I woke up with a big frown today,
I am terrified, petrified....in the mirror,
I saw something I can't wash away,
I had the face of a man in terror,
I contemplated 'what if there's an error'
I forced a smile but the frown chosed to stay,
I was facing the nightmare of nightmares afterall today.


I am going to the dentist today for a toothache...pray for me.

Pray for me...

and since I am in a photo posting mood...here's more froggies!!!!!!

Malaysia Muhibah Network Ryze Malaysia!

A friend's dream come true...a birthday gathering of her friends...

...mockery is the other sincerest form of flattery...and for you stuck-up stupids at the censorshipboard board...this is a joke ok?

Ahh....Zouk...one year in malaysia...URBAN BAROQUE!

a summary of it all...firstly...I was in zouk on good friday, so much for resolutions of becoming a good Catholic again for the year 2005! As so I don't get condemned to hell, the world better not end soon! But I was working handling the 3 video coverage of the event and I was not drinking ( I never drink )...so I guess in someways I was carrying my cross.

Infact I was so tired and so immersed in my work, I dissed a fairy (a friend) who came over to say hi...needless to say, I felt guilt...worried about losing a fairy I called and tried to find her later...she said she's downstairs I said I was upstairs so ironically she tried to find me after I called and I did the same. In the dark and crowd...we went in circles.I stumbled onto her only much later in the DJ console area...she was contorting into all sorts of funny position trying to take her pictures with an interesting frame...I admired her relentless search for the picture despite holding what's possibly the smallest of digital cameras...she held it with pride and showed a flare in what she did...we exchanged hugs and chatted awhile...probably misinterpreting one another as the room was way over the reccommended decibels... I asked her...how she(fairy likes partying and works covering events)endures this senseless senses bashing everynight...I'd die...she smiles.

Zouk launch was pretty good but all too brief. The direction of the deco and ideas like the camouflaged 'invisible' men scaring people on the way in were cool and all but it's over in like minutes...and they looked like they were rushing to blow out the candles on the cake...

I stayed on until up to about 2am trying to get more shots and giving my clients...zouk themselves more shots for their money.Then I caught wind of an impending raid...so I decided to go...wouldn't be funny to have my camera consficated...but was asked by the clients to cover some more shots inside...
I did it with a little reluctance especially so when the client says the rumour of a raid is 95% true... but ah well...commitment...going back in like 15 minutes later...the crowded hall was empty so there's nothing to be shot and I can go...went for a meal and chatted awhile with crew...then drove pass zouk again...there were police units outside with canines...glad I left or the client probably lose all their images aswell.

...A Happy Birthday Zouk...

*cough*cough* zouk air not suited to frogs!

rebbit....

a place called Zouk...

A friend See Ming set up an impromptu gathering of friends for me to shoot a day in her life...it was one of those time where you had food,drinks,good company, new friends and have so much fun going blah blah blah.... sharing experiences.....praising our respective bosses and clients! : P

Praising our bosses and clients! : P

I am so very busy but I still found time to set up my four foot tank for my pet frogs...now I am sleeping 2 hour nights to compensate...if that's not genious I dunno what is! Here one of the tree frogs float in the tranquil water...he looks happy but he worries me as after his fun in the pool he'll leap up and sleep pearching on the cover a mere inches from the tank lighting system...I am prepared and it's covered by plastic but still...you can never be too sure with electricity....by the way...would like to give a shout out to Navin and his gang at Toby's Pets at PET safari, IKANO...very helpful and nice people if you ever want to keep frogs too...

Reebit!

Froggies get new home!

How we became friends!

If it's not because of SEPET, I would not have become a supporting actor. And now I am slated to be a 'william hung' type character for a small commercial.And guess what? The producer is Ellyna from SEPET, the wardrobe Sharum is also of SEPET and Auntie Zai of SEPET is joining us I speculatively heard. hahahaha. Recently I got a chance at directing a commercial. The actor? Alan Yun of SEPET.

Happy coincidence? Well yes *smirk* :p

...forget the glory of being part of SEPET or the little hellos I get on the street; what I got most from were friends...or more appropriately a family.

At random...Yasmin, Nani, Loong(Choo Seong), Edmund, Karen, Kak cindy, Aunty Zai, Ujang, Mei Ling, Harith, Ida, Adibah, Alicia, Jovein( even though he was unable to make it for shoot at the end) Alan Yun, Karo, Vincent(the sound fella)the list goes on and on...

It's an interestingly simple process to become friends...we just had things to do together and spend time together doing SEPET and in the process of it laugh, cried, and shared. Here's some of the little wondrous things by which we become friends...

1)Choo Seong (Ah Loong) is a cleanliness freak...everything on his table is arranged in invisible grids. Nani and me (his onscreen girl friend and best friend) is otherwise.

2)Edmund (the beautiful one/ the one with the damn handphone) takes a hell of a long time to set his hair and also vainly says outloud to me (almost reciting like a parrot)...my sister (Alicia) is a hottie! when I was going through her pictures on a laptop. He is also the self appointed set massager and gives an awesome back rub!

3)Karo Khoo (the cool samseng) comes onto the rehearsal space and sees me holding a card with cindy and the likeness of a girl on it one day and says eh...where's the chic? I cried out...'kak' cindy? ada orang nak jumpa! and out comes 'kak' cindy crying ' a...siapa nak saya?' to a less that amused karo.

4)I had long hair before sepet...halfway down my back.when I had it cut for sepet...yasmin gave me a 50 cent coin for luck but she had to say don't cry baby! I guess it was prompted when I was looking very worried as 'kak' cindy's chest area was a mere inches of my face when she's doing my hair from the front.

5)A member of the cast who smokes but her parents don't know ran up to me one day as we were hanging out after rehearsal. 'Keong! Quickly! ' she called out in desperation trying to pass me a lit cigarette. I said "no thanks, I don't smoke" ....she flicked it into a bush away saying 'bodohnya keong!' in anguish. I didn't know her mother paid a sudden visit and she wanted me to JUST hold it.

6)Vincent of add audio was adamant that not even a cockroach can pass when sound was being recorded…he would freak out and call another take…now, one day we were all gathered and he was asked in for an important production meeting. They said to him…yesterday the sound department did badly! Just as he had a glint in his eye…everyone yelled happy birthday!

7)On some nights a few of us will be in Yasmin’s room and we just chatted or danced to Sam Hui as Yasmin said she wanted to use the beautiful song in her film!

8) In each rehearsal, Ng Choo Seong (Ah Loong) get two girls; Nani (Orked) and Karen (Maggie)while I get a cold hard floor having to rehearse the scene where I get beaten. It pays to be the hero.

9)Keong was also the director’s of photography’s name so after I answered a few times when they called him, I walked away once when they were calling for me.

10) SEPET was shot really quickly with one or two takes of most scenes. Fearing my acting wasn’t up to par and believing that more takes equals more quality I once said to Nani before a scene… they only take one or two takes…don’t you wish they take more takes…to her reply of yeah…that shot after that conversation we made many mistakes and took a lot of takes! Nani said Chow Yun Fatt was no John Travolta!

11) The inspiration for the annoying handphone gag by Edmund came from us relating to Yasmin that Edmund’s ring tone was annoyingly superwoman…so everytime there’s a call there’s this sudden loud lyrical rendition of I’m not a SUPER- WOMAN…I’ m not the one that you can….At one point, we took to singing along when the phone rang.

12)Me and Ng Choo Seong had to put on high school uniforms with girl school badges and carry school bags to an all girls school in Taman Tun and pose for pictures there to be used as props! After the effort it wasn't even seen!

That’s all for now….SEPET just won the grand jury prize (the top prize) at the 27th Creteil International Women Directors Festival 2005 France.Congrats to Yasmin the mother of the beautiful film and of our little family.

: P ree-bit!

SEPET - little wonders and how we became friends...

It's a hot afternoon...in a two seater Lotus Elise...we were going fast...she was a bubbly hot malay babe (Go watch SEPET!)... my eyes were trying to fixate as psychedelic images are formed before me...she was shrieking in delight...I was trying not to bump her too hard... : p

...as my camera flails left and right with the momentum of the car's incessant turning and twisting. I am having a ride with Masna Zulkifli who’s at the wheel and shreeeccchhhhh….is showing me how you twist the car and make a figure 8. I try to make whatever images I can by holding my camera and pointing blindly every which way as she maneuvers the car like a rodeo cowboy…

I am with Masnah Zolkifli, a hot MALAY babe with a thing for outdoor activities like scuba diving, fast cars, bungee jumping, skiing, para-gliding and superbikes. She’s already part of Louis Vuitton’s next generation campaign, an actress, spokesperson, a freelance interior designer, owner of a desktop publishing agency and Malaysian Youth ambassador which was conferred to her by Tun Mahathir no less. Wait, before you think she’s another showy like (proven not as good as he thinks he is) Alex Yoong, she’s displayed an understanding of self and humility…she neglected a spot offered to her on a rally car team because she thought she still have a lot to learn and is unready…my hats off to her.

Anyway, deservingly, she gonna get another award soon so here I am (enjoying myself having the champion of the K.L. precision driving challenge driving me about) working…trailing her, shooting that gut wrenching awww…. video that comes on before she receives it on stage. Seriously though, I doubt it would be gut wrenching but unnerving with a wow and a pumping soundtrack.

In her own words, she cleverly says “I not a tomboy…that’s an outdated perception of a girl active in sports!” I’d personally think she’d just one who swim with guys or better still sharks any day…and yet she’s a sweetheart, one who makes up to mummy for her gusty behaviors the rest of the year by sewing curtains with her come hari raya…but before you can say awww…she’s off with a vroom speeding down KL’s highway on her own super bike…

But that’s another story as she twists her steering violently while the other hand yanks tightly on the brake screeching the car to a stop only to look over and ask. Some more? some more?

How she’d get so far? Giat, yakin dan iklas… effort, confidence and sincerity… words with conviction and panache said of the traits she live by. Honestly, a deserving recipient of the award and a mentor for any girls or any guy or any frog for that matter…

P/s : As I chatted with her further…I learnt she’s keen on embarking on a movie where there’s a love story with action…something right up my tree so that’ll be interesting…

Tomboy...outdated preceptionlah!!!!!

a day with action girl!

Stole this from a friend's blog.

The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."
-- unknown

"Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so."
-- David Grayson (1890-1990)

wished my words were worth stealing!

Linus

Stolen lines...

I read somewhere that Feng shui dictates...have a frog any where in your house to enhance the good but never in the bedroom. Here, I present to you...a shelf above my bed head...

SEPET

yap yap yap blah blah blah...

I just got back from doing an interview for Shortcuts, a new tv show for an Astro channel by REDcommunications.How it went? Well first the host when yap,yap,yap then I went blah,blah,blah and we kept at it until our time slot is up...as usual...adding to the clutter of opinions, views and thoughts that already clog up our sad cursed lives in this contemporary world :p

yap yap yap blah blah blah...

I went to england and saw myself!!!

Last week I was covering Zoukfest at Genting Highlands. In between whatever else, I was working on a research paper for University Malaysia Sarawak on Film Funding in Malaysia to add some academic work into my life…then in midweek; I had to go through a rigorous prep process for a commercial to lens on Sunday.

I told a friend I don’t have free time. My friend responded that we all have free time. I thought…hmm…

I have been really busy lately. I didn’t have time to do normal stuff like read (aside from time in the loo), workout, take walks at Taman Tun ( I am a pebble walk junkie) or do anything other than work which is to entertain to a client’s needs and execute video productions for them, be it an infomercial, a corporate video or a video coverage of an event. Am not complaining, these work does pay the bills and allow me to chase my dreams in films and spend on whimsical fancies but sometimes you do feel like asking the question why? WHY?

At times, I do feel that at this young age, this is the time for one to work hard and struggle but at times I do wish to have a more laid back life of going out and sharing time with friends at parties. Then again, sometimes I feel I don’t work hard enough and utilize the opportunities that I have been afforded by a stable loving working class family. I don’t have the shackles of having to worry about working my ass off supporting an ailing mother or to support my siblings because I don’t have a father, a situation some friends that I know endure with a brave face…so I really should not complain and be able to fly free.

So to work or not to work and am I doing my best? What is my best? And will I burn out if I work too hard? Reach your potential! What is that limit that I can go and what is my potential? I remember having read that life is not a sprint but a marathon and that I should pace myself. Every rubberband has a snapping point when its maximum stretch has been reached.

But sometimes modern life do make you feel stressed to work harder and make something of yourself to attain mainly wealth which directly links to status and to some satisfaction often forgetting the other joys of having time to yourself, your friends and your soul. An interesting point to look at it would be to look at ants…they work so hard and yet their ‘work’ is so futile in our eyes…think how God would look at us if we work really hard and forget our gifts of life.

Work is about having the means to afford your life and it would be stupid to forget life for work. Now am I forgetting life for work?

LIFE - WORK

"It's about time the frog blogged," something that someone if anyone out there who actually visits my blog would probably say...well it's not that I don't want to blog but time seem to pass so fast and at the end of the day you don't feel like it...but sometimes with certain things that iconic saying is more than true...JUST DO IT! actually that's how I started this blog anyway...so now I shall continue to write once again...

Linus

I am back...