Armor down!

Hey, hey! I'm thankfully, back!




I'm back with a mission, a mission to share and spread the love! My favourite people has finally made their comeback on 10th November 2015. They came back with a full album and I'm obviously very-very excited about the album. Their title song for this album is 사슬 (Chained up), Ravi came up with the concept which has been revealed to be Love Slave - Slave of Love.

So, how do I feel about this comeback? How do I feel about this song? Gotta be honest with you, I am in love! I'm loving every single thing about it, the song, concept, music video, promotions, EVERYTHING. But first, let me talk about the song. You know when I first heard the teaser, I was all omg omg omg, that beat! And yes, the beat is in the song. Do you know what I love so much about VIXX? It's because whenever they perform, they each shine at their own parts. Their vocals are so diverse and everyone is so different with each other but once they mesh up together, it just becomes this perfect puzzle. It makes everything so easy to listen to.

We have Hongbin starting the song this time and if you knew me, you would know how much I'm game for Bin's voice tone, it's so perfectly low but perfect, some low tones becomes really hard to listen to but Bin's is a perfect full sounding low tone and I adore this so much. N then continues and pick up the song with his very unique tone that you can't help but go wow, that sounds really good. Leo's voice is a high tone but very stable voice and it doesn't give you the impression that he's suffering and that is what I love about him so much. Ken, well, Ken, he always makes me speechless. He's amazing, his tone, well, he could go high, he could go mid but he always sound so clear and full like it's a perfect sound. We then have Hyuk who has this very unique not so high, not so low, very middle but very unique voice tone. Ravi, oh ravi, he's my favourite rapper. He knows how to work his voice, how to go with the rhythm and I love the fact that he had a short verse, gave the vocals a place to put a lil' transition and then we go back to his rap.

The only way to really understand what I'm talking about is to listen to the song, and to make sure that you appreciate the song as a whole, you should try listening to the instrumental as well. You can hear the beats and how it's actually against their voices but then when they come together, it creates this unique sound and finish off clean. It may not be the most challenging- vocal wise song from VIXX but you know that VIXX's team and staff really did a clever job with this song. I applaud Jellyfish for having a very good arranger. I really do. What I love the most about VIXX is when you listen, you know who is who and no one sounds the same. That's what I call a team, a group. I'm very proud of VIXX if you haven't noticed. Haha, I love them so much and I could talk all night about them.

Anyway, now let's talk about the music video. The third time I watched it, I literally had a pen and paper ready because I needed to jot down my thoughts, there were a lot of things I love about the music video. I love how each and everyone of them worked the rooms they had. Visually it's amazing! Everyone just matched well with their rooms, (Notice that when it's an album, VIXX always get assigns a room? They had rooms in VOODOO DOLL as well!) My favourite room was the white dance room! It looks soft but match perfectly with their choreo. And I have to talk about the chokers! If I had to pick one, I really like the Chained up logo choker. The music video also seem to have this BR-esque / Crows Zero-esque vibe! And you know how much I love those two movies! Haha.

So, take your time, click that play button and try to see what I just typed in. Maybe you'll see more amazing stuff, I always see something new whenever I watch the video. Haha.

till then!

- wai

Half-year(not) tunes.

I can't believe it's already October! I can't believe it! And I can't believe I've let this blog collect so much dust. Haha, well! Here I am, ready to share with you, what I've been listening to the past 9 months. I'll start with my saying that I will share 5 songs. Five different song that I've been listening to diligently in no particular order.

First up! Eddy Kim - 조화 (造花)



This is my favourite track from Eddy Kim's second EP Sing, Sing Sing. I've always loved his voice and his releases but this one, this really gets me. It makes me feels a lot of different things while listening to this song and I admit, when this song was released, I repeatedly played it everywhere! On my way to work, during work (free period that is!), before bed time, when I wake up and it gets me every single time.

Would you stay with me?
Would you talk to me, for me?
I’m so beautiful.
Would you stay with me?

I’m a living flower, I can breathe,
I’m not lonely,
Yes.

That's just the chorus, and it amazes me so much. You gotta admit Eddy's skills is just too lovely for words, he always amazes me with his release and he never fails to make me fall in love all over again.


Next - Amber - Beautiful.



So, f(x)'s Amber released her very first solo album this year and I'm love her album minus the title track. I love listening to this song the most because it's almost raw but honest. We all need this in our life once, a confirmation, a person to say yeah, why change? You're beautiful no matter what you wear, what you do. I love that she released another video during her birthday for her fans and I'm seriously back to re-listening to this tune.

Those hurtful words deeply cut into my heart
It hurt but I bit my tongue and endured
I know I’m gonna heal and I’m always looking up
Even if it’s dark, I’m gonna find the light
I will smile, I will keep smiling

My third pick is 아이언 (IRON) - blu (Feat. Babylon)




Omg, IRON is my favourite rapper from season 3 of SMTM so obviously when he released this single, I was more than excited but what I like the most was that I am still surprise with everything that he does. His mixtape was really good to listen to but this, this, this(!) was the best thing that ever happened! When this came out, I was still listening to his I AM and 독기 continuously so I was obviously very glad to have a new song out from him that I can listen to. He knows what works, he knows what he should put out and I really honestly don't mind if he doesn't release anything soon because what I really want from him is a full album, full of what he wrote, what he made.

Next is VIXX - 이별공식 (Love Equation)




Oh, VIXX. This year was a 90s kinda year where almost all 90s songs came back to life and VIXX made a remake of R.ef's Love/Farewell Equation. And it was the first since a long timeeee, since VIXX sang a bubbly-happy song. What I love the most about this remake is that it's fresh and new but still maintains a lot of the essence that the song first had. You don't know how much I re-played this song when it first came out. It was like replay and replay for almost every single day, hour and minute.

Last but not least! : VIXX LR - Beautiful LiaR


So, VIXX finally debuted their first sub-unit and you know you can always count on Jelly Fish to do their best with any of their releases. I was so in love with this sub-unit that I didn't realise that this song is actually my second most played song through out the year. I believe Leo and Ravi did an amazing performance with this sub unit. The message, the style, the way they played the concept is something that you would expect from Jelly Fish and more. Obviously if you asked me to rate this song/album, I would probably give it a 4.5/5. I'm also so in love with the music video. I wish I knew how to express how much I am in love with the song and music video but I can never find the right word, expression.

I’m letting go of your tightly held hands
But my heart is still the same
But I’ll let you go
I’m letting go of your hands
But my heart is still the same
I think it’s best for you
if I end it right here

So, that's it for (hopefully not this year) now! till then,

wai.

Summer, summer rain.

After a few weeks, I finally have the time to settle down and sit in front of this desktop and literally check everything. Less than a month after my travel to Kuala Lumpur, I was then set on another trip. A trip I've been looking forward to since I-don't-know-when. So, when I finally touched down and landed in Seoul, I went "Oh wow, I'm here, finally here".

Well, it actually took a few hours for that thought to sink in as I was mostly worried with luggage, immigration and all that. So, that thought finally sank in when I arrive in Myeongdong. Spending 8 days in Seoul, using the subway, walking around, rarely using taxi or private cars was definitely a rare experience. It was a good-rare experience because that was my main target, experiencing all the Seoul lifestyle. I didn't manage to enjoy the food as much as I can though as I was traveling during fasting month but it was indeed a different experience.

I'm back in Brunei though for now and I can't wait for a new set of adventures. Soon, Amin.

till then

wai

Well, talk about neglecting blogs.

Haha, What a title! We all have to admit though, I neglected this blog for too long. We now have a lot of different platforms, social networking sites we could use. Then we start to forget about the earlier sites we have, whether they be blogs, facebook, friendster or that sorts.

I never forgot about this blog, I sometimes like to read back all the posts I had typed in and usually end up cringing while reading and after reading. Haha. I used to be so expressive with words back then, now, I usually forget what I like to say, sometimes I find it hard to talk it out. I realized this after watching one of Mat Lutfhi's video, where he talked about teaching kids and it's definitely true. With kids, you need to really open up your mind and be prepared to answer very good question which adults would never ask. So, in a way, I feel lucky to be a teacher but at the same time, feel sad that I can't share the type of questions I have with my kids with my fellow friends, colleagues because we are too embarrassed to ask.

I love my kids, I really do, they sometimes make my day brighter even the naughty ones. They are amazing, they have so many comebacks to what you have to say but it makes you think and come up with very good but true and honest answers. So, whenever I have a bad day at work, I usually just remind myself and say, those kids are worth staying for. They are worth it. And, whenever I think about what had happened with the kids, they make me smile and forget all those negative things surrounding work.

Yes, I admit, being an educator has it's challenge and we usually face negative feedback instead. We are always the person who are blamed for what happens to a kid, or what happens in school. We also then have other admin related works which you wish could fly away instead of piling up. I usually just give up with hoping that it would be less because we know it will never be less. I now end up saying what now every now and then.

It also will not help a lot if you have conflicts at work, I'm not saying I have conflicts but when the community has conflicts, it affects everyone. It always end up to be, with the Bruneian phrase "Kau-kau, aku-aku" and "Kau tanya ia lah" which I usually just roll my eye on. I mean, would it kill us to be more professional during work and just let everything go once you vent it all out. Haha.

I think it's best to tackle your problems immediately, that's what I did and I feel so much better. No one likes to talk about it anymore because they know how pissed off I am with the matter. It's never good to talk about someone behind their back. Just no.

till then.

-swmy

K-pop Debuts 2011

My favourite K-pop debuts for the year 2011.

March 3rd, Song Ji Eun featuring Bang Yong Guk (Ji Eun's solo debut) - Going Crazy

Ji Eun's solo debut featuring Bang Yong Guk, who I personally love! First of all, the music video is amazing. So, TS Ent did an amazing job with the video and the concept they were going for. Personally, what I love so much about this song is the lyrics and knowing that Yong Guk wrote the rap himself, he earned a lot of plus points for that. When I then watch their live performances, it is just awesome. I mean, the chemistry, their voices together, their feelings, it was obvious how much they understood and know what the song meant. This song still remains as the Most Played song in my phone, so that will explain how much I love this song.

April 14th, Block B - Freeze

Block B consists of 7 members, namely Jaehyo, B-Bomb, U-Kwon, P.O, Zico, Kyung and Taeil. When I first saw them perform, I admire their passion. It was really sad though because they only perform the full song in Music Bank and that's it. They weren't given enough chance to showcase their selves. I personally think it was unfair considering how much potential they had shown. I mean, Zico and Kyung both produced / help produced their album. Their first single was really impressive, I especially love Wanna B. Sadly, They face tonnes of difficulty ever since their debuts, with the censorship issues, not being to perform as much as they could but still they worked hard and released two mini albums which I personally really like. If I could, I would recommend everyone to listen to Halo (First Mini Album) and 했어 안했어 (Second Mini Album)

October 25th, Most Incredible Busters (M.I.B) - G.D.M

Absolute favourite debut! M.I.B consists of 5zic, Kangnam, SIMS and Cream. Before they debuted with G.D.M, Each members released a solo. 5zic quickly caught my attention when Beautiful Day was released. I mean, just listen to that song and it's just too awesome for words then I continue watching SIMS, Cream and Kangnam and instantly I was hooked! However, I was quite disappointed when they decided to end their promotion with just G.D.M when there were tonnes of good songs in their albums. So, if you really want to check them out, you should listen to their albums instead of just this one song. I was so hooked with them that they are actually in my top 5 of Most Played artist. That is how good and awesome they are. Two of my favourites track from their album is Men Comin and 모두 다 뻔해. However I do suggest you listen to the whole album because if you don't, you are missing something. I mean, Who Am I is an amazing song especially when they performed it live. Who's Next is too awesome for words so is My Way! & With that I declare my most favourite debut of 2011 has to be Most Incredible Busters! Haha.

till then

swmy

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012.

Alhamdulillah, 2011 was a good year for me and my family. Above picture shows things which happened throughout 2011. A lot of things had happened actually but those were the few highlights which had happened back in 2011. The first month, I was appointed to be a class teacher, it was definitely a huge responsibility. I took care of 26 students and was teaching 51 students overall. It was an interesting experience which I think I will never forget. This year, I will be taking care of them too, so hopefully it will be a much more amazing year with them kids. The second month, well, I finally granted myself two wish which I wanted for a very long time. My 42" and my own home theater set which I absolutely adore until now. By March, I finally re-did my room, yes, bought my own office set and re-paint / decorate my room. I also receive my very first order during March!

April, aww, our family's big month. My sister finally had her wedding! So, yes, we were absolutely busy for the whole two weeks but thankfully, everything went as plan. Oh, one of the things I absolutely enjoy was, Doa Selamat ceremony, a day after the Sanding, where my sister called up Dinshe as their special guest. :D The next month was full with visiting various government places as a part of our Staff Development. One of the places we went to was the Weather Station! That place had amazing view, I'm telling you! The next few month involved lots and lots of food! Haha. As you all know, I have a huge love for food so yeah. A week before my birthday, my dad, mum, brother and I went to Miri for our very first road trip after I don't know how many years. Yes, it was our first time to Miri after a very long time so obviously, we weren't familiar with the place at all but thankfully, we had a really good trip.

This year, I celebrated my 21st with my whole family at Buffalo Steakhouse and I have to say, I had an absolutely amazing birthday this year. I was actually invigilating O Levels on my birthday but I had an amazing day from morning till night. <3 The next month was a very busy month and as you know, I went to Kota Kinabalu during December so overall, my year was jam-packed with amazing activities. So, I will be here welcoming 2012 with a huge smile hoping it will be an amazing year too. Amin.

till then

-wai

[D-3 & 4] Kota Kinabalu Road Trip.

source : virtourist

So, here comes Day 3 and 4 of the Kota Kinabalu trip. We woke up quite early on the third day, at around 7.30am-ish. I think we finally recovered from the long road trip. We decided to go to the city for the third day and so off to Wisma Merdeka to get breakfast at KFC. Yes, we initially thought they had the a.m meal but turns out they only offer that at their 24 hour branches so we had a really simple KFC meal. After breakfast, we went to a souvenir shop to get some souvenirs for families and friends. One of the reason why we wanted to go to Wisma Merdeka was because it was right next to Suria Sabah.


Yes, we were planning on spending our day at Suria Sabah. So after shopping for souvenirs off to Suria Sabah! We only travel by foot cause it was really close, it was like next to Wisma Merdeka. From the outside, Suria Sabah looks so small but honestly, you shouldn't say that. It's big, no, it's huge. But most of the shops in Suria Sabah, you can also find them at 1Borneo so I took the chance to get things I wanted at 1Borneo but didn't get. Haha. At first, we entered the Cotton Place cause mum and I really like cotton clothes but we finally found the bag. After that, we went to Times Bookstore.

Can I just say, can we have this type of bookstore in Brunei? I mean, there is no pressure for you to buy at all! And there is a lot of variety of books. It's like book heaven, I'm telling you. One of the things which turn me off at local bookstore is that whenever we go in, they would be looking at you, like pressuring you to buy something and when we ask if we have this so-so book and they don't have that, they start recommending other books. At times I feel like shutting them down but yeah. Anyway, back to Times. Seriously, I love this book store! They have this little space where you can spend time reading a book cause there are times when you are not sure whether you really want the book, so you could spend some time looking through the book. Kids can also play at a space. So, it really is amazing. I also love how they had place and organise their books. Seriously! Bookstore is my thing. Haha. Yes, of course, bought lots of books from this place. Haha.



Next, we went to Brands Outlet, grab a few graphic tees here. There was a sale going on, so obviously a lot of people were there. Haha. We went to couple of other places but I can't quite remember what it was because all I can remember was that, we had lunch at Kenny Rogers again. Haha. I kinda miss Kenny Rogers right now cause you can't find them here. I think I prefer KR than BK. Haha. Anyway, after that, we went back to 1Borneo because Mum and Dad wanted to get foot massage. So yeah, while Mum and Dad had their massage at Zouk Spa, brother and I went around 1Borneo again to get some things before we leave tomorrow. We went to get some Famous Amos and Donuts from the Big Apple. After the massage, we also went to Karamell Almondo where we had ice-creams! Mine had almonds in it so I'm happy. Haha and it's vanilla too! That is definitely a plus!

source / courtesy of

Anyway, that night, we had dinner at Fish & Co who is famouse for having 'Seafood on a Pan'. So, we had seafood platter for two that night. Seriously, the portion was not for two. It was for four! Haha, because they had shrimps, calamari, fish, WAIT. Let a picture do the talking. Just replace the chips with rice. That is how it looks like. So yeah, was really full that night because we also ordered carbonara. Should not have cause we couldn't finished that cause we were busy eating the seafood platter. Haha.

So the next day, we woke up early and thankfully we had packed the day before so we weren't really in a rush. We checked out early from our apartment, at around 8.30am and had Breakfast at Alamesra which is situated right opposite 1Borneo. By 9.30am, the place where we had breakfast was surrounded with Bruneians and cars from Brunei was like bersusun. Haha. Anyway, at 10am, went to the city and grab some Burger Kings for the sister and brother in law. And by 10.30am, we took off from Kota Kinabalu.

Now this where, super-looooooong ride start. At 4.30pm, we were still waiting at Temburong for the ferry. Seriously, I think we stayed at a spot before moving front for like 30 minutes because when I woke up from my ONE HOUR nap, we weren't moving that much. Haha, we moved like 10m (approx) and that is it. So, imagine the long hours in the car. It was totally tiring. Kuala Lurah also had a really long line but thankfully we managed to arrive home at 7.30pm. Alhamdulillah.

As I walked in my house, received two different texts from Zimah and Mar asking where I was and if I was okay and that was when I knew about the accident. Obviously, we were very shocked and I couldn't even begin to imagine the incident, it was just scary and it really did made me speechless. All we could say,

Our deepest condolences to the families relating to the bus accident. Semoga roh mereka di cucuri rahmat and Hopefully everyone else is now okay. Amin.

So, that is it. End of trip. I'm glad I finished this post. So, see everyone real soon because I am planning on updating more because I realised I've been neglecting my blog for a while.

till then

-wai