On our way to Dublin, the minibus was feeling a little bored - what with the 4 hour drive to the ferry, and so I decided to try and kick off a little entertainment by interviewing Malik - the one guy who EVERYONE is out to get! Even though it only lasted a mere 3 questions, the interview was spoken of the entire weekend and will probably live forever in the spirit of true Big Banding.

It went a little something like this.

Me : Malik, where were you born?

Malik : Edinburgh.

Me : WHY?

(loads of laughter)

Malik : (pause & crazed look) My mum just happened to be there.

Adrian : Was it like a day trip?

(insane laughter all round)

Malik : (getting really uncomfortable) No - funnily enough - she was living there.

Me : What's funny about that?

(everyone goes ballistic)

Malik : Can we change the game now please?

Thank God for Malik. Taking the mickey out of him makes life so much more worth living.

Chatmate of the Day
Little Adeline. Little Adeline Little Adeline Little Adeline. Probably won't change for a while.

Greetings from Dublin!

I'm on a pre-paid internet service and I have 2 minutes left - so HI!

Part I

Over the past couple weeks, I've pretty mad when it comes to playing music. On most days, it doesn't seem to have been any less than 4 hours daily playing. I find that pretty astonishing - considering I'm not a professional musician or a music student. Did 4 nights a week at the restaurant, daily carolling practices, a couple BigBand practices & the National Concert Band Festival Competition, played 4 services & a wedding in church, as well as the X-Raya performance last night.

That's a lot.

And I'm 4 hours away from leaving to Dublin on tour with the Big Band..

UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
THE BIG BAND
LIVE IN DUBLIN!
26 NOVEMBER 2004

.. after which I'll be performing at the SingSoc Christmas dinner.

This leads me to the big Question :-

Am I a musician or a computer science/business student?

Part II

Last Sunday at church, Pastor Barry approached me with a word of calling for me - and asked what my plans were after I graduate. Thinking it was just casual conversation, I told him that I had yet to decide - but there were possibilities of me staying in the UK. He went on to ask me what I would think of staying in Coventry to be a worship musician/director. He even told me about the possibility of getting me a work permit so I could stay. Quite understandably, I was stunned for a moment.

However, after chatting with him and having a think over, the idea began to sound incredible in my head. I realised how pleasant it was, and how great it would be to do it - maybe not quite the way he had suggested, but possibly if I managed to get a job nearby - and it would be an absolutely fantastic plan. Furthermore, the work permit would help me get a job - which would otherwise prove difficult. Isn't that SO AMAZING?

God really is marvellous. He never fails to surprise me. The sacrifices and hardships I went through during summer (when I chose to come back early to lonely Coventry) prepared me for this moment - even though at the time, I was wondering why on earth I had come back to a "ghost" town. My dreams, my calling, and my true love for God & music have been recognised through this conversation, and it's something I will be praying about every day.

Highlights Of The Day

• All the nice comments I received about the X-Raya performances. Thank you all so much, but you guys ROCKED - especially you JAMMERS!
• BigBand Rehearsal was so much fun - even though I didn't get to do Conspiracy Theory or Cakes. I'll get to tomorrow.

Chatmate Of The Day
Little Adeline. So cute, so sweet & so angelic. So nice. :)

Love has truly been good to me
Not even one sad day
Or minute have I had since you've come my way
I hope you know I'd gladly go
Anywhere you'd take me
It's so amazing to be loved
I'd follow you to the moon in the sky above

- So Amazing, Luther Vandross

.. blessed are those who dwell in Your house.. they are ever praising You..

Lately, by an absolute spring of chance, I've been hooked on Malaysian Idol - which I missed out on realtime - because I was over here in the UK. I stumbled upon it by visiting some links that my friend put up in a message on my bulletin board on Friendster. I watched all of the hilarious audition videos of Malaysian Idol "rejects" who failed the first round of auditions. I visited the site that was hosting the videos, and downloaded a video of Jaclyn Victor's audition, which I thought was absolutely incredible. At this point, I didn't realise she was the winner of Malaysian Idol, until Roy told me a couple days later. I decided that I wanted to listen to more of her singing, and searched the internet for days to find other Malaysian Idol videos, and was able to follow it till the end.

Having watched the videos of her singing in the finals at the Genting Arena of Stars, I could have guessed she would have won by a gigantic margin, and as it turned out, she won almost 80% of the votes. She is a truly incredible singer, and through this wild chance of me watching Malaysian Idol, she's got yet another fan. =)

I did a little research and found out that she's not had an easy life. A common phrase used on a few web pages went like this :

The first Malaysian Idol winner, Jaclyn Victor, has not had an easy life. She was just 18 when she started singing at clubs, hotel lounge and gigs to support her family.Her dad died when she was just 9 and her housewife-mum, Mrs Maggie Victor, had to go out to work.She juggled three jobs to raise Jaclyn and her three younger brothers.

As it turns out, Jaclyn (now 25) had been "freelance" singing with her band right up to the time when her mum told her to quit her job and try out for Malaysian Idol, all these years having helped to put her younger brothers through school. By God's grace, she developed a near-flawless singing voice with her superb talent and experience through the years.

I can't begin to express how happy I am for her that she won the competition, became the 1st ever Malaysian Idol, and secured a recording contract with BMG. In my opinion, no one else deserved it more than she did.

Upon a bit of reflection, I've realised (once again) how blessed I am, with family, friends, and how God has provided for me all these years. My dad, mum, brother, and sister are the most amazing people in the world, and I wouldn't trade them for anything, as it is with the friends I have in church and otherwise.

Jaclyn's life was not easy, but God still provided for her, and at the same time, prepared her for what she has become now, a superstar. It is easy to see through her interviews that she is a very modest person, yet having beaten over 10,000 contenders for Malaysian Idol.

In similar respects, I must say I've had a pretty comfortable life. My dad, from humble beginnings, was blessed with a scholarship and then a great career, and was able to provide for my family. I've never been short of what I need, and yet have been blessed enough to come to the UK to study, and even after failing to complete one degree, able to pursue another one. I've also been blessed with a wonderful job that pays my bills, travel, for my books and food. I really could not ask for more.

God's grace really knows NO bounds.

Thanks for being my wonderful friends, and may God continue to bless you more and more.

Jaclyn, congratulations and may God continue to enrich you as you embark on this spectacular journey.


Highlight Of The Day
BigBand! BigBand! BigBand! I'm playing in a competition on Sunday. Oh how exciting!

Chatmate Of The Day
Claire "WOMAN" Yang. She may think she's out of sorts, but she still rocks, even as a fly on Li Lin's wall.

It's 11.11 on 11.11!

I finally got some of the pictures I've been waiting for all week! I'll be posting some up soon, watch this space!

Disclaimer

To avoid getting bombarded with (what would be considered 'juicy') questions, the beautiful girl in the picture isn't my girlfriend. That's Juinn Juinn.. and MAN does she throw one hell of a Halloween Party!

I know I tend to put pictures of me with girls up, but the reason I do that is because it makes the pictures with me in them, just a little more bearable. =)

Since I can't help but do whatever Angel HerLi tells me to, I'm going to play and record something to put as background music for tingkle.com - Oh how exciting! *LOL* She said I should play the music that is most "me" - and therefore I've got "I Believe" from My Sassy Girl in mind.

However, since you guys (well, those of you who can be bothered) will be the ones listening, I'd like to know what you'd like to hear! Please respond by adding suggestion comments to this post - and I'll choose at the end of the week.

Thanks. :)

Highlight Of The Day
Jamming with Lau. The guy is incredibly musical. Amazing!

Chatmate Of The Day
My Princess Mie. Miss you. :(