quasi-relieved

i felt a little bit relieved today at Dragones training cause i know a bit more of what and where the steps are like. :)

Phew.

after latin jazz (loved the super fast chereo today), me Erica practised couple work. Was really helpful. she corrected me quite a bit. and i now know more or less what comes next. Also asked Brian about some of the shines and i'm less lost now though far from confident.

i wished either of them dun have to go overseas to further their studies. Erica is going back to Canada, after 14 years of studying in Sg; and Brian to.. hmm AUstralia? - i think. ;p

were practising real hard/fast now with the trip to Cherating for the Malaysian Salsa Festival on the 4-6 Aug. LADC's Dragones Latinos is gonna perform Aran Can Fa and also Mambo de La luz. The former i performed a few times at school (Convocation 2005 and Latin Feste 2006) and also at Hard Rock Cafe Singapore!!! :P

Ever since i saw the Mambo piece, and heard the music, i decided it was my dream dance! THe music is so wow and exciting, the chereo is even more mind blowing. I never thought i am really gonna be learning it and having a chance to perform it! (though im not pinning so much hope on it since ill need to focus more on the school's Rummage production)

quasi-relived for now.

and of course, VERY excited!

jittery

taking a break from dance rehearsals might be mistake.
feeling a bit lost in the various chereography esp salsa
both for school and Dragones

more stressed by Dragones' Mambo routine
they learnt quite a fair bit since i'm gone on the weekends.
and some senior instructing the dance in a rather impatient way doesnt help either.

right now i'm just telling myself:
i will survive!

will i?

"witch hunt"

A witch-hunt was traditionally a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, which could lead to a witchcraft trial involving the accused person. Today such events are recognised as a type of moral panic. Witchhunts still occur in the modern era, in many and various communities where religious values condemn the practice of witchcraft and the occult. On a general basis, the term may also denote the persecution of a perceived enemy (commonly socially non-conformist groups) with extreme prejudice and disregard of actual guilt or innocence.

i found out what witch hunt means in office today. this particular person i was liaising with was very fickle in what she wanted in the catalogue. I think it was after a fourth request, of the same thing, that i couldn't take it. (well wad make me lose my patience is that we actually did 3 changes or so to it and it really wasted lots of time)

so yeah i emailed her this after a couple of minutes delibrating the risk of me getting dismissed or the likes. (i swore i was trying to sound as pissed as i was):

***

Shirley,

I really appreciate if you can really finalize what you want as we've changed it more than a few times already.

Please confirm that you would like the following:

XXXXX XXX XXXX for Two(75mins)

Consists of:

· Hot Stone Massage/ Thai Massage/ Balinese Massage/

· Luxury Spa Scrub

Regards,

****

Her reply (one which expanded by dictionary of sarcasm/curtness):

****

Hi Fadzli,

Let’s just get it right and spare me the witch hunt

Yes EXACTLY as follows

XXXX XXX XXXX for Two(75mins)

Consists of:

· Hot Stone Massage/ Thai Massage/ Balinese Massage/

· Luxury Spa Scrub

Shirley

****

i was like..? so i found out from wikipedia what it means... i was like.. WAD!! I thought that I should be the one with the right to be pissed! :p Anyway, i sure got the last laugh (semi-mean laughter)

***

Remove the “/” after Balinese massage

***

Gosh!

i can't believe that it's the second time me and Marvin, the freelance art director, is the last to leave the office working on the American Express Catalogue!

i am not complaining 'cause it is really the best internship i have, really hands on the ad industry in Account Servicing doing real projects with real clients and a real agency. Though because of my dance commitments to Caderas and Eurythimix, i sometimes feel quite reluctant to stay back.. Like today i missed salsa trainings. I felt that me staying back with the designer will help ensure that the job is done. and that also i can proof read more promptly instead of next morning. and then have to wait for him to come in after 10 sometimes 11! so yeah will slow down everything..

it's extremely a great eye-opener. Learnt how to deal with clients, how to deal with fellow colleagues. ANd most importantly how to be organized. I swear i have never been THAT organized since my platoon sergeant role back in the army. Also now, i think am at my peak in terms of being prompt and meeting deadlines (at work!).

I really feel confident now. Esp abt the Ad industry. I know more industry-speak and how things work and why things may not.. :p

Kudos to Gosh!!

KL trip

my kl trip was a much needed break from the neverending dance rehearsals. Well its not like i don't enjoy them it's just that i need to break from some monotony, albeit exciting monotony! lol.

checked out Salsa Havana on Sat evening at Federal Hotel. Was in the same area where we put up (Bukit Bintang) so we just had to walk there! so kool! Oh yeah, we were very lucky cause there was performances by some salsa dance studio. 4 to bag! although i must say (and i'm proud to say) that none of it was anywhere near LADC's Dragones Latinos! Hehe. But of course, i doubt they are performers. I think theyre students from beginner, intermediate and advance. :p

i love trip up north to KL! look forward for the next one. :)

(thks Cheryl for using ur card to help me book the hotel!)

The Final Cut

The Creative Writing course i took for my last term at SMU was really interesting. For the first time after sec. 2 i explored my 'poetic' side. We learnt more forms of poetry and i quite enjoyed myself. (Plus getting an A- for it made me very happy!)

Anyway out of the 12 original poems which each of us were tasked to compile, i decide to feature some in my blog which i think im quite proud of. ;) Oh yes, do check out our local boy, Alfian Saat's 2 books of poetry- One Fierce Hour and A History of Amnesia!! They're great!

Pantun

Rama-rama muncul tanpa dilihat
Hanya sehari bermain di luar
Kalau hati sudah terikat
Pujuklah mulut ikuti jua

The butterfly silently leaves its cocoon
Playfully flies, albeit for a day
If your heart and mine are in tune
Plead with your voice for it to say

* A pantun is a poem in malay consisting of 2 couplets of which the first is called the 'pembayang' or a preparation for the 'main' preceeding couple.

Final Cut (part ii)

Ghazal of Uncertainity

A life of what ifs is exciting albeit dangerous
Living in second guesses and self doubt

The nomadic snail sets off on its destination while the rain subsides
Its fate’s unwritten- on soles of giants will it thus end?

The kitten meows in hunger as a stranger comes
A kind soul? Or one that will snip its left ear?

Even a wondrous looking butterfly flies in hurried search
To mate before the day- its splendor, its story, ends

Oh where has your master gone dear old dog?
Your skin is starting to scab- what will your next fate be?

Fadzli, what lies ahead you will not know
But of now you know and of now, should you let your heart show?


*Inspired by Alfian Saat’s A History of Amnesia. Ghazals, origated from Persia, generally consists of couplets (usually 6 or 7) where each couplet can stand independently as a poem in itself.

Final Cut (part iii)

An Anthology* for Jay
(3 poems inspired by Jay Chou)

Flowers, Stars & Wind

Flowers blooming,
Like seeping light from the rising sun
Yet
I think of petals fated to fall
Staring at the cherry blossom-covered ground

Watching the faraway stars,
Hoping they could
Hear
My wish for you-
Our hearts to be near

Like a gust of wind;
Love is.
It blows,
And then it goes away
This kind of rhythm would leave anyone
Helpless



Lost (in the Woods)

An owl perches on top of the foliage
It’s gaze upon a place far away

A swallow heads south with broken wings
Never to return to its nest again

The cicada hides behind a tree’s mane
Close, but hidden from its predator’s view

The dragonflies at the creek-side, flies slowly each day
Reminding me of the past I once could decipher

A river-fish, swims, out of the water
Forgetting to retain its last breath

The determined bee that couldn't find nectar
Venturing for miles and miles and



Why?

Why does the world turn dark as the train tunneled?
Who is that in the reflection I see? (I think it’s you)

Why do the neon lights in the city dance uneasily?
And why do they stain the red evening sky?

Why does your silhouette loses its balance, falling slowly-
Yet In the disco lights your face seems to smile readily?

Why if in our childhood, all we had to do was rebuild the destroyed sandcastle?
But it’s harder now. (Where has all the sand in the playground gone to?)

Why, only now, does the piano accompany me through the day?
(How can you just leave without a note, no words of farewell?)

Why is the rail track so straight?
Where is the train heading off to?


* Jay Chou is a popular Taiwanese composer turned singer/ superstar. The translations of several songs from his first 3 albums were rearranged, modified and elaborated, and combined- resulting in these 3 poems.