the shadows, gone by morning light, somewhere we won't ever get caught"
Track 06 : Crazy Dreams - Didn't really catch my attention.
Track 07 : I Know You Won't - The beginning of the song was slow but then it started getting into my head just as it reached the chorus. I'm hooked on the chorus. Talking about her powerhouse vocals...this is one heck of a powerful song. Picture this, if I ever attempt to sing this, I'll very likely gag and choke on my own saliva..and pass out before I can hold the high note. Ok, that example is a little odd. This is one of her best songs in the album. It's a gorgeous, monster ballad.
Track 08 : Last Name - Another rock-like country song. Pretty funky...
Track 09 : You Won't Find This - Another one of my favourites. Don't really know what to say about this. I'm just getting really lazy.
Track 10 : I Told You So - *drumroll* This one is DA BEST! Loved every single part of the song and the melody. The lyrics are pretty sad and sympathetic about someone leaving their lover and only to realise that he/she is the one but it's too late.
Track 11 : The More Boys I Meet - You know what I like besides the fact that this is quite catchy, it is the part she sings "the more boys I meet, the more I love my dog" Cool....I love my dog.
Track 12 : Twisted - This track is ok. The chorus is pretty fine..the rest of the song is just alright.
Track 13 : Wheel Of The World - A nice piece to close off a fantastically fine album. A slightly slower pace song, softer and great lyrics.

Ok, I'm dead tired now.

Oh darn, what have they done?

Soon Yee and I have declared war against Westlife, and we are not the only ones. It all started from a song called Home which was originally by the one and only, the great, the awesome, the legendary - Michael Buble. We loved that song because it was one of the most beautiful songs Michael Buble ever wrote and sang. Westlife destroyed it!! They made a mess of it!!It is meant to be a personal song about loving someone, missing someone. How could they allow Westlife to sing it? The saying goes, if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. And Westlife is obviously not in a position to try a Michael Buble song. They killed it. Unfortunately I will never listen to Home in the same way that I have before because I will always be reminded of the destruction caused by this overgrown boyband. They have transformed from potential boy band with considerably good original debut and sophomore albums years ago to freakin'-I-wanna-throw-up-in-my-mouth-when-I-hear-them-kind-of-boyband. I don't like them anymore. Basically they have quickly and surely deteriorated to doing horrible renditions of other people’s classics. Let’s be frank, it really sucks. Here's a tip, if you are not as talented as someone like Michael Buble, please puh-lease stay away from spoiling other people's songs. I'm not alone in this, here are the links to Soon Yee's and Zeeko's 'heartfelt' objection to Westlife's painful destruction of such a beautiful song. This is a collaborative, coordinated, timely objection merely to fulfill our heart's discontent on this matter of a horrendous cover version. Here are the links on what others have got to say:

Soon Yee's post "Michael Buble"
Zeek's post "Westlife.. Please DIE?!"

Winter Warmers

Now playing : Nelly Furtado - All Good Things Come To An End

Tonight I had dinner at Winter Warmers in Gurney Plaza. It's a cosy little place which has been there for a long time now and this was the first time I ever stepped into the place. The interior is very cottage-like and it smells good inside.
For my beverage, I ordered the Vanilla Ice Blended which was priced at RM7.90. A mixture of vanilla, tea and well...ice, of course. That's the tall one on the left. It wasn't too bad. The first sip I took, I immediately felt that it wasn't sweet enough. But after a few tries, I kind of liked the simplicity of it. My dad had the Rose Coffee which is the pinky one and notice the tiny dried rose on the top. It smelt great, just like its name but obviously we didn't eat that rose coz I felt it would be like eating potpourri. The drink tasted coffee-ish, strawberry-ish and rosy.

For the main course, I took the Macaroni Cheese Bake. Costs about RM14.90. I'd give it a 7/10. It wasn't creamy enough but I guess it's a good thing since I'm getting fat already. The taste was slightly bland but fortunately the 2 side dishes made up for it. Kinda even out the taste. Portion was just right, not too big and not too small either.
This is the Grilled Fish my dad ordered. Looks plain, though..don't ya think? I guess I would call the portion too small for him. Again, I felt it wasn't salty enough but my dad said that it tasted quite nice. Apparently, it went well with the coffee he ordered.Maybe next time I'll order the other type of tea which comes with a mini jug and a martini glass which was oh-so-cute. I meant the jug was cute. I saw a couple of people ordering that drink. :P

The melody in my head

Alright, it's been 2 months since my last blog about the music that I've been listening to and the list has changed totally. For the past 2 weeks I've been immensely hooked on these pieces below:
Jamie Scott – London Town. This song reminds me a little of KT Tunstall’s style of song. Nice soft drum beats at the back. Loved that part where he hums in the song.

Joey McIntyre's Someday. Haven't heard anything from him for ages. I read that he released 2 new albums after Meet Joe Mac but I haven't managed to locate those CDs in Penang. This is an old song from him. I’ve heard it like a zillion times before but recently got hooked on it again because the song goes like a conversation between 2 friends. One is saying that someday he will get the girl. The other is saying it won’t happen. Good melody.

This is a rock song by Chris Daughtry and it's called Over You. His latest single which is playing quite often over the radio. It is addictively loud. He’s got a fantastic voice.

My favourite of all favourites at the moment is this Cantonese song by Eason Chan (the God of song...in my opinion). It is entitled 富士山下 (Fu Shi Shang Shi) Hahaha...you'd think I know that but I didn't and I had to ask my friend for the title. Thanks to the language bar installed, I managed to type out the name successfully. It means 'at the bottom of Fuji mountain (as what my friend translated for me) Love it love it love it. I’ve put it on repeat mode. Sounds like a sad song…probably a reflective song about the past and the memories of a love. I’ve heard it quite a long time ago and have been looking for it ever since but I didn’t know the song and only knew it was by Eason. Then…my colleague played it over his notebook recently and I pounced on it like lion on a carcass.

Come So Far from the Hairspray soundtrack. The people singing this song includes Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Nikki Blonsky and etc. It’s a very cheerful song with a nice beat that keeps my feet tapping. A happy-go-lucky piece about encouragement and not giving up.

Missing you by Tyler Hilton. 'I ain't missing you, since you've been gone away, I ain't missing you at all' Rings a bell?
It’s a cover version of the original by I don’t know what band. Heard this acoustic version on One Tree Hill in the scene where Nathan and Haley were standing in the rain holding each other. It’s just as good as the original.

This is by Kiki Ebsen, Say A Little Prayer. This is the adult contemporary, jazz-y style of this song made famous in the movie My Best Friend’s Wedding. But the one in that movie was sung by Diana King. It’s a softer, toned-down version with nice guitar sounds. Perfect for a scenario that involves a romantic dinner by a pier overlooking the sea, with a waiter in a black and white uniform serving meals, pouring me a glass of champagne which I don't know how to drink.

Winners At A Losing Game by Rascal Flatts. A very nice country ballad on unrequited love where he sings about loving a person that doesn’t love him back and that he knows that he will never be the man of her dreams. One the lines goes like this “If love is really forever, then I’m a winner at a losing game”. I’m thinking it probably means that if this relationship really works and last till the end of time, he wins because he has the girl of his dreams but the girl will never love him truly for no matter how long she tries. So ultimately, the relationship is a losing game because he may get the person, but he’ll never gain the heart. I like the way the lyrics were written, it’s like a puzzle. It's a kick to figure out meanings of songs.

The perfect vacation-welcoming song. Coconut Grove by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. What a freaky name! It sounds like an oldie to me but my mum didn’t seem to have heard this song before. My uncle was singing that at the top of his lungs in the car though. A mixture of muffled sounds because he forgot the lyrics and he sounded a little like a broken guitar string. Anyhoo, this song is really nice and everytime I listen to it. I imagine the beach and blue skies. (It’s part of the lyrics by the way) I googled the name Coconut Grove and found that it is a place in Miami, Florida. I wonder if this is the one they were singing about.

Gimme More. Ahem…it’s Britney, bitch. I hate to admit it but this song is so infectious. The more I listen to it, the more I feel like moving to it. I really can’t help bouncing my head to the beats. Although pretty much the whole song, she’s just going ‘gimme gimme gimme more gimme gimme gimme more gimme gimme’.