The One That Got Away...

It would be unfair to say goodbye to 2011 without at least glancing back to all the beautiful memories it represent. My oh my, what a great year 2011 turn out to be and I'm nothing but thankful for all the good fortune that fall upon me, wink2 Okay, now It's time to do the recap for the 10 most memorable stuff that took place in yours truly un-eventful life last year, hihi =P 

1) A Tiger by the Tail ^^

After intense grueling, pleading, and spending, I managed to collect all the 60 stamps needed in order to obtain this cute little Tigger (one of the characters in Winnie The Pooh), you have no idea the hell I've been going through to get this little fella, I for one have no wishes whatsoever to repeat this whole ordeal all over again but the wonderful feeling after possessing this baby is certainly classified as "I'm over the moon" kind of feeling, it's beyond awesome!!! This actually a surprise birthday gift to my significant other who have a weird fond-ness for anything Tiger related stuff except Tiger Beer of course, hehe x) 

2) Life is a Beach n_n

This unique picture of our family vacation at Pulau Pehentian made it into the New Straits Times travel column in the middle of March 2011, cool isn't it? I never really thought our funny pose will be chosen as the winner of their weekly travel giveaway but luck certainly shining bright for me in 2011 =) The prize is a weekend getaway at Corus Paradise, Port Dickson that I used to celebrate my sister birthday but it's not the prize that really intrigued me at that time actually... The once in a lifetime opportunity to imprint our family sweetest time in view of thousands others and our daily newspaper is definitely hard to pass on, I still remember the moment and the surprise shriek coming from my mother when she read the newspaper that day, hee~

3) Two is Better than One @_@

Early April last year, I was fortunately given a rare chance to meet up, close and personal with the Annie & Maggie Ford Danielson, the daughters and nieces of my favorite makeup brand, Benefit Cosmetic founders, Jean and Jane Ford =) The moment was so surreal, and I had to pinch myself a few times to believe it!!! They're both my beauty icons and I really look up to their sheer geniuses in creating a very fabulous line of makeup, I'm such a big fans of the brand and meeting both of them definitely deserve a big highlight in my book!!! They both are very warm, friendly and approachable in person and I can't get my eyes off their effortless beauty and height, I felt very much like a midget next to them, haha =D  

 

 4) Foot-loose ^_~

As written in my previous post, I bought myself a rather unusual birthday gift last year to compensate for my lack of "music & me time" in the last couple of years, hihi =P I had the best-est musical experience in my whole lifetime in this one night performance from my favorite band since forever, Switchfoot!!! I don't mind to relive the moment again and again for even twice the price, coming from someone who barely make ends meet, it certainly speaks volume of their performance aura, wink2

5) It's my birthday!!! ^_^

My 2011 birthday celebration is quite different last year I must say since I'm celebrating it with my love one for the very first time =) We're hundreds miles apart so seeing each other frequently is definitely not an option and a luxury that we can't afford T-T But he did came all the way even after a hectic day to spend my birthday with me ^^ He even surprised me with my favorite flower, white lily and an instrument I've been eye-ing for quite sometime, ukelele... I love both gift so so so very much!!! =) 

 

6) Tie the knot =)

One of the main highlights of my 2011 life is none other than my best friend forever (it's 14 years to be exact, hee~) Deya engage to be married day with her now fiancee, Alfian... Knowing her for almost half my life, I'm very2 happy that she finally met someone who treat her right and someone that I highly approve, hehe =P She deserve a guy who love her unconditionally and I knew that she did get it right this time around... They both are perfect for each other, I couldn't think of better person who could complete her the way he did!!! I'm wishing you guys the very best, be nice to each other okay,@_@

7) Who's that girl? n_n

Another milestone that I reach last year was I finally succeed in my vain attempt to wear contact lenses, fake lashes and blue-ey eyeshadows, hehe =P I'm too afraid to wear lenses before and too lazy to master the art of wearing falsies, LOL After I figured out the way and experimenting with lots of neon colors, I can proudly say that blue is no longer included in my "NAY" eyeshadow shades list, it certainly took me quite a long time to get it right but I'm so happy nevertheless with the results, I only have two more colors challenge to conquer, yellow and red which I'm in no rush to pursue yet ^_~

8) Lucky Strike @_@

2011 really2 was my luckiest year ever, I won not only 1,2 but 3 big concerts tickets from big names like Micheal Buble, Maroon 5 and 30 Seconds to Mars!!! Life is good, hee~ ^^ I won a lot of other stuff too from perfumes, skincare, book, handbag and even a hotel stay, I felt very2 lucky and surprised actually because I have no idea that I'll be on my winning streak for the rest of the year... Now,I witness it first hand that you do gain a lot more when you give more, may 2012 bring me more luck and excitement, wink2

9) Aye Aye Captain x)

During the Merdeka's month last year, Fly FM had came up with their own version of Captain America named Captain Malaysia (no surprise there obviously, LOL) which planned to help out 54 different Malaysians to overcome their difficulties in everyday life... I'm just trying my luck there and submit my application, little that I know I'm among the lucky 54 who had been granted a visit not only by Captain Malaysia but all the Fly FM's Rock Pagi Crews, yeay!!! I will not unveil what I had been asking for from them because It's quite embarrassing actually to even mention it here but it really2 made my day (and week too to be honest =P), to have all of them paid me a visit, hehe X) The only regret I have was not having my digicam with me at that time to capture the moment~ =(

10) The One That Got Away =P

The last but not least of my favorite highlights of 2011 was I finally brave enough to took the challenge of uploading my very own Youtube video, hehe =P I'm not even close to perfect but I'm very2 proud of myself for going through the motion and producing my very first Youtube cover... I now have a brand new respect for all the Youtubers because it's not as easy as it look, my singing and plucking were all over the place and I couldn't trust myself to speak even a little in this video because I'm afraid my voice will betray me, hahaha =D I do get a lot of positive reviews from my friends, and I'm looking forward to produce more covers in the future ^^

Dare You To Move...

I missed their first show in KL few years ago and I decided back then, nothing can stop me from going to their concert in Malaysia again, I even planned to go to their Singapore show if they didn't drop by at KL, thank god I didn't have to do that, they adjusted their tour dates at the very last minutes and make an appearance at Kompleks Mutiara, Sentul on 1st May =)

I can spend hours just talking about my fav band in this world, Switchfoot and still I can't justified their musical influences in me in just one mere day. Big words, I know but Switchfoot, despite it's roots is really2 one of the best-est band I could ever think of (I'm bias but lots of peeps out there can vouch for their work you know, lol) I'm so inspired to play guitar because of them and the first song that I learn to play is "You" from Switchfoot itself =P

I never heard of Kompleks Mutiara before but my love for Jon Foreman and his band drove me to the hunted place with my sis... Because of the un-popular choice of location, it felt very much like an underground gig that only a few chosen one selected to attend, which added the mystery to the concert itself, wink2 

We waited quite a while before the band show up, thanks to the technical problems from the organizer, haih =_= Like usual, the band charmed me from the very start and continue to do so till the end of the show @_@ I must said, I enjoy myself way too much and loving their non stop energetic performance ^^ This is by far the best birthday gift I ever got for myself and the best concert I had the honor to be a part of!!!

Anyway, I dislike the opening act, Busco which sound very much like Bunkface, and they sang like forever and bored me to death, huhu~ I think all 1,000 fans that present that day must felt the same way too because as soon as the light dimmed and the spotlight focus on the band name on stage, everyone were shrieking like crazy!!! After 7 studio albums and 15 years in the business, Switchfoot definitely know how to build up their audience anticipation and suspense...

They started the night with The Sound from their latest album Hello Hurricane, before singing their hits like Stars and a very emotional version of Your Love Is A song (one of my personal fav) The show goes on with Awakening, which Jon sang with his brother who also in the band, Tim Foreman... The crowd getting crazier and crazier as they keep up the momentum with Needle And Haystack Life before the light were dimmed again...

This time around, they coming back again with their all time hits, Dare You To Move taken from A Walk To Remember OST, which without a doubt was the crowd's favorite... This song brought them an overnight fame and a huge mainstream break to the band in the industry =)

Switchfoot not only sing with their heart, their passion for music clearly illustrated with the beautiful melody and lyrics, eventhough their words were debated for being preaching and gospel-ly at times, I guess different people decipher and interpret it differently, so I'm cool with that ^_^ I'm on board with the music which keep on evolving over the years but their humble personality still remain very much the same...

Being the hyper performer that he always identified with, Jon jumped to beat, even go as far as climb the stage with 16 hits after hits from their current and previous albums and urged us to sing along and be in the moment with him and the music...

I'm quite close to the stage and as you can see from the pictures, Jon Foreman is cuter and hotter than I can ever imagine, he get us on fire not only with his guitars but harmonika as well and keep us rockin' throught out the night =) he's one heck of energizer bunny I must say, hihi =P I had nothing but respect for a guy who can play guitar beautifully complete with a sexy voice, I guess I'm still a big sucker for cute guys who musically proficient, wink2

Unfortunately, all good thing must come to the end, the almost 2 hour musical journey seem to goes by way too fast and I can't help but wanting the night to never stop =( Malaysia, being the last leg for their South East Asian tour clearly not the last thing on their mind... Before leaving the stage, the band not only leave it with style but words that warm up all their Malaysian's fans, hehe =P Taken from Jon Foreman's twitter; "I think we saved the best for last. Malaysia, tonight will be one we will never forget!" Yes, we won't forget you for sure and we'll hold to your promise to come back again next year, wink2



Till then, this is my special pose with the concert banner after the show and I dare all of you to move and switching your foot to 2012, adieu~ @_@

Misery Loves Company...

I got "Tangled", in "This Love" triangle, it "Makes Me Wonder", why you never failed makin me "Shiver", oh, Adam Levine, I'm "Losing My Mind"...

Sounds cheeky isn't it??? hahaha =D This is actually the slogan that won me 2 tickets to catch Maroon 5 Live in Kuala Lumpur last month, courtesy of The Score Magazine, one of the coolest magazine in the planet, ^_~ You guys can check out their FB page here for a little glimpse of their magazine spread and info =)

The Hot 5, wink2

Thanks a zillion Score Magz ^_^

Back to the concert, me & my sis heading out to Bkt Jalil around 8pm with utmost hope that we won't be late for the show which start suppose to begin at 9pm... Since we both are hopeless when it comes to navigation and direction, we confidently used the most familiar route to get there, but along the way, my sis somehow able to distract me with all the weird K-pop song and suddenly we end up in the middle of nowhere, arghhh~ Thank god, her friend managed to guide us back to Bukit Jalil within time through phone and we reached there around 9pm... The journey that usually took only 30 minutes turned into 1 hour long just because of K-pop, huhu~

Maroon 5 fans (literally & figuratively) ^_~

To make it worst, the security people there sucks big time and caused long long lines just to enter the stadium... Even Adam Levine complained about them in his twitter account... The show delayed for almost half an hour due to their incompetence and while waiting, lots of the fans get restless since the band didn't have opening act like any other concerts... Most of us used the free time to camwhore and patiently wait for the band to make their grand entrance...

The massive sea of fans =)

At 9.30pm sharp, Maroon 5 began to fired up the night with the first single from their latest album, Misery... Clad in only shirts and jeans; they definitely know how to grab all the crowd attention and made the girls (and boys =P) goes into frenzy mode, wink2 This is their first Malaysian show by the way so the crowd were more than eager to please, hehehe =P

Guitar hero~ n_n

I'm not a huge fans of Maroon 5 to be honest, so I'm quite surprised to see firsthand that Adam Levine musical prowess is something that you have to see it to believe... I must admit that his track record with all the beautiful ladies do come in handy... He sings not only with his heart but also with his body, very2 sexy, not to mention mesmerizing and his guitar skills especially when he jammed with the rest of the band on stage certainly had me at Hello, wink2 I can't seem to shake out my weakness for guitar players I guess, I fall for them like magnets, hahaha =D

He dance, he dance... oh baby2 he move, he move~ =P

They played a mixture of their hits from Song before Jane to Hands All Over with new arrangement for almost all their playlist that night, a good move on their part I must said coz they got all the crowd fall in love with the songs all over again =) They finally made their music feel more humanized when all the unnecessary effects were scrapped out from the songs... Their acoustic rendition of She'll Be Loved certainly a crowd pleaser that night and really2 a huge hit among the fans, coz it got us all singing along, enjoying the moment and kind of transported me back to all the memories it held @_@

Encore2, yeay!!! @_@

Despite a little drama at the front row, the show goes on without a hitch with tunes varied from ballads such as Secret to pop rock like Wake Up Call and This Love... It does astonished me that Maroon 5 apparently have a huge fan base among boys here in Malaysia!!! They even get crazier than us girl you know, screaming frantically everytime Adam sang their fav songs, hahaha =D Anyway, the band ended the almost 90 minutes show with upbeat songs like Hands All Over, Makes Me Wonder and not to forget the very soothing Sunday Morning...

The 6th member of the band, the not so Maroon 5, hee~ X)

Overall, I would say the show was quite interesting, I rank it somewhere in the middle, not that great but not that bad either... A great musical experience and I'm sure the rest of the fans can't wait to see them again in the future =) Although I'm having a hard time to keep track with what Adam were saying most of the time, (I blame it entirely on the group of boys around me =_=) me and my sis definitely had fun and enjoyed it very much =) As Adam mention before he leave the stage, they'll be back again in Malaysia and I had a feeling that it won't be soon before long, wink2

In the Buble...

March had been very kind to me so far, I had won myself few contests in this month alone and the biggest highlight of course was winning the tickets to Michael Buble show last week @ Stadium Malawati!!! When I received the call from Warner Music, I'm beyond ecstatic and rendered speechless because I never really thought I'll win, I just entered the contest for fun without any expectation at all...

I felt extremely lucky because not only I won 2 tickets worth RM850 each, I also got Buble's latest CD, Crazy Love Hollywood Edition, ^_~ At first I thought I won the VIP seats (due to a little confusion on my part), but I'm more than happy with the seats I got which obviously I can't afford with my current paycheck, sob2 T-T

Anyway, that night I tried to come early to avoid bad traffic, the rainy day didn't help much either but we managed to arrive just in time before the show started and catch the opening act by local jazz singer, Najwa Mahiaddin (yes, she's the TPM daughter =P)

I never heard her sing before and that girl really blew my mind away!!! Her songs are quite catchy and cool, I can't help but loving her, you rock girl!!! =) She entertained the audience for almost 1 hour before Mr Buble took his turn and start the show at 8.35pm.

He begin the show with Cry Me A River, a very2 good choice on his part, it's also one of my favorite... And all the 9,000 crowd can't stop shrieking and screaming when the very talented Mr. Buble finally show up on stage!!!

He dazzle us with his amazing vocal. his aura and also the fireworks, we can't hardly take our eyes of him!!! When he sing, he really2 sing from his heart and with deep emotion, I got goosebump everywhere and I'm not even cold that night, that's how good he is!!! =)

We were seated at the right side of the stage so I'm having difficulties to capture great pics; thank god there is a giant monitor on the right side of the stage for our viewing pleasure, so I didn't felt that bad, hee~

Buble mainly sang songs from his latest album such as classic like Crazy Love, Georgia on My Mind, and Heartache Tonight (just to name a few) besides his other hits like Feeling Good, Haven't Met You Yet, Everything, and also Save the Last Dance. Unfortunately he doesn't sing his latest single, Hollywood and his previous hits, Sway which I really2 hope he will =(

Anyway, his charm and sense of humor really2 worth all the troubles going through the rain and bad traffic, wink2 I can't stop laughing at his jokes and yes, if he's not a singer he do have a very bright future ahead of him as a stand up comedian, hehehe x)

His love and admiration for his band can be clearly seen when he introduced them to the crowd complete with their family background and personalities, and he never forgot to thank them repeatedly which shows how very remarkable person he is, unlike lots of big star out there who barely care about anothers...

He also took a little time to sign autographs and shake hands with his lucky fans before heading to the center podium and mesmerized us with his acoustic version of Home... His adoring fans including yours truly can't keep ourselves from singing along to the beautiful melody and get lost in the moment... It's really2 was a breathtaking scenery, how I wish I could re-live the moment again and again!!!

The best part in the concert however was when Buble tried to impersonate Michale Jackson; it's really2 funny, he's pretty gifted dancer himself and constantly doing his sliding moves and even singing in higher pitch to fully imitated Michael Jackson's voice, it's definitely cracked up all the audience and leaving us wanting more!!! n_n

To my delight, he also sang the Glee theme song, Don't Stop Believing and Disney's classic, A Whole New World, it's super duper funny and hilarious, I do took a video of it but due to my non stop laughing, the video turn up shaky and I can only hear my voice on it, hahaha =D

The lights, effects and drama in this concert certainly deserved a standing ovation too, everything went smoothly without a hitch and in-sync with the performances ^_^

The existence of an Audi car on the stage however strange it is (Audi is one of the main sponsor of this concert btw) didn't steer out our attention from the man of the night, Mr Buble himself and the balls that had been thrown all over the stadium too, keep the audience in playful mood through out the night and let us all losing ourselves to the Buble spell, wink2

After more than 10 songs and almost 2 hours later, the show finally had came to the end... Buble end the night with Song For You, a song he sang without the aid of microphone and chilled us all to the bone!!! All 9,000 fans go all quiet and surrender ourselves to the Buble's haunting voice~ It's something you have to see it to believe it moment, and I can't believe the fabulous night is finally over...

KL actually is the last destination for his Crazy Love Tour - Asian Leg before he ties the knot this April... What can I say, his soon to be wife is definitely a very lucky woman, she get the complete package, a man who can serenade and fascinate her, not to mention good looking and amazing!!! @_@

Before heading back home, I didn't missed out the opportunity to took pics at the Audi's promo booth and bought some of Buble's merchandise for keepsake... =) It's a very fun and fantastic show which I never ever dream I can be a part of in million years!!! Thank you so much Warner Music for your generosity, I love love love the concert so very2 much!!! ♥ ♥ ♥