TECHFLOW 2008 Christmas Musical: "2000 Years Ago..."

Awesome, spectacular and legendary. Those words best describe the 2008 Christmas Musical organize by the UNITEN Christian Fellowship (TECHFLOW) with the stewardship of Adeline.This years musical, directed by the "dynamic duo" of Jeremy and Aaron, took a different perspective of that of previous years. The musical directors decided to bring the musical back in time "2ooo Years Ago" to the time of the birth of Jesus in the small town of Bethlehem.

Under the direction of the J.A. duo, the musical brought to life what can be considered the greatest story ever told. It was an opportunity to spread the true meaning of Christmas and to remind ourselves what Christmas is all about. Combining comedy with events described in the bible, the musical was indeed bringing the bible to life. With a young and energetic cast, the story that has been told for ages was being told again unlike it had ever been told before.

With a combination of songs ranging from the likes of Mama Mia and You're the One That I Want of Grease, to modern songs like Bukan Cinta Biasa, this musical kept us awake throughout the nearly 2 hour performance. The effort and sacrifice the cast members put into the musical was trully seen in their performance and the characters they played.

It began with a short introduction a Jesus' purpose of coming. This carried on to the meeting between Mary and Joseph followed by the announciation by the angel to Mary. Next came the birth of Jesus itself and the visitation of the sherpards and wise men. The performance came to a close with the killing of the holy innocents and the return of the Holy Family to Israel after the death of King Herod.

Ofcourse the cast weren't the only people involved in making this musical a success. The props team played their part in contributing to the smoothness of the show, being swift and efficient in their duties. The decorations team did a good job to give the hall the atmosphere it needed, not to forget the diamond back drop which can be said with relieve that it didn't fall.The audio visual and lights team gave the show itself the briliant attention and atmosphere that suited the night. Not forgetting the ushers whom with their smile greeted the guest who came from not just within but outside UNITEN to witness this anual event.

However, a review would not be complete without comments on improvement. For one, the event should have started on time as stated in the booklet and not around 30 minutes later. Although this may not be the fault of the organizing team, certain sense of punctuality should be hinted towards the VIP's perhaps to keep to the time of arrival. Secondly, the rotating spotlights placed infront of the stage should be controlled with better care as to not let it shine towards the audiences. This caused the audience, especially those sitting in the front rows a little eye discomfort when the lights shined directly at them.

At the end of the musical, A short performance was done by the kids from the Stepping Stones Home, a home for orphans. But orphans they are, ungifted they are not. They showed great talent in putting on their own showe which, from where I was sitting, delighted the audience.

All in all, the musical was awesome as it was performed with enthusiasm, spectacular as it brought to life the story foretold for ages, and legendary as it told of the true meaning of Christmas.

As I end this, Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year.

Sir Adrian, over and out.

The Paradox of Our Time

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this message to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just forget and deny it...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side..

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent..

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

-George Carlin

Comedian of the 70's and 80's

End of One Semester....Start of Another

Hi all, how's the holz going? Well, as the title suggest, we have finished on semester for this academic year and now we're gonna start another. Ofcourse for some of us, we have already started. But for us degree people, we can still relax for another 1 week plus before going back to the hectic and tiring routine of studies, projects and tests.

For some, the coming sem will be our last in UNITEN. I've heard some seniors say that it was just like a few months ago that they started their studies and suddenly, BAM!!, "its our final year!!" Well, to all those in the final sem, how was your uni journey??

But for the rest of us, like I mentioned above, its back to uni life. Happy?? Not sure. Sad?? Not sure either. Why?? I guess its down to the non-stop studying and getting project down in time that makes us want to raise up our hands and surrender. But then again, if its not for the studying and projects, what the heck are we doing in UNITEN?

Just before I left uni for the holidays, I heard some people there complaining about the uni, that is sucks, that the lecturer's are not good enough and that the facilities are not up to standard. It seemed that they had something to complain about everything that they saw there. My question is: "If you wanna complain so much about everything, why on earth then are you studying here?" I mean, come on, if the things here are not up to your standard, get out!! Yeah sure, there are some things that are not the best in uni, but you complaining about it doesn't make it better. If you feel that things can be better, make your move and do something about it rather than complaining but not doing anything. Sometimes I don't know what to say about people like this who just complain about everything but when you ask them to do something to improve the situation, they suddenly have a loss for words.

For me, I'm satisfied with the stuff in uni. Sure there are things that I would prefer to be better, but hey, I'm there to get my degree, meet new friends and get some experience and knowledge. So I reckon I'll just keep to that.

Well, I reckon thats all for this post. Enjoy your holidays people. And see you back in our "beloved" UNITEN in December.

Note: No offence to anyoone who 'terasa' they are the people I've wrote about above.

Sir Adrian, over and out.

Time

Hi there everyone. How are things getting on? For those still studying, its coming up to that routine time again. What do I mean? Well people, what I mean is: "Its exam time!!". Huh?? What?? So fast?? Can't be, I just started the new sem just a few months back. Well, HO HO HO, you better believe it, exams are here. For some of us, we still have the "leisure" of relaxing since it starts on Friday. But some of, it begins on Tuesday.

So fast you say? Well its funny though. Time I mean. When you want it to go faster, it sort of slows down. But when you hope that you could have more time, it just seems to speed up. Think about it. In exams when you need more time to finish the paper, 3 hours seems so short. But when you're waitting for someone or something, say the bus or train, 3 minutes could seem like forever.

So looking back at this sem, what have we achieved? Well, I can say that it was a hectic semester with the projects, test, assignments.Not to mention the other stuff some of us have to do like IET or IMeche activities. But have we really used our time well? They say 'Time waits for no one'. In a way, its true. I mean, how much time have we really made used of?. Some people say that 24 hours a day is not enough for us to carry out all our duties. But I think thats where time-management comes in. All in all, I would like to think that I gained alot from this sem. Apart from studies, it was a semester full of experiences . Actually I can't believe myself that 15 weeks of lectures just went by so fast. It was just like last month that I moved into my new 'second' home here. Well its not new as in building new, its new as in I just moved in.

However, I do feel sometimes that we need to take things slow for a change. Now a days, we seem to want everything to be fast, or rather super fast. Even that also is not fast enough for us. We tend to rush for things, want our computers to be faster, drive fast, even eat fast. But I feel we need to slow things down a bit and 'take time to smell the flowers'. Sure sometimes we have no choice but to rush, especially in times like during our test when we hear the lecturer say "You have 5 minutes left", and you go " Oh shit!!!", because you still have 2 questions to go. Now thats when you rush. But when we're on the road for instance, maybe we should pratice a bit of patience. Although we have to use time wisely, it doesnt mean that we have to rush through it.

Well, I guess we need to make time, or rather set time for not just the things that are necessary but also some time for our own. Maybe to relax, do something that we want and not because we have to. So don't always rush through everything. Take sometime to 'smell' the flowers and take in the moments. Well, I guess thats its for now.

Oh ya, to all of you taking exams, good luck in your finals. Hope that we all get the results that we deserved. To all form 5's and 6's, good luck in your SPM and STPM too. Remember, exams are not only about the A's, but also about how much we understand the subject. Like one of my lecturer's use to say, " Don't memorise the question, understand it." For those who were in the same class as me in sem 1, they'd know who this lecturer is. And to all my Hindu friends, Happy Deepavali. And though its pretty early but happy holidays to you all and have a safe journey for those who have the leisure of going overseas for holidays, like Taiwan.

Sir Adrian, over and out.

A World Without Friends

I came across a video on YouTube recently that I felt was really touching. It's about a reunion between a lion and his former owners. Well, I'm not going to tell the whole story. Just play the video below and find out. Trust me, it's really moving.



The video got me thinking about all the friends that I have met throughout my life and how much I have taken some of them for granted. Yeah, there were misunderstandings here and there. But I then wonder what my life would be like without them. Surely my own life won't be interesting at all. Imagine a life by yourself, going makan by your own, watching movie by yourself (not that I haven't done that before), playing CS all the time against the computer's bot and not having anyone to copy homework and assignments from (I hope none of my lecturer's read my blog). I mean our lives would be rather boring and uninteresting.

School would have been so boring if not for my classmates who made school life "interesting". And not forgeting my best friend of 13 years, who has been an honour and pleasure to have as a true friend. And uni life, well, I dont think I need to say more about it if I didnt have my friends.

To say the least, having friends makes our life worth living. Think about it. If we had no friends, we would have to do everything by ourselves.There would be no one to share jokes and laughter with. Then there are those friendships that become something more (boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives).

I can say that I am trully blessed and fortunate to have the friends I have. Although I can be a bit annoying with my sarcasm and stuff, but they somehow are able to tolerate me.

So to all my friends, thanks for being a friend to me. Hope our friendship last a lifetime.

So to all of you out there, get in-touch with your friends especially the ones you haven't been in-touched with. You'll be glad you did.

Friends Forever!!!

Movie Review: Mamma Mia-The Movie

There has been a lot of talk about the show. At first I wasn't sure what the whole big talk was all about. All I knew was that prior to this movie, Mamma Mia was a musical stage performance on broadway. From the title of the show, I knew it had something to do with the song "Mama Mia" by the pop group ABBA. So, on Friday, after sending my sister of at KL Sentral, I decided to drop by MidValley. My sister had suggested to me to watch "Eagle Eye", but I was more interested in finding out what this Mama Mia movie was all about.

Apart from Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Collin Firth, the other cast members are relatively unknown. Even the co-lead actress Amanda Seyfried, is somewhat unknown to the movie world. But I bet this movie will definately jump start her movie carrier.

The movie started of with the opening song "I Had A Dream". Amanda Seyfried plays Sophie, a 20 year old girl about to get married on a Greek island. Her mom, Meryl Streep, owns and runs a hotel on that island. However, being the "wild" girl her mother was, Sophie doesn't know who her father is. Cut the story short, this movie tells about how Sophie finds out who her real father is to walk her down the isle.

This movie would be a good one to catch if you're into musicals. Even more if you're into oldies songs especially songs by ABBA. Though it may seem, "old" but rest assured, the directors and cast have really manage to integrate the songs into modern day situations. The songs sang really go along with the plot of the movie. It's amazing how the script writers, directors and musicians were able to produce such a movie. Along with humour and dancing, in my opinion, this movie is way better than High School Musical. It doesn't have all the "Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, someone tries to ruin the love" kind of thing. The plot is straight forward but with funny and interesting situations. If you've seen "Grease", then I recommend this movie to you.

Rating wise, out of 10, I give it a 10 for music and dance, 8 for the plot, characters 9 and understandibility 9. So on average, the show rate a 9.

I really recommend this as a first date show. It'll really be a good ice-breaker for the "couple". And I reckon you'll enjoy it.

So go watch it.

My Life, My Journey, My Passion

Hello there and welcome to my blog. This being my first acticle, I was wondering what I should write about. I wanted to write about something that is not so "jiwang", but at the same time, something meaningfull. I thought about it and and nothing seemed to come out. Little did i know that the topic which would fit was staring me right in my face. When you entered this page, the first thing you would have seen would be the heading "My Life, My Journey, My Passion". You might be wondering why, of all things, did I choose that? Well, I'm going to save you some energy figuring that out.


My Life. When we talk of life, what do we think of? Or rather what is the definition of life? Is it the beating of the heart? Is it when the brain is still functioning? Is it when the subject is breathing? Medically speaking, I would think that life is when the subject, in this case a person, still has brain function and is able to have his heart beating on its own. Take away either one, and you'll have either coma or brain dead. Personally, life is not define as the presence of a heart beat. The definition of life is, to me, humanity itself. In fact, it is the essence of humanity and all living beings. When someone is declared dead, does his life cease to exist also? Medically, yes. But in reality, that person's life lives on in the people who love him, whom he was close to, and also in the people whose lives he has made better. Many people of the past continue to live on within our lives today. In the things we used, the things we see and the things we are yet to see. Alexander G. Bell died donkey years before I was born, but his invention has made my life that much more easier. Now, I'm able to be in constant contact with others no matter how far, provided there's service. As such, his life continues to live on through the telephone. So, since I know not how long my heart will continue to beat, or when my "Big Boss" up there will call me to return, I choose to use my life as a tool so that once my physical self is gone 6 feet under or incinerated, I hope that I would have made a difference to at least someone or left a mark saying "I was here". To leave that mark is not easy, which brings me to my next point, journey.


My Journey. What is a journey? Travelling? Holidaying? Journey simply means the process of getting from one point to another. Let it be JB-KL or Setiawan-Kajang, or Sg Chua-UNITEN. When we go on a jouney, we dont just sit in the car and wait till we reach our destination. We try to do something or take along some stuff to keep us busy along the way. But the journey also includes the experiences we get along the way, the people we meet and in many cases the food we taste. And life itself is a journey. The many faces we get to know, the stuff that we get to see and do, the people that make our blood boil and ofcourse not to miss out the glorious food that we only get in certain places, say Satay Kajang. As such, going through my life here is to journey along with my family and friends and it will continue to journey even after I'm no longger seen. And because of the people I meet along my journey and the things I get to experience, it makes my life at present more worth while. So to all my friends, thank you for being a friend to me and putting up with me. You have made a difference in my life.


My Passion. To see life as a journey is not enough to make it worth while. We need something that seals it and makes it unforgettable. We need something that makes it unique, a one of, a permanent stamp. We need Passion. What is passion you may ask? We've heard of passionate dance, playing football with passion, being a passionate lover and even passionate sex. Passion, in my own words, is doing something with all our heart, with all our mind and with all our strength. That's what I suppose, in the bible, God tells his followers to do, to love him with passion. To be passionate about something is to really put our mind to in and to focus on it, to give it our best shot in the hope within our hearts, and to put in every ounce of effort and strength into it to get the best, if not, the perfect result. This could mean our studies, our badminton game, relationships or subsequently life itself. Be passionate about life. Don't take it for granted and, live as if it were you last day. Do one thing a day that you fear (the legal ones ofcourse). Be kind, faitful, supportive. That's what it means to live life with passion. To leave our mark, we need to have done something with passion. Only then can we say that "I have fought the good fight".


So there it is. Why I choose the heading. I take this opportunity to thank you for reading even though it's a bit long for my first article. But I feel that this blog will help me put my thoughts into words. I also take this opportunity to wish all my Muslim friends Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, maaf zahir batin.


Sir Adrian, over and out.

I'm a Blogger

Well, I've finally joined the blogging world. You can say that I've been influenced by my friends into blogging, and also other "famous" people namely RPK and che-det. I'm just going to try this out for say a short while. So I'll see how this goes.