Johnnie Walker - Step Inside the Black Circuit Singapore 2011

I havent blogged in a long long time, but today, I'm going to because this is too good a chance to miss just because I was lazy before. All this for the potential chance to head to Singapore to attend the VIP race party at the JOHNNIE WALKER® BLACK CIRCUIT PARTY event in Singapore on the 24th as well as 25th of September which will be during the GP weekend!

Even though I'm not familiar with the brand, I am aware enough to know that it is supposed to be among the more upscale and popular drinking brands available, and is usually popular for its exclusive and happening parties. Coupled with a design sense that is both inviting and appealing certainly catches my attention where others have failed. Not to mention that at these events, they have babes, and they have cars. HOW TO BEAT THAT LA? :)

Hot cars and celebrites, always a winning combination

Another winning combination : The Ladies all dressed in their best

Anywayz, Johnnie Walker will be giving out tickets to two lucky Malaysians (along with partners) to attend this event at the Singapore GP for 3 days and the party for 2 nights. Not a bad deal at all just for a blog post ;)

1. JOHNNIE WALKER® is the global partner of Formula One™ team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes™ since 2005, who was the 2009 Formula One™ SINGTEL Singapore Grand Prix night race winner and which team did he drive for?

Lewis Hamilton, for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes.

2. The Johnnie Walker® JET BLACK race party is the most talked about party of the Singapore Night Race, featuring a stellar line up of the world’s best DJ’s, stunning interactive party experiences, and stylish JOHNNIE WALKER® cocktails. Tell us in 50 words or less why we should send you and a friend an exclusive invitation to the party and include 3 or more hi quality pictures of your version of a perfect JOHNNIE WALKER® race party to win yourself 2 passes each to both exclusive events.

As someone who has not been exposed to events like this, an exclusive invitation will certainly open my eyes and encourage me to bring along like-minded friends which can help with the publicity of the JOHNNIE WALKER brand. That, and the fact that I enjoy good parties, drinks, cars, and great company.


Also see http://www.facebook.com/JohnnieWalkerMalaysia for more info! So check it out, try it out, and hope to see ya all there! :P

Keep Walking, and Remember, Never Drink and Drive! ;)

Taylor's Symphonic Orchestra Russian Roulette

I just performed in an orchestra NOT related to Nan Hwa for the first time in my life last night, and it was with the Taylor's Lakeside University Symphonic Orchestra.

Never having experienced practicing with string instruments before, it has been quite a new experience for me to listen and analyse the skill levels and performances of various different members. But one thing they shared though, is the commitment to practice and perform out of their own willingness. :)

Initially, we had our fears that we wouldnt be able to get people to watch this concert, as it coincided with Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra's Concert (a FAR value for money performance, but shhhhhh, dont let my Taylor's members know that). A low target of 500 people was set, which is about half the Multi Purpose Hall. But lo and behold, when we stepped out onto stage to perform, I was shocked to see it was filled to maximum capacity! (which is equal to about 900 people). I guess a lot of people decided to drop by and purchase tickets at the last moment. Thank you so much you all ^^

Daphne, our assist-conductor, flying thru the air

Our performance was rather short *it was barely 20 minutes and we reached the HALT TIME break*, but for what we lacked in length, we made up for it in entertainment value.  The audience was supportive, and cheered whenever we completed a piece. Of course, this was also due to the contributions of other societies that performed with us (eg. Acapella duet, and the Harmonica Orchestra), which added to the entertainment factor.

Harmonica Quartet. Amazing performers :)

Hang Sia (left) and Tjia Wei (right), with a wonderful duet performance for the crowd

Sunny Chew, our President, and primary Conductor. Looks like he's taking a poop I know

Despite a few minor errors (SUNNY CHEW MISTIMING THE ENTRANCE FOR VIVA LA VIDA), we somehow managed to pull thru the entire performance, managing to even get past the segments we normally had trouble with. Mission Impossible being our weakest performance IMO, I was surprised when friends told me it was one of their more favourite pieces.

Flowers after the performance

Post performance group picture. See me see me?? Im in the middle!

This concert also happened to be the last major event handle by our President before he graduates next month. So I must say, he did a fantastic job with the limited resources he had, and I wish him all the best in his future musical endeavours as well :)

A pic with the President (in black) and our best trombonist (at left)

Me being a new member of Taylor's University Symphonic Orchestra, I didnt have friends attending the concert. But unexpectedly, Too Zongxu (a junior of mine from Nan Hwa), made the effort to come all the way down from Sitiawan to watch me. And so, despite me hating pics with my blazer on (which someone kindly borrowed me), I just have to post the next pic up >3<

I look so old compared to his young-ish face

And of course, a compulsory picture with my trumpet section mates (NOTE: Pics look crappy from here onwards because it is taken with my IPHONE)

A bunch of tall guys with one short Keat Hwa trumpeter

Also, thanks to Chee Zheng Yang for his fantastic pictures, of which I used in this post.

Our pro photographer, king of all DSLR's

And finally, I tried to take pics with a few of our MANY pretty ladies of Taylor's Lakeside  University Symphonic Orchestra.

With Jamin, a cello player. That thing's bigger than her!

With Faye, our newly elected President! Congratulations!

With Siosen, clarinetist and ALWAYs busy doing stuffs for TUSO

With Kitty, our ONLY electronic keyboard player in TUSO

Are you guys more motivated to join TUSO now? :)

If the girls alone are not enough to convince future members to join, here's the link to our fanpage, and a link to the album which contains way more awesome pics of our concert.

Taylor's Lakeside University Symphonic Orchestra FB Page : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Symphony-OrchestraTaylors-University/142974205730921
Russian Roulette Night Album (by Chee Zheng Yang: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.1996131782007.121017.1204839632

And of course, a video recording of one of our performances, Hawaii 5-0. Cheesy, but fun all the same ;)


Come join us soon k? :) Seeya! ^^

One Night in Cameron Highlands

Since I've not updated anything for April till now, i might as well make this a picture heavy post to compensate =P

For those who keep asking me how am I and how is school, I can sincerely say that I am enjoying school life (yes, this includes the many late nights doing assignments), and am glad to have met many new friends who are willing to chill and hang out with one another despite differences in taste (Justin Bieber fans/haters), sexuality (straight, gay, bisexual), and age (old men *okay, just ME* and overly young 19 year old teenagers).

So much so that for fun, I had the pleasure of being invited by Edwin Chen to enjoy the comfort of his apartment at Cameron Highlands via Heritage Hotel Resort. (I kinda wish i had the Facebook function of tagging people here)

For a trip that was made up at the last moment, a surprising number of people showed up, mostly from Group 1 (my group, out of 3 groups of Mass Comm students), with 11 people in all. Meeting up at Taylor's Lakeside University, we set out on a sunny Tuesday afternoon at 4pm.

Driver 1 Nick from left, crazy passenger Shawn on right.

Driver no.2 Jodee. Freaky at the wheels.

Driver no.3 Ah BLACK, best driver by far :P

Syeera, MODEL. Gets paid $$$ for a shot of her HAND. And i got to snap her for FREE :D

Driving at an average of 170+kmph, we arrived the exit before Cameron's within AN HOUR =.=" Crazy bastards. Mum and Dad, I sincerely hope you are not reading this. If it makes it better, I wore a seatbelt k?
Anyway, we stopped at a R&R for a light meal and drinks :)

Apparently the mee is really REALLY delicious.

Done with our meal, we continued up towards Cameron. And this was the tedious part. Even with fast drivers and loud music, 50km of winding roads uphill is just too much to handle. Luckily, the weather was nice, cool, and the roads clear. It also helped that I haven't been to Cameron in AGES and everything seemed fresh and new to me ;)

*Fun side note: David, our friend from Tanzania, Africa thought we were heading to Cameroon (Africa), and was swearing at us for not telling him to bring his hunting spear and camping bag (we lied and told him there was nothing up on Cameron except jungles ^^)* Its quite amusing to hear a black guy shouting "chibai chibai" with a Swahilian accent*

Taking a short break midway

Playing in the dark

En route to Heritage Hotel, I must say i was very very impressed by the development Cameron has seen since the last time i came here. Numerous hotels, scenic shops, and pretty farm lights decorated the landscape as we drove by. I would go as far to say that Cameron has developed itself in a smarter, more charming way than Genting Highlands.

Arriving our destination

Edwin's Heritage apartment was very well equipped. Every room had an abundance of pillows, blankets, towels, while the living room was well stocked with board games, extra slippers, sofas, and the kitchen filled with ingredients AND of course, alcohol (which I didnt drink btw).

 Here's a panaromic shot of the room. Hope it gives you a sense of perspective ;)

Sorry for the cropped off edges. I promise to take better panoramic shots next time :(

Cold and hungry after our 2 hour ascent of Cameron, we headed towards Tanah Rata for our late dinner meal. And though unfortunately most of the restaurants were closing, I enjoyed the walk along the street. :)

A very cozy looking Starbucks

We saw a photoshoot going on. Syeera wanted to join in :)

Diyana picking our final place to eat

A proper group photo (without me!) :((

Bon acts all cool while the mamak boss explains the finer details of mamak food to him.

After the meal, we headed back to the apartment for games, drinks, and movies. It involved lots of noise, plenty of darkness, and Nick rubbing himself agaisnt any surface he could find...

Jodee checking her car for damange THANKS TO BON!

The night passed in a blur, with me being an idiot and forgetting to snap pics. I slept the earliest, since im the oldest there, and when I woke up in the morning, these were the things i saw....

Theres somebody under that blanket there...

Bon out cold but awake enough to give the middle finger to us when we took this picture

Edwin (left) looking like absolute crap and Diyana (right) looking way too energetic..

and Daniel posing like a pornstar, indian version

The only 3 people who were really up and awake was me, Diyana and Black. The rest looked like zombies.

Camerons looks the same as i recall in the morning..

THE ONLY PICTURE WITH MY FACE IN IT!!

As you can tell, Nick was out of his mind. I wouldnt wear that scarf again if i were you Jodee

The original plan was to leave at 9am in the morning. But seeing as how everyone was knocked out and half dead, it took us till 11:30am to leave after waiting for everyone to shower and clean up the place. So instead of breakfast plans, we had to have our lunch instead in Brinchang.

Trying to choose a halal chinese restaurant among the many non halal choices

Finally found one Halal place. Its probably appropriate the shops name "Wei Yi" means "Only One"

Yes, our host Edwin still looks like crap here. Sorry la, no amount of editing can make you look good on that day

After having a pretty good lunch of buttered squid, prawns, tofu, rice, and noodles, we headed to a Strawberry farm (which i skipped and stayed in the car BECAUSE IT WAS RAINING LIKE CRAZY). And apparently I didnt miss anything wahahahha. 

My favourite part of this trip was the visit to the tea plantation though. Expecting just wooden shacks and worn down houses, I didnt like the super tight super small road leading to our destination. You had to honk your car before making a turn because you just cant see anyone around a corner. Scary really.

But upon reaching the plantation, I was very surprised to see the modern and comfortable setup they had. DEFINITELY worth the ride of getting there :)

Ah Black, Edwin, and Black (okay i meant David)

Running in to avoid the rain!

Cozy cafe serving tea time schtuffs!

Cameron to me looked beautiful. The mist over the hills, the fresh air and luscious green grass. It made the whole tiring drive here worth it. PLUS, you get to eat scones and cakes and drink hot tea :)

Sweet couple enjoying their tea :)

Me likey~ ^^

Business 101: Sell cakes and pies on top of a cold mountain = $$$

My Banana Carrot Cake :)

Diyana peeking at the crowd

All in all, this was a very satisfying trip. The drive back to KL was tiring, but it certainly beats staying at home the whole day with nothing to do. Thanks Edwin for your generosity, and thanks to everyone else who shared their time with me. :)

Not pictured: A half dead Edwin, Bon, Daniel, and Shawn

Looking forward to our next outing together! ;)